6/22/08 Hot AC Chart: David Cook goes top 20, 3 Doors Down top 5

Leona Lewis reigns at the top of the chart for a 5th week and still has an impressive lead over the next contender, 3 Doors Down.

Speaking of 3 Doors Down, “It’s Not My Time” makes the top 5 this week, moving 7-4. This is their 7th top 5 hit on Hot AC.

Making the top 10 is Natasha Bedingfield’s “Pocketful of Sunshine”, her 2nd top 10.

Jumping 5 notches to #16 is David Cook. This is the first American Idol coronation song to make the top 20. Also moving up 5 is Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida”, which moves to #13.

There are 7 solo women in the top 20 this week.

The biggest movers on the chart move up 6 spots each: “Dream Catch Me” and “Come on Get Higher”, which move to numbers 26 and 27 respectively. Interestingly, their bullets are less than 100 spins each.

Coldplay’s “Violet Hill” & Elton John’s “Believe”

I heard a bit of Coldplay’s “Violet Hill” the other day and it reminded me of another song, “Believe” by Elton John from 1995. I don’t think they’re identical, and I don’t think Coldplay copied Elton either (so no flaming please ) They’re both good songs. Does anyone else hear the similarity, or am I just crazy?

6/15/08 Hot AC Chart: Coldplay jumps up, Madonna Falls

Leona Lewis holds at #1 again this week, and she actually loses spins. Leona fans don’t worry though, as she is still several hundred spins ahead of #2 and nearly 1000 spins ahead of #3.

3 Doors Down have the biggest bullet in the top 10, and they rise a notch to #7.

Coldplay blast up the chart 7 spots to #18 in only their 2nd week in the top 40 with “Viva La Vida”. Their last top 10 was 3 years ago with “Speed of Sound”. Their latest looks top 10 bound.

Allowing Coldplay to enter the top 20 is Madonna, who slips back to #22. Though the song did not lose that many spins, other songs look to overtake her in the near future. Thus it looks like “4 Minutes” will peak lower than her last top 20 hit, “Hung Up”.  Still not bad for an artist who’s been charting for about 25 years.

David Cook climbs one more to #21 this week and has one of the biggest bullets on the chart. Look for him to move into the top 20 next week (and be played on AT20 2 weeks later).

Only one song debuts this week, “Leavin’” by Jesse McCartney. This is his 2nd hot ac hit. His first, “Beautiful Soul”, made the top 20 3 years ago.

All chart data © Mediabase 24/7

6/8/08 Hot AC Chart – David Cook’s big move, Coldplay’s high debut

On top of the chart, Leona Lewis holds at #1 for a third week. The nearest bulleted song is OneRepublic’s “Stop & Stare” at #4, but it’s still over a 1000 spins away and is not gaining much.

The biggest mover on the chart belongs to David Cook, whose “The Time of My Life” leaps 9 notches to #23 in its 2nd week on the chart. If it continues its current gain of spins, it should be in the top 20 next week. However, the song is not the chart’s greatest gainer. That honor belongs to Coldplay.

Coldplay have the highest debut of the week at #25 with “Viva la Vida”. This is the highest debut since Kelly Clarkson’s “Never Again” in April 2007. This gives Coldplay their 10th Hot AC hit.

Madonna update: “4 Minutes” inches up to #19.

Other tidbits: Look for “Pocketful of Sunshine” to enter the top 10 soon, as the song jumps 4 to #11 this week. Rhianna enters with her 7th solo hit, “Take a Bow”.

All chart data © Mediabase 24/7

Style change for American Top 20?

This past weekend, there was a change in style for American Top 20. Usually Casey will talk about the song at the beginning and the end of the song. However on the 6/6/08 show, Casey didn’t do this. Instead one song would transition into another with just a number jingle or a special jingle that tells you you’re listening to AT20.  All in all it leads to less talking Casey has to do on the show. The same thing did not occur on American Top 10. So what does it mean?

1. It could mean that the show’s producers are trying to make the show more “hip” sounding and more like radio is today. Casey’s style is unique in today’s radio and should not be changed, in my opinion of course. Does trying to make the show “hip” mean that AT20 is currently doing poorly?

2. Casey does not want to do 2 shows anymore, and by reducing the voicetracking required for AT20, they are helping him out with this goal. I want AT20 to continue, but if Casey doesn’t want to do it anymore, then I support him 100%. However they should just get another host and continue with the same format.  We still need a Hot AC countdown show that focuses on the music, not celebrity gossip like Ryan Seacrest’s American Top 40 Hot AC.

I hope this change is not permanent. We’ll see.

American Idols on the Hot AC chart

As promised in a previous post, here are some chart facts about former American Idol contestants on the Hot AC chart:

Kelly Clarkson leads the pack, with 9 Top 40 HAC hits, including 5 top 10s and 1 number one.  Her only number one is “Behind These Hazel Eyes” with 5 weeks at #1. Her coronation song, “A Moment Like This”, only reached #24.

Next up in terms of success is Chris Daughtry. He’s had 5 HAC hits, including 3 number ones. His biggest #1 was “Home” with 11 weeks on top. Chris’ first HAC song was a solo effort from Idol, his remake of “Wanted Dead or Alive”.

Carrie Underwood has charted 2 songs, including her top 10 “Before He Cheats”.

Jordin Sparks has 2 top 20 hits: “Tattoo” and “No Air” (which is still climbing at the time this was written).

One Hits Each: Clay Aiken charted with the top 30 “Invisible”, Bo Bice charted with the top 20 “The Real Thing”,  Elliot Yamin hit the top 20 with “Wait for You”, and Katherine McPhee charted with the top 40 “Over It”.

The latest winner, David Cook, is climbing the charts as this is written and is already top 30 with “Time of My Life”.

6/1/08 Hot AC Chart: David Cook Debuts, Madonna goes top 20

At the top of the chart, Leona Lewis remains at #1 for a second week. This should be just the beginning of a long stay at #1, as the song still has a bullet of over 200 spins.

Madonna moves up to #20 this week, giving her 14 top 20 hits on the HAC chart. “Hung Up” was her last top 20, and it peaked at #16. Madonna’s last top 10 was “Don’t Tell Me” in 2001. Getting into the top 20 should give her some additional spins as the song will be heard on American Top 20 in a couple of weeks.

The highest debut of the week goes to American Idol winner David Cook. “The Time of My Life” enters at #32. This is the 2nd highest peak of a coronation song from the show. “A Moment Like This” by first American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson peaked at #24. Look for more Idol information in an upcoming post.

Brief tidbits: 3 Doors Down get their 7th top 10 with “It’s Not My Time”…Gavin Rossdale inches up 1 to #19… Kid Rock has the potential to have one of his biggest hits on HAC as “All Summer Long” reaches #26 in his 4th week on the chart.

All chart data © Mediabase 24/7