Katy Perry - DARK HORSE #1 [bigger than ROAR]

[B****BetterGetNOSL333P]

#18 on iTunes, just behind UC and DWUW

[The Upper Hand]

Dec 7, 2013 20:03:54 GMT -5 allow that said:

LOL @ that Stephanie Tanner video that's going viral. Too bad it's only about nine seconds long, but it may explain the sales surge.

Link?

[Az Paynter]

POP:
44 42 KATY PERRY Dark Horse 859 650 209 7.720

+33 Spins
+27 Bullet
+0.130 Audience

RHYTHMIC:
44 42 KATY PERRY Dark Horse 484 453 31 2.745

+14 Spins
-6 Bullet
+0.015 Audience

[The Upper Hand]

So where is lagbaja when a Katy Perry song is #18 on iTunes (700k already sold) without even adds date?

[jumpb4uthink]

Is this affecting Unconditionally or is it the other way around. Heard this on the way home yesterday and it sounds fit for a smash.

[Deleted]

miracles are possible, I love this.

[Adonis the DemiGod!]

No shock this is eating the other song alive.

[Aaron]

19 Katy Perry - Dark Horse (feat. Juicy J) 0.2351

[hitseeker.]

This has to become the next single and smash hard, love this!

[Aaron]

Closing in on DWUW...

17 Lady Gaga - Do What U Want (feat. R. Kelly) 0.2603
18 Katy Perry - Dark Horse (feat. Juicy J) 0.2517

[Gold Soundz]

Houston is the sixth biggest radio market in the U.S. Its Top 40 station played this 123 times this week.

[unwritten]

Once will become official this will fly up on the charts. It's just remarcable how this little song is fighting for his right to be a single. Go Dark Horse and don't stop until you reach #1 ! :)

[beachboi69]

Lol. This is a smash single. When is the last time a song went Top 40 without an adds date that is selling more then a Top 20 pop airplay single.

Its an oddity.

[Az Paynter]

POP:
45 42 KATY PERRY Dark Horse 899 648 251 7.817

+40 Spins
+42 Bullet
+0.097 Audience

RHYTHMIC:
44 41 KATY PERRY Dark Horse 501 458 43 2.773

+17 Spins
+12 Bullet
+0.028 Audience

[wavey.]

"Theres No Going Back..."

[chartfreak]

Maybe once Unconditionally goes top 10, if it ever does, they will officially start promoting this.

[Aaron]

Katy Perry Rides In On A 'Dark Horse,' Her Aptly Titled, Unexpected Hit.

Having been released less than two months ago, Perry's No. 1 Billboard 200 album "PRISM" this week yields its third hit on the Nielsen BDS-based Pop Songs radio airplay chart, as "Dark Horse," featuring Juicy J, debuts at No. 40.

Unlike uptempo first single "Roar," which topped the tally for five weeks, and ballad follow-up "Unconditionally," which lifts 10-8 this week (although down seven plays from last week), the moodier, rap-infused "Horse" trots in due solely to unsolicited airplay.

Notably, "Dark Horse" was released as a digital "PRISM" preview track and debuted on the Digital Songs chart at No. 4 the week of Oct. 5. It's sold 785,000 downloads to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan. ("Unconditionally," meanwhile, has sold less than half that sum: 340,000. The set's other preview cut, "Walking on Air," which bowed on Digital Songs at No. 8 with 113,000 the week of Oct. 19, has sold 150,000 so far.)

Such exposure, and a chart position, for a song not being promoted to top 40, while another track from an artist is a focus track, is a rarity at the format. The practice has a deeper history, for instance, at country radio, with superstars like Shania Twain having charted cuts on Country Airplay in the '90s prior to their releases as official singles. Twain's "From This Moment On," for example, dotted the chart between Nos. 75 and 62 for 17 weeks before its proper release and eventual vault to a No. 6 peak.

RADIO: 'DARK HORSE' A 'WELCOME RHYTHMIC SOUND'

Stations playing "Dark Horse," unsurprisingly, say that Perry's star power is fueling its exposure.

It's not, however, the only reason.

Danny Howard, program director of WDOD Chattanooga, Tenn., which played "Unconditionally" 70 times and "Dark Horse" 17 times last week, says that by spinning "Unconditionally" and "Dark Horse," listeners get to hear different sides of Perry's musical personality. "Katy is possibly one of only a handful of artists, perhaps in history, that could pull this off. We look at 'Roar' and 'Unconditionally' as part of her signature pop sound, while 'Dark Horse' is her more edgy, wild alter ego. It's a welcome rhythmic sound in the sea of pop and alternative material out now."

Howard adds that strong sales for "Dark Horse" have increased his confidence in playing it. "While Capitol hasn't actively worked the track, it's a top 20-selling song in Chattanooga, which I'm sure [the label isn't] too upset about. Plus, 'Unconditionally' is in super-power rotation. So, everyone is smiling."

Nick Russo, assistant PD/music director of KTFM San Antonio agrees that says that the sound of "Dark Horse" has helped make it a surprise addition; the station played the track 41 times last week, compared to giving "Unconditionally" 10 plays. "[KTFM is] a rhythmic-leaning pop station and we became convinced that 'Dark Horse' was a hit record. Juicy J is very familiar to our audience and the sound is something we look for with KTFM.

"Audience research has come back huge. While I hope it grows nationally, whether or not it does, it's a win for us."

WJFX Fort Wayne, Ind., likewise played "Dark Horse" (62 times) more than "Unconditionally" last week (37). PD Brooke Taylor concurs that the station is following its audience's reaction to the former song. "While we understand that it's not the label priority, the fans of our brand are the ones we have to take into consideration when it comes to our title selection."

Sound, too, Taylor says, is central to the station's choice to wrangle "Dark Horse" onto its playlist. "Sonically, it has the architecture of what, on the surface, sounds like a hit from a proven superstar. After exposing it to the market, our belief rang true. From Shazam rankings to retail to research, 'Dark Horse' has actually outperformed 'Unconditionally.' "

"It also might be forgotten that 'Dark Horse' was a fan-selected favorite in a recent Pepsi/MTV Video Music Awards promotion," Taylor points out.

"If her fanbase already picked it as one of its favorites, why would radio, and Capitol, not follow suit?"


Still, Capitol, Thompson and Perry herself hope that "Unconditionally" "gets its full day in court," as Thompson says. He cites that its momentum has boosted with the release of its official video, which, since its Nov. 20 premiere, has drawn 18 million worldwide YouTube views. "The video is off to a great start, and it follows her performance of the song on the American Music Awards.

"And, on a personal, lyrical level, 'Unconditionally' is very special to Katy."

The song additionally bullets at No. 10 on Adult Pop Songs (up 4% in plays) and re-enters Adult Contemporary at No. 30 (up 33%).

Now that "Dark Horse" has galloped onto the Pop Songs chart, a natural question follows its unexpected ride to radio, as well as its lofty sales: Will Capitol choose it as the third official single from "PRISM"?

"Katy's well aware of 'Dark Horse' and we're discussing it," Thompson says. "It might be the next single. Or, due to the play it's getting now, maybe it can never have a full campaign as a single. We're watching it – and certainly appreciating the airplay – while still wanting 'Unconditionally' to have a full run."

[Deleted]

It's mind-boggling that they're sitting on a song that's showing all the signs of being a massive hit and are actually considering not pushing it as a single.

[wavey.]

It's so weird. They might as well push it cause "Unconditonally" is not moving at the speed that Capitol wants it to.

[Aaron]

They must be confident that UC will continue to grow at radio, but Mediabase says otherwise. Lol

[dbhmr]

Yeah, you couldn't ask for your third single to be in a better position to smash, nor ask for a more obvious choice. There shouldn't even be any discussion--what is there to talk about? Waiting too long will hinder the song's performance, and it's too big at this point to ignore, so it will give a different third single a lot of trouble on the way up.

[icefire9]

If Capitol tries to push something else for a third single, watch radio ignore it and play Dark Horse instead.

[Kurt]

Yeah, while "Unconditionally" has been able to climb at least somewhat well despite "Dark Horse" lurking around, I don't think they could launch a different song to radio without taking care of "Dark Horse" first, since it would probably cannibalize its airplay. I'd rather see them give "Dark Horse" enough push to be the hit it is already trying to be while using that unneeded extra effort in the first quarter to break their new artists, like Naughty Boy and Sam Smith and Graffiti6, wherever they are.

[Gold Soundz]

"Unconditionally" had its day in court; Good Taste succeeded in its motion to dismiss.

Her favorite song on the album received more exposure than it deserved, and Capitol shouldn't be pushing anything other than "Dark Horse" come January.

Edited: for brevity, but originally stated Katy was being stubborn, and, to be honest, I don't think she ever envisioned it as a single.

[Aaron]

How do you guys think this will do on HAC? Obviously, a solo version would be needed, but I think the "urban"-influenced sound might hinder its performance there. I could be wrong.

[Gold Soundz]

Dec 9, 2013 13:31:34 GMT -5 Aaron said:

How do you guys think this will do on HAC? Obviously, a solo version would be needed, but I think the "urban"-influenced sound might hinder its performance there. I could be wrong.

It might not matter. "Royals" is Top 10 Urban.

[PerPlexied]

That articles confirms what I've been thinking: They're scared that it's too late to make it an official single. They want more #1s for Katy, and they have to wait until January to release the 3rd single. There would be a possible risk that this could miss #1 since some stations already have this in power. Where do they go when this is officially a single? 200 spins? And it'll probably be platinum by the time the 3rd single is announced. I can see why they're reluctant. Of course, they could just remix it and be good.

[Deleted]

If "E.T." could make it to #2 at Hot AC, I don't see this struggling to take off there. Hot AC isn't what it used to be. Its current audience grew up on a hip-hop dominated CHR/Pop format.

[allow that]

I agree with Gold Soundz that Katy herself is the main obstacle. She seems to not like the track herself and is behaving like a stubborn "artist."

Dec 9, 2013 13:38:16 GMT -5 PerPlexied said:

That articles confirms what I've been thinking: They're scared that it's too late to make it an official single. They want more #1s for Katy, and they have to wait until January to release the 3rd single. There would be a possible risk that this could miss #1 since some stations already have this in power. Where do they go when this is officially a single? 200 spins? And it'll probably be platinum by the time the 3rd single is announced. I can see why they're reluctant. Of course, they could just remix it and be good.

I mean let's be real here. January is only three weeks away and for half of the space between now and then, all new songs will be on hold. Most of the major markets haven't touched "Dark Horse" yet. Even the smaller market stations that sent this to graze the top 40 haven't had it in rotation for all too long. This is hardly a stale song that's been getting airplay for months and months. There's still plenty of room to grow.

I almost feel like radio and iTunes customers alike will f**k up anything that comes next in favor of this, so it may as well be this. Katy can still release her favorites fourth and onwards.

[josh]

Yeah, I see this being big on HAC if they release a solo version. Even with Juicy J it would do well.