Hey guys! There have been some concerns and questions on voting for your favorite tracks every week. To make things a whole lot easier, you can now vote songs up and down the list. At the end of the week, the points will be calculated and the ranker will be reset for the next week! All votes count! Don't see your favorite song? Feel free to leave a comment and I will add it! I will be updating the ranker from time to time as new tracks become available! New For this week: I have expanded the list to 90 entries.
Welcome to the 10th week of voting! Your votes help determine the top songs on the CDS Music Chart Hot 50. Please note that only the top 10 most approved tracks will receive bonus points toward their scores on the upcoming chart. Make sure you share this to get your favorite tracks into the top 10. New for this week, if this gets 750 voters and/or 15,000 votes by the end of Friday, each track in the top 10 will get 2x the regular votes and #11-20 on the list will get the score that the top 10 usually gets.
Music Lists on Ranker
CDS Music Chart measures the top songs based on fan input and plays through the CDS library of music (my personal library). Fresh Hot 50 Singles charts and features every week! Established April 2012. Follow me on Twitter for instant updates!
Monday, June 30, 2014
BET Awards 2014: Quick Overview
First established in 2001, the BET Awards have celebrated African Americans (as well as several other minorities) for their outstanding performances in various forms of entertainment including music and acting.
For the 2014 ceremony, Beyoncé lead the nominations with 6. Her husband Jay Z racked up 5 while Drake, Pharrell Williams and August Alsina each had 5 nominations. No surprise here: Beyoncé won 3 awards (the most of the night), while Drake, Pharrell Williams, Nicki Minaj and August Alsina each took home 2. Jay Z took home 1 shared award for his role on Beyoncé's "Drunk In Love". I guess sharing the award won't be a problem since they live together...
But the thing that made this year's BET Awards the most entertaining: the performances.
Among the highlights, Pharrell Williams' show opening performance of "Come Get It Bae" which featured a surprise appearance by Missy Elliot who rapped to her smash single "Pass That Dutch" before helping Williams close out the performance by bopping along to the finishing part of "Come Get It Bae".
Lil Wayne live debuted his latest single "Krazy" before chugging into fellow Tha Carter V track "Believe Me" alongside Drake. Tha Carter V currently does not have a release date.
Chris Brown (one of a few surprise performers) performed his hit single "Loyal" alongside Tyga and boss Lil Wayne for the first time since being released from jail. His performance (which included an impressive dance routine) was met with a standing ovation, and rounds of applause. Immediately following the finish of his set, Brown dropped his new single "New Flame" in full on the iTunes Store. The track, which feature other BET performers Usher and Rick Ross, currently sits at #95 on iTunes (#8 on R&B/Soul) approximately 12 hours after it was first released. The new track is one of his better tracks, despite being on the simpler side. Usher definitely brought it the hardest, delivering one of his best performances in several years.
Nicki Minaj also delivered one of the most interesting sets of the night. She began her short 5 minute set by rapping to "Chi Raq", a promotional single that was released in collaboration with Lil Herb earlier this year, while strapped onto the back of a moving motorcycle. After 45 seconds, the motorcycle retreated behind the side stage and approximately 30 seconds later, Nicki emerged from a mushroom in the middle of a set that was inspired by Alice In Wonderland. She began her performance of "Pills N Potions", a pop tinged rap track, and by the end, had most of the audience (including her boss and mentor Lil Wayne) grooving to the track.
Other notable performances included T.I. and Iggy Azalea's performance of "No Mediocre", and Jennifer Hudson's performance of "Walk It Out" and "It's Your World", which made its live debut last night.
Here's a list of the winners from last night's ceremony:
Best Female R&B/Pop Artist: Beyoncé
Best Male R&B/Pop Artist: Pharrell Williams
Best Group: Young Money
Best Collaboration: “Drunk In Love” by Beyoncé featuring JAY Z
Coca-Cola Viewers’ Choice Award: “I Luv This Shit” by August Alsina featuring Trinidad
Jame$
Best Male Hip Hop Artist: Drake
Best Female Hip Hop Artist: Nicki Minaj
Video of the Year: “Happy” by Pharrell Williams
Video Director of the Year: Hype Williams
Best New Artist: August Alsina
Best Gospel Artist: Tamela Mann
Best Actress: Lupita Nyong’o
Best Actor: Chiwetel Ejiofor
YoungStars Award: Keke Palmer
Best Movie: 12 Years a Slave
Subway Sportswoman of the Year: Serena Williams
Subway Sportsman of the Year: Kevin Durant
Centric Award: “The Worst” by Jhené Aiko
FANdemonium Award: Beyoncé
Best International Act (Africa): Davido
Best International Act (UK): Krept and Konan
Full list of performers:
Beyoncé
& Jay-Z
Yolanda
Adams
Jhene
Aiko
August
Alsina
Iggy
Azalea & T.I.
Missy
Elliot
Drake
Jennifer
Hudson
Ledisi
John
Legend
Lil
Wayne
Nicki
Minaj
Lionel
Richie
Trey
Songz
Robin
Thicke
T.I.
Tyga
Usher
Pharrell
Williams
Chris Brown
See all the performances (except for the Beyoncé and Jay Z one):
Album Development: Jason Mraz Continues Promotion, Ella Henderson DropsTracklist
Ariana Grande Reveals Album
Update 2: The track list for the standard edition has been released. The deluxe edition track list has not been confirmed or announced.
Update 1: The track list will be revealed later today.
Alongside the announcement of Ariana Grande's upcoming new single "Break Free (feat. Zedd)", the 21 year old singer revealed the title, release date and cover of her upcoming sophomore studio album. Preceded by lead single "Problem (feat. Iggy Azalea)", Grande's upcoming new album will be released under the title My Everything on August 25th. There will be at least two different versions of the album, with a a deluxe edition and standard edition both being confirmed. A Target version is currently rumored but not confirmed.The official track list will be released in late July, approximately 1 month before the album drops. The album's second single, "Break Free (feat. Zedd)", will go into release on July 2nd. Check out the deluxe edition and regular edition album covers below. The grey cover is the standard edition, while the navy version is the deluxe edition.
If you pre-order the album from the official Ariana Grande store, you'll be able to select from a variety of packages. Some bonus items you can purchase with the album are a women's shirt with the album cover, an exclusive poster featuring the names of other fans who pre-ordered layered over a picture of the cover, a digital deluxe edition, a digital regular edition, a CD deluxe edition, a CD regular edition. Every version from the online store includes a code to watch a live stream of Ariana performing new tracks around the time the album drops.
Ella Henderson Drops Tracklist
After the massive success of her debut solo single, "Ghost", Ella Henderson announced the release of her first studio album Chapter One. The album is scheduled for release on September 19th, 2014 and comes preceded by the release of lead single "Ghost" in mid June 2014. The album cover is shown below. The official regular and deluxe edition track lists have been announced, and are also featured below.
The album will release nearly 2 years after Henderson was controversially eliminated from The X Factor UK in the 7th week of the competition. She ended up still signing a deal with Syco Records, with Simon Cowell signing her on.
The American pop singer's 5th studio album, YES!, comes preceded by the release of 1 official single and 6 promotional releases. The album's lead single, "Love Someone", was released on May 19th with the album's pre-order. It has peaked at #120 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Hello, You Beautiful Thing" was released on May 23rd as the first promotional release (it has not charted except at #152 in the UK). "Long Drive" was released on June 2nd as the second promotional release (it has not charted). "3 Things" was released on June 16th as the third promotional release (it has not charted). "You Can Rely On Me" was released on June 23rd as the fourth promotional release (it has not charted). "Back to the Earth" was accidentally released on iTunes sometime during the release of promotional singles as the 5th non-official single. "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" was released on June 30th as the sixth promotional release (it has not charted).
Check out the track list and album cover below. The album drops on July 15th
Update 2: The track list for the standard edition has been released. The deluxe edition track list has not been confirmed or announced.
Update 1: The track list will be revealed later today.
Alongside the announcement of Ariana Grande's upcoming new single "Break Free (feat. Zedd)", the 21 year old singer revealed the title, release date and cover of her upcoming sophomore studio album. Preceded by lead single "Problem (feat. Iggy Azalea)", Grande's upcoming new album will be released under the title My Everything on August 25th. There will be at least two different versions of the album, with a a deluxe edition and standard edition both being confirmed. A Target version is currently rumored but not confirmed.
If you pre-order the album from the official Ariana Grande store, you'll be able to select from a variety of packages. Some bonus items you can purchase with the album are a women's shirt with the album cover, an exclusive poster featuring the names of other fans who pre-ordered layered over a picture of the cover, a digital deluxe edition, a digital regular edition, a CD deluxe edition, a CD regular edition. Every version from the online store includes a code to watch a live stream of Ariana performing new tracks around the time the album drops.
Standard Edition
1. Intro
2. Problem (feat. Iggy Azalea)
3. One Last Time
4. Why Try
5. Break Free (feat. Zedd)
6. Best Mistake (feat. Big Sean)
7. Be My Baby (feat. Cashmere Cat)
8. Break You Heart Right Back (feat. Childish Gambino)
9. Love Me Harder (With The Weeknd)
10. A Little Bit Of Out Heart
11. Hands On Me (feat. A$AP Ferg)
12. My Everything
Ella Henderson Drops Tracklist
After the massive success of her debut solo single, "Ghost", Ella Henderson announced the release of her first studio album Chapter One. The album is scheduled for release on September 19th, 2014 and comes preceded by the release of lead single "Ghost" in mid June 2014. The album cover is shown below. The official regular and deluxe edition track lists have been announced, and are also featured below.
The album will release nearly 2 years after Henderson was controversially eliminated from The X Factor UK in the 7th week of the competition. She ended up still signing a deal with Syco Records, with Simon Cowell signing her on.
Standard Edition
1. Ghost
2. Empire
3. Glow
4. Yours
5. Mirror Man
6. Hard Work
7. Pieces
8. The First Time
9. All Again
10. Give Your Heart Away
11. Rockets
12. Lay Down
13. Missed
Deluxe Edition
14. Billie Holiday
15. Beautifully Unfinished
16. 1996
17. Five Tattoos
18. Giants
19. Rockets (Acoustic) [Chapter One Sessions EP]
20. Give Your Heart Away(Acoustic) [Chapter One Sessions EP]
Jason Mraz Releases 6th Promotional Single
For the promotion of his upcoming 5th studio album, Jason Mraz decided to take an odd route that was only briefly popular several years ago: offer up half of your album as "countdown" iTunes singles. Literally, 7 out of 14 album tracks have already been released. It doesn't make much sense (you might as well just leak your entire album right now), but whatever floats his boat is fine by me.The American pop singer's 5th studio album, YES!, comes preceded by the release of 1 official single and 6 promotional releases. The album's lead single, "Love Someone", was released on May 19th with the album's pre-order. It has peaked at #120 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Hello, You Beautiful Thing" was released on May 23rd as the first promotional release (it has not charted except at #152 in the UK). "Long Drive" was released on June 2nd as the second promotional release (it has not charted). "3 Things" was released on June 16th as the third promotional release (it has not charted). "You Can Rely On Me" was released on June 23rd as the fourth promotional release (it has not charted). "Back to the Earth" was accidentally released on iTunes sometime during the release of promotional singles as the 5th non-official single. "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" was released on June 30th as the sixth promotional release (it has not charted).
Check out the track list and album cover below. The album drops on July 15th
1. Rise
2. Love Someone
3. Hello, You Beautiful Thing
4. Long Drive
5. Everywhere
6. Best Friend
7. Quiet
8. Out of My Hands
9. It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday
10. 3 Things
11. You Can Rely On Me
12. Back to the Earth
13. A World With You
14. Shine
Kiesza Announces US Hideaway EP
After the astonishing success of "Hideaway" around the world in late spring 2014, Kiesza has announced she will be releasing a limited Hideaway EP in the United States. The new EP includes "Hideaway", new, equally addictive single "Giant In My Heart", a new never before heard track called "So Deep" and her cover of of Haddaway's "What Is Love". The tracks "No Enemiesz" and "Hideaway (Gorgon City Remix)" were removed from the track list (they featured on the European EP). They were replaced by "Giant In My Heart" and "So Deep".
The EP will drop on iTunes and other digital retailers on July 7th. Kiesza will later perform "Hideaway" on CBS' The Late Show With David Letterman only July 9th. The EP reaches physical retailers (namely Best Buy and Amazon) on July 22nd.
See the album cover and track list below.
1. Hideaway
2. Giant In My Heart
3. So Deep
4. What Is Love
That's it for this first ever edition of a new feature called Album Development, where I dive into news about upcoming large releases. Keep it here for more updates!
Sunday, June 29, 2014
D.O.A?: Nicole Scherzinger and Cheryl Chole
Nicole Scherzinger and Cheryl Cole, two previous lead singers for successful British bands (Pussycat Dolls and Girls Aloud respectively), return with hotly anticipated new singles for the mid-summer season. These new titles, "Your Love" and "Crazy Stupid Love", are expected to drop in the British market on July 13th and July 20th respectively. You'll note that these are consecutive release weeks, which means that while they won't directly compete with each other, there could be some overlapping in terms of chart runs.
While most of the country's (United Kingdom) music buying population will fall into the trap of downloading both tracks upon their release, the remaining music gurus will note several major issues with the tracks: they're both generic, fluffed, over-hyped, extremely repetitive and lack any sort of uniformed structure. In my opinion, they're both dead on arrival (D.O.A), though they'll likely both be modest sellers. But which one is going to be a tougher sell to the highly BBC influenced UK market? It just might be an unfortunate tie.
"Your Love" by Nicole Scherzinger
Review: While it's more radio friendly than most of her recent endeavors ("Try With Me", "Wet", "Boomerang"), "Your Love" definitely joins the ranks of Nicole Scherzinger's complete busts mainly because it feels dull, cheap and a wasted attempt at trying to achieve chart success. The 4 minute long track drudges on with its extremely repetitive and overly simplified hook ("du-du-du-du, du-du-du-du"), its noisy, overtly populated chorus, and worst of all: its hook sounds like it was written by a 5 year old child: "I need you in the daytime, especially in the night time...". Additionally, the album version has an unneeded 20-30 second outro that just makes the whole experience even more unflattering. Thankfully, the video (while being somewhat generic) was nicely executed and somewhat entertaining. It's a major disappointment in my mind.
Performance Predictions & New Release/Competition Data
So how will "Your Love" perform? That's a really tough question to answer. Nicole Scherzinger's previous release (2013's "Boomerang") was initially snubbed at UK radio upon release "due to a large amount of other important releases", but by mid-week, the track had triumphed as one of the most requested new entries at radio and finally started to receive support. It's slow start led it to begin with just under 50,000 copies (47,000) in its first week in the United Kingdom, enough to open at #6. Of the 6 tracks previously released by Scherzinger since 2011 (when her debut solo album was released), 4 of them debuted with first week sales within the top 20 ("Poison", "Don't Hold Your Breath", "Try With Me", and "Boomerang"). The other 2 ("Right There" and "Wet") debuted with smaller totals, as they were released either mid week or charted before their official release. The 4 that debuted with full week sales averaged sales of 58,435 each, while "Right There" (which eventually ended up peaking at #3) sold 51,355 during its most successful week. That brings the average down to 57,019, though that's not much of a difference.
After looking at all of Nicole's sales, its likely that "Your Love" will stay inside Nicole's boundaries (lowest first week sales: 21,315; highest first week sales: 98,000). Given the more radio friendly culture of "Your Love", I'm expecting it to open approximately 10% higher than Scherzinger's average. That would put it in line for a debut around 63,000 copies.
While sales are most important in reality, most people think that peak position means something. No. In some weeks, being #2 can mean that your sales are higher than the sales of a #1 track from a few weeks ago. Anyway, let's attempt to calculate a position. For this, we'll need to start looking at tracks that will likely hold well through July 13th.
New releases for June 29th include the following:
-"Problem (feat. Iggy Azalea)" by Ariana Grande
-"Chandelier" by Sia
-"Make U Bounce" by DJ Fresh & TC
-"Wiggle (feat. Snoop Dogg)" by Jason Derülo
-"Street Love" by Rough Copy
-"Love Somebody" by Jason Mraz
-"Headlights (feat. Nate Ruess)" by Eminem
-"Classic" by MKTO
-"Uptight Downtown" by La Roux
Of these 9 major releases, only 6 are likely to reach the top 100 on the UK Official Charts, while 4 should debut within the top 10 (based on current numbers). Leading the pack, Ariana Grande's "Problem (feat. Iggy Azalea)" will likely debut at #1, followed by Sia's "Chandelier" and DJ Fresh & TC's "Make U Bounce" toward the end of the top 10. Jason Derülo's "Wiggle (feat. Snoop Dogg)" could snag a top 10 position, but a top 20 opening is more likely. Of those 4, only 1 ("Problem") will likely produce a strong hold heading into the next week of release.
Speaking of the next week of release, here are the major releases for July 6th:
-"It's My Birthday (feat. Cody Wise)" by will.i.am
-"Worst Behavior" by Drake
-"Right Here" by Jess Glynne
-"Don't Look Back (feat. Tanya Lacey)" by Matrix & Futurebound
-"Somebody To You (feat. Demi Lovato)" by The Vamps
Drake's "Worst Behavior" will likely open below the top 100 (three of his singles from his most recent album have). will.i.am has been responsible for 7 top 5 singles, 6 of which came during the promotion for his latest album, 2013's #willpower, so "It's My Birthday" should be able to score a top 10 opening. Matrix & Futurebound have released 3 major singles together, each resulting in a higher chart placement (all top 30). Late 2013's "Control" reached as high as 7 (off a top 20 debut), giving me reason to believe that "Don't Look Back" will debut in the top 20. Unfortunately, the featured artist on "Don't Look Back" (Tanya Lacey) has only appeared on the UK Charts once before. The Vamps have reached the top 3 with all of their released singles, but given that "Somebody To You" has been in release as a solo version since April, an official release with a new version featuring Demi Lovato doesn't seem like it has enough power to reach the top 5, let alone #1 (which they've missed 3/3 times). The real winner will likely be Jess Glynne's "Right Here". Glynne has been the voice behind 2 #1 singles in the United Kingdom (both in 2014).
The best bet is that will.i.am and Jess Glynne will duke it out for the summit, with Ariana Grande's holdover having a chance at holding the top slot if things go awry.
Finally we arrive at the July 13th releases:
-"Your Love" by Nicole Scherzinger
-"War Rages On" by Alex Clare
-"If I Go" by Ella Eyre
-"Already Home" by A Great Big World"
-"URL Badman" by Lily Allen
-"Me & My Broken Heart" by Rixton
Alex Clare's "War Rages On" will likely become a major disaster like nearly all of the rest of his discography, Ella Eyre's "If I Go" (while unlikely) could be her breakout hit; she previously failed to reach the top 40 as a lead artist with all her attempts (#78 is her best result). A Great Big World has only had 1 major release (which did well thanks to a Christina Aguilera feature) so its hard to figure out where "Already Home" will enter. Lily Allen's fan favorite "URL Badman" should be the 3rd top 10 release from Sheezus, while new London based act Rixton could debut anywhere with debut single "Me & My Broken Heart", though a top 10 opening is likely given the track's massive success worldwide. Nicole Scherzinger's "Your Love" will likely be the top debut. If it does sell around, 67,000 copies in its first week, it'll likely debut within the top 3 (the odds of debuting at #1 are slim: 10-15%).
Sales Prediction: 67,000
Rank Prediciton: #4
"Crazy Stupid Love (feat. Tinie Tempah)" by Cheryl Cole"
Review: Jumping onto the trumpet backed bandwagon, Cheryl Cole's "Crazy Stupid Love (feat. Tinie Tempah)" sounds like a mixture of Jason Derülo's "Talk Dirty", Ariana Grande's "Problem" and some random pop song that nobody can figure out the name of. In simpler terms: its a huge waste of time. It has no proper chorus, it lacks originality, and it feels like an unnecessary inclusion in the fairly solid discographies of both Cheryl Cole and Tinie Tempah. I will give it credit for two things (but two things only): first off, the combination of Cheryl Cole and Tinie Tempah in one song will likely blow the socks off of the UK as a whole, as both artists are known as prolific acts that have strung together loads of successful singles. Second, Cheryl Cole sure does know how to captivate audiences. Need proof? Just look at the track's single cover.
Performance Predictions & New Release/Competition Data
Cheryl Cole and Tinie Tempah both have massive discographies, and both have had massive success. They've each scored 4 #1 singles, and they've each tallied over 10 top 20 singles each as well. Tinie Tempah has scored 12 top 10s, 14 top 20s, and 17 top 40 hits out of 19 releases in the United Kingdom. Cheryl Cole (without counting releases as a part of Girls Aloud) has had a track record of 7 top 10 singles, and 10 top 20 singles. In other words, all of her released singles have debuted in the top 20. As a part of Girls Aloud, Cheryl Cole has racked another 4 #1 singles, 9 top 2 singles, 12 top 3 singles, 15 top 4 singles, 16 top 5 singles, 21 top 10 singles and 22 top 20 singles, out of 23 official releases. That brings her total to a massive 28 top 10s (as a solo artist, featured artist and as part of Girls Aloud) out of 33 releases (84% of all releases).
Since we know all the releases up until July 20th, let's start looking at the details there. Here's the list of new releases for July 20th:
-"Crazy Stupid Love (feat. Tinie Tempah)" by Cheryl Cole
-"Home (feat. Sam Romans)" by Naughty Boy
-"Louder" by Neon Jungle
-"My Friend Has A Swimming Pool" by Mausi
-"Emotions (Ain't Nobody)" by Maverick Sabre
-"Always (feat. Alana) [Route 94]" by MK
-"Netzwerk (Falls Like Rain)" by Klangkarussell
-"Liberate" by Eric Prydz
-"Sirens" by Cher Lloyd
-"Boom Clap" by Charli XCX
Wow that's one competitive week. Let's break it down.
First off, Charli XCX's "Boom Clap" will likely debut in the middle of the top 100. Why? After she went to #1 with Icona Pop's "I Love It" in July 2013 in the United Kingdom, she released a solo single titled "SuperLove". It debuted and peaked at #62. In early 2014, she guest featured on Iggy Azalea's "Fancy" which peaked at #5. If her first track after a #1 as a featured artist can only reach #62, then where do you think her first release after a #5 as a featured artist will land? Not that high on the list. Only advantage: the track is taken from the UK hit movie The Fault In Our Stars.
Naughty Boy has tallied 4 UK top 10s out of 7 releases, but 3 of those came from tracks featuring Emeli Sandé, while another non top 10 effort had Naughty Boy featuring on a Emelié Sande release. Sam Romans has never been heard of, which leads me to believe that this new single won't match the success of Naughty Boy's previously released singles. I'm expecting a top 20 launch.
Neon Jungle's "Louder" should be on pace for a top 10 finish, while Maverick Sabre's track should open somewhere in the top 20 (based on his previous releases). Mausi's "My Friend Has A Swimming Pool" could end up becoming a runaway success, or a complete flop; I'm guessing it'll have a noteworthy debut. Cher Lloyd has had mixed success: all her singles released before the launch of an album have become top 5 hits (that's only 2 though), while all singles released afterward have been disappointments. Since "Sirens" precedes the UK release of Cher's Sorry I'm Late by one week, I'm expecting it to open somewhere in the top 10 (#1 unlikely).
Eric Prydz's "Liberate" will also be opening. Prydz's entires have done extremely well (3 top 5 singles) or terrible in the past (3 non top 40 releases). I'm expecting "Liberate" to be a top 10 hit.
Sales Prediction: 89,000
Rank Prediciton: #2
I personally believe that both tracks are silly and ridiculous, but now its your turn to tell me which one you think is worse. Vote below.
While most of the country's (United Kingdom) music buying population will fall into the trap of downloading both tracks upon their release, the remaining music gurus will note several major issues with the tracks: they're both generic, fluffed, over-hyped, extremely repetitive and lack any sort of uniformed structure. In my opinion, they're both dead on arrival (D.O.A), though they'll likely both be modest sellers. But which one is going to be a tougher sell to the highly BBC influenced UK market? It just might be an unfortunate tie.
"Your Love" by Nicole ScherzingerReview: While it's more radio friendly than most of her recent endeavors ("Try With Me", "Wet", "Boomerang"), "Your Love" definitely joins the ranks of Nicole Scherzinger's complete busts mainly because it feels dull, cheap and a wasted attempt at trying to achieve chart success. The 4 minute long track drudges on with its extremely repetitive and overly simplified hook ("du-du-du-du, du-du-du-du"), its noisy, overtly populated chorus, and worst of all: its hook sounds like it was written by a 5 year old child: "I need you in the daytime, especially in the night time...". Additionally, the album version has an unneeded 20-30 second outro that just makes the whole experience even more unflattering. Thankfully, the video (while being somewhat generic) was nicely executed and somewhat entertaining. It's a major disappointment in my mind.
Performance Predictions & New Release/Competition Data
So how will "Your Love" perform? That's a really tough question to answer. Nicole Scherzinger's previous release (2013's "Boomerang") was initially snubbed at UK radio upon release "due to a large amount of other important releases", but by mid-week, the track had triumphed as one of the most requested new entries at radio and finally started to receive support. It's slow start led it to begin with just under 50,000 copies (47,000) in its first week in the United Kingdom, enough to open at #6. Of the 6 tracks previously released by Scherzinger since 2011 (when her debut solo album was released), 4 of them debuted with first week sales within the top 20 ("Poison", "Don't Hold Your Breath", "Try With Me", and "Boomerang"). The other 2 ("Right There" and "Wet") debuted with smaller totals, as they were released either mid week or charted before their official release. The 4 that debuted with full week sales averaged sales of 58,435 each, while "Right There" (which eventually ended up peaking at #3) sold 51,355 during its most successful week. That brings the average down to 57,019, though that's not much of a difference.
After looking at all of Nicole's sales, its likely that "Your Love" will stay inside Nicole's boundaries (lowest first week sales: 21,315; highest first week sales: 98,000). Given the more radio friendly culture of "Your Love", I'm expecting it to open approximately 10% higher than Scherzinger's average. That would put it in line for a debut around 63,000 copies.
While sales are most important in reality, most people think that peak position means something. No. In some weeks, being #2 can mean that your sales are higher than the sales of a #1 track from a few weeks ago. Anyway, let's attempt to calculate a position. For this, we'll need to start looking at tracks that will likely hold well through July 13th.
New releases for June 29th include the following:
-"Problem (feat. Iggy Azalea)" by Ariana Grande
-"Chandelier" by Sia
-"Make U Bounce" by DJ Fresh & TC
-"Wiggle (feat. Snoop Dogg)" by Jason Derülo
-"Street Love" by Rough Copy
-"Love Somebody" by Jason Mraz
-"Headlights (feat. Nate Ruess)" by Eminem
-"Classic" by MKTO
-"Uptight Downtown" by La Roux
Of these 9 major releases, only 6 are likely to reach the top 100 on the UK Official Charts, while 4 should debut within the top 10 (based on current numbers). Leading the pack, Ariana Grande's "Problem (feat. Iggy Azalea)" will likely debut at #1, followed by Sia's "Chandelier" and DJ Fresh & TC's "Make U Bounce" toward the end of the top 10. Jason Derülo's "Wiggle (feat. Snoop Dogg)" could snag a top 10 position, but a top 20 opening is more likely. Of those 4, only 1 ("Problem") will likely produce a strong hold heading into the next week of release.
Speaking of the next week of release, here are the major releases for July 6th:
-"It's My Birthday (feat. Cody Wise)" by will.i.am
-"Worst Behavior" by Drake
-"Right Here" by Jess Glynne
-"Don't Look Back (feat. Tanya Lacey)" by Matrix & Futurebound
-"Somebody To You (feat. Demi Lovato)" by The Vamps
Drake's "Worst Behavior" will likely open below the top 100 (three of his singles from his most recent album have). will.i.am has been responsible for 7 top 5 singles, 6 of which came during the promotion for his latest album, 2013's #willpower, so "It's My Birthday" should be able to score a top 10 opening. Matrix & Futurebound have released 3 major singles together, each resulting in a higher chart placement (all top 30). Late 2013's "Control" reached as high as 7 (off a top 20 debut), giving me reason to believe that "Don't Look Back" will debut in the top 20. Unfortunately, the featured artist on "Don't Look Back" (Tanya Lacey) has only appeared on the UK Charts once before. The Vamps have reached the top 3 with all of their released singles, but given that "Somebody To You" has been in release as a solo version since April, an official release with a new version featuring Demi Lovato doesn't seem like it has enough power to reach the top 5, let alone #1 (which they've missed 3/3 times). The real winner will likely be Jess Glynne's "Right Here". Glynne has been the voice behind 2 #1 singles in the United Kingdom (both in 2014).
The best bet is that will.i.am and Jess Glynne will duke it out for the summit, with Ariana Grande's holdover having a chance at holding the top slot if things go awry.
Finally we arrive at the July 13th releases:
-"Your Love" by Nicole Scherzinger
-"War Rages On" by Alex Clare
-"If I Go" by Ella Eyre
-"Already Home" by A Great Big World"
-"URL Badman" by Lily Allen
-"Me & My Broken Heart" by Rixton
Alex Clare's "War Rages On" will likely become a major disaster like nearly all of the rest of his discography, Ella Eyre's "If I Go" (while unlikely) could be her breakout hit; she previously failed to reach the top 40 as a lead artist with all her attempts (#78 is her best result). A Great Big World has only had 1 major release (which did well thanks to a Christina Aguilera feature) so its hard to figure out where "Already Home" will enter. Lily Allen's fan favorite "URL Badman" should be the 3rd top 10 release from Sheezus, while new London based act Rixton could debut anywhere with debut single "Me & My Broken Heart", though a top 10 opening is likely given the track's massive success worldwide. Nicole Scherzinger's "Your Love" will likely be the top debut. If it does sell around, 67,000 copies in its first week, it'll likely debut within the top 3 (the odds of debuting at #1 are slim: 10-15%).
Sales Prediction: 67,000
Rank Prediciton: #4
"Crazy Stupid Love (feat. Tinie Tempah)" by Cheryl Cole"Review: Jumping onto the trumpet backed bandwagon, Cheryl Cole's "Crazy Stupid Love (feat. Tinie Tempah)" sounds like a mixture of Jason Derülo's "Talk Dirty", Ariana Grande's "Problem" and some random pop song that nobody can figure out the name of. In simpler terms: its a huge waste of time. It has no proper chorus, it lacks originality, and it feels like an unnecessary inclusion in the fairly solid discographies of both Cheryl Cole and Tinie Tempah. I will give it credit for two things (but two things only): first off, the combination of Cheryl Cole and Tinie Tempah in one song will likely blow the socks off of the UK as a whole, as both artists are known as prolific acts that have strung together loads of successful singles. Second, Cheryl Cole sure does know how to captivate audiences. Need proof? Just look at the track's single cover.
Performance Predictions & New Release/Competition Data
Cheryl Cole and Tinie Tempah both have massive discographies, and both have had massive success. They've each scored 4 #1 singles, and they've each tallied over 10 top 20 singles each as well. Tinie Tempah has scored 12 top 10s, 14 top 20s, and 17 top 40 hits out of 19 releases in the United Kingdom. Cheryl Cole (without counting releases as a part of Girls Aloud) has had a track record of 7 top 10 singles, and 10 top 20 singles. In other words, all of her released singles have debuted in the top 20. As a part of Girls Aloud, Cheryl Cole has racked another 4 #1 singles, 9 top 2 singles, 12 top 3 singles, 15 top 4 singles, 16 top 5 singles, 21 top 10 singles and 22 top 20 singles, out of 23 official releases. That brings her total to a massive 28 top 10s (as a solo artist, featured artist and as part of Girls Aloud) out of 33 releases (84% of all releases).
Since we know all the releases up until July 20th, let's start looking at the details there. Here's the list of new releases for July 20th:
-"Crazy Stupid Love (feat. Tinie Tempah)" by Cheryl Cole
-"Home (feat. Sam Romans)" by Naughty Boy
-"Louder" by Neon Jungle
-"My Friend Has A Swimming Pool" by Mausi
-"Emotions (Ain't Nobody)" by Maverick Sabre
-"Always (feat. Alana) [Route 94]" by MK
-"Netzwerk (Falls Like Rain)" by Klangkarussell
-"Liberate" by Eric Prydz
-"Sirens" by Cher Lloyd
-"Boom Clap" by Charli XCX
Wow that's one competitive week. Let's break it down.
First off, Charli XCX's "Boom Clap" will likely debut in the middle of the top 100. Why? After she went to #1 with Icona Pop's "I Love It" in July 2013 in the United Kingdom, she released a solo single titled "SuperLove". It debuted and peaked at #62. In early 2014, she guest featured on Iggy Azalea's "Fancy" which peaked at #5. If her first track after a #1 as a featured artist can only reach #62, then where do you think her first release after a #5 as a featured artist will land? Not that high on the list. Only advantage: the track is taken from the UK hit movie The Fault In Our Stars.
Naughty Boy has tallied 4 UK top 10s out of 7 releases, but 3 of those came from tracks featuring Emeli Sandé, while another non top 10 effort had Naughty Boy featuring on a Emelié Sande release. Sam Romans has never been heard of, which leads me to believe that this new single won't match the success of Naughty Boy's previously released singles. I'm expecting a top 20 launch.
Neon Jungle's "Louder" should be on pace for a top 10 finish, while Maverick Sabre's track should open somewhere in the top 20 (based on his previous releases). Mausi's "My Friend Has A Swimming Pool" could end up becoming a runaway success, or a complete flop; I'm guessing it'll have a noteworthy debut. Cher Lloyd has had mixed success: all her singles released before the launch of an album have become top 5 hits (that's only 2 though), while all singles released afterward have been disappointments. Since "Sirens" precedes the UK release of Cher's Sorry I'm Late by one week, I'm expecting it to open somewhere in the top 10 (#1 unlikely).
Eric Prydz's "Liberate" will also be opening. Prydz's entires have done extremely well (3 top 5 singles) or terrible in the past (3 non top 40 releases). I'm expecting "Liberate" to be a top 10 hit.
Sales Prediction: 89,000
Rank Prediciton: #2
I personally believe that both tracks are silly and ridiculous, but now its your turn to tell me which one you think is worse. Vote below.
Friday, June 27, 2014
Forecast: Katy B, Rixton and Secondcity Headed For Top Debuts
Recap
As the tracking week is now just a few hours away from closing, it appears that Ed Sheeran's tracks won't be attacking the Hot 50 this week. It was previous reported that up to 7 of the tracks from his just released X album could inflict damage onto the Hot 50. Of those 7 tracks, only three of those tracks ("Don't", "The Man" and "Bloodstream") have even a chance at debuting on the Hot 50 this week. That leaves tracks like "Afire Love", "Sing", "One", "Photograph", "Thinking Out Loud" and "I See Fire" out of Hot 50 spots. Not to worry, however. They still have a shot of cracking the list at a later time ("Afire Love" and "Thinking Out Loud" have the best chance).
So... what's changed?
A lot.
New Entries/Dropouts
After I published my article about the tracks from X, I received some recommendations for tracks by Katy B ("Crying For No Reason"), Secondcity ("I Wanna Feel"), and Rixton ("Me & My Broken Heart"). Two of these tracks (Secondcity and Rixton) were already contenders (Rixton's track had been under my radar for a few months, while Secondcity's track had emerged on my radar a few weeks ago) for the chart, while Katy B's song (which I had heard once or twice before) got a nice push from an amazing remix I found (and subsequently played the hell out of) that was created by an online remixer named Tom Damage.
Now, it looks like Katy B's track will have the highest debut this week, with a top 20 debut in reach. Secondcity's "I Wanna Feel" could clock in the top 25, while Rixton's "Me and My Broken Heart" should punch in with a more modest debut (35-45). They're guaranteed slots at this point.
On the other hand, Ed Sheeran's efforts are kind of in a tough spot. "Don't" currently leads the pack, and could possibly debut as high as #30, but a debut around #40 is a more reasonable estimate. "The Man" and "Bloodstream" are going to have marginal debuts on the chart (if they even crack the top 50), and they'll likely wind up between #45-50.
With perhaps 6 tracks from last week's Hot 50 departing from the upcoming list, Ed Sheeran should scoop 3 new entries, while Katy B, Rixton and Secondcity will get one each. See the singles that will likely drop off the Hot 50 when the final tally is released:
- "Brooklyn Baby" by Lana Del Rey
- "Shades of Cool" by Lana Del Rey
- "Happy" by Pharrell Williams
- "Partition" by Beyoncé
- "Say Yes" by Destiny's Child
- "Drunk In Love (feat. Jay Z)" by Beyoncé
Top 5 Contenders
Things in the top 5 this week appear to be running on par with last week. Sanna Nielsen's "Undo" should take 1st place for a third consecutive week to tie Loreen's "Euphoria" for the longest #1 run of any track from any year of the Eurovision Song Contest (coincidentally, both women are from Sweden).
Kiesza's "Hideaway" should nail a 3rd straight week at number 2, for 9 consecutive weeks in the top 2 (the deep house anthem previously topped the CDS Music Chart Hot 50 for 6 consecutive frames from the start of May to mid June. Next week, it'll reach Gold certification status for 500+ points earned.
Maroon 5's brand new single "Maps" (which was last week's Hot Shot Debut) should bullet at number 3 for a second straight week, though its numbers should climb past 120 points.
Clean Bandit's "Rather Be (feat Jess Glynne)" should wind up in 4th place for the second straight week, which will raise its overall score to 785+. That puts it among the top 8 biggest scorers of the year so far, an impressive achievement for a track that's both still climbing and in its 20th week. Shakira's "Dare (La La La)" should round out the top 5 and hold the Voter's Choice #1 title for a second straight week.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Album Review: In the Lonely Hour by Sam Smith
Kicking off a rather mundanely simple set with a falsetto baring pop production is a bold move -- and a good one too. While "Money On My Mind" is far from the perfection and upper reaches of In the Lonely Hour's most entertaining efforts ("Stay With Me", the acoustic rendition of Disclosure's "Latch" and "Leave Your Lover"), it's easily one of the albums most accessible cuts and one of the few that'll still be able to appreciate listen after listen after listen. It was already a success in the United Kingdom (#1 in January), and I'm willing to bet US pop radio will eat it up as well. It may take a while (as the gospel tinged "Stay With Me" is currently being shopped to domestic stations), but trust me, it's bound to happen.
2. "Good Thing"
The pain of a twisted and complicated love is always referred to in some way or another one an album, even in ways that you can't figure out (at times). But when a whole album is about a lonely heartbreak, it's hard to find a track that really stands out as truly outstanding when it comes to heartbreak. "Good Thing" is so so sad, it and its dripping instrumentals will reduce you to tears:
"I had a dream I was mugged outside your house/I had a dream in a panic you came running out/For a moment you were sure I'd die on you/For a moment I believed you loved me too/But life is never like this, and you're never strong"
The spine tingling, gospel choir backed sounds of "Stay With Me" are both chilling and graceful at the exact same time -- even if that doesn't seem possible. The track navigates and shape-shifts through love brushed verses and rounds of choruses that feel like they could be sung at church congregation every Sunday without ever getting boring. Currently being shopped to pop radio, "Stay With Me" has become a runaway success for Smith, as well as his most successful release to date. And it makes sense too -- it's extremely catchy.
4. "Leave Your Lover"
In a world -- and by that I mean album -- filled with the pain of heartbreak and sorrow, it's odd to find a piece of music that actually asks the person in question to inflict pain on their lover and trade in for a new one. It's sad because the track is actually a great stand out on In the Lonely Hour, but the whole concept makes me uneasy. If you're spending the rest of your time gushing about how cruel love can be on a full length album, I feel it's not appropriate to inflict someone else with the same pain you're planning on babbling about for a complete hour. It's just cowardly and completely hypocritical. It's even more sad, given its one of the album's more exquisite offerings (in terms of sound).
5. "I'm Not the Only One"
There's no denying that Sam Smith can tell a vibrant, passionate, heart-wrenching story, but when you compare the bold and downright ridiculousness of "Leave Your Lover" to what you hear on "I'm Not the Only One", you get a sense of confusion. For those criticizing "Leave Your Lover" for being hypocritical, it's hard to still call Sam Smith a hypocrite by the time the end of strings and chords come to a bitter end in "I'm Not the Only One". Why? Because you've already forgotten about the previous track, and are engrossed at the possibilities of what's next to come.
I'll give Sam Smith one thing: he's surprisingly good at telling a type of story that he hasn't had much experience with.
6. "I've Told You Now"
The instant shifts between falsetto vocals and standard pop chords would normally seem a bit jolting or uneven, but somehow everything seems to snap and flow well on "I've Told You Now". It's extremely enjoyable to listen to whenever you're down -- and even includes a picture perfect ending. Unfortunately (or fortunately; depending on your point of view), the story seems a bit undeveloped, seeming to be open to interpretation. While that's not necessarily a bad thing, it seems odd to have one story that makes you think in a sea of clearly explained chapters. Smith croons: "I've told you now", but you can't help but ask him to at least explain what he's told his lover.
7. "Like I Can"
Sam Smith has voiced his opinion for immensely successful, fellow British singer/songwriter Adele many times before: he loves her and her music. What better compliment to a fellow artist than to rip off one of their most successful singles of all time, right? No. "Like I Can" is easily one of the album's shiniest moments. It's not stripped down, it's bold and its extremely catchy... courtesy of Adele. Now, I'm pretty sure everyone who had a hand in producing In the Lonely Hour would call this criticism of the track preposterous if they read this review, but I (along with a large group of others) noted that "Like I Can" sounds almost identical to Adele's #1 single "Rolling In the Deep" (in terms of the beat structure). It starts off almost the same, and progresses to include the banging of a drum within 3 seconds of when "Rolling In the Deep" does it (0:21 versus 0:24) and the chorus explodes around the sam time as well (0:40 versus 0:50 and 1:00). Hmm...
8. "Life Support"
Is it just me, or is there a sense of trap flavored music discreetly stuck right in the middle of the beat here? Okay that's just a bit odd. Anyway.... "Life Support" is just in the style of the album's other ventures, with an extra load of somewhat creepy falsetto. The entire chorus sounds like it was sung by a female ghost. Sorry to say it that way, but I could easily do without this mess.
9. "Not In That Way"
As the guitar strums in the background stay gentler than a tear rushing down a face throughout the entire length of the track, "Not In That Way" proves to me that Sam Smith does know how to sing. Sure, it's evident on other tracks as well, but not in the same way. This track feels wholesome, down to earth and completely naked. It feels more real, and gives the listener -- what appears to be -- at least somewhat of a true look at Sam Smith's life. It's both elegant and enjoyable.
10. "Lay Me Down"
What I don't understand, is how this wasn't well received upon release. It really makes no sense. "Lay Me Down" (Smith's initial lead single) is better than over 1/2 of In the Lonely Hour, yet nobody payed attention to it. Now, they're engrossed in an album that's of a worse quality. It's a real shame, because "Lay Me Down" could have easily become a hit if "La La La" had been released before it.
11. "Restart"
It's a decent way to start off the deluxe version of the album, but its not amazing. It works well in a cheesy, '80s euphoric way similar to Katy Perry's "Walking On Air" (minus the dance ready beats).
12. "Latch (Acoustic)"
This is actually really painful to listen to in full. It's tear reducing, gust busting and just pure grim. The oddest thing is that the original Disclosure produced track appears to be a feel good, party track about love. If you're reading to hear some true heartbreak (instead of an hour long whine), then "Latch (Acoustic)" is perfect for you. Sorry, it only comes on the deluxe edition of the album.
13. "La La La (feat. Naughty Boy)"
This track really does not fit the theme of the album, and feels just like a random filler that was both unnecessary and unwanted. It's a good pop song, but it gives off a mixed signal. Why include a complete swerve from the main road the album has already developed for the past 12 tracks? It makes absolutely no sense. And don't even give me that "Well he just wanted to put it for the longtime fans" crap. Everyone who intended to buy "La La La" already did so, and that's just that. If it was acoustic (like Sam Smith's other collaboration, "Latch") it would have fit into the pool so much better.
Rating: 70/100 (C-)
Quick Wrap: Sam Smith captivates with the promise of an interesting story and killer vocals, but there are too many blips and blemishes to accept it without ridicule. In the Lonely Hour proves that music designed around heartbreak and pain is profitable and sometimes easy to write... even when everything that comes along with it is completely fabricated.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Trends: UK Deep House Makes A Splash on CDS
As UK deep house music dominates the list of chart topping hits in Great Britain itself, it's also become astonishingly popular here in the United States as well (and the rest of the world). But what's making the flavorful sub genre skyrocket in audience? Just that. Flavor.
Deep house music is a sub genre of a sub genre of a sub genre. It branches from music to electronic dance music (EDM) to electronic music to house music, before finally arriving in the form we can't get enough of: deep house.
But which tracks are dominating 2014?Check out my list of hot deep house songs that'll rock this summer below.
Relatively unknown band Clean Bandit really hit it big at the top of this year, when their breakthrough smash single "Rather Be" topped the United Kingdom Official Charts for 4 consecutive weeks. By February, nearly the entire world knew all about this house infused track, except the United States. As of the most recent frame, "Rather Be" moved 7-4 during its 19th frame on the CDS Music Chart. In comparison, the track has been listed on the United States Billboard Hot 100 for a second week (moving 97-86). It's a late start for the United States, but its rapid rise in the States should be seen as one thing and one thing only: the deep house craze lives everywhere.
Sounds Like: A classically infused, pop brushed, deep house groover with divine instrumentation and sugary, plashed vocals.
Also check out: "Extraordinary (feat. Sharna Bass)" by Clean Bandit,"Mozart's House" by Clean Bandit
Secondcity - "I Wanna Feel"After the staggering success of "I Got You", Kelli-Leigh returned to feature on another massive house track. This time, she made an uncredited appearance on Secondcity's (an American born British producer) debut single, "I Wanna Feel". The track is actually fairly simple in terms of composition, but its undeniably catchy and fresh. While "I Wanna Feel" will have a hard time connecting with the majority of audiences in the United States, it was able to perform modestly in most European countries upon release. It reached #1 in the United Kingdom for a single week and reached #2 on the Scottish singles chart. Being one of the more unique deep house offerings, "I Wanna Feel" should be burning up dance floors for the rest of the summer.
Sounds Like: A typical deep house offering with a unique '90s twist -- a Toni Braxton sample. Brilliantly repetitive, but not overbearing.
Also check out: "Find A Way" by Kelli-Leigh, "I Got U (feat. Jax Jones)" by Duke Dumont
I could write forever and ever about Kiesza and her debut single "Hideaway" for pages and pages (seeing as that it previously peaked at the CDS Music Chart Hot 50 summit for 6 consecutive weeks). But to keep it short, Kiesza's "Hideaway" is among one of the most impressive deep house offerings of the year. Why? Because she (Kiesza) not only co-producded it, she also wrote it and of course performs it. Most impressively, it took less than 2 hours for her and her team to record, mix and ship it off . Bookmakers are pegging this one to take off in the United States next, and I think they could be right: the track ranks as the #207 most downloaded track on the US iTunes Store. 2 Days ago it was #308, and 4 days ago it was #341.
Sounds Like: '90s club music with a deep groove, a mesmerizing beat and a pop punched vocal set.
Also check out: "Giant In My Heart" by Kiesza
Nearly everyone in the United States has heard "Latch (feat. Sam Smith)" at least once, but interestingly enough, "Latch" isn't the only irresistibly catchy track from Settle. "F For You (feat. Mary J Blige)" is another highlight that'll likely end up blowing up American clubs and radio stations through the end of the year. It's dark, it features a well known female artist, and it also has a mass appeal that first made audiences fall in love with "Latch".
Sounds Like: Bouncing, bubbling and completely danceable. A saturday night make out session.
Also check out: "White Noise (feat. AlunaGeorge)" by Disclosure, "You & Me (feat. Eliza Doolittle)" by Disclosure
Route 94 - "My Love (feat. Jess Glynne)""My Love (feat. Jess Glynne)" sounds like the perfect combination of Clean Bandit's "Rather Be" (which coincidentally also features Jess Glynne) and Secondcity's "I Wanna Feel". With smokey yet smooth vocals, "My Love" really focuses more on the guest voice courtesy of Jess Glynne instead of the beat (though the supply of that still comes in bulk).
Sounds Like: A blend of pop influenced dance/house music with the smooth groove of a polished vocals.
Also check out: "Rather Be (feat. Jess Glynne)" by Clean Bandit, "I Wanna Feel" by Secondcity, "Hideaway" by Kiesza
Other tracks to check out:
- "I Got U (feat. Jax Jones)" by Duke Dumont
- "Waves (Robin Schulz Remix)" by Mr. Probz
- "White Noise (feat. AlunaGeorge)" by Disclosure
- "Giant In My Heart" by Kiesza
- "You & Me (feat. Eliza Doolittle)" by Disclosure
- "Extraordinary (feat. Sharna Bass)" by Clean Bandit
- "Mozart's House" by Clean Bandit
- "Find A Way" by Kelli-Leigh
Come back for more posts soon!
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Wrapping It Up: June, Mid Year Standings and Summer Songs Kickoff
June has already come and gone, and July is already starting to take shape (wow that was fast). That means it's time to run down the top 20 highest scorers of the the past month (the past 4 weeks), the top 20 highest scorers of the first three weeks of the 2014 Summer Songs Competition and the top 40 highest scorers of the first 6 months of 2014.
Summer Songs (First 3 Weeks) & June 2014 Chart Toppers
Leading off the month of June 2014, Kiesza's "Hideaway" took first place with a solid 198.26 points. While that's a bit off the track's 200 score during the month of May 2014, that's still an incredible hold at #1, given the fact that it beat out the month's #2 ranking song by a mere 0.04 points (the smallest gap between monthly tracks ranked at numbers 1 and 2). Through the third week of the 2014 Summer Songs competition, Kiesza's "Hideaway" ranks second (swapping spots with the track that took #2 for the overall month of June. For the full year of 2014, Kiesza's "Hideaway" ranks at #38 with 398.36 points. At this rate, the track should finish with a final total north of 1000. It'll reach 500 by mid July.
In a fairly tight second place position, Sanna Nielsen's Euovision entry "Undo" scooped up 198.22. The track (which just took a second frame atop the Hot 50) is headed for a massive finish (though it currently ranks just outside the top 40 for 2014 as a year so far) by the end of its run. As the Celine Dion inspired track continues to roar within the Hot 50's upper reaches, it comfortably leads the 2014 Summer Songs competition (besting Kiesza's "Hideaway" after a tie that occurred during week 2) through the annual season's third week. With a possible 3rd week at #1 just right around the corner, "Undo" should wind up as one of summer 2014's biggest performers (it has already set several airplay records).
In a distant third place, Coldplay's "A Sky Full of Stars" brought in just over 186.25 points, down significantly from the second place
song (Sanna Nielsen's "Undo" scored 12 points more). So what brought "A Sky Full of Stars" way down? It's record slip in the final week of June. On the chart dated June 26th, "A Sky Full of Stars" crashed 3-9, which set the record for the biggest drop within the top 10 (a 6 position drop). For the year to date, the track ranks at #39 with 367 points (which is fairly strong given the track's short run of 8 weeks). Unfortunately, the track is likely to drop out of the top 20 when the monthly July rankings pull through. With "Magic" also dropping quickly and "Midnight" capping off at an underwhelming #31 peak, don't expect to see much more from Coldplay throughout the rest of the year.
In a strong 4th place, Iggy Azalea's breakthrough smash single "Fancy (feat. Charli XCX)" wound up with an astonishing 182.5 point total. That brings its overall haul to 469 points, which ranks 26th for the year to date. Through the first 3 weeks of the 2014 Summer Songs competition, "Fancy" racks up a strong 137 points, enough to rank #4 behind Coldplay's "A Sky Full of Stars", Kiesza's "Hideaway" and Sanna Nielsen's "Undo" (which rank at numbers 3, 2 and 1 respectively). At the rate that the song is growing, it's likely to cap off with just over 800 points, which could propel it into the top 20 for the entire year.
Rounding out the top 5, OneRepublic's "Love Runs Out" ended June 2014 with 179 points, which narrowly squeezes in between Iggy Azalea's 182 point scooping debut ("Fancy") at #4 and Clean Bandit's 175 point grabbing chart debut ("Rather Be"). While OneRepublic's previously released single, "Counting Stars", capped off as the all time best performing track on CDS Music Chart (it's actually still on the chart as of June 26th), "Love Runs Out" will be lucky to scrape together 900 points. Why? Mainly because the track has slipped fairly quickly, and should rapidly descend the chart. The track ranks at #35 for the year so far, but I don't see it rising any higher than that when the year is all said and done.
2014 Front Runners
For 2014 as a whole, OneRepublic's 2 week #1 single "Counting Stars" comfortably leads with a massive 1130 points (1508 overall), up 90 points from its biggest competitor. Additionally, the track was recently crowned the all time best performing track on CDS Music Chart. At this point, the track is nearly guaranteed to end within the top 5 of 2014. Even more surprisingly, the track is still on the Hot 50, while 5 out of the other 9 tracks in the top 10 of 2014 are already off the chart, while only 1 of the 4 remaining still ranks within the chart's top 20 (Clean Bandit's "Rather Be", which bounds 7-4 on this week's chart). It's going to be a brutal competition for a top 5 slot is all I'm going to say.
Surprisingly, Katy Perry's "Dark Horse (feat. Juicy J)" wound up in second place with a massive 1040 point total by the time the mid-year analysis stats rolled around. Unfortunately, the track is no longer ranked within the top 50, which will likely cause it to slip under a noticeable amount of other competitors. Despite this, it's highly likely that the track winds up in the top 5 (if this year goes anything like last year). Additionally, this could be the third year in a row that an act completes the year with 2 tracks lodged in the top 10 (Perry's "Unconditionally" has a chance at cracking the top 10). While it would definitely be extremely hard, there's an outside chance it could end happening (depending on how other releases play out). Previously, Maroon 5's consecutive #1 singles "Payphone (feat. Wiz Khalifa)" and "One More Night" doubled up in the top 10 at numbers 2 and 5 back in 2012, while Avril Lavigne's 5 week #2 peaking "Rock N Roll" took 7th place and her 4 week #1 peaking "Here's to Never Growing Up" narrowly took 9th place to dominate the upper tier in 2013.
Just a mere 18 points behind Katy Perry's "Dark Horse", Lorde's "Team" takes 3rd place through the mid year standings with a strong 1022 points. The 3 week #1 single has easily brome the newcomer artist's best performing track (by a long shot) and while it likely won't reach a 2x Platinum certification (1250 overall chart points or more), it's bound to end up as one of the best performers when the end of the year rolls around. That beats the 500 point earning "Royals" which ended 2013 as the 49th best performing track, a mediocre performance at best. Thankfully, Lorde's performance on "Team" was received much better by myself, and quickly became a favorite of mine this year. I'm waiting for Lorde's next album, as it's likely to include at least one more hit that'll knock my socks off.
See the top 20 highest scorers of June 2014, the top 20 highest scorers of the 2014 Summer Songs competition (so far) and the top 40 highest scorers of 2014 (so far) below.
June 2014 Top 20 Highest Scorers
Summer Songs (First 3 Weeks) & June 2014 Chart Toppers
In a fairly tight second place position, Sanna Nielsen's Euovision entry "Undo" scooped up 198.22. The track (which just took a second frame atop the Hot 50) is headed for a massive finish (though it currently ranks just outside the top 40 for 2014 as a year so far) by the end of its run. As the Celine Dion inspired track continues to roar within the Hot 50's upper reaches, it comfortably leads the 2014 Summer Songs competition (besting Kiesza's "Hideaway" after a tie that occurred during week 2) through the annual season's third week. With a possible 3rd week at #1 just right around the corner, "Undo" should wind up as one of summer 2014's biggest performers (it has already set several airplay records).In a distant third place, Coldplay's "A Sky Full of Stars" brought in just over 186.25 points, down significantly from the second placesong (Sanna Nielsen's "Undo" scored 12 points more). So what brought "A Sky Full of Stars" way down? It's record slip in the final week of June. On the chart dated June 26th, "A Sky Full of Stars" crashed 3-9, which set the record for the biggest drop within the top 10 (a 6 position drop). For the year to date, the track ranks at #39 with 367 points (which is fairly strong given the track's short run of 8 weeks). Unfortunately, the track is likely to drop out of the top 20 when the monthly July rankings pull through. With "Magic" also dropping quickly and "Midnight" capping off at an underwhelming #31 peak, don't expect to see much more from Coldplay throughout the rest of the year.
In a strong 4th place, Iggy Azalea's breakthrough smash single "Fancy (feat. Charli XCX)" wound up with an astonishing 182.5 point total. That brings its overall haul to 469 points, which ranks 26th for the year to date. Through the first 3 weeks of the 2014 Summer Songs competition, "Fancy" racks up a strong 137 points, enough to rank #4 behind Coldplay's "A Sky Full of Stars", Kiesza's "Hideaway" and Sanna Nielsen's "Undo" (which rank at numbers 3, 2 and 1 respectively). At the rate that the song is growing, it's likely to cap off with just over 800 points, which could propel it into the top 20 for the entire year.Rounding out the top 5, OneRepublic's "Love Runs Out" ended June 2014 with 179 points, which narrowly squeezes in between Iggy Azalea's 182 point scooping debut ("Fancy") at #4 and Clean Bandit's 175 point grabbing chart debut ("Rather Be"). While OneRepublic's previously released single, "Counting Stars", capped off as the all time best performing track on CDS Music Chart (it's actually still on the chart as of June 26th), "Love Runs Out" will be lucky to scrape together 900 points. Why? Mainly because the track has slipped fairly quickly, and should rapidly descend the chart. The track ranks at #35 for the year so far, but I don't see it rising any higher than that when the year is all said and done.2014 Front Runners
For 2014 as a whole, OneRepublic's 2 week #1 single "Counting Stars" comfortably leads with a massive 1130 points (1508 overall), up 90 points from its biggest competitor. Additionally, the track was recently crowned the all time best performing track on CDS Music Chart. At this point, the track is nearly guaranteed to end within the top 5 of 2014. Even more surprisingly, the track is still on the Hot 50, while 5 out of the other 9 tracks in the top 10 of 2014 are already off the chart, while only 1 of the 4 remaining still ranks within the chart's top 20 (Clean Bandit's "Rather Be", which bounds 7-4 on this week's chart). It's going to be a brutal competition for a top 5 slot is all I'm going to say.
See the top 20 highest scorers of June 2014, the top 20 highest scorers of the 2014 Summer Songs competition (so far) and the top 40 highest scorers of 2014 (so far) below.
June 2014 Top 20 Highest Scorers
#
|
Song
|
Artist
|
Total
|
1
|
Hideaway
|
Kiesza
|
198.26
|
2
|
Undo
|
Sanna
Nielsen
|
198.22
|
3
|
A Sky Full of Stars
|
Coldplay
|
186.26
|
4
|
Fancy (feat. Charli XCX)
|
Iggy Azalea
|
182.5
|
5
|
Love Runs Out
|
OneRepublic
|
179.34
|
6
|
Rather
Be (feat. Jess Glynne)
|
Clean
Bandit
|
175.7
|
7
|
Magic
|
Coldplay
|
173.58
|
8
|
Pills N Potions
|
Nicki Minaj
|
169.14
|
9
|
A+D
|
Vita
Chambers
|
162.26
|
10
|
Dare
(La La La)
|
Shakira
|
160.5
|
11
|
Latch (feat. Sam Smith)
|
Disclosure
|
159.46
|
12
|
All of Me
|
John Legend
|
158.66
|
13
|
Do It Again
|
Röyksopp & Robyn
|
156.14
|
14
|
Problem
(feat. Iggy Azalea)
|
Ariana
Grande
|
143.25
|
15
|
Empire
|
Shakira
|
138.62
|
16
|
Team
|
Lorde
|
134.14
|
17
|
Chandelier
|
Sia
|
132.5
|
18
|
Summer
|
Calvin
Harris
|
127.14
|
19
|
G.U.Y. (Girl Under You)
|
Lady Gaga
|
123.86
|
20
|
The Big Bang
|
Katy Tiz
|
118.46
|
Summer 2014 Top 20 Highest Scorers
#
|
Song
|
Artist
|
Total
|
1
|
Undo
|
Sanna
Nielsen
|
149.18
|
2
|
Hideaway
|
Kiesza
|
148.21
|
3
|
A Sky Full of Stars
|
Coldplay
|
138.21
|
4
|
Fancy (feat. Charli XCX)
|
Iggy Azalea
|
137.39
|
5
|
Rather
Be (feat. Jess Glynne)
|
Clean
Bandit
|
134.54
|
6
|
Love Runs Out
|
OneRepublic
|
133.27
|
7
|
Pills N Potions
|
Nicki Minaj
|
129.12
|
8
|
Magic
|
Coldplay
|
126.45
|
9
|
Dare
(La La La)
|
Shakira
|
125.39
|
10
|
A+D
|
Vita Chambers
|
125.21
|
11
|
Do It Again
|
Röyksopp & Robyn
|
118.12
|
12
|
Latch (feat. Sam Smith)
|
Disclosure
|
116.36
|
13
|
All of Me
|
John Legend
|
114.51
|
14
|
Problem
(feat. Iggy Azalea)
|
Ariana
Grande
|
111.21
|
15
|
Chandelier
|
Sia
|
102.39
|
16
|
Summer
|
Calvin
Harris
|
101.12
|
17
|
Empire
|
Shakira
|
99.48
|
18
|
Satisfaction
Guaranteed
|
Alyssa
Reid
|
96.06
|
19
|
Team
|
Lorde
|
91.87
|
20
|
The Big Bang
|
Katy Tiz
|
90.36
|
2014 Top 40 Highest Scorers
#
|
Song
|
Artist
|
Total
|
1
|
Counting Stars
|
OneRepublic
|
1130.63
|
2
|
Dark Horse (feat. Juicy J)
|
Katy Perry
|
1040.75
|
3
|
Team
|
Lorde
|
1022.55
|
4
|
Drunk In Love (feat. Jay Z)
|
Beyoncé
|
956.03
|
5
|
Unconditionally
|
Katy Perry
|
789.35
|
6
|
Mind Controller
|
Ayah Marar
|
756.7
|
7
|
Can't Remember to Forget You (feat. Rihanna)
|
Shakira
|
752.1
|
8
|
Rather
Be (feat. Jess Glynne)
|
Clean
Bandit
|
746.9
|
9
|
Talk Dirty (feat. 2 Chainz)
|
Jason Derülo
|
745.76
|
10
|
Empire
|
Shakira
|
745.53
|
11
|
The Monster (feat. Rihanna)
|
Eminem
|
721.99
|
12
|
Do What U Want (feat. R. Kelly)
|
Lady Gaga
|
705.51
|
13
|
Love Me Again
|
John Newman
|
699.31
|
14
|
All of Me
|
John Legend
|
667.71
|
15
|
Happy
|
Pharrell Williams
|
642.67
|
16
|
Danse (feat. Dev)
|
Mia Martina
|
612.25
|
17
|
Under Control (feat. Hurts)
|
Calvin Harris & Alesso
|
609.31
|
18
|
G.U.Y. (Girl Under You)
|
Lady Gaga
|
577.48
|
19
|
Applause
|
Lady Gaga
|
565.51
|
20
|
Goodness Gracious
|
Ellie Goulding
|
563.1
|
21
|
Timber (feat. Ke$ha)
|
Pitbull
|
550.69
|
22
|
Magic
|
Coldplay
|
547.36
|
23
|
Losing Sleep
|
John Newman
|
525.1
|
24
|
Latch (feat. Sam Smith)
|
Disclosure
|
517.91
|
25
|
Jump
|
Rihanna
|
501.1
|
26
|
Fancy (feat. Charli XCX)
|
Iggy Azalea
|
469.05
|
27
|
What If?
|
Vita Chambers
|
467.8
|
28
|
What Now
|
Rihanna
|
464.96
|
29
|
Rock n Roll
|
Avril Lavigne
|
445.5
|
30
|
Into the Blue
|
Kylie Minogue
|
442.71
|
31
|
Venus
|
Lady Gaga
|
439.2
|
32
|
XO
|
Beyoncé
|
438.51
|
33
|
Dare
(La La La)
|
Shakira
|
429.05
|
34
|
Live For the Night
|
Krewella
|
427.69
|
35
|
Love Runs Out
|
OneRepublic
|
425.55
|
36
|
Hey Brother
|
Avicii
|
420.36
|
37
|
Partition
|
Beyoncé
|
405.9
|
38
|
Hideaway
|
Kiesza
|
398.36
|
39
|
A Sky Full of Stars
|
Coldplay
|
367.36
|
40
|
Chandelier
|
Sia
|
364.05
|
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