Television viewers voted Scotty McCreery as the 10th American Idol, and those same viewers likely contributed to the teenager’s debut at the top of Billboard’s album charts this week. Clear As Day starts off at pole position with a fairly impressive 197,000 units sold. It’s the biggest first week sales total for any “Idol” champ since David Cook in 2008. Also worth noting, after a year and a half without a new solo artist debuting at #1 on the album […]
Country Music
Chart Stalker 9/15/11: Strait to…#3?
A country superstar he may be, but the legendary George Strait couldn’t topple Lil Wayne or Adele from their perches at the top of the Billboard album charts this week. His Here For A Good Time makes a pretty respectable debut with 91,000 units sold, but lands at #3 on the list, behind Weezy’s 219,000 (a pretty steep dropoff in The Carter IV‘s second week…blame it on bad word of mouth) and Adele’s 121,000. Adele’s numbers continue to be mind-blowing. […]
New Release Report 9/13/11: Lady A Owns The Week
Who’s the hottest group in country music right now? That’s right-Lady Antebellum. The co-ed trio is coming off of the huge success of Need You Now-the Grammy-winning song and album and they can pretty much do no wrong right now. Their third album, Own The Night, is more or less guaranteed to be one of this year’s biggest sellers. It’ll definitely be worth checking out whether Lady A can challenge Lil Wayne and Lady GaGa for the best selling sales […]
The Blerd13 with… Brett Detar!
Brett Detar has been a part of the modern music scene since 1996, including a nine year run with alternative/indie band The Juliana Theory, but after a decade in the rock and metalcore scene, Brett took a hiatus, returning in 2010 with his first solo album, Bird in the Tangle. Fans of his previous work, however, were in for a surprise. Brett’s return stems from classic country and folk roots, rather than the hard rock of before. I was able […]
New Release Report 9/6/11: Strait To The Top
Country Music / music / New Release Report / New Releases / pop culture / Pop Music / Release Dates / rock music
I know I’ve mentioned my frustration with labels who release several superstar albums in the same week before, but I believe my point is valid enough to bear repeating. Last week, new albums by Lil Wayne and the Red Hot Chili Peppers were both released. The Chili Peppers’ label had to know that an album by that band had the capability to do really well in it’s first week, but that there was no way that it was going to […]
Spin Cycle: Brett Detar’s “Bird in the Tangle”
The amazing thing about people (and musicians are, despite the rumors, also people) is that we are rarely static entities. Time and age have a funny way of sculpting our tastes and experiences, to the point that we may not even recognize ourselves in a decade or so. Brett Detar’s debut solo album Bird in the Tangle is a sonic testament to this truth. After turns as a guitarist in metalcore pioneers Zao and as lead vocalist for the indie/alternative […]
Chart Stalker: Throne Maintained; Weezy & Drake’s Domination
This week’s Billboard album chart has a familiar ring to it: Jay-Z and Kanye West hold the #1 spot for a second week with Watch The Throne. Featuring the hit single “Otis”, the hip-hop superstar summit rings up another 177,000 units in sales this week. It sells more than double the quantity of the week’s #2 album, which is–looky looky–Adele’s 21. Now riding the wave of a second hit single (“Someone Like You” hits the Top 40 this week), Adele’s […]
Spin Cycle: Jeff Bridges’ Self-Titled Album
Whether he likes it or not, Jeff Bridges’ new self-titled album falls squarely in the long shadow of his award winning portrayal of fallen country singer “Bad” Blake in 2009’s Crazy Heart. The album’s line-up of contributors certainly doesn’t help separate it from the film: producer and Americana legend T-Bone Burnett returns after his award-winning direction on the Crazy Heart soundtrack, Ryan Bingham (of “The Weary Kind” fame) jumps in on vocals for a few tracks, and three of the […]
The Jukebox From Hell 02: “Before He Cheats”
The relationship of our society to discrimination and oppression is, indeed, one of our nation’s most shameful characteristics; the rich white straight male archetype has kept a firm boot on the chest of every race, sex, and creed known to man ever since our inception. Clearly, this doesn’t work – not just because it’s morally reprehensible, but because it can, in some particularly severe instances, lead to awful songs. Let’s backpedal. No one’s disputing that men constantly demeaning women in […]
Chart Stalker 8/3/11: Who is Eric Church?
Simple answer: he’s the guy with the #1 album in the country right now. The North Carolina-bred country singer has scored two top 10 albums prior to the release of his latest album, Chief. Talk about truth in titles, Church finds himself the chief of the charts right now, moving 145,000 units and topping the country list as well as the overall Billboard 200. His previous album, Carolina, benefits from the release of the new album as well. The album […]