11/23/08 Hot AC Chart: Nickelback go top 5, Chart begins slow down

Jason Mraz holds at the top of the chart for an 8th week.

Meanwhile, Nickelback climb to #4 with “Gotta Be Somebody”. This is the group’s 7th top 5 hit. This is one of the contenders for the next #1 song, but it will have to increase spins faster if it wants to beat our 2nd contender for #1.

That second contender is Katy Perry, whose “Hot N’ Cold” moves up 3 to #7 this week. She still has a way to go to get to #1, but with a gain of over 200 spins this week, she’s well on her way.

The chart has begun its holiday slowdown. Stations are being removed from the panel as some hot ACs are switching to all Christmas music. For the second week in a row, no songs exit the top 10. Also, this week, no songs exit the top 20 either. The biggest move up the chart is a gain of 3 places, which several songs qualified for. The only exception is the large downward movement of “We Don’t Have to Look Back Now”, by Puddle of Mudd, which plummeted 11 notches this week.

In addition to the slow down, there are “traffic jams” on the chart as well. For example, only 79 spins separate #14 from #17, but nearly 500 spins separate #12 from #11.

This week’s only debut is “Love Story” by country star Taylor Swift.

Note: I use the chart finalized by Mediabase on Sunday evenings and published on Tuesdays at americasmusiccharts.com  Mediabase has been putting the wrong “last week” numbers on their charts, and this week messes up even more by saying a song debuted in the top 40 when it was there last week.

All chart data (c) Mediabase 24/7

11/16/08 Hot AC Chart: “Idols” in the top 20, Beyonce returns

Jason Mraz continues his hold at #1 this week, for a total of 7 weeks.  O.A.R. hold at #2, while Pink moves up another notch to #3. Pink still has a long way to go to move to the #1 spot. Unless Jason begins losing spins at a faster rate, he still may have a few weeks at #1.

Nickelback move up to #6 while Lifehouse return to #7. Otherwise the top 10 has little movement this week, with no songs exiting it.

David Cook’s “Light on” moves into the top 20 at #19 this week. That makes 4 former American Idol contestants in the top 20 this week: Daughtry is in the top 10 with “What about Now”, David Archuleta moves up to #15 with “Crush”, Jordin Sparks slips to #16 with “One Step at a Time”, and as mentioned David Cook is at #19.

This week’s biggest mover is by Hinder, whose “Without You” jumps 6 spots to #33.

Kevin Rudolf and Missy Higgins each make the top 30 this week. Kevin’s “Let It Rock” is being played by less than a third of the Hot AC stations monitored.

Debuting this week: Coldplay’s “Lovers in Japan” at #31, Beyonce’s “If I Were a Boy” at #32, and All-American Rejects at #40 with “Gives You Hell”. “If I Were a Boy” is Beyonce’s 4th Hot AC hit.

All chart data is (c) Mediabase 24/7.

11/09/08 Hot AC Chart: Katy Perry makes the top 20, David Cook just misses top 20

Jason Mraz holds at the top of the chart for a 6th week and looks like he might hold on for a few more weeks. Pink moves up to #4, but her bullet continues to decrease. There are several hundred spins between her at the #1 spot.

Katy Perry scores her first top 10 as “Hot N Cold” moves 13-10. Numbers 9-11 on the chart are very close, with only a few spins between them.

Indiana native Jon McLaughlin moves into the top 20 with “Beating My Heart”. Just missing the top 20 is David Cook’s “Light on”. The song moves up 5 to #21. Look for a move into the top 20 next week.

The biggest mover on the chart is the Killers’ “Human”, which leaps 9 notches to #30.  In 2nd place for the biggest move is Kevin Rudolf’s “Let It Rock”, which climbs 7 to #31.

Debuting on the chart this week are songs by newcomers Eric Hutchinson and Thriving Ivory. Hinder gets a third hit with “Without You”. The 4th debut of the week is “Not Meant to Be” by Theory of a Deadman. This is the 2nd hit for the group, and it’s been 5 years since their first appearance.

All chart data (c) Mediabase 24/7

11/02/08 Hot AC Chart: O.A.R. gets closer to #1, Daughtry’s Consecutive Streak

At the top of the chart this week, Jason Mraz holds for a 5th week with “I’m Yours”. His reign may be coming to and end soon though, as O.A.R. climb another notch to #2 with “Shattered”. The song is still about 300 spins behind Jason, so it might take some time.

Pink will be serious competition for O.A.R. though. “So What” moves up to #5 this week, giving Pink her 3rd consecutive top 5 hit on Hot AC. The song is spending another week at #1 on the Pop chart this week.

Three songs tie for the biggest move of the week, and one of them was last week’s biggest mover. “Light On”, “Addicted”, and “Keeps Gettin’ Better” all move up 4 notches to numbers 26, 20, and 33 respectively. David Cook was the biggest mover last week as well.

Debuting this week are two veteran Hot AC acts: The Killers return for a 5th hit on the format with “Human”, the highest debut at #39. Plain White T’s get a third hit with “1,2,3,4″ at #40.

Finally, Daughtry have been on the chart now for 101 consecutive weeks with different songs. They have not been off the chart since their first single debuted in December ‘06.

All chart data (c) Mediabase 24/7.