Since AllNumberOneRadio.com began in May of 2008, I’ve been predicting that the #1 song of 2008 would be the one that ended up being the number one song on the Billboard Year-End chart (see the #1 song at the end of this list to know what I’m talking about.) You may notice that not all of the songs on this top 20 list peaked at #1 originally. You have to keep in mind that the Year-End chart is calculated based on the number of weeks on the chart…so a #3 song could rank higher than a #1 song if the #3 song stayed on the chart longer. Not to act like an old fogey, but as a lover of the Hot 100, I think that digital downloads really skewed the chart in 2008 as the arbiter of what music is popular. Since MTV has stopped playing music videos in favor of reality shows, the main way to hear new music is through the old fallback…radio. With the popularity of digital downloads though, we are seeing songs make the chart that don’t ever get played on the radio until well after they have peaked on the Hot 100 (look at the “hits” by alumni from FOX’s “American Idol” and The Disney Channel.) While Kid Rock’s “All Summer Long” became the third highest charting song of his career on the Hot 100 by peaking at #23 based on radio airplay alone, “Hit Masters,” a karaoke company whose version was made available in the iTunes Store, eclipsed Rock’s version on the chart when it peaked at #19. This was because Rock decided not to make the song available for digital download. I’ve heard the Rock version several times on both pop and country radio (it peaked at #4 on the Hot Country Songs chart), but I’ve never heard the Hit Masters version on the radio (I had to listen to it on YouTube for an editorial comparison.) Thanks to YouTube and the ever popular NOW That’s What I Call Music! compilation series, almost all of these songs are available for purchase through the old-fashioned method of buying the CD (I will indicate if a song on this top 20 list is on one of the NOW CD’s.) (more…)

Not to seem “Heartless”…but yay!! Kanye West’s annoying auto-tune hit “Heartless” has slipped from #2 to #4 and has lost its bullet. Unfortunately, last week’s #1…Eminem, Dr. Dre, and 50 Cent’s “Crack a Bottle”…has slipped down to #3 and has lost its bullet as well (it’s a song that I like.) Fortunately, the song that has taken its place is another song that I like…Flo Rida’s second #1, “Right Round.” It jumps from #58 to #1 with a bullet based on sales of 636,000 digital copies in a single week…making it the biggest first week sales in digital history, ironically breaking the previous record set by Flo Rida’s first #1, “Low,” with 467,000 downloads in December of 2007. Part of the reason I like the song is that the chorus of the song is based on Dead or Alive’s 1985 hit “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)”…another song I like (sue me…I’m a child of the ‘80s.) A huge threat for #1 next week is “Dead and Gone” by T.I. featuring Justin Timberlake, which jumps from #9 to #2 with a bullet and is the Greatest Gainer and Airplay Gainer this week. (more…)

The world has gone wacky!  Day is night, night is day, and songs that are never heard on the radio make jumps to #1.  Rihanna’s “Disturbia” stayed at #1 for two weeks, but it slips to #2 to make room for the biggest jump to #1 in Billboard history…rapper T.I.’s “Whatever You Like.”  Two weeks ago, it debuted on the Hot 100 chart at #99.  Last week, it went to #71.  This week, it jumped 70 positions to #1 with a bullet to make it the all-time biggest jump, breaking the record previously held by Maroon 5’s “Makes Me Wonder,” which jumped from #64 to #1 in May of 2007.  Part of the reason it made that jump (okay let’s face it…the only reason) is that it had huge first week digital sales of 205,000.  It’s T.I.’s first solo #1 and his second #1 overall, because he was also the featured artist on Justin Timberlake’s hit “My Love” in November of 2006.  “Disturbia” may be at #2, but it still has a bullet, so it could possibly reclaim the top spot next week.  Otherwise, the only other threat to the peak position (assuming that another song doesn’t make a huge jump to #1 based on digital downloads) is Kardinal Offishall featuring Akon’s “Dangerous,” which is currently at #5 with a bullet.  David Archuleta’s “Crush” was obviously not much of a threat, because it has fallen from last week’s position of #2 to #15, and it has lost its bullet.  Finally…to prove that I was right about last’s week rant about digital downloads’ effect on the charts (and that our chart world is backwards)…rip-off band The Hit Masters have risen from #65 to #19 with their cover of Kid Rock’s “All Summer Long,” and it is the Sales Gainer for the week.  Rock’s original version still sits at #25 (but it retains its bullet.)  It’s just sad that an inferior version of a great song should chart higher than the original (Rock has not allowed for digital downloads of individual tracks of his songs, so its place on the chart is based solely on airplay only.  The only way to download the original song is to download Rock’s entire Rock and Roll Jesus album.)  Want further proof that the world is crazy?  Another rip-off band called The Studio All-Stars are taking advantage of Atlantic Records’ decision to remove Estelle (featuring Kanye West)’s original version of her song “American Boy” from iTunes by releasing their own version, which debuts at #85 (the original version, meanwhile, has dropped from #11 to #37.)  Crazy!!! (more…)

MTV’s third week of four 2008 MTV Video Music Awards (airing September 7) nomination announcements revealed the fifth and sixth category nominations last week on their Friday night video show “FNMTV.”  I am going to give you the chart achievements of the nominated songs on the Billboard Hot 100 in the Best New Artist and Best Dancing in a Video categories:

Best New Artist

Miley Cyrus — “7 Things” (#9)
Katy Perry — “I Kissed a Girl” (#1)
Jordin Sparks (featuring Chris Brown) — “No Air” (#3)
Taylor Swift — “Teardrops on My Guitar” (#13)
Tokio Hotel — “Ready, Set, Go!” (never charted in America)

Best Dancing in a Video

Chris Brown — “Forever” (currently #2)
Danity Kane — “Damaged” (#9)
Madonna (featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland) — “4 Minutes” (#3)
Ne-Yo — “Closer” (currently #10)
Pussycat Dolls — “When I Grow Up” (currently #9) (more…)

Shawn the Chart Guy here…According to Jim Puzzanghera of the Los Angeles Times, federal judges today tossed out the $550,000 fine levied against CBS Corp. after Janet Jackson’s breast was briefly bared during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, ruling that the Federal Communications Commission “acted arbitrarily and capriciously” in penalizing the network for a “fleeting image of nudity.”  Furthermore, Jackson and Justin Timberlake were considered “independent contractors” and not CBS employees, so the corporation was not liable. (more…)