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…)

If anyone was going to make Kelly Clarkson’s life “suck,” I’m glad it was the reunion of Eminem, Dr. Dre, and 50 Cent (since their collaboration on the title track of Eminem’s Encore) with their song “Crack a Bottle.” The song jumps from #78 to #1 (the fourth biggest jump to #1 in Billboard Hot 100 history) based on a Nielsen SoundScan record for opening week download sales of 418,000 (topped only behind “Low” by Flo Rida featuring T-Pain, which had 467,000 downloads, and “Just Dance” by Lady GaGa featuring Colby O’Donis, which had 419,000 downloads.) It’s Eminem’s second #1 (behind the Oscar-winning “Lose Yourself”), Dr. Dre’s third (behind his collaboration with BLACKstreet on “No Diggity” and his duet with 2Pac on “California Love”), and 50 Cent’s fourth (behind “In Da Club,” “21 Questions,” and “Candy Shop.”) It sends Clarkson’s song, “My Life Would Suck Without You,” to #4, and she loses her bullet. My old nemesis…”Heartless” by Kanye West, which slides up a position to #2 and has a bullet…is the only threat to the top spot next week. (more…)

The Chart Guy is back from his “40 Blogs of Christmas” series to delve into the weekly Billboard charts. Since my last Billboard charts blog, the #1 slot has gone back and forth between “Live Your Live” by T.I. featuring Rihanna and “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” by Beyoncé Knowles. This week though, we have a new #1, and it is “Just Dance” by Lady GaGa featuring Colby O’Donis, which sold 279,000 downloads in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Now that we have a new year, we also have a new prediction for next week. “Dance” may have a bullet this week…but it took 22 weeks to get to #1 (it entered the Hot 100 on August 16, 2008 at #76.) My prediction is that either “Single Ladies” will go back to #1, or Taylor Swift’s “Love Story,” currently at #4 with a bullet, will be the first country single to top the Hot 100 since Lonestar did it with their hit “Amazed” back in 2000. (more…)

 
As of this week, T.I. is the king of the Billboard Hot 100.  “Live Your Life” (with Rihanna) spends a fourth non-consecutive week at #1 with a bullet…which means that he has spent more weeks at #1 than any other artist in 2008 (”Life,” combined with his other #1, “Whatever You Like,” makes 11 weeks at #1, beating Flo Rida featuring T-Pain’s 10-week stay with their song “Low.”)  I’m predicting one more week for “Life” though next week, because last week’s threats, Kanye West’s “Heartless” and Katy Perry’s “Hot N Cold,” both dropped positions.  “Hot N Cold” slipped one position to #4 (but retains its bullet), while “Heartless” drops from #4 to #12 and loses its bullet.  The only threat this week is Beyoncé Knowles’ “If I Were a Boy,” which rises two spots to #3 with a bullet and is the Sales Gainer of the week.  This is possibly because of her performance of the song on MTV’s “Total Finale Live” special last week, which included her other single, “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” which is ironically the Airplay Gainer of the week (it rises from #39 to #28 this week.) (more…)

As I predicted, people want to “Live Your Life” again. The T.I. featuring Rihanna track spends a third non-consecutive week at #1 with a bullet on the Billboard Hot 100, and it remains the Airplay Gainer of the week. I’m making a bold prediction that it will stay at #1 next week. Katy Perry’s “Hot N Cold” is still a threat (having moved up one spot to #3), but they are also being threatened by Kanye West’s “Heartless,” which is the Hot Shot Debut for the week at #4 (his third top 10 Hot Shot debut in 2008, following “Swagga Like Us” with Jay-Z and T.I. featuring Lil Wayne, and “Love Lockdown.”) Pink’s “So What” is no longer in play, having dropped from #3 to #6 and having lost its bullet. (more…)

Yay! People want to “Live Your Life” instead of listening to “Whatever You Like.” For the second time this year, T.I.’s “Whatever You Like” has been knocked off the top spot by his other #1 song, “Live Your Life” (with Rihanna.) He is the only artist ever to replace himself twice on the Billboard Hot 100 with the same song. It retains its bullet and remains the Airplay Gainer for a second week in a row. I’ve stated before that I prefer “Life” over “Like,” and I think that it will remain #1 for a third non-consecutive week next week. Its only contenders are…surprisingly…two songs that were on a downward slide last week. Former #1 song “So What” by Pink moves up from #4 to #3 and gains a bullet, while Katy Perry’s “Hot N Cold” moves up from #6 to #4 and also gains a bullet after sliding back one place last week. Beyoncé Knowles’ “If I Were a Boy” apparently didn’t do jack, because it slides back from #3 to #5 and loses its bullet. I’ve been seeing the video on VH1 (a.k.a. the only major music channel that still plays some videos) more often, so it might stick around the top 10 for another couple of weeks. (more…)

Why does America want “Whatever You Like?” T.I.’s song is #1 yet again for a seventh non-consecutive week on the Billboard Hot 100…despite me giving you alternatives like T.I.’s other chart-topper with Rihanna, “Live Your Life” (currently #2 with a bullet, and is the Airplay Gainer for the week), or “Weird Al” Yankovic’s version of the song. Fortunately, it doesn’t have a bullet this week, so it will most likely be taken over by “Life” again next week. If not, then there is one other contender for next week…Beyoncé Knowles’ “If I Were a Boy” from her upcoming album I Am…Sasha Fierce (release date: 11/18/2008.) Thanks to digital downloads, the song jumps from #68 to #3 with a bullet on its third week on the chart. (more…)

After almost a decade, Britney Spears finally tops the Billboard Hot 100 for the second time with the song “Womanizer” off her forthcoming sixth studio album, Circus. Spears’ first #1 single on the Hot 100 was her debut song, “…Baby One More Time,” back in 1999. Her first-week download sales of the song were 286,000, the biggest opening-week tally by a female artist since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking digital downloads in 2003, topping Mariah Carey’s take for “Touch My Body” by just over 200 units. In addition, the song made a record-breaking jump from #96 to #1 on the Hot 100, breaking the record set by T.I.’s “Live Your Life” (featuring Rihanna), which jumped from #80 to #1 last week. “Live Your Life” has dropped to #3, but it is the Airplay Gainer, and it retains its bullet. T.I.’s other song, “Whatever You Like,” stays in the #2 position with a bullet, and is the Sales Gainer for the week. Despite the song also having a bullet, either T.I. song could easily knock “Womanizer” out of the top spot next week (I think that it will be “Live Your Life.”) Katy Perry’s “Hot N Cold” inches up one spot to #5 with a bullet, but I don’t think that it is a threat to Britney or T.I. next week. (more…)

So by now you’ve heard “Live Your Life” enough times to get it stuck in your head, right?  Perhaps you’ve even made an attempt to yodel that entertaining sample heard in the intro.  But where did that sample come from?  The answer reveals a true and modern example of the influence of pop culture on pop culture (if that makes any sense.) 

Maybe this will refresh your memory:

Yes, indeed …. it’s the viral video of the fat kid singing the disturbingly catchy “Numa Numa” song.  But just where did that song come from?

(more…)

Wow…this is T.I.’s week! He is at #1 again on the Billboard Hot 100…but not for the song “Whatever You Like.” His song, “Live Your Life” featuring Rihanna, makes an amazing leap from #80 to #1, making it the highest leap to #1 in Hot 100 history (”Whatever” slips to #2.) Who held that honor previously? None other than T.I. with “Whatever You Like”… when the song jumped from #71 to #1 six weeks ago. He is also the first artist to replace himself at the top of the chart since Usher did it in July of 2004, when his single “Confessions Part II” replaced his single “Burn” at #1. The honors keep rolling though… the song broke the record for highest first week digital sales ever, shifting 335,000 digital downloads to debut at #1 on the Hot Digital Songs chart, according to Nielsen SoundScan, beating Mariah Carey’s prior digital debut week high-water mark of 286,000 with “Touch My Body.” Rihanna gets some props too, because the song officially makes her the female with the most #1 songs this decade (with five), beating Beyoncé Knowles and Carey. Predictions for next week? I’m almost positive that “Live Your Life” will be #1 for a second week, because it has a bullet and it is the Airplay Gainer for the week. Their are only two possible contenders. Kevin Rudolf featuring Lil Wayne with their song “Let it Rock,” which jumps from #15 to #5 with a bullet and is the Digital Sales Gainer this week, and Christina Aguilera’s “Keeps Gettin’ Better,” which debuts on the chart at #7 (her first time debuting in the top 10) with a bullet based on digital sales of 144,000. M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” run on the chart appears to have finally petered out, because it sinks from #5 to #9 and has lost its bullet. (more…)