Pop Sweep: October 18, 2014...

It's time to kick off the first of today's five "chart sweeps", sampling the songs making the singles charts in Billboard magazine this week. As usual, I'll start off on the pop side of the house, and then later in the day move on to what's new in rock, R&B, country, and dance radio. And away we go....

On the "big" chart, Billboard's Hot 100, which combines tallies from radio airplay from all genres, internet streaming (like Spotify and YouTube), and sales, Meghan Trainor spends a fifth week at #1 with "All About That Bass", as the top five remain all female for the unprecedented fifth week in a row (with Taylor Swift, Iggy Azalea, Nicki Minaj, and the girls on "Bang Bang" behind Meghan)...

British boy-band One Direction claim the highest new entry of the week all the way up at #13 with "Steal My Girl". It's the first single from their upcoming fourth album FOUR (natch). I looked to see if they gave writing credit to Jonathan Cain for blatantly stealing the piano riff from Journey's "Faithfully". The quintet has yet to have a #1 hit in America, though they came oh so close with "Best Song Ever", the first single from their last album...

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Carrie Underwood returns at #22 with "Something In The Water", setting the stage for her upcoming greatest hits album. It immediately becomes her 19th top-40 hit on the Hot 100 since she won the fourth season of American Idol in 2005, with her "winner's song", "Inside Your Heaven", topping the chart. This power-ballad is an easy bet to get her back on top of the country charts, where women have been criminally lacking lately, though there's really not a hint of country in the track...

Speaking of country, A-lister Jason Aldean is in at #61 with the sixth "preview" track from his just-released Old Boots, New Dirt album, "Just Gettin' Started". The current radio single "Burnin' It Down" is up at #20 after just being certifield platinum (for selling over a million copies). Again, this is really a rock track with a very subtle banjo playing in the background...

Country crossover duo Florida Georgia Line also come in with a preview track as their "Bumpin' The Night" bumps in at #69. The radio single from the upcoming set, "Dirt", drops to #28 this week...

New Zealand's own Lorde is back at #74 with her contribution to the newest Hunger Games movie, "Yellow Flicker Beat". This seems to be the first big rock single release for the fourth quarter of the year. Her debut album scored two top-10 hits with "Team" and the #1 "Royals"...

DJ and producer Alesso, who was once one-third of the Swedish House Mafia, takes his first trip on the Hot 100 as a lead solo artist with "Heroes (We Could Be)" at #89. The vocals on the track, which interpolates the classic David Bowie song, features vocals from fellow countrywoman Tove Lo, who herself is enjoying her first top-10 hit with "Habits (Stay High)" at #6...

Rapper OG Maco makes his debut at #94 with "U Guessed It"...

Country vet Tim McGraw puts his third single from his latest Sundown Heaven Town album, "Shotgun Rider", at #97 on the chart. It follows his duet with wife Faith Hill on "Meanwhile Back At Mama's", which peaked at #41 and this week is holding on at #100...

...and now on to the pop radio format charts...

On the Mainstream Top-40 radio panel, "All About That Bass" remains on top for a third week, while the aforementioned "Steal My Girl" is the top entry at #27...

Norwegian pop/R&B duo Nico & Vinz follow up their breakthrough hit "Am I Wrong", which went to #1 here, with "In Your Arms" at #28. The song went to #4 in their homeland.

Another artist following up a #1 hit, British singer Sam Smith, comes in at #30 with "I'm Not The Only One". His "Stay With Me" is still in at #13...

Black Eyes Peas singer/rapper Fergie enters at #39 with the first single from her long-awaited second album, "L.A. Love (La La)". Her debut solo set sent five singles into the top-5 on this chart in 2006-7, with "Big Girls Don't Cry" going to #1. This is more "London Bridge" than "Big Girls Don't Cry". Ugh.

Meanwhile, on the older-skewing Adult Top-40 format, Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" is #1 for a second week, as Nico & Vinz take the top debut at #33...

The other new one at #38 is OneRepublic, who follow up their #4 single "Love Runs Out" with "I Lived". It's the fifth single from their Native album to make this chart, and it's my "Pop Pick of the Week"...

Lastly, on the Adult Contemporary, or "easy-listening" radio chart, Nico & Vinz are at #1 for a fourth week with "Am I Wrong"..

The sole new entry at #29 is "The First" from Atlanta-based rock band The Villains...

I'll be back in 90 minutes with the latest on rock radio....