When you see that there’s a Chart Stalker Extra, you know it means one thing. This week’s Billboard chart is boring. As. Shit. Really, it is. There weren’t any major new releases last week, so that means Beyonce holds on for a second frame at Number One, moving a still impressive 115,000 units. She’ll cross the Gold sales threshold next week, but her stint at the top will be over by that point. It looks like next week’s chart champ […]
Country Music
Chart Stalker 6/29/11: Jill Scott “Light”s Up the Chart with Her First #1
It took twelve years and four studio albums, but Jill Scott can finally lay claim to the #1 album in the country. The Light of the Sun, the singer/actress’s first album since emancipating herself from Hidden Beach, the label that’d guided her from her start, sells a solid 135,000 units to land at the apex of the Billboard chart. This has been quite the estrogen-filled chart year, hasn’t it? The two biggest names at the top of the chart this […]
Chart Stalker 6/9/11: Gaga Tumbles, Death Cab Debuts Big
So maybe my headline is a little misleading. After all, Lady Gaga’s Born This Way hangs on for a second week at the top of the Billboard album charts. However, after scoring a million + sales week, the pop star’s latest record suffers a steeper-than-normal 84% drop and scans a relatively pedestrian 174,000 units in week two. While the drop is slightly alarming, it was inevitable without the benefit of a promotion like Amazon’s 99 cent gambit. Regardless of anything, […]
Chart Stalker: Gaga Goes for a Mil
Pop star Lady Gaga leads this week’s Billboard album chart with her new album, Born This Way. It moves a jaw dropping 1.1 million units in it’s first week. It’s the biggest first week for any album since 50 Cent’s The Massacre dropped in 2005, and it’s the biggest first week for a female artist ever. Of course, Gaga’s achievement will come with an asterisk, as well over 400,000 copies of that were purchased from amazon.com during a promotion on […]
Spin Cycle: “This is Country Music” by Brad Paisley
So here’s two things I like about modern country: 1) There’s a greater emphasis placed on lyricism than in any other popular music genre these days. Ever listen to an hour or so of Top 40 radio and cringe at the pure stupidity of the lyrics? If I listened to Top 40 radio, I probably would. Even so, I hear enough modern pop music to wonder when the massive dumbing-down occurred. Listen to the average country hit-that is solid song […]
Chart Stalker 5/26/11: Adele Makes it Nine for “21”
Let’s face it, folks. Adele’s 21 is a freakin’ juggernaut. This week, it spends it’s ninth week at the top of the Billboard Albums chart. It’s the longest run at the top of the album charts since Taylor Swift’s Fearless some three years ago. It’s pretty major when you consider how low key this album’s been. “Rolling in the Deep” is only NOW becoming a pop radio hit, and Adele has yet to expose her snatch, dance around in bustiers […]
New Release Report 5/23/11: A Day Early for Gaga
It’s here, ladies and gentlemen. The anticipation has been building up since the beginning of the year, and now Lady Gaga’s Born This Way is available for you to take home. The music industry has been so hot to get this album out that they’ve pushed all releases for the week (which would normally be on Tuesday May 24th) to Monday the 23rd. Yup, folks, you can begin your work week with Stefani Germanotta and all of her dance-pop anthemry […]
Chart Stalker 5/11/11: Adele Fends Off All Comers…Again
So, Adele’s 21 is turning into quite the juggernaut. In a week when tons of superstar albums came out (8 albums debuted in the Top Ten), the British R&B singer retains her stranglehold on the top of the Billboard charts, with another 155,000 albums sold. In addition, the set’s first single, “Rolling in the Deep”, finally makes it to the top of Billboard’s Top Digital Songs chart and probably would’ve already been #1 on the overall Hot 100 singles chart […]
Chart Stalker 4/13/11: Adele Reclaims the Throne
As if to give us a second to catch our breath after a few weeks of solid activity, this week’s Billboard chart numbers kinda suck. Adele’s 21 returns to the #1 spot with 88,000 copies sold, just a 6% decline over the previous week’s scans. The British singer’s numbers have been ridiculously consistent both here and in her home country (where “consistent” would be a bit of an understatement-the album’s spent it’s entire 11-week life at #1) and brings my […]
Chart Stalker: Shooting “Lasers” at the Top
Who said battling with your record company doesn’t pay off? After numerous delays resulting from stalemates with his label, Lupe Fiasco earns his first #1 album on this week’s Billboard chart with the arrival of his third album, Lasers. The album sells over 204,000 units in it’s first frame, easily outdistancing it’s closest challenger, Adele’s 21. Fear not for the British songstress, however, as her sophomore effort scans another 133,000 copies to hang on to the #2 spot and pad […]
Popblerd! Presents: Your 2011 Grammy Awards Live Blog (& Drinking Game)!
award shows / Country Music / hip-hop / Indie Rock / music / news / pop culture / Pop Music / rock music / soul music
Some folks go crazy over the Academy Awards. Some folks go nuts over the Super Bowl. For me, unless a New York City team is in the World Series or Super Bowl, my most exciting pop culture event has to be the Grammy Awards. It intrigued me as a kid-it was probably the first award show I ever saw. I believe it was the 1980 ceremony, and all I remember is that The Doobie Brothers were performing, I was watching […]
Popblerd!’s 2011 Grammy Preview: General Field
And now, here are the big’uns. The Grammy Awards are tonight, and so far, we’ve looked at picks for rap, country, R&B, pop, dance and rock. All that’s left (besides polka, classical and a bunch of other categories I know absolutely nothing about) are the major, prestige categories. So, without further ado, let’s see who’s up for the serious hardware on “music’s biggest night”, and don’t forget that I will be live-blogging the show tonight, with updates on the site […]
