Fall Into Dance: The Autumn’s Entertaining Electronic Hits

As pop radio transitions into a land of alternative crossovers and less of the 70’s soul throwback sound we’ve heard as of late, a lot of dance acts and DJs who haven’t quite made a name yet outside of the clubs are still holding their genre’s ground at the format. There’s Zedd and his breakout hit, “Clarity”, featuring Foxes. It’s one of four songs that gives Interscope Records a hold on the entire top 4 on the airwaves. Then, we have the surging “Wake Me Up!” by Avicii and Aloe Blacc, already top ten on iTunes and moving towards that top spot. Further down the chart, there are songs from Armin Van Buuren and Krewella, and now, it’s time to add some more names into the mix. Both singles are at radio on the same date at the end of the month, and they’ve got the beat to beat those other beats:

EDM gone sky high.

KASKADE – “Atmosphere”
Release Date: August 26 (CHR radio) / Ultra Records

Just like the waterfall in his name, the sudden rush of EDM acts at the pop format has got this guy wanting in too. Born Ryan Raddon just outside of Chicago, he became a club DJ at age 24 in Salt Lake City and pursued his own career as a producer and writer shortly afterwards. His first album, It’s Me, It’s You, came out in 2003 and two years later, he scored his only #1 (so far) on the Dance/Club Play chart, “Everything”. A total of seven of his songs have reached the 50-position list. Though he’s been appearing on this survey for nearly a decade to varying degrees of success, as well as remixing versions of songs that became major singles on the radio, he, himself, has never had a mainstream hit to call his own. Last year, he was credited as a featured artist on the Neon Trees single, “Lessons In Love (All Day, All Night)”, but it never managed to take off completely. Thus, “Atmosphere” will be the DJ’s true introduction to a wider audience. Much like Calvin Harris‘s “Feel So Close”, Kaskade is the one singing on this rather than featuring an additional vocalist. It worked for Harris, giving his first big hit in the U.S.; why can’t it work for Mr. Raddon? At age 42, he may not have a lot of time left to secure a big airplay and sales hit (although look at David Guetta still making it at age 45), but with an accessible and catchy song that starts out slow and then pops with a pulsating punch, I see a winner in this one. Look out for it in the next few months.

Locked and looking for a hit.

SEBASTIAN INGROSSO, TOMMY TRASH & JOHN MARTIN – “Reload”
Release Date: August 26 (CHR radio) / Astralwerks and Capitol Records

Their names aren’t the most recognizable of the bunch, but put together their collective talents and they may be household names by the end of the year. Ingrosso was one-third of the group Swedish House Mafia, who split up earlier this year after what was their biggest international single, “Don’t You Worry Child”. It topped many charts and went to #6 on the Hot 100. The vocal on “Child” was done by Martin, and the singer also appears on this track. Then, there’s Tommy Trash, an Australian DJ and producer who is relatively unknown here in the U.S., save for on the club circuit. “Reload” was originally an instrumental track by just Ingrosso and Trash at over six minutes in length that became a minor single in Belgium last year, but with the mix they concocted with Martin, it ultimately charted much better. After placing at #3 in the United Kingdom and #1 in Scotland, it finally arrives here and at mainstream radio. It’s another great dance track with a little more of an edge that packs synthesizers and drums into a heavy beat. Martin’s vocals are once again unmistakable on this one; he’s such an emotive vocalist that I could easily see him taking on other genres. Like “Child”, “Reload” has a bit on an inspirational message, about not giving up in the face of fears and trouble and gaining the strength to pick yourself back up to try again. So, Ingrosso and Martin will try, try again for another hit, while adding on Trash on a single that’s far from disposable.

Which song will you be shaking it out to next season? Comment below or click on the “Get Social!” tab to connect with PGTC on social media.

How Swede It Is: The Icon(a)ic Hit Parade

I like it, “I Love It”.

Whether it’s on the radio or in an advertisement, you know the sounds of Icona Pop and their hit song called “I Love It”. It’s currently #33 on the Hot 100 and #21 on mainstream radio. The all-female duo of Aino Jawo and Caroline Hjelt represents the 20th act from Sweden to hit the airplay chart (Radio & Records/Mediabase 24/7) since it began in 1973, though most of these artists also made the Hot 100 in one form or another. (I’ll be listing the peaks from both charts in some cases.) How swede it is to be loved by our American audience. From ABBA to Roxette to Swedish House Mafia, here’s the full list of acts who have charted with the times.

ABBA / AGNETHA FÄLTSKOG / FRIDA
By far the most successful act on the list, the quartet formed in Stockholm amassed twenty hits on the Hot 100 from 1974 to 1982, fourteen of them becoming top-40 entries. Of those, four made the top ten like “Waterloo” (1974) and “Take A Chance On Me” (1978), with “Dancing Queen” rising to #1 in 1977, their only chart-topper. After the group disbanded, the two female singers in the band each had one top-40 solo hit. Frida (Anni-Frid Lyngstad) went to #13 in the spring of 1983 with “I Know There’s Something Going On” (co-produced by Phil Collins) and Agentha Fältskog managed a #29 peak for “Can’t Shake Loose” during the fall of that same year. Fältskog has a new solo album due later this spring. The group has never performed together since they parted.

ACE OF BASE / YAKI-DA
Four performers from Gothenberg were all over the radio in 1993 and 1994 with songs like “All That She Wants”, “Don’t Turn Around” and “The Sign”. Five of their singles went top ten at CHR radio, but “Sign” was the only one to top the Hot 100, holding there for six weeks. Eight of their songs made the big chart, the final two coming in 1998. They’re currently together, but the two female singers were replaced during their most recent album in 2010. In 1995, member Jonas “Joker” Berggren put together the duo Yaki-Da, also from Gothenberg. Their lone hit, “I Saw You Dancing”, went to #52 on the Hot 100 and #20 on the CHR chart.

AVICII
The 23-year-old DJ from Stockholm has been mixing it up for several years now. Last year, his “Levels (ID)”, sampled in the arrangement of Flo Rida‘s “Good Feeling”, only reached #60 on the Hot 100 and #34 on CHR radio, largely overshadowed by the rapper’s hit. His current single, “I Could Be The One” (credited to Avicii vs. Nicky Romero), is top 40 at the radio format, but has yet to make Billboard’s list.

BLUE SWEDE
Ooga chaka, ooga ooga. The band from Stockholm led by Björn Skifs took their version of “Hooked On A Feeling” to #1 for a week in 1974. Four of their singles charted on the Hot 100, the last of them a medley of “Hush” by Deep Purple and “I’m Alive” by Tommy James & The Shondells, which went to #61 in 1975. They haven’t appeared together since then.

EAGLE-EYE CHERRY / NENEH CHERRY
The half-siblings of the Cherry family saw their biggest success in different decades. Neneh Cherry is best remembered for her 1989 hit “Buffalo Stance”, which climbed to #3 on the Hot 100. Five of her songs made the chart, four as a main credited artist. Eagle-Eye Cherry‘s biggest single was “Save Tonight”, which went to #5 on the Hot 100 and #1 on CHR radio in 1999. Two more of his songs garnered some airplay, the latter one peaking in 2002, but neither is remembered today. Neneh now performs with a band called The Thing; Eagle-Eye still records as a solo artist.

EMILIA
Emilia Rydberg, who recorded as Emilia, scored a huge hit in Europe with 1998’s “Big Big World”, which impacted the United States at end of the year. It barely cracked the Hot 100 at a peak of #92, though it rose to #19 on CHR radio before falling quickly falling out. She performs today as Emilia Mitiku.

EUROPE
How can you deny the epic synthesizer line in “The Final Countdown”? A classic in the world of pop, it reached a high of #8 on the Hot 100 in 1987 for the quintet from Upplands Väsby. Power ballad “Carrie” went to #3 later that year. A total of five of their songs reached the Hot 100, the last of them coming in the fall of 1988. The band is still active today with a different lineup.

LEGACY OF SOUND / MEJA
Dancing onto the scene in 1993, the group had only one song hit the U.S. market, “Happy”. It managed a lowly #68 on the Hot 100 and a #25 peak on CHR radio. Vocalist Meja cracked the CHR chart twice as a solo artist with “All ‘Bout The Money” (#36, 1999) and a duet with Ricky Martin, “Private Emotion” (#29, 2000). “Money” failed to make the Hot 100; “Emotion” rose to #67. She still sings today.

REDNEX
What the folk is going on? Marrying bluegrass with a eurodance beat, the novelty hit “Cotton Eye Joe”, based on the nineteenth-century southern song, went to #25 on the Hot 100 in 1995. It was certified Gold. They never charted again here, but they’ve hit the top ten in Sweden as recently as 2008. The group remains together.

ROBYN
The sweet pop sounds of Robyn were all over the U.S. by 1997 including “Do You Know (What It Takes?)” and “Show Me Love”, both going top ten. An additional airplay-only single, “Do You Really Want Me?”, made the top ten at CHR radio in 1998. She made a triumphant return with a dance sound in the 2000’s, scoring a handful of hits across Europe, but nothing charted nationally here. She last put out a series of EPs in 2010 and no new material has been announced as of yet.

ROXETTE
The duo of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle out of Halmstad took the U.S. by storm in 1989 with their #1 hit “The Look”, followed by two other #1’s: “It Must Have Been Love” in 1990 (featured in the movie Pretty Woman) and “Joyride” in 1991. Six of their songs made the top 2 in a two-year span, which gives the largest amount of top ten singles for a Swedish act. In total, twelve of their singles hit the Hot 100 through 1994, with a few additional releases receiving Adult Contemporary airplay in the years since then. The two continue to record, both solo and together, last putting out original material as a duo in 2012.

SEPTEMBER
Petra Marklund, who took the stage name September, started her career in Sweden in 2003, but the performer from Stockholm didn’t reach the Hot 100 until 2008 when “Cry For You” peaked at #74. It also spent three weeks at #29 on CHR radio, two of them dated on September charts. She hasn’t hit nationally since, but continues to make the top ten in her native country under her given name.

SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA
The trio of DJs Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello have been together since 2008. They first made the the CHR chart in 2011 with “Save The World” (#37), but it failed to make the Hot 100 by just a few positions. Last year, “Don’t You Worry Child” became their biggest hit ever in almost every territory, including a #6 peak on the Hot 100 and a better #2 at CHR earlier this year. They’ve broken up for the time being.

THE CARDIGANS
From the city of Jönköping, this quintet led by Nina Persson scored an international hit with “Lovefool”. It wasn’t eligible for the Hot 100 at the time due to a rule barring airplay-only singles from charting, but it did climb to #1 on the Hot 100 Airplay survey and spent six weeks at #1 on CHR radio during the spring of 1997. They had several other hits in Europe, but broke up in 2006 before reuniting last year.

Who is your favorite act from Sweden to break in America? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter: @AdamFSoybel.

What “Child” Is This? Youngsters In The Top Ten

Burning down the House.

Swedish House Mafia finally have their first big hit in the States as “Don’t You Worry Child”, featuring vocalist John Martin, sits at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week. Though this may be the only time the group charts together (they’re currently on a farewell tour), they’ve it done with a song that becomes the first top ten title since the 90’s to feature the word “child” in it.

In total, 59 song titles with the word “child” (or some variation like “children”) in them have made the Hot 100 since it began in 1958, 27 of those making the top 40. The first of them, in early 1959, was “The Children’s Marching Song (Nick Nack Paddy Whack)” by Cyril Stapleton and His Orchestra, which was quickly followed by a version from Mitch Miller and his “Sing Along With Mitch” Chorus. The Stapleton version rose to #13 and the Miller version got to #16.

Just eleven of those nearly sixty top-40 hits made it into the top ten. Here are the other ten besides “Worry”:

“Little Children”, Billy J. Kramer with The Dakotas (#7, 1964)
This English band came to the States as a part of the British Invasion in 1964 and launched four songs into the top 40, this one being the biggest. After two additional Hot 100 singles in 1965, the group experienced several membership changes and ultimately folded several years later. They’ve reunited since, but haven’t charted again.

“Love Child”, Diana Ross & The Supremes (#1, 1968)
Girl groups don’t come bigger than this. In just about five years, they accumulated twelve #1 singles on the Hot 100, this two-week topper being the eleventh of them. Ross departed the group roughly a year after this single and they had several years of top-40 hits without her, including two top tens. Ross, of course, did quite a bit better, with six additional #1 hits on her own. Dance group Sweet Sensation took their version onto the charts in 1990, just missing the top ten with a peak of #13.

“Runaway Child, Running Wild”, The Temptations (#6, 1969)
Another of Motown’s biggest acts makes the list with this single, which also spent two weeks at #1 on the R&B chart in March. All five members sang lead on the song. The quintet scored Hot 100 and R&B hits for several decades to come, including songs like the #1 “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone”.

“O-O-H Child”, The Five Stairsteps (#8, 1970)
After years of top-40 misses, this song from the Chicago group featuring the Burke siblings cracked the top ten during the summertime. They made the Hot 100 several other times after this song hit, but nothing placed within the top 40. A remake by Dino in 1993 hit the top ten in CHR airplay, but managed a lower #27 on the Hot 100. One other cover, done by Daryl Hall and John Oates, became a minor adult contemporary hit in 2005.

“Mother And Child Reunion”, Paul Simon (#4, 1972)
After his partnership with Art Garfunkel dissolved in 1970, Simon began his string of solo successes with this first hit, which also made the top 5 in countries like Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. Simon would soon eclipse this solo peak with bigger entries like his only #1, 1976’s “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover”.

“Hot Child In The City”, Nick Gilder (#1, 1978)
English-born, Canadian-raised Gilder only made the top-40 once in the States with this #1 hit. He scored several other big singles in Canada, including a #1 with his former group Sweeney Todd, “Roxy Roller”, in 1976.

“Sweet Child O’ Mine”, Guns N’ Roses (#1, 1988)
Axl Rose and the boys garnered their first and only chart-topper with their first single to make the Hot 100, spending two weeks at #1 in September. The Los Angeles band took five other songs into the top ten through 1992. Their long-awaited Chinese Democracy album was finally released in 2008 and they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame just last year.

“When The Children Cry”, White Lion (#3, 1989)
This ballad was the second and final top-40 hit for this rock band from Denmark, placing just behind songs from Paula Abdul and Sheriff. The first, “Wait”, hit the top ten the previous year. They continued to make the Billboard 200 album chart in the U.S. until 1991.

“This One’s For The Children”, New Kids On The Block (#7, 1989)
In 1989, one of the biggest bands out of Boston managed to place six songs in the top 40, all within that one chart year. This was the last of them, from the album Merry, Merry Christmas, and appropriately peaked during the week of Christmas. NKOTB managed two other top ten hits after this, then broke up in 1994 and experienced a successful reunion in 2008. They release a new studio album, 10, in April.

“Jesus To A Child”, George Michael (#7, 1996)
From his album Older, the single marked a major comeback for Michael, his first top ten hit in four years on the Hot 100. Followup single “Fastlove” would be his last single to make the Hot 100, peaking at #8, though he’s had a top-40 single in the United Kingdom as recent as last year.

For the young at heart and on the charts, make sure to click the follow button to get updates from POP! Goes The Charts and follow me on Twitter: @AdamFSoybel.

ADAM’S TOP 100 OF 2012 – #70 to #56 (Post 3 of 11)

What a girl flaunts.

From now until New Year’s Eve, I’ll be counting down my top 100 songs of the year. Every week, I make a top 40 list, and each position gets a certain amount of points, plus, I add in some extra points for weeks at #1, which goes towards their yearly total. The survey period is from December 4, 2011 to November 25, 2012. Ties are broken by (1) peak position, then (2) weeks at peak position, and then (3) number of weeks on chart should it go that far. We’ve got 70 more songs to count down, so, what am I waiting for? Let’s pick it back up at #70.

070. Swedish House Mafia featuring John Martin – Don’t You Worry Child (247 points) (PEAK: #15)
Eighteen of Billboard’s Dance Club/Play number-one singles made my top 40 this year, peaking on that chart and my own within two weeks of one another. It also hit #1 in Australia and in the United Kingdom.

069. Lifehouse featuring Natasha Bedingfield – Between The Raindrops (247 points) (PEAK: #11)
This one peaked at #11 for three weeks at the chart year cutoff, but it has since climbed to #8. On their own, both artists have hit #1 on my chart; Lifehouse took “Whatever It Takes” to the top in 2008 and Bedingfield did it with “These Words” in 2005 and “Unwritten” in 2006.

068. Robbie Williams – Candy (266 points) (PEAK: #6)
Williams made a major comeback in the United Kingdom this year when this single became his first #1 hit since 2004. His album, Take The Crown, also took the top spot. He’s touring the U.K. with opener Olly Murs, who has two songs coming up in the top 50. Though it ended the chart year at #6, the song went onto peak at #4 a few weeks ago.

067. John Mayer – Shadow Days (270 points) (PEAK: #16)
After two #3 hits during his last era, Battle Studies, this one struggled up to a peak of #16 before falling off the radar. This era was plagued by Mayer’s throat condition, which led to a canceled tour and limited promotion for his album, entitled Born and Raised.

066. Kelly Clarkson – Dark Side (271 points) (PEAK: #16)
The first ever American Idol winner did moderately well with this third single that slowly crawled up my top 40. All three of them made the year-end chart. It was recently covered on the television show Glee.

065. Marina & The Diamonds – Primadonna (280 points) (PEAK: #15)
This one-woman band, originally born in Wales, made her debut on my chart this year, reaching its peak back in July. Second single “How To Be A Heartbreaker” just missed the top 100. Parent album Electra Heart hit the #1 spot on the album chart in the United Kingdom.

064. Kelly Clarkson – Mr. Know It All (288 points) (PEAK: #3)
“Know” was my #57 song of 2011 and ended up with about 90 more points in that position. It was the third song to make my chart to address a Mr. in the title, following “Mr. Bartender (It’s So Easy)” by Sugar Ray (#17, 2003) and “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers (#1, 2005).

063. Adele – Someone Like You (289 points) (PEAK: #1 for three weeks)
“Someone” peaked at #1 way back in October 2011 and was the #13 song of last year. It’s from her now Diamond-certified album, 21, which sold ten million copies in the U.S. alone in less than two years. 700,000 copies in sales the week after she won the Grammy Award for Album Of The Year didn’t hurt either.

062. Nickelback – When We Stand Together (292 points) (PEAK: #2)
They may be one of the most hated bands in the world, but that didn’t stop them from placing two songs in my year-end top 100. This peaked at #2 in November 2011 and was my #67 song of that year.

061. Christina Aguilera – Your Body (300 points) (PEAK: #10)
The proper comeback that was supposed to be the Lotus era has not lived up to such high expectations and the downward spiral of Aguilera continues. Just like “Not Myself Tonight”, the leadoff single from Bionic, this peaked at #10. Aguilera is taking a break from The Voice during its next cycle.

060. Karmin – Hello (301 points) (PEAK: #13)
The duo of Amy and Nick strike again with their second of three songs in the top 100. This was the fourth song to make my top 40 with “hello” in the title; compare that ten that charted with “goodbye”. Their only top ten hit on the weekly chart is somewhere in the top 40 of the year.

059. Aerosmith – What Could Have Been Love (301 points) (PEAK: #12)
Here’s the second act in a row from Boston, a legendary band that’s been charting since the 1970’s. This was the first mainstream single from Music From Another Dimension. One of the co-writers of the song, Russ Irwin, is a one-hit wonder on the national scene; his only charting single, the ballad “My Heart Belongs To You”, reached #28 on the Hot 100 in the fall of 1991.

058. One Direction – Gotta Be You (311 points) (PEAK: #11)
The first ballad single by the band proved to be a front-loaded single in the United Kingdom, debuting at #3 but crashing downwards fast. It just missed the top ten on my chart.

057. One Direction – What Makes You Beautiful (311 points) (PEAK: #3)
Whataya know? We have back-to-back One Direction tunes in the countdown. “Beautiful” peaked at #3 for two weeks in October 2011, but gained a little bit of ground back when a Stateside release of the single was announced. It ended up with a total of 28 weeks in the survey. Two more songs by the band will set you in the right Direction soon.

056. Adele – Skyfall (313 points) (PEAK: #1 for three weeks)
This was the only song written from a movie soundtrack to hit the top spot on my chart this year. However, it’s not the highest one in the year-end top 100. She has one more song to go, which is quite a bit higher.

We’ll be back tomorrow on Christmas Eve with #55 through #41 on the chart, including two more movie hits, another high-profile flop, and a little bit of royalty on our way to the throne and the #1 song of 2012.