NEW MUSIC FRIDAY: Releases For The Week of October 30, 2020

Love goes, but also returns for this week’s New Music Friday releases, including the newest albums from Ariana Grande, Meghan Trainor and Sam Smith, as well as fresh songs from BENEE, Carly Rae Jepsen and Shawn Mendes. Here come the tricks and treats:

Notable albums out this week: Ariana Grande‘s Positions (iTunes), Bring Me The Horizon‘s Post Human: Survival Horror (iTunes), Cam‘s The Otherside (iTunes), For KING & COUNTRY‘s A Drummer Boy Christmas (iTunes), JAWNY‘s For Abby (iTunes), JoJo‘s December Baby (iTunes), LÉON‘s Apart (iTunes), MadeInTYO‘s Never Forgotten (iTunes), Meghan Trainor‘s A Very Trainor Christmas (iTunes), Omarion‘s The Kinection (iTunes), Queen Naija‘s Missunderstood (iTunes), Sam Smith‘s Love Goes (iTunes), Tia Gostelow‘s Chrysalis (iTunes), Tori Kelly‘s A Tori Kelly Christmas (iTunes), Trippie Redd‘s Pegasus (iTunes), Wesley Schultz‘s Vignettes (iTunes)

Notable EPs out this week: Kennedi‘s Self (iTunes), MYRNE‘s Wandering (iTunes), Tomorrow x Together‘s Minisode1: Blue Hour (iTunes), Upsahl‘s Young Life Crisis (iTunes), Virginia To Vegas‘s Don’t Wake Me, I’m Dreaming (iTunes), WizTheMC‘s What About Now (iTunes), Zayde Wølf‘s Reimagined, Vol. 1 (iTunes)

New digital singles that you can buy this week include:
“1st Time”, Bakar (iTunes)
“All About You”, The Knocks featuring Foster The People (iTunes)
“Angelina”, Kitten (iTunes)
“Always In A Rush”, Andy Mineo & Mez (iTunes)
“Am I The Only One”, R3HAB x Astrid S x HRVY (iTunes)
“Animals”, Sheppard (iTunes)
“Baby, I’m Coming Home”, Ally Brooke (iTunes)
“Best Friend”, Lauren Aquilina (iTunes)
“Blood”, Nothing, Nowhere. featuring KennyHoopla & JUDGE (iTunes)
“Brave”, Nick Howard (iTunes)
“Buzzin'” and “Should’ve Known Better Days”, Cooper Alan (iTunes)
“Dancing In My Room”, 347Aidan (iTunes)
“Don’t Change You”, Rock Mafia x Wiz Khalifa (iTunes)
“Dora”, Tierra Whack (iTunes)
“Double G”, French Montana featuring Pop Smoke (iTunes)
“Drugs”, Tai Verdes (iTunes)
“Earth Is A Black Hole”, Teenage Wrist (iTunes)
“El Cambio”, Chesca (iTunes)
“Elevator”, Qveen Herby & yoitsCrash (iTunes)
“Fade Away”, Morgan Page & VIVID (iTunes)
“Fairytale Of New York” and “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”, BANNERS (iTunes)
“Fake Fine”, Robert Grace featuring Gnash (iTunes)
“Feed The Fire”, SG Lewis & Lucky Daye (iTunes)
“Fever”, Dua Lipa featuring Angèle (iTunes)
“First Day Of My Life”, Milow (iTunes)
“Giant Bat” and “Sad Sad”, WENS (iTunes)
“Gin N Juice”, Jack Kays (iTunes)
“Gold”, Paloma Faith (iTunes)
“Graveyard Boyfriend”, Jillette Johnson (iTunes)
“Happiness Is Just A Thing Called Joe”, Cher (iTunes)
“Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”, PUBLIC (iTunes)
“Heartbreak Of America”, Lovelytheband (iTunes)
“Hold It”, Obli (iTunes)
“Holiday”, Richard Marx (iTunes)
“Holidays”, Josie Dunne (iTunes)
“Hot”, Pia Mia featuring Flo Milli & Sean Paul (iTunes)
“I Don’t Want You To See This”, Brandon Colbein (iTunes)
“I Got So High That I Saw Jesus (Live)”, Noah Cyrus featuring Miley Cyrus (iTunes)
“I Love Me”, Russ (iTunes)
“I Need You Christmas”, Jonas Brothers (iTunes)
“If I Gotta Run”, Tim Chadwick (iTunes)
“I’m Only Me When I’m Not Sober”, Abigail Barlow (iTunes)
“Incredible”, Gary Barlow (iTunes)
“Interstellar Love”, The Avalanches featuring Leon Bridges (iTunes)
“Intervention”, Client Liasion (iTunes)
“It’s Not Christmas Till Somebody Cries”, Carly Rae Jepsen (iTunes)
“Kill Me Better”, Don Diablo & Imanbek featuring Trevor Daniel (iTunes)
“Let Down”, Paris Jackson (iTunes)
“Like Gold”, Loud Luxury & Frank Walker featuring Stephen Puth (iTunes)
“Look Over Your Shoulder”, Busta Rhymes featuring Kendrick Lamar (iTunes)
“Losses”, Lil Tjay (iTunes)
“Love For The Summer”, Deacon featuring Loren Gray (iTunes)
“Love You From A Distance”, Ashley Kutcher (iTunes)
“Naughty List”, Liam Payne featuring Dixie D’Amelio (iTunes)
“Never Alone”, Above Snakes (iTunes)
“Never Know Your Name”, Peg Parnevik (iTunes)
“Never The 1”, ROSIE (iTunes)
“New President”, Mt. Joy (iTunes)
“No Drama”, Becky G x Ozuna (iTunes)
“No Love (Dub Mix)”, Skip Marley featuring D Smoke (iTunes)
“No Really, I’m Good”, Snow Tha Product (iTunes)
“Nobody”, NOTD & Catello (iTunes)
“One Touch (Acoustic)”, Julie Bergan (iTunes)
“Onyx”, Stevan (iTunes)
“Paradise”, Meduza x Dermot Kennedy (iTunes)
“Patience”, Jordan Suaste (iTunes)
“Plain”, BENEE featuring Lily Allen & Flo Milli (iTunes)
“Pray”, Xana (iTunes)
“Progress”, Great Good Fine OK (iTunes)
“Psycho Killer”, The Wrecks (iTunes)
“Reality Check Please”, Lime Cordiale (iTunes)
“Remove 45”, De La Soul featuring Styles P, Talib Kweli, Pharoah Monch, Mysonne, Chuck D & Posdnuos (iTunes)
“Sad Songs”, Route 94 featuring L Devine (iTunes)
“Sea And Fire (Acoustic)”, Harrison Storm (iTunes)
“Shake Ya Boom Boom”, Static & Ben El featuring Black Eyed Peas (iTunes)
“Shut Me Up”, Gabbie Hanna (iTunes)
“Something In Your Eyes”, Steps (iTunes)
“South”, Changing Cleo featuring Guccihighwaters (iTunes)
“Stay Down”, Lil Durk featuring 6LACK & Young Thug (iTunes)
“Sucks To Be You”, SAINt JHN (iTunes)
“That Won’t Save Us”, Against The Current (iTunes)
“The End”, Alesso x Charlotte Lawrence (iTunes)
“The Thanksgiving Song”, Ben Rector (iTunes)
“Time Warp”, Tenacious D (iTunes)
“Trouble’s Coming (Purple Disco Machine Remix)”, Royal Blood (iTunes)
“Tyranny”, Dessa (iTunes)
“Under Pressure”, Karen O & Willie Nelson (iTunes)
“Unbound (Austin Millz Remix)”, Michelle (iTunes)
“Under The Mistletoe”, Kelly Clarkson & Brett Eldredge (iTunes)
“Upside Down (Remix)”, JVKE featuring Charlie Puth (iTunes)
“Vanilla (Stairwell)”, Holly Humberstone (iTunes)
“Walk You Home”, Bishop Briggs (iTunes)
“Waterman”, USERx (iTunes)
“We Haven’t Looked At Our Phones”, Jake Scott (iTunes)
“We’re The Lucky Ones”, The Marías (iTunes)
“What It Is”, KYLE featuring Chris Brown (iTunes)
“Whatever You Want”, Crowded House (iTunes)
“Where Did Summer Go”, Bre Kennedy (iTunes)
“Whole World Watches”, Jesse Ruben (iTunes)
“Willow Tree”, Tash Sultana featuring Jerome Farah (iTunes)
“With You In Mind”, Conor Michael Smith (iTunes)
“Wonder (Acoustic)”, Shawn Mendes (iTunes)
“Zombie”, Tiagz featuring Curtis Roach (iTunes)
“Zombie Prom (Hallowe’en At Home Edition)”, Kaiser Chiefs (iTunes)

Next week, the new albums from Donovan Woods and Kylie Minogue are among the larger releases on the schedule. For Adam’s personal picks of the week, listen to the PGTC Friday Faves list on Spotify!

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RADIO REPORT: POP! Goes The Picks (February 2016)

It’s time once again to analyze the airwaves and find out if your favorite new releases will be lighting up your local station’s playlist during the month. Which tunes will climb to the top and which ones will hit a stop? Here’s a selection of new singles being serviced in February in this month’s Radio Report:

BRYAN ADAMS – “You Belong To Me” (February 8) (AC)
Label: UMe
Last year, Adams scored his latest top 30 entry on the AC chart with “Brand New Day”, and though he’s had dozens of hits over the decades, he’s not ready to stop. “You” is the second single from Get Up!, which was produced by Jeff Lynne. (It barely made it into the top 100 on the Billboard 200.) He has a string of live dates planned on the East Coast, beginning in New York City on the 11th.

THE HEAVY – “Since You Been Gone” (February 8-9) (Triple A / Alternative)
Label: Bad Son/ADA
This British rock and soul quartet out of Bath is back on the block with their first new tunes since 2012. It was that year that the act scored their only Alternative top 40 hit to date, “What Makes A Good Man”, which peaked at #32 in October. It’s hard to tell if this single will be well-received after all that time away, but it’s a pretty good sound and one that fits on both formats. Watch out for it.

AURORA – “Conqueror” (February 9) (Alternative)
Label: Glassnote
From Norway, this 19-year-old singer, born in Bergen, has already hit the charts in Ireland and the United Kingdom with a remake of “Half The World Away” by Oasis. It was featured in a prominent Christmas advertisement for the John Lewis stores. Though it didn’t hit here, her latest single off All My Demons Greeting Me As A Friend is receiving some good early support from Alt Nation.

BRANDY CLARK – “Girl Next Door” (February 15) (Country)
Label: Warner Bros.
Clark’s been a high-profile writer in the Nashville community for many years now, and her independent album 12 Stories got good reviews when it was released in the fall of 2013. She now finds herself with a major level and a single at Country radio, and reviews once more have been overwhelmingly positive for the Jay Joyce-produced cut. Will radio’s “Door” swing open for this sassy song?

CAM – “Mayday” (February 15) (Country)
Label: Arista/RCA
December was an awesome month for this California singer. Her album Untamed debuted in the top 20 on the Billboard 200, and her single “Burning House” got a week at #1 on Country radio. (It’s now crossing over to the Hot AC format.) There’s no need for a distress signal, at least not yet, for Camaron Ochs should be able to sail the choppy chart seas towards a second sales and radio hit.

AMERICAN AUTHORS – “Pride” (February 22) (Hot AC)
Label: Island/Republic
Despite “Go Big Or Go Home” narrowly missing the top 20 at the Hot AC format last year, that’s not going to get this New York act down. In fact, their song about self-respect is an early add at stations in Denver and Orlando on the panel. Of course, the four guys are best known for “Best Day Of My Life”, which spent a week at #1 in 2014. Hopefully, the song will also do its “best” on the chart.

BOY & BEAR – “Where’d You Go” (February 22) (Triple A)
Label: Nettwerk
The Australian quintet just missed the top ten at Triple A radio with their last single, “Walk The Wire”, but they’re hoping to climb back into the region with their next single. Both tracks are from their album Limit Of Love, which became their second set in a row to reach the top of the album listing in their home country. They begin a tour of the United Kingdom and Europe later this month.

THE SAINT JOHNS – “Lost The Feeling” (February 22) (Triple A)
Label: Kemosabe
Appearing for the first time on our Radio Report is this dynamic duo, Jordan Meredith and Louis Johnson. The Nashville act is on their way to a great era with their first full-length album, Dead Of Night, due March 4. Meredith and Johnson got some assistance from Vince Schumerman on the track, who records as Army Of Me. It recently received a few spins on SiriusXM station The Pulse.

WALK THE MOON – “Work This Body” (February 22-3) (Triple A / Alternative)
Label: RCA
Already climbing quickly on my personal chart is the third single from this Ohio band’s Talking Is Hard album. Of course, the huge crossover hit “Shut Up And Dance” came from the effort, and “Different Colors”, which went top ten on Alternative radio. “Work” is already a favorite at their live shows and has great streaming stats behind it. I’m ready for this to get going and become a smash.

CONRAD SEWELL – “Remind Me” (February 23) (CHR/Pop)
Label: 300 Entertainment
Last year, Sewell earned his first #1 single in his native Australia with “Start Again” and his first top ten on the album chart with an EP called All I Know. Two of his singles, “Hold Me Up” and a feature on Kygo‘s “Firestone”, have been minor CHR airplay entries at best. Though he’s not had a true breakout moment with the U.S. audience thus far, “Remind” could remind people of his talent.

Which of these new singles would you like to see on top of the charts? Let me know! Comment below or click the “Get Social!” tab to find PGTC on social media.

RADIO REPORT: POP! Goes The Picks (January 2016) (Part One)

It’s time once again to analyze the airwaves and find out if your favorite new releases will be lighting up your local station’s playlist during the month. Which tunes will climb to the top and which ones will hit a stop? Here’s a selection of new singles being serviced in January from four different radio formats in the first part of this month’s Radio Report:

CHR (*), HOT AC (**)

CAM – “Burning House” (January 5) (**)
Label: Arista Nashville/RCA
A recent #1 hit on the Country chart, “Burning” is losing its flame on that survey, but here’s hoping that it becomes a hit on Hot AC radio as well. Born Camaron Ochs, the 31-year-old singer faces at least two other crossover singles that are currently racking up an increase in airplay at the format, but she’s the only solo female in the bunch. This Gold-certified single is definitely worth the love.

SHAWN HOOK – “Sound Of Your Heart” (January 5) (*)
Label: Hollywood
Hook’s had a handful of charting records in his native Canada, but this one has been his most successful thus far. Last year, it went into the top ten at both CHR and Hot AC radio up north. After a shift in his U.S. record label, Hook looks to, well, hook the people here with his catchy single. With the large amount of Canadian artists dominating lately, it’ll be nice to see a new face on the chart.

AUDIODAMN! – “Radar” (January 12) (* + **)
Label: Epic
24-year-old singer Oliver Wimmer, the leader of this German trio, first gained notoriety as the winner of the show Starmania, the Austrian equivalent of an American Idol type of show. A few years later, he and friends Ali Grumeth and Daniel Mudrack formed a new group called AmsterDamn!, and after a name change in 2015, here they are. They recently performed this on the Today Show.

BEN RECTOR – “Brand New” (January 12) (**)
Label: Caroline/Capitol
Nashville’s Rector has had a presence on the independent music scene for some time now, with several successful albums on Aptly Named Recordings, his own label. About two years ago, his song “Beautiful” registered some adds at the Triple A format, but with no radio promoter backing it, it couldn’t go far. Now, with a major label on his side, he may have the perfect spring Hot AC record.

HAILEE STEINFELD – “You’re Such A” (January 19) (*)
Label: Republic
“You’re” is the second single taken from the EP HAIZ, with first single “Love Myself” becoming a notable streaming hit. Despite an unusually high debut on the pop radio chart thanks to its On The Verge status, it quickly fell apart, hitting a brick wall in the top 15. While this track isn’t the strongest from the EP, and it isn’t eligible for iHeartMedia’s program, it should do moderately well here.

TROYE SIVAN – “YOUTH” (January 19) (*)
Label: Capitol
South African singer and YouTuber Sivan is headed to pop radio for the first time with this single from Blue Neighbourhood, a set that recently debuted and peaked at #7 on the Billboard 200. That full-length album followed two successful EPs, both entering in the top five on that same chart. Early action on the single seems to be positive and a lot of growth lies ahead of it. Watch out for it.

MIKE POSNER – “I Took A Pill In Ibiza (SeeB Remix)” (January 26) (*)
Label: Island/Republic
It’s been nearly five years since Posner last hit the top 40 on the CHR chart with “Bow Chicka Wow Wow”. Since mid-2011, the guy just hasn’t had much luck at the format, with four of his main-credited singles and an additional feature failing to make the top 40. (Three of the five made the top 50.) This particular remix is already a hit in countries like Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

Which of these new singles would you like to see on top of the charts? Let me know! Comment below or click the “Get Social!” tab to find PGTC on social media.

Highlights from Adam’s Top 40: December 20, 2015

Saying “Hello” to Santa Claus.

DEBUTS
40. Taylor Swift – Out Of The Woods
38. Cam – Burning House | HIGHEST DEBUT

TOP GAINERS
35. American Authors – Pride (40)
33. A Great Big World – Oasis (39)
23. Justin Timberlake – Drink You Away (28)
11. Adele – When We Were Young (21) | BIGGEST MOVER — two weeks

THIS WEEK’S TOP TEN
10. Rob Thomas – Hold On Forever (09) | PEAK: #09
09. Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness – High Dive (07) | PEAK: #01 for two weeks
08. Gwen Stefani – Used To Love You (10) | PEAK: #08
07. DNCE – Cake By The Ocean (08) | PEAK: #07
06. The 1975 – Love Me (06) | PEAK: #06
05. BANNERS – Shine A Light (04) | PEAK: #04
04. One Direction – Perfect (05) | PEAK: #05
03. Ellie Goulding – On My Mind (02) | PEAK: #02
02. Coldplay – Adventure Of A Lifetime (03) | PEAK: #02
01. Adele – Hello (01) | PEAK: #01 for five weeks

Top 10 Next In Line:
1. AudioDamn! – Radar (3)
2. Troye Sivan – Youth (7)
3. Train – Merry Christmas Everybody (4)
4. Band Of Merrymakers featuring Natasha Bedingfield – Wishlist (1)
5. Ben Rector – Brand New (6)
6. Carly Rae Jepsen – Last Christmas (10)
7. FLETCHER – Live Young Die Free (9)
8. Marc Broussard – Almost Christmas (8)
9. Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color (-)
10. Shawn Hook – Sound Of Your Heart (-)

In The Mix:
Andrew Ripp – Hole In My Heart
BANNERS – Start A Riot
BØRNS – 10,000 Emerald Pools
Brian Fallon – A Wonderful Life (new)
Causes – To The River
Ellie Goulding – Something In The Way You Move (new)
Grace Mitchell – Nolo
HØØNCH – Top
JoJo – When Love Hurts
Jonathan Roy – Daniella Denmark
Mike Posner – I Took A Pill In Ibiza (new)
Nathan Sykes – Over And Over Again
Royal Wood – Long Way Out
Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello – I Know What You Did Last Summer
Transviolet – New Bohemia
Walk The Moon – Work This Body
X Ambassadors – Unsteady
Zac Brown Band – Beautiful Drug

Chart Notes:

• In addition to having this week’s #1 song with “Hello”, Adele also has the Biggest Mover of the week, leaping from 21-11, a gain of ten notches, with “When We Were Young”. The song has moved up 24 spots in the last two weeks. Whoa. If you are thinking that another #1 is in the cards for the singer, I’d say that’s a winning bet. Question is, can she replace herself at the top, or will a band like Coldplay or One Direction get in the way? We’ll see in the next few weeks.
• On the verge of her first #1 on the Country radio survey is 31-year-old Cam, who debuts at #38 on my chart this week with that same song, “Burning House”. The California singer and songwriter made her debut at the format earlier this year with the single “My Mistake”, which stalled below the top 50. Luckily, she’s been “burning” on the scene ever since then.
• The second of this week’s two new songs is from a familiar face, Taylor Swift, in at #40 with “Out Of The Woods”. This is the sixth radio single from her huge 1989 album, and each of the previous five have gone to #1 on the pop radio chart. (The first three were chart-toppers for me.) Six #1 songs in a row is tough, but Swift just might do it.
• The top ten on my Top 100 of 2015 begins later today. Be sure to check back then for my biggest hits of the year!

(See my full chart on the M4BCC message board) (Listen to this week’s chart and more on Spotify)

NEW MUSIC FRIDAY: Releases For The Week of December 11, 2015

“Burning” up the charts.

This week’s New Music Friday is full of potential stocking stuffers from the worlds of Country and R&B music, as well as a hidden gem or two. Here’s a look at this week’s top new albums and singles:

• CAM — Untamed (iTunes)
  • “Burning House” is serving up some hot gains on the Country radio survey as of late, and it looks like it could be atop the chart early next year. There are plenty of things to celebrate for this 31-year-old singer/songwriter, now out with her major-label debut album this week. Look for it to be one of next week’s top new entries.
• AUGUST ALSINA — This Thing Called Life (iTunes)
  • Last year, Alsina’s Testimony debuted and peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 and included several big R&B hits. The current single from his latest album is “Song Cry”, and it’s approaching the top 30 at Urban radio. Even with the slow reaction to his releases so far this era, his album is probably bound for the top ten.
• R. KELLY — The Buffet (iTunes)
  • Featuring the Urban AC hits “Back Yard Party” and “Wake Up Everybody”, this R&B performer’s new studio effort is his thirteenth solo album since 1993. His top ten streak on the album chart is unbroken thus far. Will it continue with his latest?
• More albums out this week: Arcangel & DJ Luian‘s Los Favoritos (iTunes), Bethel Music Kids‘s Come Alive (iTunes), JennyLee‘s Right On! (iTunes), Joe Cocker‘s The Life Of A Man (iTunes), Juan Gabriel‘s Los Duo 2 (iTunes), Revenge Of The Dreamers II (iTunes)
• More EPs out this week: Apollo LTD‘s Apollo LTD (iTunes), Grabbitz‘s Better With Time (iTunes)

New digital-only singles that you can buy this week include:

• “Alcoholics”, Skizzy Mars (iTunes)
• “A Wonderful Life”, Brian Fallon (iTunes)
• “Better For You”, Tank (iTunes)
• “Bob Marley”, Grizfolk (iTunes)
• “Burning House”, EZA & Aaron Krause (iTunes)
• “Pride”, American Authors (iTunes)
• “UGH!”, The 1975 (iTunes)
• “Want Some”, Akon featuring DJ Chose (iTunes)

Next week, we’ll have an update with new albums from Cage The Elephant, Chris Brown, Monica and more. See you then!