Billboard Hot 100 : 05/30/2015

[YourFaveIsAFlop]

Trap Queen has overtaken SYA on Spotify

[Future Captain]

May 19, 2015 9:40:09 GMT -5 YourFaveIsAFlop said:

Trap Queen has overtaken SYA on Spotify

Yay?

[Soulsista]

Billboard Top 10 from 35, 30, 25, and 20 years ago:

May 31, 1980

01 02 Funky Town - Lipps, Inc. (1st of 4 weeks at #1)
02 01 Call Me - Blondie
03 14 Coming Up - Paul McCartney
04 04 Don't Fall In Love With a Dreamer - Kenny Rogers & Kim Carnes
05 05 Sexy Eyes - Dr. Hook
06 06 Biggest Part Of Me - Ambrosia
07 07 Stomp! - The Brothers Johnson
08 08 Hurts So Bad - Linda Ronstadt
09 11 Against The Wind - Bob Seger
10 10 Cars - Gary Numan


June 1, 1985

01 01 Everything She Wants - Wham! (2nd and final week at #1)
02 03 Everybody Wants To Rule The World - Tears For Fears
03 04 Axel F - Harold Faltermeyer
04 02 Don't You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds
05 08 Suddenly - Billy Ocean
06 05 Smooth Operator - Sade
07 12 Heaven - Bryan Adams
08 10 Things Can Only Get Better - Howard Jones
09 13 In My House - The Mary Jane Girls
10 11 Fresh - Kool & The Gang


June 2, 1990

01 01 Vogue - Madonna (3rd and final week at #1)
02 02 All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You - Heart
03 04 Hold On - Wilson Phillips
04 05 Alright - Janet Jackson
05 06 Poison - Bell Biv DeVoe
06 08 It Must Have Been Love - Roxette
07 03 Nothing Compares 2 U - Sinead O'Connor
08 07 Sending All My Love - Linear
09 09 U Can't Touch This - M.C. Hammer
10 11 Ooh La La (I Can't Get Over You) - The Perfect Gentlemen


May 27, 1995

01 01 This Is How We Do It - Montell Jordan (7th and final week at #1)
02 02 Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman - Bryan Adams
03 06 Water Runs Dry - Boyz II Men
04 04 I'll Be There For You / You're All I Need To Get By - Method Man feat. Mary J. Blige
05 03 Freak Like Me - Adina Howard
06 08 Total Eclipse Of The Heart - Nicki French
07 05 I Know - Dionne Farris
08 07 Red Light Special - TLC
09 09 I Believe - Blessed Union Of Souls
10 22 Don't Take It Personal (Just One Of Dem Days) - Monica

[ListenToItTwice]

May 19, 2015 9:14:48 GMT -5 Future Captain said:

May 19, 2015 8:49:05 GMT -5 ListenToItTwice said:

One of the best songwriters out there right now, tbh.

Her album Be Here was AC perfection (it gave her one minor hit: "1000 Ships," but she deserved more), and "Fight Song" was released about a year ago and has been slowly climbing. It's exploded lately thanks to a series of three major appearances: the Supergirl trailer, the Radio Disney Awards, and Good Morning America.

Recommended tracks:
*Fight Song
*Remark
*Overwhelmed
*Nothing Ever Happens

Is it only me that love Lone Ranger?

I adore "Lone Ranger..." It's just not in my top 4 ;)

[imbondz]

That 1985 chart is perfection.

[BlueSwan]

May 19, 2015 10:01:05 GMT -5 Soulsista said:

June 1, 1985

01 01 Everything She Wants - Wham! (2nd and final week at #1)
02 03 Everybody Wants To Rule The World - Tears For Fears
03 04 Axel F - Harold Faltermeyer
04 02 Don't You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds
05 08 Suddenly - Billy Ocean
06 05 Smooth Operator - Sade
07 12 Heaven - Bryan Adams
08 10 Things Can Only Get Better - Howard Jones
09 13 In My House - The Mary Jane Girls
10 11 Fresh - Kool & The Gang

Lovely chart, but very weak on US acts!

Wham!, Tears For Fears, Sade, Billy Ocean, Howard Jones and Simple Minds are all UK acts. Bryan Adams is Canadian. Harold Faltermeyer is german. The entire top 8 is comprised of non US acts. That just leaves Kool & The Gang and The Mary Jane Girls as the sole US acts on this top 10. Remarkable!

[Soulsista]

Billboard Top 10 from 55, 50, 45, and 40 years ago:

May 23, 1960 (for the week ending May 28)

01 02 Cathy's Clown - The Everly Brothers (1st of 5 weeks at #1)
02 01 Stuck On You - Elvis Presley
03 05 Good Timin' - Jimmy Jones
04 03 Greenfields - The Brothers Four
05 04 Night - Jackie Wilson
06 06 Sixteen Reasons - Connie Stevens
07 08 Cradle Of Love - Johnny Preston
08 10 He'll Have To Stay - Jeanne Black
09 07 Let The Little Girl Dance - Billy Bland
10 12 Paper Roses - Anita Bryant


May 29, 1965

01 04 Help Me, Rhonda - The Beach Boys (1st of 2 weeks at #1)
02 01 Ticket To Ride - The Beatles
03 06 Back In My Arms Again - The Supremes
04 02 Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter - Herman's Hermits
05 08 Wooly Bully - Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs
06 10 Crying In The Chapel - Elvis Presley
07 03 Count Me In - Gary Lewis & The Playboys
08 05 I'll Never Find Another You - The Seekers
09 19 Just a Little - Beau Brummels
10 15 It's Not Unusual - Tom Jones


May 30, 1970

01 04 Everything Is Beautiful - Ray Stevens (1st of 2 weeks at #1)
02 01 American Woman - The Guess Who
03 07 Love On a Two-Way Street - The Moments
04 05 Cecilia - Simon & Garfunkel
05 08 Up Around The Bend / Run Through The Jungle - Creedence Clearwater Revival
06 14 Which Way You Goin' Billy - The Poppy Family
07 18 The Letter - Joe Cocker
08 03 Turn Back The Hands Of Time - Tyrone Davis
09 02 Vehicle - The Ides Of March
10 06 Let It Be - The Beatles


May 31, 1975

01 02 Before The Next Teardrop Falls - Freddy Fender (1st and only week at #1)
02 05 Thank God I'm a Country Boy - John Denver
03 06 How Long - Ace
04 04 Only Yesterday - The Carpenters
05 11 Sister Golden Hair - America
06 09 Bad Time - Grand Funk
07 10 Old Days - Chicago
08 01 Shining Star - Earth, Wind & Fire
09 08 I Don't Like To Sleep Alone - Paul Anka
10 14 When Will I Be Loved / It Doesn't Matter Anymore - Linda Ronstadt

[Joe1240]

May 19, 2015 0:37:29 GMT -5 Enigma. said:

Bad Blood will obviously be #1 for a one week but will it have several on top? Interesting to watch.

"Bad Blood" will be #1 all summer long on the charts.There is no competition that can beat it. 10+ weeks at the most. Should still be there by MTV VMAs time.

[Gary]

May 19, 2015 11:50:29 GMT -5 Joe1240 said:

May 19, 2015 0:37:29 GMT -5 Enigma. said:

Bad Blood will obviously be #1 for a one week but will it have several on top? Interesting to watch.

"Bad Blood" will be #1 all summer long on the charts.There is no competition that can beat it. 10+ weeks at the most. Should still be there by MTV VMAs time.

'10+ weeks at the most' could be the upper limit for any song really.

[Clauss]

If it goes #1, it will be no longer than 4 or 3 weeks
And if it goes #1, the following week if it drops like a rock i can see SYA coming back #1

[Joe1240]

There is no "Fancy" or "Blurred Lines" this summer.The road is clear for Taylor to dominate this summer. This song has very good chance to beat Mariah's record of "One Sweet Day" and it could happen this summer.

[Clauss]

May 19, 2015 12:10:18 GMT -5 Joe1240 said:

There is no "Fancy" or "Blurred Lines" this summer.The road is clear for Taylor to dominate this summer. This song has very good chance to beat Mariah's record of "One Sweet Day" and it could happen this summer.

I read the same thing on BS when was #1, and there somehow a wild Uptown Funk! appeared 
I'm happy as long this goes #1, even just one week, and we're not even sure of it doing it

[Joe1240]

May 19, 2015 12:22:45 GMT -5 Clauss said:

May 19, 2015 12:10:18 GMT -5 Joe1240 said:

There is no "Fancy" or "Blurred Lines" this summer.The road is clear for Taylor to dominate this summer. This song has very good chance to beat Mariah's record of "One Sweet Day" and it could happen this summer.

I read the same thing on BS when was #1, and there somehow a wild Uptown Funk! appeared 
I'm happy as long this goes #1, even just one week, and we're not even sure of it doing it

It's going to happen.We as Taylor fans have to be hopeful for this to happen. Rihanna isn't dropping any new single soon.All her songs aren't doing as well as her past eras. This song has the hype,This isn't a Katy Perry "Birthday" thing. It's in the bag for sure.

[therealstan123]

My prediction: 7 weeks @ no.1 for BB

[YourFaveIsAFlop]

You should be careful with saying there is no "Blurred Lines" this summer. In 2013 there was "Blurred Lines" at this point either. It was a mediocre performing track until the Voice performance blew it up.

[therealstan123]

Lol, my friend's told me that she had a dream last night about cheerleader becoming 2015's blurred lines and beat Mimi's record. Impossible.

[KeepDeanWeird]

If Taylor had Spotify points, an extremely long run would be possible, but I just don't see that happening with the new formula - aka BS. It doesn't matter, Taylor will get another #1 - she gave up #3 from 1989 when she pulled back the promo/visibility during Style era for her mom, which only makes her an even brighter star IMO.

[jenglisbe]

May 19, 2015 12:41:44 GMT -5 KeepDeanWeird said:

If Taylor had Spotify points, an extremely long run would be possible, but I just don't see that happening with the new formula - aka BS. It doesn't matter, Taylor will get another #1 - she gave up #3 from 1989 when she pulled back the promo/visibility during Style era for her mom, which only makes her an even brighter star IMO.

"Style" wasn't going to #1 regardless, and "Bad Blood" wouldn't be doing what it was without the remix to help sell it.

[Gary]

I wonder if Mark G wrote this? :o


www.forbes.com/sites/nickmessitte/2015/05/13/how-the-team-behind-furious-7-exploited-your-grief-to-sell-see-you-again/


How The Team Behind 'Furious 7' Exploited Your Grief To Sell "See You Again"
Comment Now Follow Comments Following Comments Unfollow Comments
“See You Again,” a single by Wiz Khalifia featuring Charlie Puth (though when you think about it, it’s really the other way around), has shattered a Spotify record, reigned atop numerous charts in various countries, and dethroned “Uptown Funk” in the top slot here in America.

The context of this song constitutes a sad state of affairs any way you cut it: the tune aims to eulogize actor Paul Walker, who died in a car crash in November of 2013.

As Walker had passed away in the middle of filming of ‘Furious 7′, it is the most natural of inclinations for those who’ve worked with him to fashion a tribute. The intention is always honorable; to argue against that would be, quite obviously, cynical and cold-hearted.

Unfortunately though, as the old proverb goes, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”


There is no doubt that the motivations behind such a tribute can be altruistic. But upon investigating the musical makeup of “See You Again,” there is also no doubt that a kind of slick engineering has come into play:

In its conception and execution, this song has consciously fused together the most current of popular conventions, and moreover, sought out a sound already linked to sentimental feelings in the marketplace. To create such sentimentality around a fictitious plot device is all well and good—this is the prerogative of any individual artist to serve any particular vision.
But this is not fiction: this is a man’s untimely death. Furthermore, this is not the work of an individual artist, or even a group of artists; as the LA Times chronicled, this was a project designed by committee, from the song selection to the piles of studio notes.


When a committee such as this has no choice but to halt production on a mega-blockbuster (a move which absolutely contributed to an inflated budget), it’s not unreasonable to ask whether fiscal motives underpinned the creation of its theme-song’s aesthetic; it is not cynical to examine its musical ingredients, to investigate whether the grief evoked was engendered specifically to counterbalance a swollen budget (a feat this song has no doubt accomplished). No, it’s a necessary reality check.

To clarify, every person and every song is entitled its full complement of influences. That is not in question here, and that is not the point.

However, when a large committee behind a blockbuster’s various moving parts—a committee saddled with burdens both moral and fiscal—selects particular elements with predictable effects for its flagship theme song, the elements are worthy of scrutiny, and their motives are worthy of investigation. I invite you to analyze the ingredients taken from other songs, and, in doing to, to evaluate for yourself whether this co-option was conducted in good faith or in a calculated manner.

First on our list, there’s the plaintive piano introduction, immediately recalling a sound which overtook the charts in 2014 two times over: Hozier’s “Take Me To Church,” and more obviously, Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me.” In particular, Smith’s melancholic gospel—along with that slick falsetto from an otherwise everyman-looking fellow—is on full display here (it’s worth noting that mash-ups of the two have already appeared on SoundCloud and YouTube).

In an article about “Uptown Funk,” I wrote that Bruno Mars was not “a thief—in courts of law he could not be considered guilty of stealing melodies or lyrics.” Instead he was guilty of something “far more insidious (and far less actionable).” Instead, I contended that he stole the essences of artists, without adding anything new to the mix.

I would argue that the same is true of this song: no chord structure has been pilfered outright, nor a melody; that would be grounds for litigation. Rather, an entire crux has been lifted, a sound which would not have suited the ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise—long on harder hip hop and multicultural electronics—before the singer songwriter (and his piano) had his most recent day in the sun.

Compounding the acquisition of a recently heralded style of balladry, we are also treated to the kind of introspective, piano-based rap production which has historically—at least in the last five years—generated standout hits: the stuff of B.O.B.’s “Airplanes” and Eminem’s “The Monster.”

Again I must reiterate that this is not an actionable rip-off. This is merely the calculated inclusion of another proven ingredient. An artist using such an influence might get a pass, but again, this song is the product of a larger entity, one which actively decided to go about “commissioning the rap star and ‘Fast & Furious 6’ contributor Wiz Khalifa to drop verses about family around Puth’s vocal and piano.”

Furthermore, to hedge its bets, the song doesn’t just provide the soulful cooing and introspective rapping of the sort we’ve heard before; we also get the standard, wordlessly aspirational chorus that’s so in vogue these days (so in vogue, it’s almost on the outs).

To one who says that this is petty griping on my part, consider that I am not alone in thinking this song to be “focus-roomed” into existence: the production team openly detailed the process themselves, from scouting the best hook (“more than 50 songwriters—many of them well known…were asked to submit suggestions for the soundtrack”) to the months and months of refinement once the hook had been established: if the song could stand alone in its sheer power, why did the team force it to go “through an extensive note-giving and production process;” why did “months [go] by, as beats were added, dropped, and added again”?

Of course, one can’t begrudge any production team for going all out to create the best possible product. However, in this instance, it seems the aim was not to create the best possible product, but rather, the most palatable one, filled with emotional shorthand established long ago (the sentimentally charged wordless chorus linked to aspirational imagery through years of associations in film and television), newly minted trends (the lone everyman balladeer with his atypically soulful voice) and proven ingredients of success (the inward-focused, piano-based rap production).

Consider how telling it is when Kevin Weaver, head of Atlantic’s film and television group, openly speaks of reaching a bigger demographic than the bereaved: “it can be about death,” he said of the tune, “but also someone you miss and can’t wait to see at a barbecue and talk to.” That’s not an offhanded remark; that’s a branding strategy.

Likewise, we cannot discount the disingenuous posturing of Charlie Puth either: “It just has a quality that I think can speak to a lot of people in their own way,” he told the LA Times. “I’m still not sure how it happened.”

Yet it is easy to see exactly how it happened: a timbre and style of piano that recalls two very recent hits (one still on the charts); a by-now obligatory bit of meditative rapping; a melody and style of singing that instantly evoked a multiple-Grammy winning phenomenon; a wordless chorus that answers its “wah oh ohs” with “ooh ooh oohs”—a trick that has trickled up from the indie world into the pop one by means of sync licensing, and which you can see illustrated here:

If you think me cynical for pointing all of this out, I wouldn’t blame you. But I’d also ask you to stop and consider how cynical the whole ordeal itself has been: we have established that a production team, faced by unavoidable budgetary escalations, spent months facilitating an “extensive note-giving and production process” in order to secure a song with enough allure to a) appeal to mourners and barbecue-aficionados alike, and b) help a production make its money back—and then some.

One last word: believe me, it brings me no joy to position myself so negatively in this case—to be one of a handful of cynics in an otherwise embracing populace. The inevitable trolling that comes from such a stance is not something I enjoy; it is not something I will wake up and look forward to. However, in this column, it is one of our functions to examine a hit’s mechanics—how a smash becomes a smash, and why. As such, it would be a disservice not to bring the calculated nature of this product to your attention. You have every right to grieve anyone in any manner you choose; I am only asking you to look at how, in the business of show, that righteous grief can help line the coffers of those who have willingly and knowingly placed a wager upon it.

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

Cheerleader is the summer smash of the year.

[lyhom]

May 19, 2015 11:50:29 GMT -5 Joe1240 said:

May 19, 2015 0:37:29 GMT -5 Enigma. said:

Bad Blood will obviously be #1 for a one week but will it have several on top? Interesting to watch.

"Bad Blood" will be #1 all summer long on the charts.There is no competition that can beat it. 10+ weeks at the most. Should still be there by MTV VMAs time.

didn't you think that "bland steak blank space" was going to spend 16+ weeks at #1 and break OSD's record when it was first released

just saying

[crystalphnx]

On one hand, I can appreciate an articulate critique of a song/album/etc.

On the other hand, some/many of those critiques apply to so much of mainstream music, it seems like that writer would prefer to just steer clear of radio in general. It's hardly new or unusual that a big hit was created by group/team of people and not just the artist sitting alone at a piano, who then goes and produces it alone too. It's also hardly unusual that several hits in a given time period will contain some similar musical elements. Would this writer's ideal be for every track on the radio to sound completely unlike every other one? Diversity and originality are wonderful and important, but of course certain songs are going to ride certain trends, and that doesn't mean they don't deserve to exist. I'm glad that we have both "Halo" and "Already Gone", just to name one prominent example.

This is pretty cringe, though, and I appreciate the author calling it out: Consider how telling it is when Kevin Weaver, head of Atlantic’s film and television group, openly speaks of reaching a bigger demographic than the bereaved: “it can be about death,” he said of the tune, “but also someone you miss and can’t wait to see at a barbecue and talk to.” That’s not an offhanded remark; that’s a branding strategy. Of course people are going to attach their own meaning to songs (like how I'm convinced that Taylor Swift's "Ours" is a gay rights anthem), and of course broader appeal = bigger success, but damn, way to be as nonchalant/apathetic about death as possible, Kev (and I don't mean Paul's specifically, since I believe Charlie was partially inspired by the death of his own friend.) I can only imagine Elton having said "I mean, it's kinda about Marilyn Monroe/Princess Di...or, ya know, just anybody you haven't seen in a few days."

[KeepDeanWeird]

Regarding the SYA 'manipulation,' if mega hit songs were so easy to write.... For whatever reason, the song struck a chord with millions and that's all that's all that matters.

[Deleted]

It's gonna be an interesting race for #1 on the 6/6/2015 chart...it looks like SYA will be #1 in airplay for some time though. Bad Blood could become the one to dethrone it on airplay too, which won't be for a while due to the large difference in AI as of now, as well as the fact that SYA has not even peaked in airplay. As of now, BB is at more than 2x of SYA on iTunes and the video is generating large amounts of views so SYA might not have the streaming edge either. Given the inevitable airplay increases to come for BB, the AI difference will also shrink pretty rapidly. I wonder how many weeks (if any) BB will get at #1...I agree with the person who said 3-4 weeks at #1. It sounds about right to me.

[Clauss]

May 19, 2015 15:03:08 GMT -5 @markg94 said:

It's gonna be an interesting race for #1 on the 6/6/2015 chart...it looks like SYA will be #1 in airplay for some time though. Bad Blood could become the one to dethrone it on airplay too, which won't be for a while due to the large difference in AI as of now, as well as the fact that SYA has not even peaked in airplay. As of now, BB is at more than 2x of SYA on iTunes and the video is generating large amounts of views so SYA might not have the streaming edge either. Given the inevitable airplay increases to come for BB, the AI difference will also shrink pretty rapidly. I wonder how many weeks (if any) BB will get at #1...I agree with the person who said 3-4 weeks at #1. It sounds about right to me.

It was me :v
Yeah, the lead is still increasing on iTunes

Bad Blood 1.0000
SYA 0.4182

[#LisaRinna]

Did Taylor have a CC deal? These labels are so extra.

[crystalphnx]

May 19, 2015 15:18:06 GMT -5 #LisaRinna said:

Did Taylor have a CC deal? These labels are so extra.

Yeah, that's the only part of this song's rollout that I mind. The teaser posters were cute and clever. Premiering the video at an awards show and coordinating it with the iTunes release was just good planning and smart business (I wonder what could've happened with "Sugar" if they didn't just plop that Nicki remix onto iTunes with no fanfare whatsoever.) Buying airplay for an artist who's coming off 3 consecutive radio smashes seems so unnecessary (and I just generally disapprove of how those radio deals count towards the Hot 100.)

...unless it didn't actually have a CC/iHeartRadio/whatever deal, in which case, I think this single has been handled fucking brilliantly.

[YourFaveIsAFlop]

If it didnt have a deal then a 1 day increase of 17m AI is f*cking insane

[slamina]

It did have a deal. I heard it on KIIS fm yesterday and it was introduced by Taylor as a "world premiere" and that they would be playing it at the top of every hour. Her label is trying really hard. LOL Don't really see the point though since "Style" ruined her chances of breaking the MJ/Katy record. But another number one doesn't hurt, I guess. Hope it's worth all this effort.

[Kinney]

Yea, they're so pathetic trying to do their job and make this single as big as possible.

"This Summer's Gonna..." had a radio deal its first day as well, but I guess that was ok?