|
|
|
Experts answer your questions. For
February 06, 2009
Ask Billboard is updated every Friday. Submit your burning music questions to Gary Trust at askbb@billboard.com. Please include your first and last name, as well as your city, state and country, if outside the U.S.
WHEELER IN MOTION
Hi Gary,
I really enjoy reading your column each week, along with all the charts and stories in Billboard.
My question is about one of my favorite singer/songwriters, Cheryl Wheeler. I have seen her live at least three times and I must say she puts even the biggest names in the music business to shame. A wonderful singer and so funny, as well.
She has written quite a few songs for other artists, including Suzy Bogguss, Dan Seals, Melanie, Sylvia, Peter, Paul and Mary, and even Garth Brooks (as Chris Gaines). I'm curious about her own albums. Could you please list her most successful sets?
Go Cheryl, go!
Sincerely,
John Plasman
Ararat, Virginia
Hi John,
Were you in the audience with me at Cheryl Wheeler's show at the Circle of Friends Coffeehouse in Franklin, Mass., last March? I agree, she is one of my favorite folk artists, and almost no one else can segue from singing a touching love song one minute to a song that puts the word 'potato' to the melody of the Mexican hat dance the next.
As you note, she has enjoyed success as a songwriter. Dan Seals topped Hot Country Songs in 1988 with her "Addicted," and Suzy Bogguss took her "Aces" to No. 9 on the chart in 1992. And, Garth Brooks' alter-ego sold 1,118,000 copies of 1999's "In the Life of Chris Gaines," which featured Wheeler's "If It Were Up to Me" (fused with the Youngbloods' "Get Together").
Here are Cheryl Wheeler's top-selling albums, according to Nielsen SoundScan:
"Driving Home" (1993), 46,000
"Sylvia Hotel" (1999), 36,000
"Mrs. Pinocci's Guitar" (1995), 33,000
Her greatest hits set, 2003's "Different Stripe," has sold 21,000, while her most recent release, "Defying Gravity," in 2005, has totaled 21,000.
As always, Wheeler has a busy touring schedule ahead, viewable here. For those who've yet to see her live, just beware: she'll tug at your heart with the emotional "Gandhi/Buddha" ("I must have been Gandhi or Buddha or someone like that/I must have done something right to get to have you") before cracking up the crowd when she switches to alternate, self-deprecating lyrics from the point of view of her beloved: "I must have brought torts to the tortured and drowned some puppies too/I must have done something bad to have to have you."
AND THE WINNERS ARE...
Dear Gary,
I was wondering how some of my favorite Grammy-nominated artists are selling. I recently bought Ledisi's breakthrough album. How many albums has she sold? And, how many copies has Duffy sold of her debut?
Thank you in advance.
Frank Neal
Pueblo West, Colorado
Hi Frank,
New Orleans-born R&B/jazz singer Ledisi was nominated for Best New Artist at last year's Grammy Awards, along with Feist, Paramore and Taylor Swift, all of whom watched Amy Winehouse win the honor. Ledisi's "Lost & Found," which rose to No. 10 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in September 2007, has sold 220,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. She climbed to No. 28 on the list two months ago with "It's Christmas," which has sold 25,000.
Staying in the category of Best New Artist, this year's field sports Adele, Duffy, Jonas Brothers, Lady Antebellum and Jazmine Sullivan.
If the award were based solely on album sales, Jonas Brothers would be the clear winners. Here are figures to date of each nominee's first or most recent set:
1. Jonas Brothers, "A Little Bit Longer": 1,451,000
2. Duffy, "Rockferry": 710,000
3. Lady Antebellum, "Lady Antebellum": 416,000
4. Adele, "19": 392,000
5. Jazmine Sullivan, "Fearless": 341,000
Despite the legend of the category's 'curse' (i.e., one-hit wonders, Milli Vanilli), whoever is crowned Best New Artist Sunday (Feb. 8) will join the ranks of numerous esteemed previous rookies of the year, including the Beatles (1964), Crosby, Stills & Nash (1970), Mariah Carey (1990), Sheryl Crow (1995), LeAnn Rimes (1997), Alicia Keys (2002), Maroon 5 (2005) and Carrie Underwood (2007).
LEFT EYE'S 'LEGACY'
Hi Gary,
Being a huge fan of TLC, I was happy to learn that the late Lisa Left Eye Lopes has released a new album. I love her song "Let's Just Do It," featuring TLC and Missy Elliott, but I haven't yet heard it on the radio. I'm wondering if (and hoping) it's getting spins and how well the album and song are selling.
Thanks,
Neil Dewse
San Diego, California
Hi Neil,
Lopes' new set, "Eye-Legacy," bows at No. 15 this week on Top Rap Albums, No. 30 on Top Independent Albums and No. 44 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, with overall sales of 3,000 to date. First single "Let's Just Do It" has yet to reach any of Billboard's songs charts, although it's found early support.
The track was first played Nov. 5, 2008, at Hot Dance Airplay reporter WDRE/Nassau, New York, which leads all Billboard Hot 100 panelists with 26 plays in the most recent tracking week (Jan. 26-Feb. 1). Sirius XM's "The Heat," which contributes to Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, has played the song the most, with 233 plays to date. The track has sold 1,000 downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
In the '90s, if you tuned your radio to a top 40 or R&B/hip-hop station, chances are you would've heard a song by TLC before too long. The group notched nine Hot 100 top 10s between 1992 and 1999. With four No. 1s in the '90s, the trio is tied with Celine Dion, Whitney Houston and Madonna for fourth-most leaders during the decade. Mariah Carey collected 14 No. 1s in the '90s, followed by Janet Jackson (six) and Boyz II Men (five).
|
|
 |
Gary Trust is Billboard's pop/adult chart manager. He oversees the Pop 100, Mainstream Top 40, Adult Contemporary and Adult Top 40 charts. He also edits the Billboard Canadian Update and manages the pop and adult charts for sister publication Radio & Records. Before joining Billboard, Gary spent 14 years in New England radio. He graduated with a bachelor of science degree in communications from Boston University, where he worked at student-run station WTBU (home of Howard Stern's first on-air job).
Note: Questions regarding the Recording Industry Association of America's gold and platinum certification program can be answered by visiting RIAA.com.
Send all your burning music questions to Gary at askbb@billboard.com
Got an in-depth question to ask Billboard? For a reasonable fee, Billboard Research Services will explore the Billboard archives for you.
|
