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Experts answer your questions. For
February 27, 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.
VIVA LA LITIGATION
Hi Gary,
I am doing a bit of research on Joe Satriani, who has sued Coldplay for copyright infringement regarding the band's smash "Viva La Vida," as I work in the field of search engine marketing/web traffic.
Would you be able to tell me download data on Satriani's song "If I Could Fly," which he alleges the band copied? I have already correlated the story to an increase, and then a sharp subsequent decrease, of website traffic.
Thanks,
Lori Cumberland Ulloa
Baltimore, Maryland
Hi Lori,
For further Billboard coverage of the Coldplay/Satriani legal battle, click here.
Just as you note that your research showed increased interest online, consumers responded to the story's buzz, as well. Satriani's 2004 track had never before sold in triple digits when news of the lawsuit broke in December. At that point, the song vaulted to consecutive weeks of selling 3,000 digital downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Though sales totals then curtailed, the track still sold close to a thousand downloads as recently as two weeks ago. It has sold 18,000 downloads to date. Approximately 75% of that sum has been logged since its December spike.
COUNTRY KINGS
Hi Gary,
I love your column. I know that country artists have accumulated more No. 1 hits on Hot Country Songs than pop artists have on the Billboard Hot 100. Who are the artists with the most No. 1s at country? I'm guessing that George, Garth, Kenny, Tim and Keith might be in there, and maybe Reba, too?
David Heath
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Howdy David,
As a big fan of country music myself, especially of the early '90s boom that brought much success to such artists as Mary Chapin Carpenter, Mark Chesnutt, Doug Stone, Patty Loveless, Trisha Yearwood and many others, I'm happy to run down the artists with the most No. 1s at the format. Dating to the launch of Hot Country Songs in 1944, here are the artists with the most chart-topping titles:
1. George Strait, 43
2. Conway Twitty, 40
3. Merle Haggard, 38
4. Ronnie Milsap, 35
5. Alabama, 32
As for the other artists you mentioned, Tim McGraw and Reba McEntire each have 22 No. 1s, Garth Brooks, 19, Kenny Chesney, 16, and Keith Urban has nine. Brooks and Strait share the honor for most No. 1s during the '90s with 17 each, while Toby Keith is this decade's leader with 15. Also notable is Brad Paisley, who is enjoying an active streak of nine No. 1 singles in a row, the format's longest No. 1 run since Alabama strung together a whopping 21 consecutive leaders from 1980 to 1987.
And, yes, the No. 1 totals are higher at Country than on the Hot 100, where the Beatles' 20 No. 1s are good for first place.
'SNOW' STORM
Dear Gary,
In the late '90s, an artist hit in the U.S. with an album and like-titled single. Her name was Anggun, a wonderful singer from my home country of Indonesia. Could you please tell me how many albums has she has sold in America?
Thanks,
Darren Henriquez
Indonesia
Hi Darren,
I am fortunate to have seen Anggun in concert at the Paradise in Boston in 1998, and it was a great show for anyone who's a fan of melodic pop with a seductive, new age groove. Her album that clicked in the U.S. at the time was "Snow on the Sahara," which reached No. 23 on Top Heatseekers, Billboard's album chart for new artists. It has sold 92,000 copies to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The title cut reached No. 22 on the Adult Top 40 airplay chart and No. 16 on Hot Dance Club Play.
Born in Jakarta, Indonesia, Anggun rose to immense success in her homeland as a child star before moving to London and Paris. She released an album in French in 1997 that, when re-recorded in English, became "Snow on the Sahara." Part of her promotional plans for her U.S. launch included performing on Sarah McLachlan's landmark Lilith Tour with a host of fellow female singer/songwriters.
In the last decade, however, Anggun has been absent from American record store shelves and radio. She has recorded additional internationally-released albums in French and English, but has not offered any product in the U.S. The now 34-year-old singer gave birth to her first child, daughter Kirana, in 2007, and her newest studio album is entitled "Elevation." No U.S. release date has been announced. She is expected to tour beginning in the spring.
You can find out more at Anggun's official website, www.anggun.com.
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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
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