Adele continues to make history.
This week, the newly minted Grammy award winner’s album “21” continued to stay at No. 1 on the Billboard music chart. This means Adele’s “21” has officially overtaken Whitney Houston’s soundtrack to “The Bodyguard” as the longest amount of time a woman’s album has stood at No. 1.
Following her Grammy win, three of Adele’s previous singles – which had already had their time on the Billboard chart – roared back into the Hot 100 top 10. “Set Fire to the Rain” hit No. 2, “Rolling in the Deep” jumped from No. 17 to No. 5, and “Someone Like You” jumped from No. 11 to No. 7.
This jump in charting makes Adele the first woman in the Hot 100s 53-year history to have three songs in the Hot 100 that she is the lead singer on.
Billboard is comparing Adele’s chart domination to Beatlemania, suggesting that “Adele adulation” is similar to the Beatles’ chart-topping domination in 1964.
Both Adele and the Beatles are the only acts to have three songs in the Hot 100 and two albums in Billboard’s 200 top five in the same week.
Adele rocked the Grammy awards last week when she sang live for the first time since last year when she was forced to take a break from performing after undergoing possible career-ending throat surgery. Many in the industry were concerned with how her powerful voice fared following surgery. From the first bars of the song, it was clear that Adele was back, and with a vengeance.
The singer swept the Grammies, taking home the biggest awards of the night, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop Solo Performance, and Best Pop Vocal Album.
Archive for February, 2012|Monthly archive page
Adele Makes Billboard History
Tuesday, February 28th, 2012Unhappy in Love? Consider the List of Best ‘Love Sucks’ Songs
Sunday, February 26th, 2012
Valentine’s Day didn’t go well for everyone. If yours went down in a ball of flames, consider the top “Love Sucks” songs as defined by Billboard.com. The site recently offered 30 songs that speak to the pain and fury that is often love in a countdown that ranked the songs both on their time and strength on the Hot 100 chart when they appeared there as well as the strength of the lyrics.
Let’s look at a few of the top songs.
• Number 30 was “Love the Way You Lie”, the volatile and controversial song that featured Eminem in collaboration with Rihanna. From 2010, this song featured the lyrics “Just gonna stand there and watch me burn?/That’s alright because I like the way it hurts/Just gonna stand there and hear me cry?/That’s alright because I love the way you lie.”
• Number 26 was “It Must Have Been Love”, but Roxette. This 1990 hit was made a hit thanks to its use in the hit Julia Roberts movie “Pretty Woman”. It featured lyrics like “It must have been love, but it’s over now./It must have been good, but I lost it somehow/it must have been love, but it’s over now/From the moment we touched till the time had run out.”
• Number 17 was “Alone Again (Naturally)” by Gilbert O’Sullivan. This song was a big hit in 1972 and still gets its fair share of radio play. It features lyrics like “When you’re shattered/left standing in a lurch at a church/Were people saying ‘my god that’s tough/she stood him up/No point in us remaining./We may as well go home’/ As I did on my own/Alone again, naturally.”
• Number 12 was “Nothing Compares 2 U” by Sinead O’Connor. This song, truly the soundtrack of the girl who’s been dumped or done the dumping, this is a sing-along delight. Big in 1990, it features lyrics like “It’s been so lonely with you here/Like a bird without a song./Nothing can stop these lonely tears from falling/Tell me baby, where did I go wrong?”
• Number 6 is the current hit, “Rolling in the Deep”, which made us all love Adele instantly, even if she was presenting us with heartbreaking lyrics and singing. This song features the lyrics “We could have had it all,/rolling in the deep./You had my heart inside of your hand/and you play it to the beat.”
• Finally, number 1 is Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together”. This song, made a huge hit in 2005, features Carey’s smooth and refined voice on lyrics like “The pain reflected in this song ain’t even half of what I’m feeling inside./I need you, need you back in my life, baby./We belong together.”
Chris Brown/Rihanna Collaboration Controversial
Friday, February 24th, 2012The buzz surrounding the collaboration between Rihanna and Chris Brown is nearly deafening these days. Is this truly an examination of domestic violence and its aftermath or a good, old-fashioned attempt to stir the pot? Perhaps only time will tell.
It was reported this week that the former lovers are collaborating on two remixes, “Birthday Girl” and “Turn up the Music”. While the pair is well aware that there is criticism about their pairing, both have been vocal on Twitter about their collaborations. Brown tweeted, “Let them be mad!!!!! We make music. Don’t like it, don’t listen! “
It’s been reported that Brown spent some time at a residential treatment facility for domestic abusers, and both Brown and Rihanna seem to have buried the hatchet of their unfortunate relationship.
However, the recent collaboration and their regular contact on Twitter has led many to believe they are at least friends again, if not more. Some gossip suggests they have been back together as a couple for as long as a year, keeping their relationship on the super down low in order to avoid criticism.
The two have argued they are just friends and say there’s nothing wrong with a friendly relationship. According to an Us Weekly report in January, the two have been casually hooking up for more than a year, even though both have apparently moved on to new relationships. A spokesperson for Chris Brown said the two are just friends and nothing more
Brown was charged with two felonies in February 2009 for assaulting Rihanna.
What do you think? Do you think the two could be dating? If so, is that wrong?
Whitney Houston the Soundtrack of ’80s Lives
Friday, February 24th, 2012As I was watching coverage of Whitney Houston’s death the other night, I heard someone say that her music is “the soundtrack of our lives”. Now, if you grew up in an earlier era, or are growing up now, that certainly might not be the case.
But for those of us who grew up in the 1980s, Whitney Houston sang the songs we danced to, cried to and shared with friends. She truly did sing the soundtrack that represented our lives.
Her loss, while shocking, also spoke to the challenges some of us who grew up on the 80s had. We were exposed to a lot of open and unsafe drugs. Some of us partook in these drugs. In the 90s, when most of us were growing up and having families, Houston went down that dark path. Many believe she came back, that she had taken the path and then come home again.
While she might have sung the soundtrack of our lives, we took her for granted. We appreciated her voice and great talent but perhaps over the years took that talent for granted. I don’t believe that’s what led her down the dark path (as we never really know what leads greatly talented people down that path) but now, as we hear a lot of Whitney Houston, we remember what a fabulous and gifted talent she really was.
Now, when I hear the first eerie chords of “I Will Always Love You” I will remember this great talent taken from us far too soon.
Get Ready for Grammies this Sunday
Friday, February 10th, 2012Get the drinks and popcorn ready, because this Sunday’s Grammy Awards telecast is sure to be an interesting one.
Aside from the expected big award winners (get ready to hear “Adele” over and over again), there are some performances that will be interesting, newsworthy and probably exciting. Here is just some of the performance lineup:
• The Beach Boys will reunite and enjoy a joint performance with Foster the People and Maroon 5 
• Foo Fighters, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, David Guetta and Deadmau5 will all join forces to give a special tribute to dance/electronic music
• Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will rock the house
• Adele will perform, which will be the first public performance for her since she had vocal surgery
• Bruno Mars
• Taylor Swift
• Katy Perry
• Kelly Clarkson
• The Band Perry
• Glen Campbell
• Coldplay
• Rihanna
While the specific purpose of the Grammies is to award the best in music for the past year, we like that it’s a great way to watch a concert featuring a wide array of musical performers. Since some of them can be unpredictable (Nicki Minaj will also perform, for example), the excitement of the unknown is also a critical piece of the puzzle.
Bon Iver is up for four Grammy awards, but the band won’t perform as previously reported. Apparently the indie-rock band was asked to perform with other artists (per the norm at the Grammies) but the band wanted a solo performance.
Madonna Announces World Tour this Summer
Wednesday, February 8th, 2012Don’t count Madonna out just yet. While many of us thought the decision to place her squarely on the Super Bowl halftime stage was a mistake, she proved all of us wrong and made herself seem relevant again.
In short, Madonna’s performance was a touchdown.
In true Madonna form, she will take that new relevancy and head to big stages all over the world this summer. This week, Madonna announced that she will hit the tour circuit, kicking off her most extensive tour ever in Tel Aviv, Israel. The Material Girl will also head to Australia for the first time in 20 years and she will play in a variety of markets she’s never played before.
While many have considered Madonna past her prime, the reality is that she is a huge touring star. Her last tour, in 2008 and 2009, grossed $408 million, according to Boxscore by Billboard. That is the highest ever so far for a solo artist and the third highest of all time.
If the Super Bowl halftime show was any indication, Madonna plans to bring a big and spectacular show to arenas throughout the world. Some of the planned venues include Staples Center in Los Angeles and New York’s Yankee Stadium. Tour organizers say there will be many outdoor venues as well, including Quebec’s the Plains of Abraham. The tour will play 26 European dates before hitting North America on Aug. 28, where it kicks off in Philadelphia.
Just before Thanksgiving Madonna will wrap up the North American tour; then she’ll head to Latin America where she’ll perform until just before the holidays. She’ll wrap up the tour in early 2013 with the Australian dates.
Tickets for the Tel Aviv and UK dates go on sale this Friday. Tickets for North American dates will go on sale Feb. 13.