Mike's Top 40: 9/24/16

[Libra]

As you may or may not have noticed in the line in my signature, I'm re-starting my chart (again) in 2015.

I was forced to step back from keeping the chart going towards the end of this past summer, thus why I stopped updating - and ultimately, why I decided to keep it inactive until next year.

Sooooo...check this space on January 3, for my first active chart in four months 2015.

Until then - happy holidays! :)

[surfy]

YAY! I'M READY!!! :)

[Libra]

Well, let's hope this works...

Commentary and all that jazz to come later, but for now - here goes!

[surfy]

Out of the Woods, Night Changes, Shake It Off, Little Toy Guns, Take Me to Church, Thinking Out Loud, Miles, and Stuck on a Feeling!!! <3

[Deleted]

It's nice to see Jessie Ware and 1D so high on up. :)

[♛ The Manticore ☯]

Oh nice to see "Live In Stereo" by J Balvin as well as Paul van Dyk, Tulisa and Cosmic Gate. A few nice surprises here.

[Libra]

Some notes:

This, technically, marks Taylor's third #1 song on my chart.

This marks the first time Kelis has been this high in 11 years; she took "Milkshake" to #2 in '04.

Don't expect "Shake it Off", "A Place With No Name", or "Slow" to be very long for this world. I figured it was worth including a few songs that would, arguably, still have been charting had I not begun another chart layoff back in August. ("Shake it Off" would otherwise be in Week 20, the other two in Week 21 - but I figured it was easier to simply reset their weeks counts for this.)

Since "They Don't Know" peaked at a paltry 36 last year, Rico Love starts out here at a brand new high.

And since I don't follow the Dance forum religiously, I wasn't exactly prepared for just how often new songs emerge over there.

[Mikey]

Nice to see "Wish You Were Mine" & "Generations" :)

[Libra]

New chart time!


surfy: Carrie's the week's Biggest Mover.
@drag27: Jessie & 1D each hold position.
♛ The Manticore ☯: Paul van Dyk and Tulisa each up a notch.
Mikey: "Generations" up four.

Mike's Top 40
For the Week Ending: January 10, 2015

DROPPER:
Rae Morris - Under the Shadows (from 36)


Well! The bottom half, at least, is a significant revision of how I thought things might turn out this second week. I was thinking that, at best, songs might move a few notches in either direction, save for the August holdovers.

That changed as the list of songs I'm considering to chart swelled during the week. I had a little less than 10 to start with, and that doubled. No way can I leave them all hanging for that long. But how to be fair to them, as well as to the current crop? That, is the question I'll be trying my best to figure out over the coming weeks - and, well, y'all will get to see the results of that.

For now, Rae Morris gets shown the door; don't look for her to be back. Reba takes her place, and she's off to a fast start in the process; she just released the song this week.

The drops for Prince Royce, Cosmic Gate, and The Script are no accidents either; chances are they'll all be shown the door next week. In the case of Prince Royce, it's a bit frustrating, as I did like the song the first few times I heard it...but, it has not held up well over time. :(

Carrie earns the week's Biggest Move, and earns is definitely the way to put it, with the crowded upper field she's having to fight through. Evidence of which: The backward bullet by Smallpools, who are in no danger of shifting into death spiral anytime soon.

And then, there's "Slow". I originally had it slotted in for something like a 10-notch drop, locked into death spiral. When it originally surfaced back in August, it was relatively new - but when I was forced to back away from the chart for a while, I didn't listen to very much music at all. Hearing "Slow" once again has me really getting into it all over again, which in turn has me thinking of keeping it around for a while instead of dropping it quickly. For now, it drops five to #20.

And...that should do it for this week's chart talk. Until next week...I'll leave you all with a new feature I'm going to try for this go-round. :)


NEW PICKS OF THE WEEK:

These will be songs either entering consideration crack my Top 40 soon, or in the case of the first one, songs moving fast enough to move straight onto the chart in the first week. Think of them as my "new adds" for the week, so to speak.

Including this week's sole debut, there's six of them this week:

Reba McEntire - Going Out Like That (#40)
Milk Inc. - Don't Say Goodbye
Kalin and Myles - Trampoline
Kindness featuring Robyn - Who Do You Love
Josh Dorr - Save Your Breath
LeToya Luckett - I'm Ready

-Mike

[Flip]

Good to see Taylor at #1 and Blonde gaining into the top 10! Also good to see Trijntje Oosterhuis charting (you wrote it as 'Trijnjte, but the 'j' actually comes after the 't'. It's a weird and hard name, I know ).

[surfy]

Out of the Woods is #1!!!

Little Toy Guns, Take Me to Church, Thinking Out Loud, and Miles rising!!!

Going Out Like That debuts!!!

Love your chart!!!

[Libra]

Jan 10, 2015 16:13:53 GMT -5 Flip said:

Good to see Taylor at #1 and Blonde gaining into the top 10! Also good to see Trijntje Oosterhuis charting (you wrote it as 'Trijnjte, but the 'j' actually comes after the 't'. It's a weird and hard name, I know ).

Crap - not going in to fix it now, but it'll be fixed with next week's chart.

[♛ The Manticore ☯]

Yes at Paul van Dyk & Tulisa moving up. And nice to see Milk Inc. being considered. Hoping it makes it to the top 40 chart in the coming weeks.

EDIT: Oops at the sole debut part.

[Libra]

Jan 10, 2015 17:26:28 GMT -5 ♛ The Manticore ☯ said:

And nice to see Milk Inc. in the sole debut. Hoping it makes it to the top 40 chart in the coming weeks.

Hee hee, Reba is the sole debut this week, but yes, Milk Inc. stands a good chance of debuting next week. :)

[Libra]

Going a day early this week.


Flip: Blonde up two.
surfy: Ed up four.
♛ The Manticore ☯: Paul van Dyk + company up three.
@drag27: Jessie & 1D swap places.
Mikey: "Generations" up another four.

Mike's Top 40
For the Week Ending: January 17, 2015

DROPPERS:
Prince Royce featuring Snoop Dogg - Stuck on a Feeling (from 37)
Cosmic Gate & Kristina Antuna - Alone (from 34)
The Script - No Good in Goodbye (from 33)


Since people still like to talk about it... ;)

Ellie, Ed, and One Direction have never charted here together all concurrently. During 2012, Ellie first charted with "Lights", only getting up to #12 during her run with the song at Hot AC. She fell off just before 1D landed with WMYB, and wouldn't be back again until my chart entered the Top 40 era.

There, despite "Burn" having a fantastic 27-week run, it would still not be enough, as Ed, who closed out the Top 20 era with "The A Team" at the summit, wouldn't appear until "Don't" landed in July. 1D charted twice, not that it mattered. Ellie hasn't been back since "Burn" fell off, thus keeping the triad from happening...

...that is...until now. "Love Me Like You Do" comes in hot off the presses at #40, with Ed charging for the Top 20, and One Direction currently in the Top 10. (Funny that they're all singing ballads, eh?) Ellie and Ed each look to have long stretches ahead of them, while One Direction might be in a bit of trouble, with "Night Changes" losing its bullet and swapping places with Jessie Ware.

Speaking of such things, there's a new #1 this week, with "Out of the Woods" finding itself out of the summit, and Chris Lago's aptly-titled "Royals" taking her place. But he may not be there long; Bobby Green + Sean Michael Murray are hot on his heels.

Country yields the week's Biggest Mover for the second straight week, as Reba McEntire rockets up eight. Meanwhile, last week's Biggest Mover sees Top 10 territory this week. She has a bit of unexpected competition; Blonde were one of my hotter picks this week, so they were able to keep Carrie back instead of allowing her to go right past, guns blazing.

Despite being a country song, Carrie's song has a raucus sound, which combined with Smallpools, are squeezing out Walk the Moon; thus its five-notch drop this week. I really like "Different Colors", but unlike the other two, it hasn't been standing out much as of late.

Let's go back to Reba for a minute, though. With that eight-notch jump, in one week she's managed to move upward more than any other song has over two - except for two: "Generations" (which is tied, with back-to-back four-notch moves) and "Somebody Else" (the only song to have moved more, nine notches in total).

And...that should do it for this week's chart talk.


NEW PICKS OF THE WEEK: (There's a lot of them... :'()

Chris Malinchak featuring Sam Dew - When the World Stops Turning
Ellie Goulding - Love Me Like You Do (#40)
Charli XCX featuring Rita Ora - Doing It
Tim McGraw featuring Catherine Dunn - Diamond Rings and Old Barstools
Madonna - Devil Pray
Train - Bulletproof Picasso
Madi Diaz - Stay Together
Steve Grand - Time
The Zac Brown Band - Homegrown

Until next week... :)

-Mike

[♛ The Manticore ☯]

Milk Inc. did it! And Paul van Dyk rises up a bit which is nice. Hoping "Doing It" by Charli XCX debuts in the coming weeks since I just got into that one recently.

[Flip]

Yas Love Me Like You Do enters the chart
Also good to see Milk Inc. debut and Trijntje gaining.

[surfy]

Little Toy Guns in top 10!!!

Thinking Out Loud, Miles, and Going Out Like That rising!!!

Love Me Like You Do debuts!!!

Love your chart!!!

[Libra]

It's one of these kinds of weeks again...six debuts this week!

And no, 1D are not one of the droppers. That would've truly been epic, dropping clear out from way up at #7. :o


♛ The Manticore ☯: Milk Inc. up four.
Flip: Ellie up six.
surfy: Carrie up five.
@drag27: Two of the six debuts should look awfully familiar. ;)
Mikey: "Generations" up three.

Mike's Top 40
For the Week Ending: January 24, 2015

DROPPERS:
Coldplay - Miracles (from 38)
Lifehouse - Flight (from 37)
Michael Jackson - A Place With No Name (from 36)
Tulisa - Living Without You (from 30)
Taylor Swift - Shake it Off (from 28)
J. Balvin featuring Motiff - Live in Stereo (from 25)


A STUDY IN CONTRADICTIONS: Despite an onslaught of six debuts, ten songs - a full fourth of the chart - all hold in place this week, including a six-song bloc comprising a majority of the teens.

The six debuts come as three of the week's droppers fall out from inside the Top 30. Of those, one was fast on its way to the door, while one was pulled right from its peak position, and the other had been trying to jockey right around its peak.

Six debuts isn't a record, though - that is seven, set three times over (including not too far from this time last year).

After a week on top, Chris Lago surrenders the chart crown to Bobby Green and Sean Michael Murray. But how long will they be wearing it? Neon Trees are no strangers to the top spot, and here comes Carrie blazing her way up!

Taylor Swift narrowly misses a hat trick of hits this week, as "Style" comes in, but "Shake it Off" finds itself shaken loose. I'm actually not 100% certain if any artist has ever placed a trio on the chart all at once - if anyone would have done it, it would've been Avril Lavigne. During the summer of 2003, she was winding down with "Losing Grip", but following that I charted her album tracks "Tomorrow" and "Things I'll Never Say". Those two debuted not too far apart - I just don't remember how close together they were, nor how long "Losing Grip" lasted. And since I long ago lost my archives from anytime prior to the fall of '03, I have no way to check for sure. :'(

Ordinarily, Madonna, at 56, would be the oldest artist on a chart she'd appear on these days. I say ordinarily, because she's no stranger to these parts. But that's not the case - she's second to the Country queen who this week has the week's Biggest Mover for the second week straight. Suffice it to say that being 60 isn't slowing one Reba McEntire down any! ;)

That block in the teens, however, is another story. The likely fates of those six are, presently, a mish-mash. MNEK, Lindi Ortega, and possibly Mary J./Disclosure look to be peaking, while Empire of the Sun and Ex Cops still have at least some gas left in the tank. So too do Walk the Moon, who after falling five last week, re-gain their bullet and hold steady this week.

And...that should do it for this week's chart talk.


NEW PICKS OF THE WEEK:

Young Summer - Severing Ties
Alex Winston - Careless
Giorgio Moroder featuring Kylie Minogue - Right Here, Right Now
Fancy Reagan - Knock Me Out
Conya Doss - You Got Me
Taylor Swift - Style (#36) [no audio, of course ]

Until next week... :)

-Mike

[Deleted]

Nice jump for Ellie! :)

[♛ The Manticore ☯]

Yay for Milk Inc. going up and Paul van Dyk hanging in there. Sad to see Tulisa and J Balvin go though. Gonna check out the Shaggy song.

[Flip]

Taylor debuts!
Good to see Ellie is up six
I’m not familiar with your number one, but I'll have a listen to it ASAP.

[Mikey]

YAY Changing Me

[Libra]

Only one debut this week, but we have lots of chart action to make up for it, with some big moves and big drops.

And while last week a full fourth of the chart held right in place - that is, ten songs, this week those numbers flip flop, and it's a tenth of the chart (four songs) that hold position. :) Could one of those four be the song that moved into the top spot last week (Mikey)?

Only one way to find out... ;)


@drag27: Nicer jump for Ellie this week. :)
Flip: And for Taylor as well.
♛ The Manticore ☯: And for Milk Inc.
surfy: Angie Miller reaches Top 20 territory.

Mike's Top 40
For the Week Ending: January 31, 2015

DROPPER:
Paramore featuring Joy Williams - Hate to See Your Heart Break (from 32)


Listing my New Picks of the Week first this week; I have a story to tell about one of them. :)

NEW PICKS OF THE WEEK:

Monarch - Stay
Chicane featuring Lisa Gerrard - Orleans
Rihanna, Kanye West, & Paul McCartney - FourFiveSeconds (#40)
The Bright Light Social Hour - Infinite Cities


For the fourth week straight, my new picks of the week include a song that also debuts in the Top 40. Last year I didn't even have as many as three weeks straight with that kind of consistency.

Just last week, I mentioned how Reba held the crown for the oldest artist in the survey. This week, 72-year-old Paul McCartney snatches that crown. I'm not imagining that someone else is waiting in the wings to snatch it from him anytime soon...

Country singers have had the Biggest Mover of the week for the past three weeks, but this week the honor goes to a Country singer gone full Pop, as "Style" leaps twelve notches to #24 to do it.

Ellie and Ed each leap nine notches this week - meanwhile, look who also drops nine.

Yes, Walk the Moon return to the Top 10 this week, almost completely reversing their descent from two weeks ago. At that time, "Different Colors" was feeling a bit lost in the shuffle, and I was feeling ready to dump it. Well, just as I was dropping it out of the Top 10, I was also having a change of heart on that call. Now, I kind of want to keep it around longer.

The same could be said for "Slow", which after three weeks at #20, breaks the monotony this week and rebounds to #16.



And now...we're going to turn to the "Crazy Maddeningly Obscure Chart Facts" files for a few fun facts. Oh, the things you can find out when you just do a little research...


Angie Miller's EP Weathered, from which "Miles" comes from, was produced by the production team known as Red Decibel. Red Decibel consists of Adam Watts, Andy Dodd, and Gannin Arnold, the last of whom joined Adam and Andy in 2011. Adam and Andy teamed up with Greg Wells in 2005 to produce Jesse McCartney's "Beautiful Soul", which went to #2 on my chart. How many chart miles will they cover this time around? For now, "Miles" breaks into the Top 20, and should easily make a nice move towards the Top 10 next week. :)

I was surprised to discover that Roses Gabor had actually assumed the role of "Noodle" in the band Gorillaz for their album Demon Days. "Noodle" can be heard prominently on that album's second single "Dare". I thought I might've charted that one, but upon checking my archives I apparently didn't.

"Changing Me", #1 for the second week in a row, features Sean Michael Murray singing the song. Sean's band may sound familiar if you've been paying attention to other Pulse pages as of late...last week they had one of my New Picks of the Week, with the song "Knock Me Out". Yes...I'm talking about, Fancy Reagan.

And speaking of New Picks of the Week...let's turn now, to one Bright Light Social Hour. Many of you might have noticed "Infinite Cities" as one of the free songs being offered from iTunes last week. One thing you may not know about this band, however, is that three of its members - Joseph Mirasole, Jack O'Brien, and Curtis Roush - were in attendance when Wendy Davis famously filibustered an anti-abortion bill in the Texas Senate. Inspired, they rushed right into the studio and recorded a song about the event, with an accompanying video that included footage of protests there which was shot by the band using their phones. Care to guess what the song was titled? ;)


Phew...that's a lot of commentary for one week. Until next week... :)

-Mike

[♛ The Manticore ☯]

Smash Milk Inc.! Great to see Paul van Dyk hanging in there. I checked out the Shaggy song the other day and liked it. Happy to see Chicane as the new pick of the week.

[surfy]

Little Toy Guns in top 3!!!

Thinking Out Loud in top 10!!!

Miles and Going Out Like That in top 20!!!

Style and Love Me Like You Do in top 30!!!

FourFiveSeconds debuts!!!

Love your chart!!!

[Libra]

Sorry for the late. :( Hoping next week won't be the same. :)


♛ The Manticore ☯: Paul van Dyk et. al up four.
surfy: "FourFiveSeconds" is the week's Biggest Mover.
Flip: Ellie up eight.
Mikey: "Generations" up three.
Sean: Reba up six.
@drag27: LeToya up four.

Mike's Top 40
For the Week Ending: February 7, 2015

DROPPERS:
Hozier - Take Me to Church (from 39)
Kesha - Lover (from 38)
Olly Murs featuring Travie McCoy - Wrapped Up (from 34)
MNEK - The Rhythm (from 29)
Lindi Ortega - Lived and Died Alone (from 28)


Neon Trees move into the top spot in a horse-race finish. With a string of contenders sitting right below them, how long will they get in the penthouse?

Last week, I made the bold bold prediction that there wouldn't be an older artist than Paul McCartney moving into the survey anytime soon. It took exactly one week to break that, as 74-year-old Giorgio Moroder has now crashed the party, and he brings his collaboration with Kylie Minogue (who made her big return last year) in at #40.

Paul still has reason to celebrate, though, as do Rihanna and Kanye, with "FourFiveSeconds" being the week's Biggest Mover, up twelve notches to #28. That matches the high jump mark set by Katy Perry right before I went on my latest hiatus back in August.

Also last week, Ellie Goulding saw herself leapfrogged by Taylor Swift (who also tied Katy's jump with that). This week - she fights back! She makes a nice jump up eight to #17.

Speaking of fighting back, last week Ex Cops lost their bullet and slipped to #18. This week, they regain their bullet and reverse that slip. But it's not going to be easy for them to keep holding on, with the teens possibly being the most fiercely competitive part of the chart right now. Further evidence of this, is Reba McEntire leaping over them to #14.

And...that should do it for this week's chart talk.


NEW PICKS OF THE WEEK:
One Direction - Stockholm Syndrome (A former Pulse Featured Track of the Week, now moving on to this with "Night Changes" on its way to the door...)
Mikky Ekko - Love You Crazy
Marc Scibilia - Wide Open Arms
Leon Bridges - Coming Home
The Wombats - Greek Tragedy
Emily Hearn - Volcano
The Babies - Got Old (Ex-free iTunes pick)
Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors - Shine Like Lightning (Ex-free iTunes pick)


Until next week... :)

-Mike

[Zeebz]

I'll have to check out your top two (and a lot of other stuff), but for now I'm hoping that "Little Toy Guns", "Karaoke", "Desire", "Different Colors", "Thinking Out Loud", "Going Out Like That", "Love Me Like You Do", and "Devil Pray" to keep rising. I'm also glad to see "Doing It", "Homegrown", "Diamond Rings and Old Barstools", and "Right Here, Right Now" debut. Fantastic chart, Mike! :)

[Sean]

Yesss!!!! Go Reba go! ;) <3


Loving your chart this week too (I seriously need to keep up with all of these!) and definitely seeing some songs I need to check out! Hope Carrie can make it to the top next week!

[♛ The Manticore ☯]

Smash Milk Inc. and Paul van Dyk! And great to see "Doing It".