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Here's the top ten hits in France this week, according to their official singles chart , with an old favorite landing on top... 1. "Encore Un Soir" - Celine Dion (DEBUT) 2. " Can't Stop The Feeling! " - Justin Timberlake (1) 3. " Don't Be So Shy " - Imany (3) 4. " Cheap Thrills " - Sia (4) 5. " This Girl " - KUNGS vs. Cookin' On 3 Burners (5) 6. " One Dance " - Drake featuring Wizkid & Kyla (7) 7. " J'ai Cherche' " - Amir (2) 8. " Il Est Ou Le Bonheur " - Christophe Mae (6) 9. "Bailar" - Deorro featuring Elvis Crespo (DEBUT) 10. "Paname" - Slimane (DEBUT) Canadian treasure Celine Dion returns to the chart all the way at #1 with "Encore Un Soir" ("Another Night"). It's from her upcoming French-language album, her first studio release since the death of her husband and brother at the beginning of the year. This is her sixt

" She Wants To Dance With Me " - Rick Astley from the album Hold Me In Your Arms (1988) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 10 Today's song of the day comes from fresh-faced British pop singer Rick Astley , whose debut album Whenever You Need Somebody had scored him a pair of #1 pop hits in the U.S. with " Never Gonna Give You Up " and " Together Forever " along with a top-10 followup with " It Would Take A Strong, Strong Man ". Since his American releases were trailing those in his native Britain already, by the time the latter song has done its run of the chart, Rick had already recorded his next album. Done with the same production team of Stock-Aitken-Waterman (the guys behind Kylie Minogue, Dead Or Alive, and Bananarama), Hold Me In Your Arms wasn't much of a stray from his first disc, though the lead single "She Wants To Dance With Me" was pretty bouncy (like their usual remixes), but the

" Baby Can I Hold You " - Tracy Chapman from the album Tracy Chapman (1988) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #48 This week's 'robbed hit' comes from folk-rock singer/songwriter Tracy Chapman , whose Grammy-winning debut album had also landed her a top ten pop hit with " Fast Car " in the summer of 1988. Her politically-motivated follow-up, " Talkin' 'Bout A Revolution ", was only a minor pop hit at #75, but did reach Billboard 's R&B, rock, and Adult Contemporary charts. The third single, though, was one of the most beautiful love ballads ever recorded in the decade. "Baby Can I Hold You", written by Tracy and produced by David Kershenbaum, the song anchored the emotional weight of her debut disc... While "Baby Can I Hold You" climbed to #19 on Billboard 's Adult Contemporary chart, the song stalled under the top-40 in December of 1988. Internationally, the track went to #16 in New Zealand, but was o

Well, I'm finally caught up to the last of this week's 'music sweeps', sampling the songs making their way on to the charts in Billboard magazine . I'll finish up with the latest dance jams in the clubs and on the radio... On the DJ-polled Dance Club Play chart, house music king Tony Moran and singer Jason Walker climb to #1 with " So Happy "... British neo-house act Gorgon City recruit singer Vaults for the top debut and my " Dance Pick of the Week ", "All Four Walls" at #36. Last year they topped this chart with " Go All Night ". Grade: A  (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Part four of this week's 'music sweeps' has the latest hits on country radio as monitored by Billboard magazine ... On their Country Airplay chart, Dustin Lynch scores his third consecutive #1 hit from his Where It's At album with " Mind Reader "... Brett Eldredge is in at #58 with the third single from his Illinois album, "Wanna Be That Song". The first, " Lose My Mind ", went to #1 last year. Grade: C (Click below to see the rest of the post)

We're at the "hump" of this week's make-up "music sweeps", sampling the notable songs reaching the charts in Billboard magazine , and this time out I'm serving up the latest hits on R&B radio... On their main R&B/Hip Hop Airplay chart, Rihanna is finally dethroned at #1 by Brooklyn rapper Desiigner with " Panda "... Washington, DC's own Wale previews his upcoming Shine album with the track at #42, "MY PYT". While it incorporates the lyrical tag on Michael Jackson's Thriller hit, the most loudest thing is the "Sexual Healing" bassline. Grade: D+ (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Round two of this week's 'music sweeps' is up, checking out the notable songs making their debut on the charts in Billboard magazine . This time I've got the latest hits on rock radio... On their main Rock Airplay chart, the Red Hot Chili Peppers spend a second week at #1 with " Dark Necessities "... Chevelle, not the car but rather the hard rock band from Chicago, are back at #36 with "Joyride (Omen)", the first single from their upcoming eighth album The North Corridor . The song also leaps from #40 to #17 in its second week on the Mainstream Rock format. The group has accrued five top-10 hits on this chart, with " Jars " reaching #2 in 2009. Grade: C- (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Hey gang, because of the holiday weekend, it's time to play catch up with my weekly "music sweeps" of the notable songs making the charts in Billboard magazine . As usual, I'll start out on the pop side of things, then later on move to the newest in rock, R&B, country, and dance music... On the "big" chart, Billboard 's Hot 100 , which combines tallies of sales (like iTunes and Amazon MP3), internet streaming (like YouTube and Spotify), and radio airplay from all formats, Drake climbs back to #1 for a second non-consecutive week with " One Dance "... Pop songstress Meghan Trainor leaps on to the chart up at #39 with "Me Too", the second single from her sophomore effort Thank You . The first, " No ", made it to #3 earlier this year and this week holds at #19. Grade: C- (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Back On Holiday " - Robbie Nevil from the album A Place Like This (1988) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #34 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 3 Today's song of the day comes from pop singer/songwriter Robbie Nevil , whose debut album nabbed him a trio of top-40 singles in the U.S., with two of them, " C'est La Vie " and " Wot's It To Ya ", reaching the top ten level. In 1988, Robbie released his sophomore effort, A Place Like This , with a lite-reggae "Back On Holiday" as the first single. Written by Nevil along with David Bryant and Steven Dubin, is had a musical tag not unlike War's " Cisco Kid " hidden in there... "Back On Holiday" became Robbie's fourth top-40 pop hit in the U.S. in January of 1989. The song also climbed to #52 on Billboard 's R&B chart. Up tomorrow: Fresh-faced pop Roller is ready to boogie with the girl.

" Walking Away " - Information Society from the album Information Society (1988) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #9 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 10 Today's song of the day comes from the band Information Society , who bridged the divide between British-style new wave and Latin freestyle dance music in a fresh way that landed them a top-3 pop hit in the fall of 1988 with " What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy) ". Their follow-up didn't have to sport a Star Trek sample even to get back on radio, as the infectious "Walking Away" took the same musical elements and merged the drama of freestyle with the fun bounciness of new wave, with this heartbreak song written by band keyboardist Paul Robb and produced by Scritti Politti's Fred Maher... "Walking Away" gave the Information Society their second (and last) top 10 pop hit in the U.S. in February of 1989. The song also climbed to #15 on Billboard 's Modern Rock radio chart, a

" Kiss " - The Art Of Noise featuring Tom Jones from the album The Best Of The Art Of Noise (1988) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #31 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 6 Today's song of the day is by the British art-rock collective the Art Of Noise , who had landed a left-field top-40 pop hit in the U.S. with the novelty single " Paranoimia " in the fall of 1986. Two years later, with just Anne Dudley and J.J. Jeczalik remaining as active members, the act recorded a new track for a "greatest hits" collection with Welsh superstar pop singer Tom Jones . Jones, who had racked up a truckload of hits in the 60s and 70s, had spent most of the 80s recording country albums, and hadn't been in the pop top-40 in the U.S. since " Say You'll Stay Until Tomorrow " over a decade before in 1977. Their new collaboration was a remake of Prince's " Kiss ", which had gone to #1 only a couple years before. The Art of Noise treatment, whic

It's time to trek across the Atlantic to check out the notable songs making their debut on the just-released official singles chart in Britain this week, as Drake surprisingly holds off Justin Timberlake again to spend a seventh week at #1 with " One Dance "... Drum and bass act Sigma returns at #21 with "Cry" featuring 'boyband' legends Take That... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 tunes from the previous week. Danish rock band Lukas Graham holds at #1 for a fifth week, while Kelly Clarkson (pictured above) climbs into the top five. Former big hits from Ray LaMontagne, Nothing But Thieves, and Gwen Stefani drop off my list, while songs from Rachel Platten, Volbeat, and Zara Larsson/MNEK make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). May all Americans have a peaceful Memorial Day weekend... This Week             Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. 7 Years - Lukas Graham (1) 2. Cake By The Ocean - DNCE (2) 3. Walking On A Dream - Empire Of The Sun (3) 4. Piece By Piece - Kelly Clarkson (6) 5. Ride - twenty-one pilots (7) 6. Snapback - Old Dominion (4) 7. Brand New - Ben Rector (5) 8. Something In The Way You Move - Ellie Goulding (8) 9. Spirits

" Wild Thing " - Tone Lōc from the album Lōc-ed After Dark (1989) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 14 Today's song of the day comes from rapper Tone Lōc , aka Anthony Smith from Los Angeles, who released his debut album Lōc-ed After Dark in the beginning of 1989. A mostly comical record, the first single from the set was "Wild Thing", which wasn't a remake of the 60s grunge-rock classic by the Troggs, but rather a stand-up sketch done to a sample of Van Halen's " Jamie's Cryin' ". Not only was the musical 'hook' of the song cribbed, but even the grainy low-rent video was a copy of Robert Palmer's "Addicted To Love"/"Simply Irresistible" videos, which I guess they explained away as parody. "Wild Thing" itself wasn't even written by the rapper, but rather by Delicious Vinyl go-to Marvin Young, who would introduce himself to the world as Young MC in short ti

It's time to head Down Under to check out the songs making their way on to the local artists chart in Australia this week, as Dami Im's Eurovision runner-up song " Sound Of Silence " jumps to #1 (Drake's " One Dance " holds at #1 on the main chart)... International country star Keith Urban pairs up with American Idol Carrie Underwood for "The Fighter" at #4... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Straight Up " - Paula Abdul from the album Forever Your Girl (1988) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 16 Today's song of the day comes from dancer/singer Paula Abdul , who back in the day got her start as a dancer and cheerleader, being picked to become one of the "L.A. Lakers Girls", performing at the basketball teams' games, where she was spotted by the Jacksons, who took her on as their own choreographer during their Victory album videos and tour. Also, sister Janet had hired her to lead the dancing on her videos from her classic Control album as well (appearing in "What Have You Done For Me Lately" as well). With the exposure and money from these jobs, Paula set out for her own recording career. The first single from her debut album Forever Your Girl , " Knocked Out ", went top-10 on the R&B chart, but missed the pop top-40 by one notch. The second, " The Way That You Love Me "

Here's the top ten hits in Germany this week, according to their official singles chart , as Justin Timberlake leaps from #7 to #1 making his third chart-topping single here... 1. " Can't Stop The Feeling! " - Justin Timberlake (7) 2. " One Dance " - Drake featuring WizKid (2) 3. " Cheap Thrills " - Sia featuring Sean Paul (3) 4. " This Girl " - KUNGS vs. Cookin' On 3 Burners (4) 5. " Faded " - Alan Walker (6) 6. " Glucksmoment " - Prince Damien (1) 7. "Cake By The Ocean" - DNCE (DEBUT) 8. " This Is What You Came For " - Calvin Harris featuring Rihanna (8) 9. " I Took A Pill In Ibiza " - Mike Posner (5) 10. " Die Immer Lacht " - Stereoact featuring Kirsten Ott (9) American dance-rock band DNCE, fronted by Joe Jonas, lands in the top 10 for the first time with their former US top-10 single "Cake By The Ocean"... (Click below to see the rest of th

"The Lover In Me" - Sheena Easton from the album The Lover In Me (1988) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 14 Today's song of the day comes from Scottish singer Sheena Easton , who had been one of the biggest female pop stars of the first half of the 80s, with eleven top-40 hits in America to her name. However, as the rise of dance-pop sirens like Madonna came on board, she was trying to keep up with the times with varying results. After her 1985 album's " Do It For Love " missed the top-10, and her (excellent) contribution to the Brat Pack movie ...about last night 's " So Far, So Good " just missed the top-40 by a couple notches, record company reorganization troubles nixed the release of her 1987 album No Sound But A Heart , one that would include another collaboration with Prince, " Eternity " (her duet with him on his classic Sign O' The Times set, " U Got The Look ", did reach #2

Here's the top ten hits in France this week, according to that country's official singles chart , as Justin Timberlake scores his first #1 solo hit! 1. " Can't Stop The Feeling! " - Justin Timberlake (3) 2. " J'ai Cherché " - Amir (9) 3. " Don't Be So Shy " - Imany (2) 4. " Cheap Thrills " - Sia (1) 5. " This Girl " - KUNGS vs Cookin' On 3 Burners (4) 6. " Il Est Ou Le Bonheur " - Christophe Mae (RE-ENTRY) 7. " One Dance " - Drake featuring Wizkid (5) 8. "Salside" - Booba (DEBUT) 9. " I Took A Pill In Ibiza " - Mike Posner (10) 10. " Stressed Out " - twenty-one pilots (7) French-Senegalese rapper Booba, from the Parisian suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt, lands his seventh top 10 hit in his country at #8 with "Salside"... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" I Wanna Have Some Fun " - Samantha Fox from the album I Wanna Have Some Fun (1988) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #8 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 12 Today's song of the day comes from Samantha Fox , whose transformation from pin-up girl in the British papers to singing star had been solidified with her second top-10 pop hit in America, " Naughty Girls (Need Love Too) " in the summer of 1988. The R&B vocal and production group Full Force, who wrote and produced that song, came back on board to do the same for the title track of Fox's third album, which became the first American single from the set. Marrying the frenetic beat of freestyle with the bass-heavy attitude of house music, the song belied the novelty of the singer yet again and another classic dance jam was born. Not only does she reference "Naughty Girls", but cleverly-placed samples of Loleatta Holloway's "Love Sensation" (years before Black Box and Marky Mark) a

" Handle With Care " - Traveling Wilburys from the album The Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1 (1988) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #45 This week's "robbed hit" comes from the Traveling Wilburys , a rock "supergroup" of tremendous proportions, who coalesced after ELO frontman Jeff Lynne produced George Harrison's Cloud Nine album, which had brought the former Beatle back to the top of the charts with " Got My Mind Set On You ". With Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, and Roy Orbison, they recorded a song originally meant as a Harrison single B-side. But instead, not only was the result worthy of its own release, the five recorded an entire album, assuming the identities as "brothers". George, aka "Nelson Wilbury", sang most of the lead on "Handle With Care", but each A-lister got a turn in this democratic record... While "Handle With Care" spent two weeks at #2 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock radio chart, t

" Ghost Town " - Cheap Trick from the album Lap Of Luxury (1988) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #33 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 5 Today's song of the day comes from the power-pop rock band Cheap Trick , who like a lot of veteran rock bands had gone a little "softer" in the 80s and reaped the rewards, scoring a #1 hit with the ballad " The Flame " and a top-5 follow-up with a remake of Elvis' " Don't Be Cruel ". For the third single they slowed the pace again for the vaguely western ballad "Ghost Town". Written by guitarist Rick Nielsen and 'song doctor' Diane Warren, the song could've been farmed out to a number of bands with no notice... "Ghost Town" became the third top-40 pop hit from Lap Of Luxury in December of 1988. The song also climbed to #32 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock radio chart. It also made the top-40 in New Zealand at #29. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" When I'm With You " - Sheriff from the album Sheriff (1982) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #61 (in 1983), #1 (in 1989) (one week) Weeks in the Top-40 (in 1988-89): 13 Today's song of the day comes from the Canadian rock band Sheriff, who came together in the Toronto area at the end of the 70s. With a strong lead singer in Freddy Curci, the group's first single, " You Remind Me ", made it to #33 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock chart, and was a top-40 hit in their homeland. The second single from the set was the "power-ballad" "When I'm With You", written by keyboardist Arnold Lanni, and featuring a note sung by Curci at the end that was said to be the longest-held note on record at the time. It was a regional hit where I lived in New Jersey, and went to #8 in their native Canada, but the song only climbed to #61 on the American pop chart in 1983 (very surprising to me, considering the feedback from the single in my neck of

We've come to the end of my five-part 'music sweeps' for today, checking out the notable songs making their way on to the charts in Billboard magazine , and I'll wrap things up with the latest dance jams in the clubs and on the radio... On the DJ-polled Dance Club Play chart, Sheila Gordhan scores her first #1 hit with " Smile "... As Calvin Harris recovers from his recent car accident, his new single, "This Is What You Came For" featuring Rihanna, leaps on to the chart at #34, as it's already at #2 on the airplay list in only its third week. Grade: C (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Part four of this week's "music sweeps" of the songs reaching the charts in Billboard magazine is now up with the latest hits on country radio... On their Country Airplay chart, Dierks Bentley remains on top for a second week with " Somewhere On A Beach "... Only one new song makes its debut on the 60-place chart this week, but it's a big one - as Brad Paisley teams up with Demi Lovato at #27 for "Without A Fight", by default my "Country Pick of the Week". Grade: C+ I'll wrap things up next with the latest dance jams in the clubs and on the radio...

We're at the "hump" of this week's 'music sweeps', sampling the notable songs making their way on to the charts in Billboard magazine . This time out I'm serving up the latest hits on R&B radio... On the main R&B/Hip Hop Airplay chart, Rihanna remains on top for an eleventh week with " Work "...  Rapper Kevin Gates lands at #43 with "Really Really", an album track that's starting to get radio airplay now that previous single " 2 Phones " drops out of the top ten. Grade: D (Click below to see the rest of the post)

Round two of this week's 'music sweeps' is up, checking out the songs making their way on to the charts in Billboard magazine . This time I've got the latest on rock radio... On their main Rock Airplay chart, the Red Hot Chili Peppers leap to #1 in just their second week with " Dark Necessities "... Australian alternative metal band Sick Puppies bark in at #49 with "Stick To Your Guns". Their high point so far on this list was in 2011 with " Riptide " (#6). This new one also climbs to #13 on the Mainstream Rock chart. Grade: C+  (Click below to see the rest of the post)

It's time to kick off the first of this week's 'music sweeps', checking out the notable songs making their debut on the various charts in Billboard magazine . As usual, I'll start out on the pop side of things, then move on later to the newest in rock, R&B, country, and dance music... On the "big" chart, Billboard 's Hot 100 , which combines tallies of sales (like iTunes and Amazon MP3), internet streaming (like Spotify and YouTube), and radio airplay from all formats, there is a brand new song rocketing in at #1, and it's from Justin Timberlake, whose "Can't Stop The Feeling" from the upcoming movie Trolls becomes his fifth trip to #1 on the chart. His first, " SexyBack ", was back in 2006. This new post-disco confection claims my " Pop Pick of the Week ".  Grade: B (Click below to see the rest of the post)

It's time to head over the Atlantic to check out the notable songs making their debut on the official singles chart in the UK this week, as Drake's " One Dance " remains on top for a sixth straight week... Indie rock veterans the Stone Roses return to the top forty for the first time since 1999 with "All For One". The volatile act, which has only released two proper albums in their career, went to #2 back in 1994 with " Love Spreads "... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Born To Be My Baby " - Bon Jovi from the album New Jersey (1988) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #3 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 13 Today's song of the day is by New Jersey's own hair-metal boys Bon Jovi , who named their fourth album after their native state and scored their third #1 pop hit with the first single " Bad Medicine ". As that single sounded like a rewrite of "You Give Love A Bad Name" from their Slippery When Wet album, the second release, "Born To Be My Baby", was so much a copy of that set's " Livin' On A Prayer " that in an alternate universe Richie Sambora, Desmond Child, and Jon Bon Jovi would be suing themselves for plaigarism. But no mind, the single was a well-done slice of mainstream metal-pop, and the music video was interesting in that it broke down the studio performances so you can see a little of how a pop record is put together... "Born To Be My Baby" became the second

Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 tunes from the previous week. Lukas Graham remain at #1 for a fourth week, while singer/songwriter Ben Rector (pictured above) slips into the top-5. Songs from Tony Moran/Jason Walker, Guordan Banks, and the Chainsmokers/Daya make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from Elle King, Jonas Blue, Brett Eldredge, and Adele drop off the list. OK, this picketing is getting old... This Week              Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. 7 Years - Lukas Graham (1) 2. Cake By The Ocean - DNCE (2) 3. Walking On A Dream - Empire Of The Sun (4) 4. Snapback - Old Dominion (3) 5. Brand New - Ben Rector (6) 6. Piece By Piece - Kelly Clarkson (10) 7. Ride - twenty-one pilots (11) 8. Something In The Way You Move - Ellie Goulding (8) 9. The Pop Kids - Pet Shop Boys (5

" When The Children Cry " - White Lion from the album Pride (1987) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #3 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 12 Today's song of the day comes from the Danish/American "hair-metal" band White Lion , who had crossed over to mainstream pop radio in the spring of 1988 with " Wait ". However, a second single, " Tell Me ", stalled out in the lower half of the pop chart. So, like any good metal band, they rolled out their power-ballad for the third release. At least they went in a little different route; instead of a groupie-herding love song, lead singer Mike Tramp and the guys put out "When The Children Cry", an anti-war song written by Tramp and lead guitarist Vito Bratta... "When The Children Cry" became White Lion's biggest pop hit in the U.S., reaching the top-3 in February of 1989. The song also climbed to #7 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock radio chart. Internationally, the record wa