Twostepcublog

We've finally come to the end of my year-end recap of the biggest songs on my weekly personal music chart in 2014. You can catch up with all the other installments by clicking here ... #10. "Am I Wrong" - Nico & Vinz         from the album Black Star Elephant (2014)         twostepcubchart peak: #2 (two weeks)         weeks on the chart: 34 (so far in 2014 - still charting) If you needed something totally unexpected in music in 2014, here's two black soul singers from Norway with an international pop hit that was originally released under a different name. Formerly known as Envy, Nico Sereba and Vincent Dery cruised into my top-ten with this Afrobeat song that urged you to follow your dreams. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

It's time to head Down Under for the last time this year to check out the songs making their debut on the official singles chart in Australia this week, as Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars spend a third week at #1 with " Uptown Funk "... In this quiet post-Christmas week, there's only one new song on the top-50, and it's "Hold Back The River" from English singer/songwriter James Bay at #46...

Here's the top-ten hits in Germany, according to their official singles chart , as David Guetta spends a fourth non-consecutive week at #1 with "Dangerous"... 1. " Dangerous " - David Guetta featuring Sam Martin (1) 2. "Take Me To Church" - Hozier (DEBUT) 3. "Blue Heart" - Charley Ann Schmutzler (DEBUT) 4. " Walk " - Kwabs (3) 5. " The Hanging Tree " - James Newton Howard featuring Jennifer Lawrence (4) 6. "Thinking Out Loud" - Ed Sheeran (DEBUT) 7. " Sun Goes Down " - Robin Schulz featuring Jasmine Thompson (5) 8. "Wir Brechen Eure Seelen" - Frei.Wild (DEBUT) 9. " I'm An Albatraoz " - AronChupa (6) 10. " Do They Know It's Christmas 2014 (Deutsche Version) " - Band Aid 30 (2) Irish singer/songwriter Hozier leaps on to the top 10 at #2 with his international smash "Take Me To Church"... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Dreamtime " - Daryl Hall from the album Three Hearts In The Happy Ending Machine (1986) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #5 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 11 The final Song of the Day for 2014 belongs to singer/songwriter Daryl Hall , who with musical partner John Oates had become one of the biggest pop hitmakers of the 80s, as well as duos of the rock era, with fifteen top-10 hits in America by the middle of that decade. After a contract-fulfilling live set with Temptations members Eddie Kendrick and David Ruffin gave them another top-20 single with the medley of " The Way You Do The Things You Do/My Girl ", they took a break as a duo for the next few years. In the meantime, Daryl recorded and released his second solo album (and first since their 80s success), Three Hearts In The Happy Ending Machine . Produced by the Eurythmics' Dave Stewart, the album was a little "trippier" than his H&O work, but didn't stray too far from his mainstream...

We're coming close to the end of my top-100 recap of the biggest songs on my weekly personal music chart for 2014. You can check out the rest of the pack by clicking here ... #20 - "The Walker" - Fitz & The Tantrums          from the album More Than Just A Dream (2013)          twostepcubchart peak: #1 (two weeks)          weeks on the chart: 24 The soulful L.A. modern rock band also made the top-20 on my 2013 with "Out Of My League" (#11), and this time out is lower on the list but did one better by reaching #1 on my chart for two weeks. Never has the zombie apocalypse seemed so fun . (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Here's the top-ten hits in France this week, according to their official singles chart , as Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars climb to #1 with "Uptown Funk"... 1. " Uptown Funk " - Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars (2) 2. " Dangerous " - David Guetta featuring Sam Martin (1) 3. " Jungle " - Emma Louise (4) 4. " Andalouse " - Kendji Girac (6) 5. " Prayer In C " - Lilly Wood & The Prick (7) 6. " Diamonds " - Josef Salvat (3) 7. "Je Vole" - Louane (DEBUT) 8. " Chandelier " - Sia (5) 9. " Take Me To Church " - Hozier (9) 10. "Saint Claude" - Christine and the Queens (DEBUT) French singer Louane, who appeared on the French version of The Voice , where she made the semi-finals, scores her first top-10 hit at #7 with "Je Vole" ("I Fly") from the French movie la Famille Belier , in which she stars. Mind you, that season's Voice winner, Yoann Fre...

" Walk This Way " - Run-D.M.C. from the album Raising Hell (1986) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #4 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 10 Today's Song of the Day comes from the pioneering rap trio Run-D.M.C. Joseph "Run" Simmons, the younger brother of promoter Russell Simmons, teamed up with Darryl "DMC" McDaniels and DJ Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell in the early 80s in Hollis, Queens, New York. They released their first single, " It's Like That ", in 1983, and the record went to #15 on the R&B chart. Three more singles made the chart as well from their self-titled debut, and the album cut " Rock Box " made the dance club chart and revolutionized rap in a way both R&B and pop radio wasn't ready for. Mixing rock guitar licks with hip hop rhymes was lightyears away from the disco-cribbing beats that had appeared before. Their second album, King Of Rock , even further instated that mix with to of the three t...

I'm back with another part of my recap of the biggest songs on my weekly personal music chart from 2014. You can catch up with the other seven parts so far by clicking here ... #30 - "Story Of My Life" - One Direction           from the album Midnight Memories (2013)           twostepcubchart peak: #7 (one week)           weeks on the chart (in 2014): 23 You could say that the X Factor losers turn boy-band winners "grew up" on this record, as it did the best on the older radio formats, topping the adult pop list and #2 on the adult contemporary (or "easy listening") chart. And if this video doesn't give you the 'feels', check your pulse. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Walk Like A Man " - Mary Jane Girls from the album A Fine Mess (Original Soundtrack) (1986) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #41 This week's "robbed hit" comes from the Rick James pet project Mary Jane Girls, which he put together as a group act to visually support lead vocalist JoJo McDuffie , one of his backup singers, in the early 80s. With their debut album Only Four You that spun off a top-10 pop hit with " In My House " (something Rick himself couldn't even do), the act had a great start, but didn't keep momentum on pop radio, with their follow-up " Wild And Crazy Love " stopping two notches short of the top-40. With a couple of personnel changes, the Mary Jane Girls contributed a cover of the Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons classic "Walk Like A Man" to the soundtrack to the Blake Edwards movie A Fine Mess , which starred Ted Danson and Howie Mandel (how 80s can you get?). Like many of the soundtrack fare releas...

" Love Zone " - Billy Ocean from the album Love Zone (1986) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #10 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 11 Today's Song of the Day comes from Caribbean-born singer Billy Ocean , whose 1986 Love Zone album had already churned out two big hits with " When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going " and " There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry) ". The third single from the set, the title track from the album, was a quiet storm nugget written by Ocean with his producers Barry Eastmond and Wayne Braithwaite (just like "There'll Be Sad Songs"), and was more moody that his previous hits... "Love Zone" became Billy's sixth top-10 pop hit in America in September of 1986. The record of course did even better on R&B stations, topping the "Black Singles" chart, and also reached #5 on the Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") radio chart in Billboard magazine. Internationall...

Hey gang, the weekend's at a close, so it's time to check out the songs making their debut on the top-100 official singles chart in Britain this week, as Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars climb back up to #1 for a second non-consecutive week with " Uptown Funk "... The post-Christmas week (the UK considers the week before the 25th its coveted "Christmas week") is expectedly slow, with only one song making its debut in the top half of the chart. And the song, "Heroes (We Could Be)" from Swedish DJ Alesso with singer Tove Lo, is an established hit around the world already (it's top-40 in the U.S.). The single enters at #6, making Alessandro Lindlad's third top-10 hit; he went to #1 with Calvin Harris with " Under Control " in 2013... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

I'm ready to run through this week's "album sweep", sampling the records making their debut on Billboard magazine's Album Sales chart this week. As always, I've included links to buy the new sets, along with some of the artists' other major work, but if you can, stop by an indie record store. It'll do you good! The top-selling album of the week for the sixth non-consecutive week is 1989 from Taylor Swift, who sold over 331,000 copies in its eight week out... The top newbie is the third album from Nicki Minaj, The Pinkprint , which moved almost 200,000 in its first week on sale. Her first two releases, Pink Friday and Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded both went to #1... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

"Captain Of Her Heart" - Double from the album Blue (1986) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #16 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 9 Today's Song of the Day is by the Swiss jazz-pop act Double , who came together in the early 80s in Zurich under singer/guitarist Kurt Waloo and keyboardist/drummer Felix Haug. They released their first EP in 1983, but it wasn't until their sophomore effort Blue that they landed their first hit. "Captain Of Her Heart", written by the duo, was an ultra-sophisticated slice of cool pop music with a saxophone touch (from member Christian Ostermeier) that sounded perfect in the swankiest restaurant in town... "Captain Of Her Heart" became Double's first and only hit in America in September of 1986, while climbing all the way to #4 on Billboard 's Adult Contemporary chart. Internationally, the song was an even bigger success, reaching the top-10 in Canada, England, Italy, France, and Germany. However, that woul...

I'm ready to wrap up this week's "chart sweeps" of the singles charts in Billboard magazine with the latest dance jams on the radio and in the clubs.. On the DJ-polled Dance Club Play chart, the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin lands yet another #1 hit as her cover of Adele's " Rolling In The Deep " climbs to the top... Beyonce claims the top debut of the week at #38 with the mixes of her song "7/11"... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Part four of today's "chart sweeps" is up with the latest songs on country radio as monitored by Billboard magazine... On their Country Airplay chart, Tim McGraw spends a second week at #1 with " Shotgun Rider "... All three newbies on the chart at Christmas selections. First up at #55 is Kenny Chesney with "Christmas In Blue Chair Bay", my " Country Pick of the Week ". His current radio single " Til It's Gone " holds at #3... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

We're at the "hump" of today's "chart sweeps", sampling the songs making the radio and club charts in Billboard magazine, and this time out I'm serving up the latest songs on R&B radio... On the main R&B/Hip Hop Airplay chart, ILOVEMAKONNEN and Drake spend a third non-consecutive week at #1 with " Tuesday "... The top new entry at #42 marks the return of rapper Ludacris with "Good Lovin'" featuring Miguel. He has previously topped this chart twice, with " Money Maker " and " Stand Up "...(there's no official audio clip, so boo! to that)... Raheem DeVaughn comes in at #49 with "Queen". The song moves up to #12 on the Adult R&B chart as well.. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Round two of this week's "chart sweeps" is up, checking out the songs making the various radio and club charts in Billboard magazine. This time out it's the newest tracks on rock radio.... On the main Rock Airplay list, The Foo Fighters remain at #1 for a ninth week with " Something From Nothing "... Rocketing in at #14 is indie rock band Modest Mouse with "Lampshades On Fire", my " Rock Pick of the Week ".  It's from their upcoming album Strangers To Ourselves , their first since 2007. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Hey gang, it's time to roll out my five-part "chart sweeps", checking out the songs making their debut on the various charts in Billboard magazine. As usual, I'll start out on the pop side of things, then later in the day sample the latest tunes on rock, R&B, country, and dance radio..... On the "big" chart, Billboard 's Hot 100 , which combines tallies of radio airplay of all formats, internet streaming (like Spotify and YouTube), and sales (like iTunes and Amazon), Taylor Swift holds on to #1 for a sixth week (her personal best) with " Blank Space "... Out of the eleven songs debuting on the Hot 100 this week, six of them come from the singing competition TV show The Voice , which had its finale on the 16th of December. All four of the final contestants are represented, and two even made the top-40. But it wasn't the winner of the season who got the top nod on the chart - it was runner-up Matt McAndrew by a mile. The singer/gu...

" Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone) " - Glass Tiger from the album Thin Red Line (1986) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 14 Today's Song of the Day is by the Canadian rock band Glass Tiger , who came together as "Tokyo" in the early 80s, they changed their name and released their debut album in 1986. Produced by Jim Vallance, who was Bryan Adams' writing collaborator for years, helped them land the rock star as a backing vocalist for their first single, "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)". A synth-heavy midtempo record with a brass section, the song came at the right time between Adams' own projects for that type of sound to be new and familiar at the same time, and despite it lyrically being a breakup song from the perspective of the dumped, the punchy production hides that pretty well... "Don't Forget Me" became the band's first top-10 pop hit in America in October of 1986...

We've made it to the top forty on my recap of the songs racking up the most points on my weekly chart for 2014. You can catch up with the other installments (plus my Xmas "bubbling under" bonus 25) by clicking here ... #40 - "Play It Again" - Luke Bryan           from the album Crash My Party (2013)           twostepcubchart peak: #2 (two weeks)           weeks on the chart: 20 Country A-lister Luke Bryan, who also appeared here this year at #51 with "Roller Coaster", had the #60 song of last year with "That's My Kind Of Night", and #82 with "Crash My Party". This time he "crashes" the top-40 with the top country song on my recap this year, "Play It Again"... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Friday is finally here, and it's time to run down my top 100 tunes from the week. This week (officially the start of my "2015 chart year") Sam Smith holds at #1 for a third week, while Scotsman Paolo Nutini (pictured above) leaps into my top 10. Former big hits from Clean Bandit and Blake Shelton drop off my chart, while songs by Mark Ronson/Bruno Mars, Meghan Trainor, and Brett Eldredge make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). Happy Boxing Day! This Week               Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) -------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- 1. I'm Not The Only One - Sam Smith (1) 2. Take Me To Church - Hozier (2) 3. Something From Nothing - Foo Fighters (3) 4. Don't - Ed Sheeran (4) 5. Animals - Maroon 5 (5) 6. Let Me Down Easy - Paolo Nutini (11) 7. Blame - Calvin Harris f/John Newman (7) 8. Her...

Huey Lewis & The News - " Stuck With You " from the album Fore! (1986) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 13 Today's Song of the Day comes from the Bay Area bar-band turned pop superstars Huey Lewis & The News , who after selling albums by the truckload of their third album Sports , with five top-40 pop hits, landed their first #1 in America with " The Power Of Love " from the movie Back To The Future . With their next album, they actually regressed back into safe "adult-pop" territory with their fourth album, which even has the dad-friendly pun name of Fore! . The first single, "Stuck With You", is a strummy sing-a-long that sonically placed it among the ilk of the mid-80s (like "We Built This City" and "Invisible Touch"), but Lewis and the News never pretended to be anything but clean-cut rockers you can bring home to mom anyway, and their utter commitment to the song turns t...

I've been counting down my top 100 tunes from the year on my weekly personal music chart, and as a bonus, here's the songs that "bubbled under" (in Billboard 's terms) my list; the also-rans, though equally as worthy... #125 - "Really Don't Care" - Demi Lovato featuring Cher Lloyd           twostepcubchart peak: #10 (two weeks)           weeks on the chart: 11 (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Here's the playlist of my annual Christmas CD I do instead of handing out cards. Have an awesome one. 1. Must Be Christmas - Band Of Merrymakers 2. Sleigh Ride - Human Nature featuring Robin Meade 3. Driving Home For Christmas - Chris Rea 4. Put One Foot In Front Of The Other - Mickey Rooney & Keenan Wynn 5. Santa Tell Me - Ariana Grande 6. Text Me Merry Christmas - Straight No Chaser featuring Kristen Bell 7. At Christmas - Sara Evans 8. Wrapped In Red - Kelly Clarkson 9. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer - Temptations 10. Baby It's Cold Outside - Idina Menzel & Michael Buble 11. I Yust Go Nuts At Christmas - Jogi Jorgensen 12. Blame It On The Mistletoe - Kendall Schmidt 13. Hairy Christmas - Home Free 14. Santa Claus Looks Just Like Daddy - Art Mooney & His Orchestra 15. I'll Be Home - Meghan Trainor 16. Christmas Comin' Round Again - Scotty McCreery 17. Night Before Christmas - Jim Brickman featuring John Oates (sorry just a teaser clip...

I've reached the halfway mark on my recap of the top 100 tunes on my weekly personal music chart for 2014. You can catch up with the first five installments by clicking here ... #50 - "Talk Dirty" - Jason Derulo featuring 2 Chainz          from the album Talk Dirty (2014)          twostepcubchart peak: #10 (one week)          weeks on the chart (in 2014): 20 Originally on my chart as a minor hit last year when the song was a European and Australian hit, the stripper-friendly jam finally caught on in America as the biggest single from his Talk Dirty album. Also, his first hit to have a guest rapper on it. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Since tomorrow is Christmas, let's check out the songs making the official singles chart in Australia a day early, shall we? Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars spend a second week on top with " Uptown Funk "... Singer Reigan (Derry), from the Perth suburb of Maida Vale in western Australia, placed fourth on the most recent season of The X Factor Australia , and her first post-season single "All Of The Pieces" enters at #33. When she was a finalist, her cover of Sam Smith's " Stay With Me " reached #20... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Here's the top ten hits in Germany, according to their official singles chart , as David Guetta's "Dangerous" climbs back to #1 for a third non-consecutive week... 1. " Dangerous " - David Guetta featuring Sam Martin (3) 2. " Do They Know It's Christmas 2014 (Deutsche Version) " - Band Aid 30 (1) 3. " Walk " - Kwabs (4) 4. " The Hanging Tree " - James Newton Howard featuring Jennifer Lawrence (2) 5. " Sun Goes Down " - Robin Schulz featuring Jasmine Thompson (5) 6. " I'm An Albatraoz " - AronChupa (7) 7. "G.D.F.R." - Flo Rida featuring Sage The Gemini (DEBUT) 8. " All About That Bass " - Meghan Trainor (6) 9. " Auf Anderen Wegen " - Andreas Bourani (8) 10. " Fade Out Lines " - The Avener (9)  American rapper Flo Rida basically remakes the DJ Snake hit "Turn Down For What" as "G.D.F.R.", as in "Goin' Down For Real...

Klymaxx - " Man Size Love " from the albums Running Scared (Original Soundtrack) and Klymaxx (1986) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #15 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 8 Today's Song of the Day comes from the Los Angeles all-female R&B band Klymaxx , who broke through big on pop radio at the end of 1985 with their ballad " I Miss You ".  Their next move was a contribution to the soundtrack to the Billy Crystal/Gregory Hines buddy-cop movie Running Scared . "Man Size Love", written and produced by Rod Temperton (the former leader of the disco group Heatwave who contributed to Michael Jackson's Thriller album), the pure-pop confection sounds like a comedy movie song even without knowing it.... "Man Size Love" became Klymaxx's second top-40 pop hit in September of 1986, while rising to #18 on Billboard 's Dance Club Play chart. On the R&B chart, though, they missed the top-40 at #43, a sign their sound had strayed wa...

It's time for the fifth installment of my year-end list of the biggest songs on my personal weekly chart in 2014. You can catch up on parts one through four by clicking here ... #60 - "Superheroes" - The Script          from the album No Sound Without Silence (2014)          twostepcubchart peak: #12 (two weeks)          weeks on the chart:  18 (so far in 2014 - still charting) The Irish pop/rock band, who had my top song of 2010 with "Breakeven", came back for their fourth album after lead singer Danny O'Donoghue's stint as the "Adam Levine" on the British version of The Voice with this anthemic fist-raiser. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Here's the top ten singles in France according to their official music chart , as David Guetta's "Dangerous" spends a fifth week at #1... 1. " Dangerous " - David Guetta featuring Sam Martin (1) 2. " Uptown Funk " - Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars (2) 3. " Diamonds " - Josef Salvat (5) 4. " Jungle " - Emma Louise (4) 5. " Chandelier " - Sia (8) 6. " Andalouse " - Kendji Girac (6) 7. " Prayer In C " - Lilly Wood & The Prick (10) 8. " Fade Out Lines " - The Avener (7) 9. "Take Me To Church" - Hozier (DEBUT) 10. "Le Coup Du Patron" - Dosseh (DEBUT) Irish alt-rock singer/songwriter Hozier finally crosses over to these shores with his worldwide smash "Take Me To Church" at #9... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Device - " Hanging On A Heart Attack " from the album 22B3 (1986) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #35 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 4 Today's Song of the Day is by the rock trio Device, fronted by Holly Knight , one of the most sought-after "song doctor" songwriters in pop music in the 80s. Originally a keyboardist in the group Spider, she had a top-40 hit with them in 1980 with " New Romance (It's A Mystery) ". Leaving that band to become a full-time songwriter, she churned out hit after hit, including Pat Benatar's "Love Is A Battlefield", Scandal's "The Warrior", Heart's "Never", and Rod Stewart's "Love Touch". Those last two she wrote with guitarist Gene Black, who she formed a new group with in 1985 called Device. With lead singer Paul Engemann on board, they released their debut album 22B3 in 1986. The first single from the project, "Hanging On A Heart Attack", was co-w...