ADD LIB — Brace For (CHR) Impact (August 15, 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: we question questionable titles from P!nk and Sabrina Carpenter! Got numbers? We do. Let’s calculate and celebrate these top radio records:

“WHAT” GOES UP: Since the spring of 2000, pop superstar P!nk has reached the top 40 with 27 songs, and her 27th and latest hit sounds like a winner. “What About Us” is the Most Added title at the format this week, scoring 121 stations on impact. 18 of her 27 hits, or two-thirds, have peaked in the top ten, with nine of those reaching #1. That’s pretty outstanding. With her upcoming set due October 13, titled Beautiful Trauma, I’m sure several of those totals will be headed upward. P!nk’s last single to chart here, the collaboration “Waterfall” with Stargate and Sia, spent a week at #33 (4/2/17 MB) and quickly fell apart. (That definitely won’t be the case with “What” now!) Check back to see how her new single does in the coming weeks.

IF I WERE A CARPENTER: After reaching a #26 peak this past spring with “Thumbs”, 18-year-old Sabrina Carpenter keeps the one word title streak alive with “Why”, scoring the second Most Added record at Top 40 radio with 43 stations on impact. Even though her title is just three letters in length, we’ve had a couple of top 40 hits that are just one character: “7” (#2, 2/5-12/93 R&R) by Prince and the New Power Generation and “i” (#30, 11/9/14 MB) by Kendrick Lamar. However, all these songs are not short on quality, and that’s what matters! Can Carpenter hammer out a hit for the fall? Stay tuned.

MOST ADDED — THIS WEEK’S TOP TEN
1. P!NK, “What About Us” (RCA)
2. SABRINA CARPENTER, “Why” (Hollywood)
3. SELENA GOMEZ featuring GUCCI MANE, “Fetish” (Interscope)
4. LOUIS TOMLINSON featuring BEBE REXHA & DIGITAL FARM ANIMALS, “Back To You” (Syco/Epic)
5. HARRY STYLES, “Two Ghosts” (Columbia)
6. PORTUGAL. THE MAN, “Feel It Still” (Atlantic)
7. WHY DON’T WE, “Something Different” (Atlantic)
8. FRENCH MONTANA featuring SWAE LEE, “Unforgettable” (Eardrum/Bad Boy/Interscope-Epic)
9. DEMI LOVATO, “Sorry Not Sorry” (Safehouse/Island/Republic/Hollywood)
10. HALSEY, “Bad At Love” (Astralwerks/Capitol)

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RADIO ACTIVE — A Weekly Chart CHRonicle (August 13, 2017)

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. Our thoughts are with the family of Heather Heyer, who was tragically killed yesterday in Charlottesville as she fought for what she believed in. I’m disgusted at all the racist and anti-Semitic rhetoric and actions that occurred on Saturday, and pray that this kind of situation doesn’t happen again.

Though we need more time to heal from what happened, let’s do some of that through music. Here’s this week’s Top 40 report:

“BACK” AT THE TOP: For two weeks in November 2015, Canadian singer and songwriter Shawn Mendes held at the #1 spot at the format with “Stitches”, which also just happened to be his very first top 40 hit (after two misses, however) on the chart. Now, his second #1 comes via “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back”, up from #2 last week. The track is taken from a reissue of Mendes’s former #1 album, Illuminate, which came out in its updated form in April. Of course, this song also spent three weeks at the top of my chart in June and July, recently falling out of the top ten. Mendes’s reign will be a short, but sweet one, but at least it happened.

Though a number of songs are continuing to build up larger gains, significant chart movement is still on the low side this week. Up a notch to #10 is the only track to enter the region on the current list, “Feels” by Calvin Harris featuring Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry and Big Sean. Again, in the top 20, only one single moves into the section: up 22-20, “Sorry Not Sorry” by Demi Lovato. If someone, or some people, could kindly shake up the chart in the next few weeks with a few iconic A-list singles, that would be great!

IN THE PINK: It’s a stellar week for pop superstar P!nk, who debuts way up at #34 on this week’s Top 40 chart with “What About Us”. This is the 27th top 40 single for the hot performer, who made her debut in 2000 with two consecutive #2 hits: “There You Go” (7/14/00 R&R) and “Most Girls” (11/10-24/00 R&R). Of course, she’s now had nine #1 songs to date, spending 28 total weeks in the top spot to date. (We’ll see if she adds to that this fall!) “What” is the lead single from her forthcoming album Beautiful Trauma, out October 13, which I am certainly looking forward to. Believe it or not, it’s her first studio album in five (!) years.

Just in case you wondering, “There” fell from 10-16 and “Most” climbed from 38-31 on the equivalent chart from this week in 2000. As for the top spot, that went to “Bent” by Matchbox Twenty, which was spending its first of two weeks there. Besides P!nk, there are two additional solo performers, Britney Spears and JAY-Z, who appeared on that chart and a top 40 hit during 2017. (A third performer, Beyoncé, was a part of Destiny’s Child on the 2000 chart.)

DON’T COUNT ‘EM OUT: One of the hottest new boy bands to appear on the pop charts is a five member act who call themselves Why Don’t We. With millions of video views and audio streams to date, the quintet starts at #45 with their first entry, “Something Different”. The group debuted about a year ago, releasing three EPs and some collaborations with YouTube star Logan Paul before a major label signed them. They’re currently on a radio tour to promote their song, which narrowly made it into the tenth Most Added spot on last Tuesday’s report. (It could be back there this Tuesday, so stay tuned.)

“Something” is one of three new entries just below the top 40 on this Sunday’s pop chart, with “Two Ghosts” (#41) by Harry Styles and “Take It All Back” (#49) by Judah & The Lion also making their debuts. “Two” is, in fact, the second solo single for Styles, but “Take” is the first chart hit for the Nashville quartet, which topped the Alternative chart for three weeks in December and January.

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ADD LIB — Brace For (CHR) Impact (August 8, 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: Harry Styles raises a toast to “Ghosts”, AJR prove that they are fanatics of the dramatic and much more. Forget about the popcorn and popsicles, munch down on these pop stats tonight:

“TWO” BECOMES ONE: After Louis Tomlinson led the Top 40 adds report for the past two weeks, it’s time for another One Direction member to take control at the top. Harry Styles is looking for his second solo top 40 single with “Two Ghosts”, and at pop stations this week, it spooks up 36 adds from the panel. “Two” is the follow-up to “Sign Of The Times”, which scored a massive 127 adds on impact in April, peaking at #12 (4/30, 5/7 and 5/21/17) on the chart. Of course, Styles’s self-titled album entered at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart earlier this year. Though much of the initial hype of this era has died down, “Two” can still take a nice run up the chart. However, even with the ghost talk, I wouldn’t get into the Halloween spirit too early… it’s only August 8. (It’s definitely a good time for candy, regardless of the date.)

FREAKS OF THE “WEAK”: Since 2014, the trio of brothers known as AJR have reached the Top 40 chart with two top 30 hits: “I’m Ready” (#25, 7/27/14) and “Weak” (#27, 6/4 and 6/18/17). Now, the Met siblings get some brotherly love from the stations of the pop panel, receiving 24 adds on impact, good for a third place (tie) finish. It’s the second radio single from their newest set The Click, which didn’t exactly click with the buying public, reaching #61 on the Billboard 200. Will Adam, Jack and Ryan finally break into the top 20? Will a brick wall await them below the region once more? Ooh, time will tell, kids. Watch this space!

MOST ADDED — THIS WEEK’S TOP TEN
1. HARRY STYLES, “Two Ghosts” (Columbia)
2. PORTUGAL. THE MAN, “Feel It Still” (Atlantic)
3. AJR, “Drama” (AJR Prod./RED)
4. SELENA GOMEZ featuring GUCCI MANE, “Fetish” (Interscope)
5. LOUIS TOMLINSON featuring BEBE REXHA & DIGITAL FARM ANIMALS, “Back To You” (Syco/Epic)
6. DEMI LOVATO, “Sorry Not Sorry” (Safehouse/Island/Republic/Hollywood)
7. FRENCH MONTANA featuring SWAE LEE, “Unforgettable” (Eardrum/Bad Boy/Interscope-Epic)
8. ZEDD & LIAM PAYNE, “Get Low” (Interscope)
9. KHALID, “Location” (RCA)
10. WHY DON’T WE, “Something Different” (Atlantic)

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RADIO REPORT: What’s Popping At Top 40 Radio This Week (August 7-8, 2017)

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 the four new songs impacting this week at the Top 40 format:

AJR – “Drama” (S-Curve/BMG)
Album: The Click (2017)
Past T40 History: The Met brothers have hit the top 30 twice (“I’m Ready” and “Weak”) since 2014. Will this track go any higher?

AXWELL ^ INGROSSO – “More Than You Know” (Def Jam)
EP: More Than You Know (2017)
Past T40 History: “I Love You” got to #28 here in April. “More” is a big streaming hit, with a top 15 peak on Spotify’s Global chart.

HARRY STYLES – “Two Ghosts” (Columbia)
Album: Harry Styles (2017)
Past T40 History: “Sign Of The Times”, Styles’s first solo chart entry, reached #12 back in May. His self-titled album peaked at #1.

WHY DON’T WE – “Something Different” (Atlantic)
EP: Something Different (2017)
Past T40 History: This five-man boy band is the only new act impacting here this week. “Different” is a former Spotify Viral entry.

Next week: Olivia O’Brien says “RIP” to her competitors, while The Script hopes the adds “Rain” down on them.

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

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