7/26/09 Hot AC Chart: Tight race for #1, Black Eyed Peas crack the top 20, Uncle Kracker returns

Shinedown hold at the top of the chart for an eighth week, but their reign looks to be at an end. Rob Thomas holds at #2, while Pink moves up to #3. Less than 70 spins separate #1 from #3, so #1 could belong to either Rob or Pink depending on who gains the most during the week. “Please Don’t Leave Me” is Pink’s 4th consecutive top 3 hit on Hot AC.

Nearly 6 years after first appearing on the Hot AC chart, the Black Eyed Peas get their first top 20 hit. “I Gotta Feeling” jumps 6 notches to #18. Meanwhile, their previous hit “Boom Boom Pow” inches up 2 to a new peak of #24.

Other acts entering the top 20 this week include Safetysuit and Coldplay. Collective Soul gets closer to another top 20 this week as “Staring Down” rises 5 to #22.

Idols update: Daughtry holds at #5 for a second week, while David Cook stays put at #7 for a third week. Kelly Clarkson loses steam and falls back to #15.

Thanks to the purge of songs to recurrent lately, no song on this week’s chart is older than 20 weeks.

Uncle Kracker returns to the chart after 5 years away. He has the highest debut at #32 with “Smile”. Other acts debuting on the chart this week include U2 and Sean Kingston. Matt Wertz re-enters the top 40.

Mediabase’s “last week” positions are wrong for several songs this week.

All chart data © Mediabase Research.

7/19/09 Hot AC Chart: 90% songs move upwards, Black Eyed Peas get their biggest hit

At the top of the chart this week, Shinedown’s “Second Chance” holds for a 7th week. However, its reign maybe shorter than previously expected. “Her Diamonds” by Rob Thomas picks up some steam this week and moves up to #2. The spin difference between Rob and Pink down at #4 is not that great, so look for a good contest coming up in the next few weeks.

Except for Rob Thomas and Nickelback changing places, the top 8 remain the same. The only new song to enter the top 10 is “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon at #9. Interesting, that song is sung by former American Idol contestant Brooke White’s latest cd.

Thanks to 3 songs being removed to recurrent, only 4 songs fall down the chart. That means 90% of the songs move up or remain the same as last week. Four songs move up 6 notches to tie for the week’s biggest move, including songs by Colbie Caillat, Green Day, Jordin Sparks, and the Black Eyed Peas. The Peas’ latest, “I Gotta Feeling”, jumps to #24. That song becomes the group’s biggest hit to date on the Hot AC chart. “Feeling” is currently at #1 on the Hot 100. The group’s previous release, “Boom Boom Pow”, rebounds to its peak of #26 on the HAC chart.

Idol Watch: “No Surprise” by Daughtry holds at #5. Be sure check out his rendition of Lady GaGa’s “Poker Face” on youtube (see below). “Come Back to Me” by David Cook holds at #7, while “I Do Not Hook Up” holds unbulleted at #14.

Debuts this week are songs by Michael Franti & Spearhead, Howie Day, and the Ting Tings. Jesse James re-enters the survey.

Here is the video of Daughtry’s cover of “Poker Face”:

7/12/09 Hot AC Chart: Daughtry’s top 5 feat, Black Eyed Peas rising fast

At the top of the chart this week, Shinedown hold for a 6th week with “Second Chance”. While they will remain there for a while, they need to watch out for Pink. While she holds at #4 again this week, she has the biggest spin increase of any song in the top 40, over 300 spins.

Daughtry rise to #5 with “No Surprise”, which is their 6th top 5 hit in a row. This means that their first 6 hits have all made top 5. Only 2 other groups have done this: The Goo Goo Dolls, and 3 Doors Down. If you count Rob Thomas’ solo career separate from MB20, then he too is in this group. (Remember though that Chris Daughtry charted as a solo artist before his group, and that song did not break into the top 30).

The biggest mover on the chart this week is by the Black Eyed Peas. “I Gotta Feeling” jumps 6 to #30 in its 2nd week on the chart. The Peas’ biggest hits on the chart peaked at #26, including the recent “Boom Boom Pow”. If  “Feeling” continues its current pace, it looks to become their biggest song to date.

No songs debut on the chart, including no re-entries. While this is due to a mistake on Mediabase’s part, it still counts in my book. The last time no songs entered the chart was back in April, 2006.

Idol Update: Kelly Clarkson’s “I Do Not Hook Up” inches up to  a new peak of #14, while her previous hit is at #15. David Cook’s “Come Back to Me” climbs 2 to #7.

All chart data ©  Mediabase Research.

7/5/09 Hot AC Chart: Pink scores another top 5, Jordin Sparks debuts

At the top of the chart this week, Shinedown hold for a 5th week with “Second Chance”. The next bulleted song below them is still over 500 spins away, so Shinedown’s reign will continue for a while.

Moving up 3 to #4 is Pink with “Please Don’t Leave Me”. It’s Pink’s 5th top 5 in a row on Hot AC. She has a bullet of over 200 spins, but she is still well behind Shinedown. If her bullet remains this strong, she will be the next #1 on the chart.

No songs enter or exit the top 10 this week. Contenders for top 1o are few. Really the only song that should move into the top 10 in the next couple of weeks is Katy Perry’s “Waking Up in Vegas”, which moves up to #12 this week.

Debuting this week are the Black Eyed Peas and Jordin Sparks. The Peas enter with “I Gotta Feeling”, which is the new #1 on the Hot 100. Jordin Sparks enters with “Battlefield”, her 4th Hot AC hit.

Of course Jordin is an American Idol alumnus, so let’s do the usual round-up of Idol alumni on the chart:

Daughtry’s “No Surprise” moves up to #6. David Cook’s “Come Back to Me” holds at #9. Kelly Clarkson’s latest “I Do Not Hook Up” returns to its peak position of #15, while “My Life Would Suck without You” slips to #13. “Life” will be removed from the chart when it falls below #15.

All chart data © Mediabase Research.

Thanks to Casey Kasem for Counting Them Down!

This weekend is the final weekend for Casey Kasem counting down the hits (well at least for new countdowns). American Top 20 and American Top 10 are now finished. Casey and his shows have been around ever since I can remember. While I haven’t been able to listen live each week for a long time now, I still catch shows by other means as often as I can.

While recent countdown shows concentrate more on entertainment gossip (I mean you Ryan Seacrest), Casey’s shows always centered on the music and the stories behind the songs. That will be sorely missed.

I also want to say thanks to the staff of Casey’s shows, especially those behind AT20. Over the past couple of years, I have been in occasional contact with them, and have provided some chart information at times. While the chart facts were not always used, they were appreciated by the staff, and I thank them for letting me communicate with them.

Good luck to Casey and his staff, whatever they do in the future!

6/28/09 Hot AC Chart: David Cook’s 3rd top 10, Miley makes the top 5

At the top of the chart this week, Shinedown holds at #1 for a fourth week with “Second Chance”. Look for the song to stay at the top for a while as the next few competitors only have small increases in spins and are well behind Shinedown.

Miley Cyrus scores her first top 5 on Hot AC with “The Climb”, which moves 6-4 this week. She may not get much higher though, as Pink is not too far behind and has a large bullet.

“Come Back to Me” by David Cook moves up 2 notches to 9 this week. This gives David Cook his third top 10 in a row. These are also his first 3 charting hits. The only other solo males to accomplish this feat are John Mayer and Rob Thomas. Of course, Rob had hit the top 10 many times prior with his Matchbox Twenty hits.

Weekly Idol Update: Daughtry’s “No Surprise” moves up to #8. Kelly Clarkson’s latest “I Do Not Hook Up” slips back 1 to #16, but the song still has a small increase in spins. It looks like her 2nd single from her latest cd will not reach the top 10, unless radio stations start giving this single more airtime.

After moving up 15 notches last week, Colbie Caillat’s “Fallin’ for You” only inches up 1 to #22. However, the song has the biggest spin increase of the week, with an increase of over 400 spins. Look for her to increase her climbing speed next week.

Debuting this week with their 9th Hot AC hit is the veteran act Collective Soul with “Staring Down”. It’s the highest debut at #32. Collective Soul made their first appearance on the Hot AC chart way back in August 1995 with “December”. The only other debut of the week is newcomer Jesse James with “Wanted”.