Billboard Hot 100
Issuedate: April 15th, 2008

01. Mariah Carey - Touch My Body
02. Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love
03. Madonna and Justin Timberlake - 4 Minutes
04. Lil Wayne and Static Major - Lollipop
05. Usher and Young Jeezy - Love In This Club
06. Ray J and Yung Berg - Sexy Can I
07. Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown - No Air
08. Chris Brown - With You
09. Sara Bareilles - Love Song
10. Flo Rida and T-Pain - Low
11. Rihanna - Don't Stop The Music
12. Miley Cyrus - See You Again
13. OneRepublic - Stop And Stare
14. Timbaland and OneRepublic - Apologize
15. Trace Adkins - You're Gonna Miss This

Mariah Carey retains the top spot on the Hot 100 for the second week.  Ms. Carey sang "Fly Like A Bird" in last night's "Idol Gives Back" and she is slated to be the guest mentor for next week's American Idol show.  Can't imagine which Mariah hit David Cook would sing.  (Too bad Michael Johns was eliminated tonight,as his choice of Mariah hit would also be interesting.)  Mariah also has released her second single (!) off the still-unreleased E=mc2 album.  You can listen to it here:  http://www6.islandrecords.com/site/av.php?bcpid=1315753316&bclid=1295326835&bctid=1493152748

Leona Lewis muscles her way back up to number 2, as Madonna hold spot number three. 

Although her song drops from 5 to 7, Jordin Spark's song with Chris Brown "No Air" is actually the Greatest Gainer in Airplay this week.  No doubt the fortunes of this song will further improve after Jordin and Chris's appearance in tonight's AI results show:





The Hot Shot Debut this week is "Nude" by Radiohead at #37.  Thier first top 40 hit "Creep" only reached #34 in 1993.  The other new songs that debut are R.E.M. at #85 with "Supernatural Superserious" and Carrie Underwood at #86 with "Last Name."  I will not be surprised if Carrie Underwood's beautiful version of "Praying For Time" in last night's Idol Gives Back special will also hit the Hot 100 in the coming weeks.  You can watch the video of this special song in my previous post:  http://3xhcch.multiply.com/journal/item/201

Billboard Hot 100
Issuedate: April 8th, 2008

01. Mariah Carey - Touch My Body
02. Usher and Young Jeezy - Love In This Club
03. Madonna and Justin Timberlake - 4 Minutes
04. Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love
05. Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown - No Air
06. Ray J and Yung Berg - Sexy Can I
07. Lil Wayne and Static Major - Lollipop
08. Chris Brown - With You
09. Sara Bareilles - Love Song
10. Flo Rida and T-Pain - Low
11. Rihanna - Don't Stop The Music
12. Trace Adkins - You're Gonna Miss This
13. OneRepublic - Stop And Stare
14. Miley Cyrus - See You Again
15. Timbaland and OneRepublic - Apologize

There is more exictement on the Hot 100 this week! 

As predicted last week, Mariah Carey clinches her 18th Number 1 hit this week as digital downloads of "Touch My Body" become available.  This actually surpasses the previous record of most number of Number 1 hits by a solo artist previously held by Elvis Presley.  The most Number 1s overall is 20 by the Beatles.  Quite breakable at the rate MC is going now.  Its incredible sale of 286,000 downloads is also a new record.

Mariah's 18 Number 1 hits on the Hot 100:

Touch My Body
Don't Forget About Us
We Belong Together
Thank God I Found You
Heartbreaker
My All
Honey
Always Be My Baby
One Sweet Day
Fantasy
Hero
Dreamlover
I'll Be There
Emotions
I Don't Wanna Cry
Someday
Love Takes Time
Vision of Love

At Number 3, Madonna is catapulted all the way from #68 also because to digital downloads.   Sadly for the King Elvis, Madonna also wrests from him the title of the most number of Top 10 hits in Hot 100 history!  "4 Minutes" is now Madonna's  37th Top 10 hit, eclipsing Elvis' 36.

Madonna's 37 Top 10 Hits on the Hot 100:

4 Minutes
Hung Up (7)
Die Another Day (8)
Don’t Tell Me (4)
Music (1)
Ray of Light (5)
Frozen (2)
Don’t Cry for Me Argentina (8)
You’ll See (6)
Take A Bow (1)
Secret (3)
I’ll Remember (2)
Deeper and Deeper (7)
Erotica (3)
This Used To Be My Playground (1)
Rescue Me (9)
Justify My Love (1)
Hanky Panky (10)
Vogue (1)
Keep It Together (8)
Cherish (2)
Express Yourself (2)
Like A Prayer (1)
Causing a Commotion (2)
Who’s That Girl (1)
La Isla Bonita (4)
Open Your Heart (1)
True Blue (3)
Papa Don’t Preach (1)
Live To Tell (1)
Dress You Up (5)
Angel (5)
Crazy For You (1)
Material Girl (2)
Like A Virgin (1)
Lucky Star (4)
Borderline (10)

The Hot Shot Debut this week is the remake of Michael Jackson's "Beat It" by Fall Out Boy, featuring John Mayer on guitar.  This track is also quite popular on local radio.  It debuts very strongly at #22.

Billboard Hot 100
Issuedate: April 1st, 2008

01. Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love
02. Usher and Young Jeezy - Love In This Club
03. Ray J and Yung Berg - Sexy Can I
04. Chris Brown - With You
05. Sara Bareilles - Love Song
06. Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown - No Air
07. Flo Rida and T-Pain - Low
08. Rihanna - Don't Stop The Music
09. Lil Wayne and Static Major - Lollipop
10. Lil Mama and Chris Brown - Shawty Get Loose
11. Timbaland and OneRepublic - Apologize
12. OneRepublic - Stop And Stare
13. Lupe Fiasco - Superstar
14. Miley Cyrus - See You Again
15. Mariah Carey - Touch My Body

Wow!  After some pretty boring and static charts, this week's chart is jumping! 

I thought I would just introduce Leona Lewis last week when she entered the Top 10 at #8.  But then here she is now, jumping all the way to Number 1!  She has reached the summit in only her sixth week on the chart with "Burning Love".

There had only been two other British women who had reached Number 1 with their debut hits.  First was Petula Clark with "Downtown" back in 1965.  Second was Sheena Easton with "Morning Train (9 to 5)" in 1981.

The new #9 song "Lollipop" by Lil Wayne and Static Major vaults in from #85!  While the new #10 "Shawty Get Loose" by Lil Mama and Chris Brown is up from #19.  You will notice that this last song is now Chris Brown's third hit in the Top 10!  He still has "With You" and "No Air" (with Jordin Sparks) in there as well.

"Apologize" by Timbaland featuring One Republic is now down at Number 11.  This song actually stayed in the Top 10 for an incredible 25 weeks!  The new single for One Republic "Stop and Stare" is poised to reached the Top 10 soon as it rises from #16 to #12.  Also, Ryan Tedder of One Republic is one of the writers of "Burning Love", the new Number 1 song!

Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body" is one point down this week, but still with a bullet.  With the release of a digital download this week, look for a big jump next week.  It is expected to catapult her straight to the top!

The top debut this week is "Roll" by Flo Rida and Sean Kingston at #60.  Flo Rida's album "Mail on Sunday" debuts on the Billboard 200 at #4 this week.

However, the more exciting debut is at #68.  The song is "4 MInutes" by Madonna and Justin Timberlake.  This charting is just based on airplay alone.  We expect this to vault into the top of the charts once the digital downlaods are available.  I just posted about this song last Sunday, now here is the link:  http://3xhcch.multiply.com/music/item/79

Strange for me to see Ne-Yo just debuting at #96 with "Go On Girl".  Of course this song has been very big here locally last month, and was one of the most anticipated songs at his concert.  There is even a new single "Closer" now on the radio as Ne-Yo is about to release his third studio album.

Billboard Hot 100
Issuedate: week 09/2008

01. Flo Rida and T-Pain - Low
02. Chris Brown - With You
03. Rihanna - Don't Stop The Music
04. Alicia Keys - No One
05. Sara Bareilles - Love Song
06. Timbaland and OneRepublic - Apologize
07. Snoop Dogg - Sensual Seduction
08. Sean Kingston - Take You There
09. Buckcherry - Sorry
10. Webbie featuring Lil' Phat and Lil' Boosie - Independent
11. Miley Cyrus - See You Again
12. Fergie - Clumsy
13. Taylor Swift - Teardrops On My Guitar
14. Lupe Fiasco - Superstar
15. Alicia Keys - Like You'll Never See Me Again

Yes, "Low" by Flo Rida remains at Number 1 for an unbelievable 9 weeks.  I just think that is too long for a song with lyrics as inane as:

Apple Bottom Jeans [Jeans]
Boots with the fur [With the fur]
The whole club was lookin at her
She hit the flo [She hit the flo]
Next thing you know
Shawty got low low low low low low low low.

Yikes.  Funny and cheesy, hahaha!  At the other end of the chart, Flo Rida debuts with his follow up "Elevator" featuring Timbaland this time, at #100.

Anyway, elsewhere on the chart, we have many other notable debuts:

Mariah Carey (photo, with her naked body only covered by a hat!) is back on the chart after being absent from the Hot 100 for the whole 2007, with her new song "Touch My Body", debuting at #54.  Well not bad, but for me it is just a continuation of her "We Belong Together" success couple of years back.  This song could have been part of that older album.  But still, we would be eager to hear how the other tracks of her new album, interestingly titled "e=mc2".

UK X-Factor winner Leona Lewis, who looks and sounds very much like Mariah Carey to me, finally debuts on the US Hot 100 with "Bleeding Love" at #85.  This very song has already landed Lewis at #1 in the UK and other European charts.

Also, Usher makes it back to the chart after a long absence.  "Love In This Club" featuring Young Jeezy debuts at #834.  Locally, the new Usher song being played on the radio is "That Girl Right There" featuring Ludacris.

On the Billboard 200 album chart, Amy Winehouse and Herbie Hancock rocket literally into the Top 5 after their Grammy wins.  Amy's "Back In Black" jumps back up from #24 to #2 on its 49th week on the chart.  Hancock's Album of the Year winner "River:  The Joni Letters" shoots up to #5 from a lowly #154 on only its 4th week on the chart.  Withstanding these big moves is Jack Johnson's "Sleep Through the Static" which remains at #1 after debuting there last week.

Another interesting piece of news this week was the decision of Billboard to put Michael Jackson's "Thriller 25" in the Pop Catalog Album chart instead of the Billboard 200 big chart.  Billboard explains its decision by saying that "The overwhelming consensus at leading retailers was that despite the new material added to "Thriller 25," this essentially represents a re-issue of a 25 year old album and it thus belongs on the catalog charts."   Of course, elsewhere in the world where there is no catalog chart, "Thriller 25" debuted in the Top 10.