RADIO ACTIVE — A Weekly Chart CHRonicle (March 3, 2019)

Welcome to Radio Active, a Sunday evening report from POP! Goes The Charts that gets to the chart of the matter: all the highlights from the CHR/Top 40 chart, as published by Mediabase 24/7 and Mediabase Research. Are you a sucker for a new pack of pop hits? Well, if you are, let’s check out what’s popping on the radio this Sunday:

THE EAST THEY CAN DO: As expected, Benny Blanco, Halsey and Khalid remain at #1 on the Top 40 list for a second week with “Eastside”. This will likely be the collaboration’s last week at the summit, with the sizzling “7 Rings” by Ariana Grande (up 6-3) expected to continue to surge towards the top spot. No other title is currently gaining in the top five. Appropriately, the hit will be her seventh chart-topper at the format, whenever it reaches the top. The performer’s “Thank U, Next”, her most recent #1 here, slips a notch to #4, while “Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored” makes another solid move from 20-16.

The comeback release for the Jonas Brothers, “Sucker”, becomes their seventh top 40 song at the format with its debut at #30. At some radio stations on the panel, the single was played hourly throughout the day on Friday. The trio’s last top 40 single here, “First Time”, spent three non-consecutive weeks at #36 in July and August 2013. Scoring her 14th top 40 hit, Bebe Rexha soars from 42-33 with “Last Hurrah”, followed by the collaboration from the Drax Project and Hailee Steinfeld, “Woke Up Late”, moving from 45-39. It’s the first top 40 entry for the New Zealand band and the seventh for actress and singer Steinfeld. The fourth and final new song in this section of the chart comes from Panic! At The Disco, flying from 50-40 with their fifth top 40 single, “Hey Look Ma, I Made It”. Of course, this follows “High Hopes”, which recently spent six big weeks at the top.

In the top 50, newcomer Mabel leads things off at #41 with her track “Don’t Call Me Up”, which has already achieved top five peaks in countries like Belgium, England, Ireland and Norway. She’s the daughter of Neneh Cherry, best known for her international hit “Buffalo Stance” from 1989, a #4 hit on the CHR chart that June. Cherry is also the half-sister of Eagle-Eye Cherry, who landed at #1 for a week with “Save Tonight” back in January 1999. Billie Eilish comes in at #43 on the list with the ballad “When The Party’s Over”, which becomes her first charting hit at the format (though she’s now ranked twice on the Alternative radio listing.) Originally released in October of last year, Eilish’s tune has already been certified Gold here. Labelmates Khalid and H.E.R. round out all the debut action in this section of the chart: the former’s “Talk” is new at #48 and the latter’s “Hard Place” enters at #50. The latter hit’s seen a large spike in sales and streaming in the weeks since it was performed on the Grammy Awards. It’s H.E.R.’s first entry to date at the Top 40 format.

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RADIO REPORT: What’s Popping At Top 40 Radio This Week (February 4-5, 2019)

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 this week. Which tunes will climb to the top and which ones will hit a stop? Here are four new titles impacting this week at the Top 40 format:

DRAX PROJECT featuring HAILEE STEINFELD – “Woke Up Late” (300 Entertainment/in2une)
Album: Noon (EP) (2018)
Past T40 History: Originally a top 20 hit in their native New Zealand, the Drax Project hopes to attain their first U.S. top 40 entry.

FLETCHER – “Undrunk” (Snapback/Capitol)
Album: TBA (2019)
Past T40 History: Known for streaming hits like “I Believe You” and “War Paint”, this marks the artist’s first single to impact here.

IMAGINE DRAGONS – “Bad Liar” (KIDinaKORNER/Interscope)
Album: Origins (2018)
Past T40 History: Though “Natural” narrowly missed the top ten here, the band can easily return to the region with this future hit.

LSD (LABRINTH/SIA/DIPLO) featuring LIL WAYNE – “Genius” (RECORDS/Columbia)
Album: LSD (2019)
Past T40 History: The trio’s previous single, “Thunderclouds”, which was featured in a Samsung commercial, went to #22 last fall.

Next week: A collaboration from Fifth Harmony member Ally Brooke and Tyga leads the pack next Tuesday, as duo MKTO is on the hunt for their first top 40 entry in 3-1/2 years.

Which of these new songs would you like to see top the charts? Let me know!

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RADIO ACTIVE — A Weekly Chart CHRonicle (February 3, 2019)

Welcome to Radio Active, a Sunday evening report from POP! Goes The Charts that gets to the chart of the matter: all the highlights from the CHR/Top 40 chart, as published by Mediabase 24/7 and Mediabase Research. In the Super Bowl of pop, only one song can win the top spot each week. Who scores a Top 40 touchdown this time around? Let’s see what’s popping this Sunday:

IT’S “ME” AGAIN:  Halsey‘s “Without Me” easily secures a second week at #1 on the Top 40 chart, with little competition behind her. It’s her 14th career week atop the survey at the format. The smash should hold there for a third week, as it looks as though she’ll eventually replace herself at the top later this month: “Eastside”, performed by Benny Blanco, herself and Khalid, is slowly rising up the top 40 and is the highest-charting song that’s bulleted this week. The collaboration remains at #4 and continues to gain spins in its 28th (!) week in the top 40.

Larger top 40 action this week comes from Dua Lipa‘s “Swan Song”, which climbs from 49-33 in its second week in the top 50, and Sabrina Carpenter‘s “Sue Me”, which climbs from 42-37 after about a month in the top 50. It’s the eighth top 40 song for Lipa, as well as the fourth for Carpenter. The latter artist’s three previous chart entries all reached the top 30, but could never quite ease into the top 20. We’ll see if this tune can make it happen. Meanwhile, the former artist is searching for her second #1 single at the format with this soundtrack cut from Alita: Battle Angel, out in just over a week.

FLETCHER earns her first top 50 entry at the format with the song that checks in at #45 this week, “Undrunk”. It’s the first of four debuts in this region of the chart, which also includes the new single from Alessia Cara, “Out Of Love”, landing at #47. A few spots lower, two collaborations round out the new tracks: “Woke Up Late” by the Drax Project featuring Hailee Steinfeld bows at #49 and “Body Talks” by The Struts featuring Kesha comes in at #50. The latter title just missed the top ten on the Alternative list last fall, while the former was a sizable hit in New Zealand (in its original form without Steinfeld) last year.

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ADD LIB — Brace For (CHR) Impact (June 12, 2018)

Welcome to Add Lib, your Tuesday report on POP! Goes The Charts that’s mad about CHR/Top 40 adds, based on the station data provided by Mediabase 24/7 and Add Board. This week: different Tuesday, same Cardi B madness! Plus, the panel is split over its plethora of new pop jams, but two notable collaborations jump ahead of the pack. Let’s add ’em up:

B IS FOR BIGGER: Change can be difficult at times, so for those of you that don’t like the concept, I think you’ll be satisfied with waiting another week before the next new Most Added song is crowned. Meanwhile, this week’s top title at the Top 40 format, now in its second week, is “Girls Like You” by Maroon 5, which is still generating a lot of buzz on the charts for its new remix featuring the previously mentioned Cardi B. This week, it checks in with another 47 stations, down from the 108 it took in on impact. There’s a tie for second place between Cardi B’s “I Like It”, with Bad Bunny and J Balvin, and “Better Now” from Post Malone, as both hits land a solid 36 stations each. All three tracks are racing up the Top 40 chart, though it’s very early on in the annual race for the coveted Song Of The Summer title. Stay tuned to see if any of them capture it (or if another song surprises. You never know!)

Beyond those three singles, plenty of impacting songs scored double-digit adds in this session, led by future Pride anthem “Colour” by MNEK featuring Hailee Steinfeld with 23 stations, coming in fourth place. It looks like it’ll become MNEK’s first top 40 song in two years, as he previously charted with Zara Larsson on the duet “Never Forget You”, reaching #5 at the format that May. It’s also a very good week for “Team”, which has Noah Cyrus and MAX thanking their new team of believers, 18 in all, which starts it in seventh place. Yesterday, it picked up a handful of Hot AC stations as well. Check out the rest of this week’s future hits below!

MOST ADDED — THIS WEEK’S TOP TEN
1. MAROON 5 featuring CARDI B, “Girls Like You” (222/Interscope)
2-T. CARDI B, BAD BUNNY & J BALVIN, “I Like It” (KSR Group/Atlantic)
2-T. POST MALONE, “Better Now” (Republic)
4-T. 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER, “Youngblood” (Capitol)
4-T. MNEK featuring HAILEE STEINFELD, “Colour” (Capitol)
6. NOAH CYRUS & MAX, “Team” (RECORDS/RED/Columbia)
7. CHILDISH GAMBINO, “This Is America” (Wolf & Rothstein/RCA)
8-T. DAVID GUETTA & SIA, “Flames” (Big Beat/RRP)
8-T. PHARRELL WILLIAMS x CAMILA CABELLO, “Sangria Wine” (Columbia)
8-T. SABRINA CARPENTER, “Almost Love” (Hollywood)

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RADIO REPORT: What’s Popping At Top 40 Radio This Week (June 11-12, 2018)

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 this week. Which tunes will climb to the top and which ones will hit a stop? Here are three new hits impacting this week at the Top 40 format:

BTS – “Fake Love” (Columbia)
Album: LOVE YOURSELF 轉 ‘Tear’ (2018)
Past T40 History: The popular K-pop septet has one top 40 song to date: a remix of “MIC Drop”, which peaked at #24 in January.

DAVID GUETTA & SIA – “Flames” (Big Beat/RRP)
Album: TBA (2018)
Past T40 History: Guetta and Sia have reached the top 40 with two collaborations, neither hitting #1. Is the third time the charm?

MNEK featuring HAILEE STEINFELD – “Colour” (Capitol)
Album: TBA (2018)
Past T40 History: Steinfeld has six top 40 songs to date; MNEK’s sole chart hit was 2016’s “Never Forget You”, with Zara Larsson.

Next week: At least five songs are headed for adds next Tuesday, including two collaborations that feature Demi Lovato (“Fall In Line” by Christina Aguilera and “Solo” by Clean Bandit) and a new single from Sabrina Carpenter. Will it be another mess of an impact date? Of course it will! Look out for more on the blog next week.

Which of these new songs would you like to see top the charts? Let me know!

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ADD LIB — Brace For (CHR) Impact (September 26, 2017)

Welcome to Add Lib, your Tuesday report on POP! Goes The Charts that’s mad about CHR/Top 40 adds, based on the station data provided by Mediabase 24/7 and Add Board. This week: the battle is on between Ed Sheeran and Post Malone, who were stuck in a very close race for most of the day. It’s our last report for September, so, we’ve got to make it a good one! Here are the winners from this week’s chase for adds:

SPECIAL ED: With the latest radio single from his 2x Platinum album ÷, Ed Sheeran‘s “Perfect” is poised to give the performer another big hit at the format. It’s the Most Added track of the week, as it scores 57 more stations on impact, with a number of adds coming in early for it over the last several weeks. Sheeran’s single has also been the Most Added title on the Hot AC report over the last two weeks, where it recently surged into the top 20. (“Shape Of You”, a former #1, remains in the top ten there.) His tour finds itself in Pennsylvania, Michigan and New York over the next week or so, where I’m sure “Perfect” will be a highlight of the show. It will likely be high on the report again next week, with fewer impacting songs at the format. (Phew!)

BETTER OFF MALONE: With a pair of chart songs to his credit here, “White Iverson” (#28, 2016) and “Congratulations” (#20, 2017), Post Malone is making his presence known on the CHR/Top 40 chart, even though his success is greater at other formats. However, his latest single, the 21 Savage-assisted “rockstar”, could prove to be his biggest hit to date across all formats. It has the Most Added title at both Rhythmic and Urban radio, and it’s the second Most Added title at the Top 40 format, with 46 stations on impact. Malone’s Beerbongs & Bentleys set will likely come out later this year, but with “rockstar” still rockin’ all over the place, he can take his time with rolling out the album. It’s sure to be another winner on the charts.

MOST ADDED — THIS WEEK’S TOP TEN
1. ED SHEERAN, “Perfect” (Atlantic)
2. POST MALONE featuring 21 SAVAGE, “rockstar” (Republic)
3. CAMILA CABELLO featuring YOUNG THUG, “Havana” (Syco/Epic)
4. IMAGINE DRAGONS, “Thunder” (KIDinaKORNER/Interscope)
5. HAILEE STEINFELD & ALESSO featuring FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE & WATT, “Let Me Go” (Republic)
6. NICK JONAS, “Find You” (Island/Republic)
7. TAYLOR SWIFT, “…Ready For It?” (Big Machine/Republic)
8. KHALID, “Young Dumb & Broke” (Right Hand Music/RCA)
9. CARDI B, Bodak Yellow” (KSR/Atlantic)
10. DUA LIPA, “New Rules” (Warner Bros.)

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ADD LIB — Brace For (CHR) Impact (September 19, 2017)

Welcome to Add Lib, your Tuesday report on POP! Goes The Charts that’s mad about CHR/Top 40 adds, based on the station data provided by Mediabase 24/7 and Add Board. This week: Imagine Dragons dabble in musical meteorology, while Nick Jonas is found with a sound and Fifth Harmony gives us something to “Like”. A sweet new year is on the way for our Jewish viewers, and I am a part of that, so I think I can line up a sweet recap before the Rosh Hashanah festivities begin. Let’s get going:

LIGHTNING STRIKES “THUNDER”: Weather or not you’re a fan of the latest pop hit by Imagine Dragons, it’s certainly in great shape at the CHR/Top 40 format. As the follow-up to “Believer”, which recently peaked at #3, “Thunder” rolls onto the list at #2 among the Most Added songs this week, scoring 44 stations on impact. It missed the top spot on the report by four adds, giving “Too Good At Goodbyes” from Sam Smith the edge for a second week at #1. “Thunder” sits at #3 on the current Alternative chart and #23 on the most recent Hot AC update, with climbs expected at both formats in the coming weeks.

POP GOES THE PRONOUNS: Are we ready for a grammar lesson? Get out your notebooks, kids. You’ll locate a few potent pop pronouns in the titles of this week’s Most Added songs at Top 40 radio, including “Find You” (#3, 42 stations) by Nick Jonas and Like That” (#4, 37 stations) by Fifth Harmony, both of which had a solid performance on impact. Additionally, “Let Me Go” (#8, 24 stations) by Hailee Steinfeld & Alesso featuring Florida Georgia Line & Watt had a nice second week, following its great impact last week. School’s back in session, and so are the A-list artists and their releases, so make sure to study hard! (Don’t worry about the midterm exam from PGTC; all of you readers out there get a passing grade.)

MOST ADDED — THIS WEEK’S TOP TEN
1. SAM SMITH, “Too Good At Goodbyes” (Capitol)
2. IMAGINE DRAGONS, “Thunder” (KIDinaKORNER/Interscope)
3. NICK JONAS, “Find You” (Island/Republic)
4. FIFTH HARMONY, “He Like That” (Syco/Epic)
5. TAYLOR SWIFT, “…Ready For It?” (Big Machine/Republic)
6. ZAYN featuring SIA, “Dusk Till Dawn” (RCA)
7. CAMILA CABELLO featuring YOUNG THUG, “Havana” (Syco/Epic)
8-T. DUA LIPA, “New Rules” (Warner Bros.)
8-T. HAILEE STEINFELD & ALESSO featuring FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE & WATT, “Let Me Go” (Republic)
10. KELLY CLARKSON, “Love So Soft” (Atlantic/RRP)

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