Thursday, February 22, 2007

Billboard's Top 10 Singles -- Justin On Top

The Grammy Awards were very nice to Justin Timberlake. He was practically the host of the show, thanks to two lengthy performance segments, one where he covered "Ain't No Sunshine" and then duetted with a girl who won an online contest and the other where Justin performed his latest single. That song has jumped from #8 to #1 this week on the Billboard charts. Even more stunning, the Dixie Chicks jump back onto the charts at #4 with "Not ready To Make Nice" five months after it had its initial run. They hit #1 on iTunes, but probably got very little airplay. Justin got a jump in digital sales AND had lots of airplay, hence his overall triumph. This is a demonstration of the power of online sales where people can hear a song and buy it within minutes. I expect we'll be seeing a LOT more of this down the road. For years, the British charts were pepppered with odd moments -- why was an old Temptations tune on the charts, why was Doris Day in the top 10 with a greatest hits package, how did Ladysmith Black Mambazo get a five year old tune on the Top 40. Invariably, the answer was that a song had been used on an advert or in a TV show or movie or perhaps a special on Doris Day had aired on the BBC the week before. That sort of fluidity on the charts is now coming to the US, thanks to digital sales and Billboard's willingness to include that factor in how it ranks songs. Finally, Corinne Bailey Rae debuts at #56 with "Like A Star."

1. "What Goes Around...Comes Around" -- Justin Timberlake
2. "Runaway Love" -- Ludacris featuring Mary J. Blige
3. "Say It Right" -- Nelly Furtado
4. "Not Ready To Make Nice" -- Dixie Chicks
5. "Don't Matter" -- Akon
6. "The Sweet Escape" -- Gwen Stefani
7. "It's Not Over" -- Daughtry
8. "Cupid's Chokehold" -- Gym Class Heroes featuring Patrick Stump
9. "Irreplaceable" -- Beyonce
10. "This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race" -- Fall Out Boy

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