American Top 40 - December 7, 2013

[KelownaGuy20]

GUEST HOST: BRITNEY SPEARS

AMERICAN TOP 40 - DECEMBER 7, 2013
LW TW WKS Artist - Title
39 40 (34) Justin Timberlake - Mirrors
-- 39 (01) John Newman - Love Me Again
40 38 (02) Britney Spears - Perfume
33 37 (25) Maroon 5 - Love Somebody
-- 36 (01) Sara Bareilles - Brave
35 35 (29) Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams - Get Lucky
36 34 (08) Fall Out Boy - Alone Together
31 33 (30) Imagine Dragons - Radioactive
13 32 (10) Bruno Mars - Gorilla
38 31 (02) Ellie Goulding - Burn
Break Out: Calvin Harris featuring Ayah Marar - Thinking About You
Optional Extra: Britney Spears - Work Work
32 30 (03) Enrique Iglesias - Heart Attack
29 29 (35) Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Ray Dalton - Can't Hold Us
26 28 (31) Zedd featuring Foxes - Clarity
On The Verge: Zendaya - Replay
37 27 (02) Passenger - Let Her Go
34 26 (03) One Direction - Story Of My Life
23 25 (26) Robin Thicke featuring Pharrell & T.I. - Blurred Lines
22 24 (06) Rihanna - What Now
28 23 (04) Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring ScHoolboy Q & Hollis - White Walls
24 22 (06) Travie McCoy featuring Jason Mraz - Rough Water
20 21 (24) Capital Cities - Safe and Sound
Extra: will.i.am featuring Britney Spears - Scream & Shout
Optional Extra: Kelly Clarkson - Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)
30 20 (02) Lady Gaga featuring R. Kelly - Do What U Want
19 19 (19) Lana Del Rey - Summertime Sadness
11 18 (20) Jay-Z featuring Justin Timberlake - Holy Grail
Break Out: New Politics - Harlem
18 17 (16) The Neighbourhood - Sweater Weather
16 16 (08) Jason Derulo - Marry Me
12 15 (09) Justin Timberlake - TKO
21 14 (03) OneRepublic - Counting Stars
14 13 (05) Zedd featuring Hayley Williams - Stay The Night
17 12 (05) Pitbull featuring Ke$ha - Timber
09 11 (19) Paramore - Still Into You
Optional Extra: Britney Spears - Toxic
15 10 (04) Eminem featuring Rihanna - The Monster
10 09 (05) Katy Perry - Unconditionally
08 08 (12) Selena Gomez - Slow Down
07 07 (14) Lady Gaga - Applause
04 06 (15) Katy Perry - Roar
06 05 (08) Imagine Dragons - Demons
05 04 (13) Drake featuring Majid Jordan - Hold On, We're Going Home
03 03 (14) Lorde - Royals
Optional Extra: Britney Spears - Piece Of Me
02 02 (15) Avicii - Wake Me Up
01 01 (09) Miley Cyrus - Wrecking Ball ** 2 weeks @ no. 1 **

DROPPERS
Taylor Swift featuring Ed Sheeran - Everything Has Changes (from #27; 18 weeks on)
Tegan & Sara - Closer (from #25; 12 weeks on)

[Libra]

The three-out-of-four Britney Op. Extras makes me wonder how that hasn't happened (or even the full 4-for-4) with a guest host yet before this. Although, not only does the Kelly extra seem totally random by comparison, it makes me wonder why they didn't just go 4-for-4, considering "Scream & Shout" gets played right before.

Looks like Maroon 5 might not make it into next year; they're the only artist in this week's 40 who was also in Seacrest's inaugural 40 (though both Britney and Justin were just a couple weeks off, Enrique fell off that week, and while Kelly is an OE this week, she too was there that week). Further, with both that and "Gorilla" looking to fall off soon, that would leave us with no artist having a year-plus current active streak. When's the last time that happened?

And, at "Thinking About You" breaking out.

[Libra]

Oh, and one more thing: At 35 weeks, "Can't Hold Us" will finish as the song that spent the most weeks in the countdown in calendar year 2013. (That'll be 38 as of the end of the year, but the point is that no other song can match its total now.)

For chart year 2013, well, that depends on just what the chart year will be - so, the jury's out on that one and they won't come in until the year-end hits. (If it was to be December-to-November, though, starting with last year's December 1 show, the honor would go to "Don't You Worry Child", at 38 weeks. "Can't Hold Us" would tie for second there with "Locked Out of Heaven", at 34 weeks.)

[Devin]

Pleasantly surprised at "Harlem" being a Breakout. :)

[mkarns]

Britney may have been hoping to announce her new hit making a bigger move, but at least she gets an extra from herself every hour. Unlike many other guest hosts (including music acts) she has far more than enough hits to pull that off without repetition.

Some interesting extra selections otherwise; I too am glad to hear "Harlem" on the countdown, though if it charts it may not go too high (on MB it's stalled in the mid-30s, and took forever to get there.) Lana Del Ray gets a jackpot (19-19-19), and, speaking of 19's, "Gorilla"'s 19-notch drop must be the biggest in a while without falling off the countdown altogether (there have been a few recent hits that dropped right off from inside the top 20).

A year plus two weeks ago Taylor Swift guest hosted; with "Everything Has Changed" falling out, this is only the second AT40 without her since September 2012 (she had a one week gap between hits in July). If M5 and Bruno fall off soon, then the longest continuous presence would likely be Justin Timberlake, who's been on each week since February 2. Meanwhile, the debuts come from less continuously present acts: Sara Bareilles is back on for the first time in three years, and John Newman for the first time ever.

[Deleted]

Never thought I'd hear Piece of Me on the radio again. Still, I wish Break the Ice would get more attention.

[Cerebro]

Dec 4, 2013 18:02:51 GMT -5 Libra said:

The three-out-of-four Britney Op. Extras makes me wonder how that hasn't happened (or even the full 4-for-4) with a guest host yet before this. Although, not only does the Kelly extra seem totally random by comparison, it makes me wonder why they didn't just go 4-for-4, considering "Scream & Shout" gets played right before.

Yeah, I think this is, probably, the most "self promotion" that a guest host has had. When Pitbull guest hosted back in July, he had three extras; the last two optionals -- "International Love" and "Give Me Everything" -- as well as "Outta Nowhere" thrown in during the final segment. Britney one-ups him.

[cookie111]

Bruno Mars is about to have his least successful track yet as it becomes his first single to miss the Top 5 on the mainstream chart, and it's the very first song by him to miss the Top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100 (it only reached #22). And it takes a massive drop down the survey. I'm happy to see Sara Bareilles appear on the chart, but not happy that Zendaya is On The Verge. I'm pretty sure she's gonna be breaking in next week. Funny how it's gaining plays just after her Disney Channel show "Shake It Up" ended last month. And Lady Gaga was supposed to make the #4 position, but because of that Drake, she is deprived of reaching that spot, and it's losing plays. "Everything Has Changed" and "Closer" are gone, just like I predicted.

[musiciscool]

In the post for the Top 40, Fifth Harmony "Miss Movin' On" was played as an extra after Katy Perry "Roar" at #6.

[ericNY2002]

I was wondering how the CHR version was this week.

Over on Hot AC, Britney may have introduced 6-7 songs on the whole chart with the Artist and chart number. Most would be Britney talking about something and then the generic number prompt would get played with no song/artist introduction followed immediately by the next song after another number prompt. Heck even the breakouts were played with no intro and no description after the song, just the bumper saying AT40 Breakout and then a bumper going to commercial. Some of the fan questions were played twice as well.

[musiciscool]

Dec 7, 2013 13:26:49 GMT -5 ericNY2002 said:

I was wondering how the CHR version was this week.

Over on Hot AC, Britney may have introduced 6-7 songs on the whole chart with the Artist and chart number. Most would be Britney talking about something and then the generic number prompt would get played with no song/artist introduction followed immediately by the next song after another number prompt. Heck even the breakouts were played with no intro and no description after the song, just the bumper saying AT40 Breakout and then a bumper going to commercial. Some of the fan questions were played twice as well.

Yeah, you're right. Britney answered some of the same questions twice. I don't know about anybody else, but did Britney sound very bored when she was hosting AT40?

I still want to hear Ellen K host AT40 someday. She has a good voice and I think she would make an excellent guest host when Ryan can't do it.

[johnnywest]

Dec 5, 2013 18:56:32 GMT -5 cookie111 said:

Bruno Mars is about to have his least successful track yet as it becomes his first single to miss the Top 5 on the mainstream chart, and it's the very first song by him to miss the Top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100 (it only reached #22).

Bruno was featured on "Young, Wild & Free" which peaked at #10. Both AT40 and Billboard include an artist's featured billing as part of their total number of singles.

[Libra]

Dec 5, 2013 0:13:40 GMT -5 mkarns said:

If M5 and Bruno fall off soon, then the longest continuous presence would likely be Justin Timberlake, who's been on each week since February 2.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis have a few weeks on him; without looking it up to confirm the week, "Thrift Shop" debuted either January 5 or 12, and they've maintained a continuous presence ever since. And indeed, even if "Can't Hold Us" finally goes soon, it looks as though "White Walls" will keep them around for at least a few months into the next year.

[kc98]

Was wondering why Britney had 4 extras, but now I get it. Yay for Piece of Me and Stronger being extras!

[mkarns]

Dec 7, 2013 14:59:45 GMT -5 Libra said:

Dec 5, 2013 0:13:40 GMT -5 mkarns said:

If M5 and Bruno fall off soon, then the longest continuous presence would likely be Justin Timberlake, who's been on each week since February 2.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis have a few weeks on him; without looking it up to confirm the week, "Thrift Shop" debuted either January 5 or 12, and they've maintained a continuous presence ever since. And indeed, even if "Can't Hold Us" finally goes soon, it looks as though "White Walls" will keep them around for at least a few months into the next year.

Yeah, I overlooked that somehow. I just checked and "Thrift Shop" debuted January 19, 2013, and the duo have had at least one song on every countdown since, and sometimes as many as three at once.

[Libra]

Dec 7, 2013 13:26:49 GMT -5 ericNY2002 said:

I was wondering how the CHR version was this week.

Over on Hot AC, Britney may have introduced 6-7 songs on the whole chart with the Artist and chart number. Most would be Britney talking about something and then the generic number prompt would get played with no song/artist introduction followed immediately by the next song after another number prompt. Heck even the breakouts were played with no intro and no description after the song, just the bumper saying AT40 Breakout and then a bumper going to commercial. Some of the fan questions were played twice as well.

Ick...finally listening to this one now. Through Hour 1, it's much the same story here. It doesn't help that Britney's not showing much personality at all.

[richie]

I just sent an e-mail to AT40 about how bad this week's show was. It was by far the worst announcing I've ever
heard on this show. She kept saying things like "Speaking of hits here's another one now", "Let's keep the countdown
rolling", and "That's #36." She might as well have phoned it in. We didn't even hear that Gorilla plummeted and was
the biggest dropper. It was more like a trio of hosts: Britney, Ryan, and computer lady.
I wonder what Casey would think of this disaster. Meanwhile, What Now is doing less than stellar, but at least
Rihanna also has a monster of a hit.

[Libra]

Dec 8, 2013 18:03:52 GMT -5 richie said:

I just sent an e-mail to AT40 about how bad this week's show was. It was by far the worst announcing I've ever
heard on this show. She kept saying things like "Speaking of hits here's another one now", "Let's keep the countdown
rolling", and "That's #36." She might as well have phoned it in. We didn't even hear that Gorilla plummeted and was
the biggest dropper. It was more like a trio of hosts: Britney, Ryan, and computer lady.
I wonder what Casey would think of this disaster. Meanwhile, What Now is doing less than stellar, but at least
Rihanna also has a monster of a hit.

I didn't get to hear the Jessica Simpson one back in 2006, but from reading the comments in that week's thread, would that have been worse than this? I chalk this one up to she just doesn't have much to say that's not about herself.

She also (like many guest hosts, it seems?) asked fans to phone/tweet questions in - I noticed from archiving the Seacrest era-shows recently that several guest hosts have done this, and it makes me wonder if either the show's staff or Premiere deliberately try to create the "live" illusion. I just don't think that many guest hosts would slip up on this not being live like that.

[richie]

Most of the guest hosts act like you can ask questions of them during the show. So crazy. I don't
remember the Jessica Simpson week, but this week was really like she couldn't manage the commitment and
that she didn't have the actual chart, or something.

[Cerebro]

Dec 8, 2013 18:03:52 GMT -5 richie said:

I just sent an e-mail to AT40 about how bad this week's show was. It was by far the worst announcing I've ever
heard on this show. She kept saying things like "Speaking of hits here's another one now", "Let's keep the countdown
rolling", and "That's #36." She might as well have phoned it in. We didn't even hear that Gorilla plummeted and was
the biggest dropper. It was more like a trio of hosts: Britney, Ryan, and computer lady.
I wonder what Casey would think of this disaster. Meanwhile, What Now is doing less than stellar, but at least
Rihanna also has a monster of a hit.

I agree with your sentiments, richie. I didn't think it was very good, either. I was, mostly, annoyed that the vast majority of the songs on the chart were played, completely, unannounced. The complete opposite of the AT40 of old. Casey would front and back announce every song title and artist. He would, also, tell us the positions and the chart movement of everything. Britney's speaking bits mostly consisted of answering fan questions and playing snippets of the songs on her new album. It felt pretty half-assed. If you're going to have a guest host, is it asking too much that they be a little more involved in, you know, the actual countdown aspect of the show?

[Libra]

Dec 7, 2013 12:22:31 GMT -5 musiciscool said:

In the post for the Top 40, Fifth Harmony "Miss Movin' On" was played as an extra after Katy Perry "Roar" at #6.

Same here.

[richie]

On a lighter note, I forgot to mention that this is probably the only time
we'll ever hear back-to-back "Z" artists on the show. (Zedd and Zendaya)

[friday]

Dec 8, 2013 18:57:52 GMT -5 Cerebro said:

Dec 8, 2013 18:03:52 GMT -5 richie said:

I just sent an e-mail to AT40 about how bad this week's show was. It was by far the worst announcing I've ever
heard on this show. She kept saying things like "Speaking of hits here's another one now", "Let's keep the countdown
rolling", and "That's #36." She might as well have phoned it in. We didn't even hear that Gorilla plummeted and was
the biggest dropper. It was more like a trio of hosts: Britney, Ryan, and computer lady.
I wonder what Casey would think of this disaster. Meanwhile, What Now is doing less than stellar, but at least
Rihanna also has a monster of a hit.

I agree with your sentiments, richie. I didn't think it was very good, either. I was, mostly, annoyed that the vast majority of the songs on the chart were played, completely, unannounced. The complete opposite of the AT40 of old. Casey would front and back announce every song title and artist. He would, also, tell us the positions and the chart movement of everything. Britney's speaking bits mostly consisted of answering fan questions and playing snippets of the songs on her new album. It felt pretty half-assed. If you're going to have a guest host, is it asking too much that they be a little more involved in, you know, the actual countdown aspect of the show?

Interestingly, she also guest-hosted SiriusXM's pop countdown last weekend. While I didn't listen to it, mining the few comments on Hits 1's Facebook page seems to indicate she wasn't much better there either.

[musiciscool]

Dec 8, 2013 18:03:52 GMT -5 richie said:

I just sent an e-mail to AT40 about how bad this week's show was. It was by far the worst announcing I've ever
heard on this show. She kept saying things like "Speaking of hits here's another one now", "Let's keep the countdown
rolling", and "That's #36." She might as well have phoned it in. We didn't even hear that Gorilla plummeted and was
the biggest dropper. It was more like a trio of hosts: Britney, Ryan, and computer lady.
I wonder what Casey would think of this disaster. Meanwhile, What Now is doing less than stellar, but at least
Rihanna also has a monster of a hit.

You should have included to ask them to put Ellen K as a guest host sometime whenever Ryan can't host it. :)

[richie]

Dec 8, 2013 23:44:39 GMT -5 musiciscool said:

Dec 8, 2013 18:03:52 GMT -5 richie said:

I just sent an e-mail to AT40 about how bad this week's show was. It was by far the worst announcing I've ever
heard on this show. She kept saying things like "Speaking of hits here's another one now", "Let's keep the countdown
rolling", and "That's #36." She might as well have phoned it in. We didn't even hear that Gorilla plummeted and was
the biggest dropper. It was more like a trio of hosts: Britney, Ryan, and computer lady.
I wonder what Casey would think of this disaster. Meanwhile, What Now is doing less than stellar, but at least
Rihanna also has a monster of a hit.

You should have included to ask them to put Ellen K as a guest host sometime whenever Ryan can't host it. :)

I just sent them another e-mail with that suggestion. We'll see if they reply.

[KelownaGuy20]

Weird... no sign of "Miss Movin' On" on my copy of the show.