Pop Sweep: March 5, 2016...

I'm ready to kick off the first of this week's "music sweeps", checking out the songs making their way on to the various charts in Billboard magazine. As usual, I'll start out on the 'pop' side of things, then later on move on to the latest in rock, R&B, country, and dance music...

On the "big" chart, Billboard's Hot 100, which combines tallies from sales (like iTunes and Amazon MP3), internet streaming (like Spotify and iTunes), and radio airplay from all formats, Rihanna leaps to #1 for the 14th times (and 11th as a lead artist) with "Work" featuring rapper Drake. It's their second collaboration to make the top of the pop chart after "What's My Name" in 2010...

In the first full-week chart since the Grammy broadcast, the top new entry of the week comes from Gwen Stefani, who premiered her filmed on-the-spot video for "Make Me Like You" live on the telecast. It comes in at #54, two rungs below the peak of the first single from her upcoming This Is What The Truth Feels Like album, "Used To Love You". But tell me seriously, they couldn't do a proper tribute to Natalie Cole, but they had time to air this?

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Another unnecessary performance from the show sadly was by the hottest thing in music right now (and will be dominating the show next year), Adele, with her 25 album track "All I Ask". Bad production staging and poor miccing threw her completely off, though the net effect possibly caused people to seek out the original album version, which comes in at #77. Meanwhile current radio hit "When We Were Young" jumps to #14, and former #1 "Hello" drops a notch to #7...

Aussie singer/songwriter Sia takes her second single from her This Is Acting album, "Cheap Thrills", to #81. The album version is just Sia, but the just-released radio version features reggaeton artist Sean Paul. It follows "Alive", which made it to #56 on this chart...

Last week's "Pop Pick", Zara Larsson and MNEK's "Never Forget You", reaches the Hot 100 at #83. It's the first hit on this chart from both the Swedish Larsson and the British MNEK...

North Carolinian newcomer Luke Nasty drops in at #85 with "Might Be". The track is up to #11 on the R&B/Hip Hop Airplay chart...

Country singer Chris Young teams up with former The Voice winner Cassadee Pope at #86 for "Think Of You". The song, which climbs to #19 on the Country Airplay chart, is the second single from Young's I'm Comin' Over album; the title track made it to #33 on the Hot 100...

Kid Ink returns at #92 with "Promise" featuring Fetty Wap. The lead single from the rapper's Summer In The Winter album stands at #13 on the Rhythmic radio chart. Last year he reached his highest peak on this list as a featured guest on Fifth Harmony's #12 hit "Worth It"...

The last newbie on the big chart at #98 is by Lee Brice, who rings in at #98 with "That Don't Sound Like You", the third single from the country singer's I Don't Dance album. The title track went to #33 on this list last year, while the follow-up "Drinking Class" was Billboard's top country airplay single of 2015. This one holds at #18 on the that chart this week...

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

On the Mainstream Top-40 radio panel, Justin Bieber remains on top for a fourth week with "Love Yourself"...

Zendaya, alumnus of both the Kidz Bop sanitary karaoke series and the Disney Channel, is back at #32 with "Something New" featuring Chris Brown. Back in 2013 she climbed to #20 on this chart with "Replay"...

Former lead singer of the disbanded boy-band the Wanted, Nathan Sykes, moves in at #39 with "Over and Over Again", my "Pop Pick of the Week". This #1 dance hit (in its remixed form) is his second solo-credited hit on this chart; "Kiss Me Quick" made it to #37...

Meanwhile, on the older-skewing Adult Top-40 format, Rachel Platten is at #1 for a third week with "Stand By You", while the aforementioned "Make Me Like You" from Gwen Stefani jumps in at #33...

Canadian singer/songwriter/Vine star Ruth B nabs her first radio hit at #40 with "Lost Boy"...

Lastly, on the Adult Contemporary, or "easy listening" radio chart, Adele's "Hello" hold on top for a fourteenth week...

What's (thankfully) looking like this year's big international hit, "7 Years" from Danish band Lukas Graham, crosses over to this format at #28...

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