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Experts answer your questions. For
June 26, 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.
MICHAEL JACKSON TRIBUTE
Dear Gary,
No chart questions, just this heartfelt tribute to a music icon, the "King," Michael Jackson, one of my top five favorite artists, and an "Angel," Farrah Fawcett, from this big fan on the other side of the world.
"I Just Can't Stop Loving You," Michael Jackson. You're "Gone too Soon." I will "Remember the Time(s)" when "You Rock(ed) My World." That's "The Way You Ma(d)e Me Feel."
Farewell, Mr. "Man in the Mirror," and thanks for the great music.
May Jackson and Fawcett's souls rest in peace.
Leo Laparan II
Pasig City, Philippines
Hi Leo,
Definitely a sad day yesterday. Your prose speaks for so many mourning the loss of two electrifying entertainers.
For more on Jackson's amazing Billboard chart achievements, please view our special tribute edition of Chart Beat.
LOVE THE DRAKE
Hi Gary,
In 2001, I wrote "Chart Beat" a letter noting an historic event on the Billboard Hot 100.
The week of May 26, 2001, Nelly Furtado's debut single "I'm Like a Bird" entered the top 10 (13-9), as did "Get Ur Freak On" by Missy Elliott (14-10). One remix of Elliott's track also featured ... Nelly Furtado, although the latter didn't receive an artist credit on the Hot 100. Unofficially, that made Nelly Furtado the first artist in the history of the Hot 100 to notch a first and second top 10 in the same week.
Eight years later, it has happened (again). And, remarkably the artist involved is, like Nelly Furtado, a Canadian.
Of course, you know I'm talking about Aubrey Graham, the actor-turned-rapper who now goes by the name Drake. He skyrockets from No. 27 all the way up to No. 3 with "Best I Ever Had." But Drake is also a member of Young Money, the rap supergroup led by Lil Wayne that leapfrogs 34-10 with "Every Girl."
That makes Drake only the second (or, technically, first) artist in Hot 100 history to register first and second top 10s simultaneously.
Even more remarkably, Drake hasn't yet signed a major label record deal. If he goes to No. 1 with "Best I Ever Had," he'll join the exclusive club of unsigned artists to reign over the Hot 100. The first was Lisa Loeb in 1994 with "Stay (I Missed You)."
Now ... on with the countdown ...
From a fellow Casey Kasem fan,
Patrick Kelly
Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Hi Patrick,
Thanks for the perspective on this unique chart feat.
Yes, technically, we do not count Furtado as notching her first two top 10s in the same week, since she was not officially credited on the Elliott remix. But it makes for great trivia, especially the Canada coincidence. Furtado was born in Victoria, British Columbia. Drake, a cast member of "Degrassi: the Next Generation" from 2001 to this year, was born in Toronto, Ontario.
With Drake's radio promotion being handled by the management firm of Hip Hop Since 1978, sources indicate that a bidding war among major record labels has begun for Drake's services as a solo artist. He is signed to Young Money/Cash Money/Universal Motown only as a member of Young Money.
Always nice, too, to include a Lisa Loeb reference. I had the opportunity to see Loeb when she opened for Mary Chapin Carpenter at Brown University - each artist's alma mater - in Providence, Rhode Island in 1992, before the success of "Stay." With Loeb's set sounding so impressive, I was not surprised when she reached the Hot 100 summit just two years later.
1 = 12, 33 = 62
Hello Gary,
I marvel at the new Billboard Hot 100, dated July 4, where "Boom Boom Pow" by the Black Eyed Peas is No. 1 for a 12th week. Perhaps even more incredulous is that Jason Mraz' "I'm Yours" ranks on the Hot 100, at No. 33, for a 62nd week. How is this possible? Is the title still receiving somewhat heavy airplay rotation? And/or is it still selling downloads?
Thanks,
Thomas Gazdayka
Mountain View, California
Hi Thomas,
The longevity of the songs you cite continues. Here is a look at the songs to spend at least 12 weeks atop the Hot 100 in the chart's almost 51-year history:
16 weeks at No. 1, "One Sweet Day," Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men, 1995
14 weeks at No. 1, "We Belong Together," Mariah Carey, 2005
14 weeks at No. 1, "Candle in the Wind/Something About the Way You Look Tonight," Elton John, 1997
14 weeks at No. 1, "Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)," Los Del Rio, 1996
14 weeks at No. 1, "I'll Make Love to You," Boyz II Men, 1994
14 weeks at No. 1, "I Will Always Love You," Whitney Houston, 1992
13 weeks at No. 1, "The Boy Is Mine," Brandy & Monica, 1998
13 weeks at No. 1, "End of the Road," Boyz II Men, 1992
12 weeks at No. 1, "Boom Boom Pow," the Black Eyed Peas, 2009
12 weeks at No. 1, "Yeah!," Usher featuring Lil Jon & Ludacris, 2004
12 weeks at No. 1, "Lose Yourself," Eminem, 2002
12 weeks at No. 1, "Smooth," Santana featuring Rob Thomas, 1999
Mraz's song is aided by its ongoing strength at Adult Contemporary, where it ranks at No. 4 this week, and adult Top 40 (No. 1 on the format's recurrent airplay chart). It ranks at No. 25 on Hot 100 Airplay (41 million in audience) and No. 47 on Hot Digital Songs (30,000 downloads sold) this week.
"I'm Yours" is now one of just five titles to spend at least 62 weeks on the Hot 100:
69 weeks, "How Do I Live," LeAnn Rimes, 1997-98
65 weeks, "You Were Meant for Me/Foolish Games," Jewel, 1996-98
64 weeks, "Before He Cheats," Carrie Underwood, 2006-07
62 weeks, "I'm Yours," Jason Mraz, 2008-09
62 weeks, "You and Me," Lifehouse, 2005-06
As long as the song has been winning over fans, it has yet to make its way onto Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop charts, though that could change. Check out a clip of this remix that could bring the already ubiquitous composition to an even wider audience.
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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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