Pop Sweep: January 17, 2015...


Hey peeps, it's time to start off the first of today's "chart sweeps", checking out the songs making their debut on the various radio and club charts in Billboard magazine. As usual, I'll start off on the pop side of things, and then later in the day move on to the latest in rock, R&B, country, and dance music...and away we go...

On the "big" chart, Billboard's Hot 100, which combines tallies from radio airplay from all formats, internet streaming (like Spotify and YouTube) and sales (like iTunes and Amazon), Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars have the first non-female #1 hit since last July (with Magic!'s "Rude") with "Uptown Funk!". It's Ronson's first #1 and Bruno's sixth trip to the top (and second as a featured artist).

The top new entry of the week is a collaboration between two unlikely stars of pop music, as Kanye West is in at #35 with "Only One" featuring Sir Paul McCartney.It's Yeezy's twenty-first Top-40 hit on the chart as a lead artist;two of those, "Gold Digger" and "Stronger", went all the way to #1. The last time Paul was in the top-40 was in 1989 with "My Brave Face"...


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Rap duo Rae Sremmurd return at #92 with "Throw Sum Mo", the third single from their debut album SremmLife. It follows "No Type", which peaked at #16 and stands at #21 this week on the Hot 100. The new track features Nicki Minaj and Young Thug...




Country "fusion" artist Sam Hunt follows up hit #1 country hit "Leave The Night On" (which climbed to #30 on this chart) with "Take Your Time" at #93...


Jake Owen lands the third single from his Days Of Gold album on the Hot 100 as "What We Ain't Got" moves in at #95. His last, "Beachin'", climbed to #26 last year...


Country "bear" Tyler Farr comes in at #97 with "A Guy Walks Into A Bar", is third hit on the "big" chart. His first, the #1 "Redneck Crazy", peaked at #29 in 2013...


Country newcomer Chase Bryant (and I guess the "twink" on the country hunk spectrum) lands his first hit as "Take It On Back" climbs in at #98. His uncles were members of the country band Ricochet, who had a #1 country hit with "Daddy's Money"...


Cole Swindell is another country newbie on the list as the third single from his self-titled debut album, "Ain't Worth The Whiskey", enters at #99. His breakthrough single "Chillin' It" made it to #28 on the Hot 100...


 The final newbie on the Hot 100 comes from "blue-eyed rapper" G-Eazy with "I Mean It" featuring Remo. It's his first time on the chart...


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

On the Mainstream Top-40 radio panel, Taylor Swift remains on top for a fourth week with "Blank Space"...

The sole debut at #40 is singer Becky G with "Can't Stop Dancin'". Her first single, "Shower", peaked at #17 on this format...


 Meanwhile, on the older-skewing Adult Top-40 format, "Blank Space" holds at #1 for a third week...

Neo-synthpop group Cobra Starship are back at #40 with "Never Been In Love" featuring Icona Pop, my "Pop Pick of the Week". Their last hit, "You Make Me Feel", made it to #13 on this format.


Lastly, on the Adult Contemporary radio chart, Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" is on top for a sixth non-consecutive week. As their stations finally shed the last of their holiday programming, besides nine re-entries, new songs debut on the chart.

First up at #18 is Ed Sheeran with "Thinking Out Loud". His best on this chart has been #11, where he went with both "The A Team" and his collab with Taylor Swift "Everything Has Changed"...


Irish singer-songwriter Hozier lands his #2 Hot 100 hit, "Take Me To Church", on this format at #20...


Australian singer/songwriter Vance Joy crosses over to this format at #22 with his former #1 rock hit "Riptide"...


Pop/rock band OneRepublic land at #26 with "I Lived". It's the fourth single from their Native album to make the AC chart; "Counting Stars" went to #1 here last year...


The #1 song on the "big" chart, Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk" with Bruno Mars, enters at #27...


The last new entry on the AC chart at #28 is "Every Breaking Wave" from U2.  It's their first hit on this format since 1992 when "One" climbed to #24. Their best was from 1987 with "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" which peaked at #16...


That's it for the start of today's musical journey...I'll be back in 90 minutes with the latest on rock radio...


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