Chart Moves: Katy Perry’s ‘Birthday’ Blasts Up Hot 100; Jhene Aiko Tops Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop; Chrissie Hynde Previews First Solo Album
As previously reported, Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” leads the Billboard Hot 100 for a 10th week and Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy,” featuring Charli XCX, flies 18-7. Who else scales Billboard song charts this week?
— Pharrell Williams: One more note about the Hot 100’s leading man. As “Happy” tops Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for a 12th frame, follow-up “Marilyn Monroe” opens at No. 29. The impressive entrance is due primarily to the premiere of its music video on April 23, which caused an 804 percent spike to 1.9 million U.S. streams, according to Nielsen BDS.
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— Brantley Gilbert: He visits the Billboard Country Airplay chart summit for a third time, and makes his fastest flight to the top, as “Bottoms Up” steps 2-1 in its 19th chart week. (It holds at No. 22 on the Hot 100.) He’d most recently topped Country Airplay with “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do,” which reigned in its 32nd week (July 21, 2012) and first led with “Country Must Be Country Wide,” which crowned the Dec. 3, 2011 chart in its 33rd frame.
— Katy Perry: “Birthday” enjoys a cakewalk onto Streaming Songs (No. 11; 3.1 million, up 145 percent) following the April 24 premiere of its official video. It also enters Radio Songs at No. 49 (29 million audience impressions, up 79 percent, according to BDS) and bounds by 135 percent to 23,000 sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The activity translates to the song’s 83-37 blast on the Hot 100 with top Airplay and Streaming Gainer honors.
— Jhene Aiko: The Los Angeles songstress scores her first airplay chart-topper, as “The Worst” lifts 3-1 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop (and 47-43 on the Hot 100). She’s the first female artist to top the chart as a lead with a debut single since Jazmine Sullivan rose to No. 1 with “Need U Bad” in 2008. Aiko’s EP “Sail Out” has sold 216,000 copies since its November 11, 2013 release.
— Imagine Dragons: Hope you’ve been keeping track of this one with a pencil, not a pen. (Oh wait, you’re probably using a computer, which has a delete key). Anyway … “Radioactive” hangs on the Hot 100 (48-49), extending its longevity record with an 87th frame. With descending songs older than 20 weeks removed once ranking below the top 50, could this be the track’s final Hot 100 week at last?
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— Coldplay: The band collects its second No. 1 on Rock Digital Songs with “Midnight” (4-1; 76,000, up 39 percent), spurred by a new remix from legendary electronic music producer Giorgio Moroder (accounting for 27 percent of its sales). The band’s sixth studio album, “Ghost Stories,” arrives May 19. On the Hot 100, radio single “Magic” and “Midnight” (the first two songs commercially available from the set) push 66-59 and 84-65, respectively.
— KONGOS: As the song climbs 85-74 on the Hot 100, the group crowns Rock Airplay with “Come With Me Now” (3-1; 13 million, up 7 percent). The song notches a fourth week at No. 1 on Alternative (2-1), edges 15-13 on Hot Rock Songs and begins its pop chart crossover, entering the Mainstream Top 40 airplay tally at No. 35.
— Josh Kaufman: The contestant (and Team Usher singer) on NBC’s “The Voice” lands the first Hot 100 appearance for any of the show’s hopefuls this season, as “Stay With Me” debuts at No. 92. It starts with 51,000 sold, while Sam Smith’s original (93-67) gains by 66 percent to 58,000.
— MAGIC!: The Canadian quartet, highlighted in Billboard’s Bubbling Under new artist feature just two weeks ago, makes its Hot 100 bow. The reggae-splashed “Rude” debuts at No. 97, fueled by its debut on Mainstream Top 40 at No. 36 (up 71 percent in plays).
— Jack White: He scores the Hot Shot Debut on Hot Rock Songs with “Lazaretto” at No. 21, marking his highest start and best rank. The song is the title track from his second solo album, due June 10. It debuts at No. 19 on Rock Digital Songs (16,000 first-week downloads sold) and No. 27 on Rock Airplay (2.5 million).
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— Chrissie Hynde: The venerable Pretenders frontwoman debuts at No. 25 on Triple A with “Dark Sunglasses.” The song is the lead single from, incredibly, her first solo album, “Stockholm,” due in the U.S. on June 10. Apart from the Pretenders, who’ve tallied six top 40 albums on the Billboard 200 between 1980 and 2008 and six top 40 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 (1980-94), Hynde has scored intermittent solo success: “Breakfast in Bed,” with UB40, reached No. 4 on Alternative in 1988 and Tube & Berger’s “Straight Ahead,” featuring Hynde, topped Dance/Mix Show Airplay in 2004.
— Mariah Carey: On Dance Club Songs, the diva nets her 17th No. 1 with “You’re Mine (Eternal).” Since the chart’s Aug. 28, 1976 inception, only Madonna (43), Rihanna (22), Beyonce and Janet Jackson (19 each) have scored more leaders. Remixes from Fedde Le Grand and others helped power the ascent of “Mine,” which previews Carey’s just-announced forthcoming album “Me. I Am Mariah … The Elusive Chanteuse.”
— Hillsong UNITED: As it leads the airplay/sales/streaming-based Hot Christian Songs chart for a record-tying 23rd week, “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)” rises 2-1 on Christian Airplay. Of its four prior Christian Airplay chart entries, the act had peaked as high as No. 20 with 2011’s “Search My Heart.” “Oceans” matches the Hot Christian Songs reign of MercyMe’s “Word of God Speak,” tallied in 2003 (when the chart, which launched that year, was solely airplay-based).
— Ricky Martin, Chayanne: Two tracks premiered on the 2014 Billboard Latin Music Awards (broadcast live on Telemundo on April 24), Ricky Martin’s “Vida” and Chayanne’s “Humanos a Marte,” combined to move 9,000 downloads in their first week of release. “Vida” starts at No. 4 on Latin Digital Songs, while “Humanos” enters at No. 8. Nineteen songs were performed at the star-studded event, with the other 17 songs (in addition to Martin’s and Chayanne’s) previously available increasing by 88 percent to 37,000 sold.
Additional reporting by Wade Jessen, Amaya Mendizabal, Gordon Murray, Rauly Ramirez and Emily White
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