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 (January 22, 2019)

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: Ariana Grande rings up another pop hit, while NF gets some great love from the panel. Let’s add ’em up:

SEVEN THE HARD WAY: “7 Rings” is ringing a bell across the U.S. this week, as Grande’s latest release leads the updated adds report at the Top 40 format with a huge 143 adds on impact. That massive debut should help carry the title deep into the top ten in the next few weeks, though it will have to contend with her own “thank u, next”, which recently spent its first official week at #1. At this point, “7” remains midway up the chart, boosted by hourly airplay at many stations upon release last Friday.

Also picking up some good support this week, “If You Want Love” from Christian crossover rapper NF should become his third top 40 single at the format, picking up 33 new stations and tying for third place. His two prior songs to chart here are “Let You Down”, which spent a week at #1 last year, and “Lie”, which got as high as #6. Will this one perform as well? We’ll find out soon.

Next week, look out for impacting songs by Alessia Cara (at #9 this week), Dua Lipa and Jake Miller to appear in the top ten.

MOST ADDED — THIS WEEK’S TOP TEN
1. ARIANA GRANDE, “7 Rings” (Republic)
2. GESAFFELSTEIN & THE WEEKND, “Lost In The Fire” (Columbia)
3-T. NF, “If You Want Love” (Caroline)
3-T. SAM SMITH & NORMANI, “Dancing With A Stranger” (Capitol-RCA)
5. POST MALONE, “Wow.” (Republic)
6. SABRINA CARPENTER, “Sue Me” (Hollywood)
7-T. CALVIN HARRIS & RAG’N’BONE MAN, “Giant” (Columbia)
7-T. LIVVIA, “Damn” (12Tone)
9. ALESSIA CARA, “Out Of Love” (Def Jam)
10. AVA MAX, “Sweet But Psycho” (APG/Atlantic)

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ADD LIB — Brace For (CHR) Impact (January 15, 2019)

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: we feel the burn at the top, as several impacting records burst into the top ten with big totals. Let’s add ’em up:

“FIRE” UP THE ADDS: It was a competitive week for two collaborations on the Top 40 adds report, as both accumulated bigger numbers this Tuesday, but by the end of the session, “Lost In The Fire” from Gesaffelstein & The Weekend paced just ahead of “Dancing With A Stranger” by Sam Smith & Normani, with final totals of 118 and 98 stations, respectively. Both of these singles will land well into the top 40 by the published update on Sunday, with “Lost” having the early edge for the higher of the debuts. It’s also possible that both titles could appear in the top five on the adds report again next week, though that’ll depend on the results of several new impacting songs. (See below for more information.)

LIVVIA‘s “Damn” also managed to break into the top five on the new report, securing 23 stations and a fifth place finish. With the Cumulus block add it recently earned, the tune is quickly rising through the top 50 and could easily eclipse the peak of the Quavo-assisted “Catch A Body”, which reached #37 last May.

Next week, look out for three impacting tracks from Calvin Harris & Rag’N’Bone Man (ranked at #8 this week), George Ezra and NF to sport some major action on the list.

MOST ADDED — THIS WEEK’S TOP TEN
1. GESAFFELSTEIN & THE WEEKND, “Lost In The Fire” (Columbia)
2. SAM SMITH & NORMANI, “Dancing With A Stranger” (Capitol-RCA)
3. POST MALONE, “Wow.” (Republic)
4. SABRINA CARPENTER, “Sue Me” (Hollywood)
5. LIVVIA, “Damn” (12Tone)
6. AVA MAX, “Sweet But Psycho” (APG/Atlantic)
7-T. CALVIN HARRIS & RAG’N’BONE MAN, “Giant” (Columbia)
7-T. LAUREN DAIGLE, “You Say” (Centricity/12Tone/Warner Bros.)
9. ZARA LARSSON, “Ruin My Life” (TEN/Epic)
10. LOUD LUXURY featuring BRANDO, “Body” (Armada/in2une)

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RADIO ACTIVE — A Weekly Chart CHRonicle (January 13, 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. Panic strikes the top 40 once again, but that calming chart air is keeping the format free of any unnecessary stress. Let’s see what’s popping this Sunday:

YOUR DISCO NEEDS YOU: With solid chart hits from Ariana Grande and Halsey still too far behind, “High Hopes” grabs its sixth consecutive week atop the Alternative, Hot AC and Top 40 charts simultaneously for Panic! At The Disco. The massive track and its extended stay power are certainly to be admired. 2019 is sure to be another big year for the act, who should be able to score a second big crossover hit from the album Pray For The Wicked.

Post Malone‘s “Wow.” leads a pack of three top 40 entries this week, soaring from 47-28 to become his ninth top 40 song here. It’s also approaching the top 20 at the Rhythmic format, while recently entering the top 50 at Urban radio. Further down, at #39, singer Lauren Daigle earns her first top 40 single with “You Say”, a huge hit in the Christian music world that’s now successfully crossing to several other formats. Lastly, at #40, former Big Time Rush member Logan Henderson achieves his second top 40 entry as a solo artist with “Pull Me Deep”. The group had three songs enter the region between 2011 and 2012, never going higher than #26.

“Lost In The Fire” leads another pack of three top 50 entries on the current chart, debuting at #45 for newcomer Gesaffelstein and superstar The Weeknd. The men previously worked together on two cuts for the latter’s My Dear Melancholy, EP, which landed at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart last year. One notch lower, Sabrina Carpenter is aiming for her first top 20 entry with “Sue Me”. Its start at #46 follows “Almost Love”, the prior single from her Singular (Act I) EP, which peaked at #21 last fall. The third new tune in this region of the list is one of the notable viral rap songs that’s been all over the Rhythmic and Urban charts lately. Debuting at #50, it’s “Mo Bamba” by Sheck Wes, his first chart hit. (Don’t expect this track to stick around much longer, as it’s starting to collapse at the other two formats.)

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RADIO REPORT: What’s Popping At Top 40 Radio This Week (January 7-8, 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 three tunes impacting this week at the Top 40 format:

BACKSTREET BOYS – “Chances” (RCA)
Album: DNA (2019)
Past T40 History: The group’s comeback song “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” got to #16 in August, another cut from their new set.

POST MALONE – “Wow.”
Album: (TBA) (2019)
Past T40 History: With a former #1 track on iTunes, Malone’s hit should easily join his two other active singles in the top 40 soon.

SABRINA CARPENTER – “Sue Me” (Hollywood)
Album: Singular (Act I) (2018)
Past T40 History: The 19-year-old performer has now hit the top 30 at the format with three tracks, but the top 20 still eludes her.

Next week: Lauren Daigle preaches to the pop choir with her Christian crossover winner “You Say”. The track is well into the top ten on the Hot AC chart and receiving solid early airplay at this format.

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 (December 30, 2018)

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. As we continue through the annual freeze at radio, there are very few highlights at the format this week. So, we’ll keep it short and sweet! Here’s what’s popping this Sunday:

NEW YEAR, SAME PANIC: As 2019 approaches, “High Hopes” by Panic! At The Disco remains on top of Alternative, Hot AC and Top 40 lists for the fourth consecutive week. It’s now one of two songs during the plays-per-week era to accomplish the feat, the other being “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams” by Green Day in February and March 2005. Two hits by Ariana Grande and another by Halsey will be vying for the top spot following these end of the year festivities; it’s anyone’s guess as to which of these tracks gets to #1 first.

The lone top 40 debut on this week’s chart comes from Madison Beer and her Offset-assisted song “Hurts Like Hell”, up from 41-39 this week. It’s the second tune to enter the region for Beer and the second solo hit for Offset, who previously charted with Migos.

With a number of tracks being purged from the chart next week, as the normal recurrent rules go back into effect, look for a number of new titles in the lower regions of the list on Sunday, including future top 40 releases for George Ezra, Sabrina Carpenter and more.

Happy New Year from PGTC! (Please be safe tomorrow night!)

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NEW MUSIC FRIDAY: Releases For The Week of November 9, 2018

Imagine that… another hit album.

You don’t have to imagine where these big releases originated from; they’re all vying for #1 on next week’s album chart. Who has the best chance of leading the way? These are the notable digital and physical releases out this Friday:

IMAGINE DRAGONS – Origins (iTunes)
Just last year, the Las Vegas band dropped an album called ƎVOLVE that launched massive hits like “Believer” and “Whatever It Takes” onto the charts at several radio formats. Now, with “Natural” achieving similar results, look for the act’s current album to be a strong contender for the top spot on the Billboard 200 list next week.

KANE BROWN – Experiment (iTunes)
Brown’s built up quite a hit streak at country radio, especially given the format’s hesitance with his first top 40 release, “Used To Love You Sober”. Now, as “Lose It” appears headed for the top in the coming weeks, his latest studio album should deliver a nice opening sales week with a solid amount of streaming action.

LIL PEEP – Come Over When You’re Sober, Pt. 2 (iTunes)
The late performer’s first EP entered the top 40 on the Billboard 200 in 2017, and his second release should result in even better numbers. He’s currently just below the top 40 on the Alternative and Rhythmic radio lists with a non-album collaboration called “Falling Down” with the late XXXTENTACION.

MUSE – Simulation Theory (iTunes)
Currently climbing on the Alternative and Active Rock charts with a single titled “Pressure”, this English group will likely receive their fifth top ten album in the U.S. next week. Their last set, released in 2015, went all the way to #1. Could this do the same?

Notable albums out this week: Charles Bradley‘s Black Velvet (iTunes), Hanson‘s String Theory (iTunes), John Splithoff‘s Make It Happen (Deluxe) (iTunes), Jon Bellion‘s Glory Sound Prep (iTunes), Jonas Blue‘s Blue (iTunes), Olly Murs‘s You Know I Know (iTunes), Steve Aoki‘s Neon Future III (iTunes), The Revivalists‘s Take Good Care (iTunes), Train‘s Greatest Hits (iTunes), Trippie Redd‘s A Love Letter To You 3 (iTunes)

Notable EPs out this week: Chelsea Cutler‘s Sleeping With Roses II (iTunes), Crush Club‘s Alive (iTunes), I Don’t Know How But They Found Me‘s 1981 (iTunes), Lewis Capaldi‘s Breach (iTunes), Sabrina Carpenter‘s Singular (Act 1) (iTunes), Whethan‘s Life Of A Wallflower, Vol. 1 (iTunes)

New digital singles that you can buy this week include:
“ADHD”, Brunswick (iTunes)
“Amy’s Song”, Matt Simons (iTunes)
“Birdsong”, Regina Spektor (iTunes)
“Burn It”, FEVER 333 (iTunes)
“Bruises”, Luke Christopher (iTunes)
“Candy”, Theia (iTunes)
“Care Less More”, Olivia O’Brien (iTunes)
“Chances”, Backstreet Boys (iTunes)
“Empty Space (Luca Schreiner Remix)”, James Arthur (iTunes)
“Falling”, LÉON (iTunes)
“Fascination”, The Beaches (iTunes)
“For Your Love”, Montaigne (iTunes)
“Fortress”, Lennon Stella (iTunes)
“God Dammit”, Illenium & Call Me Karizma (iTunes)
“Gonna Be Alright”, Tritonal featuring Mozella (iTunes)
“Happier (Stripped)”, Marshmello x Bastille (iTunes)
“Hey DJ”, CNCO x Meghan Trainor x Sean Paul (iTunes)
“Hurts Like Hell”, Madison Beer featuring Offset (iTunes)
“Important” and “Oxygen”, RØMANS (iTunes)
“Invisible”, Anna Clendening (iTunes)
“Just Slide”, Harry Hudson featuring Jaden Smith (iTunes)
“Let You Love Me (Acoustic)”, Rita Ora (iTunes)
“Look At Me Now”, Emily King (iTunes)
“Look At Us Now”, The Him (iTunes)
“Love Made Me Do It”, Cheryl (iTunes)
“Need Somebody”, Chris Ayer (iTunes)
“Never Enough”, Kelly Clarkson (iTunes)
“Nostalgia Is A Lie”, Goody Grace (iTunes)
“Not Thinkin’ Bout You (Remix)”, Ruel featuring GoldLink (iTunes)
“Older”, Sasha Sloan (iTunes)
“Overseas”, Desiigner featuring Lil Pump (iTunes)
“Paper Dreams”, Jamie N Commons (iTunes)
“Paper Rain”, Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness (iTunes)
“Patient”, NUUXS featuring Zac Pajak (iTunes)
“Question Mark”, Alexander Oscar (iTunes)
“Run That Back (Remix)”, Sofi De La Torre featuring Rich The Kid (iTunes)
“Serious”, Midnight Kids featuring Matthew Koma (iTunes)
“Slow Dancing In The Dark (Loud Luxury Remix)”, Joji (iTunes)
“Shoot Out (English Version)”, Monsta X (iTunes)
“Such A Night”, Michael Bublé (iTunes)
“The Big Unknown”, Sade (iTunes)
“Thursday (Jack Wins Remix)”, Jess Glynne (iTunes)
“Used To”, Sandro Cavazza featuring Lou Elliotte (iTunes)
“Voices In My Head”, Ashley Tisdale (iTunes)
“Waiting On You”, Marc Scibilia (iTunes)
“Waste Of Time”, Lostboycrow featuring Bea Miller (iTunes)
“White Christmas”, OneRepublic (iTunes)
“Worst Nites”, Foster The People (iTunes)

Next week: look out for new albums from Little Mix, Mariah Carey, Mumford & Sons and more. For Adam’s personal picks of the week, listen to the PGTC Friday Faves list on Spotify!