On the Charts: Selena Gomez Takes Holy Grail From Jay Z
After weeks of summeritis, with Jay Z making the only major chart headlines, Selena Gomez‘ new album and One Direction‘s new single have both arrived to liven up the chart monotony. Track sales actually ticked up a bit compared to last week – 2 percent – but overall track and album sales are down compared to the same time in 2012. Fortunately, “Don’t Drop That Thun Thun” (see below) has reemerged to rescue everybody from everything.
BOLD TITLE THERE, GUYS: Making a late run for Single of the Summer is One Direction’s “Best Song Ever,” a new song that sold 322,000 downloads and racked up more than 45 million YouTube views. (Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” dropped to Number Two, selling 312,000 downloads, a sales loss of 9 percent.) In addition to everything else – let’s just say the females in my household, big and small, flocked to the computer screen upon hearing “Best Song Ever” – 1D has a fizzy sense of humor lacking from many of its boy-band forebears. They play all the roles in the funny six-minute video, including a sexy female secretary (Zayn), a platinum-blonde choreographer called Leeroy (Liam) and two lecherous, clueless Hollywood producers, one resembling Tom Cruise in Tropic Thunder (Niall and Louis). (Interestingly, “Blurred Lines” remains at Number One on iTunes’ Top Songs chart.)
2013’s Hottest Tours: One Direction
PUTTING “DANCE” IN YOUR ALBUM TITLE – STRATEGY? DISCUSS: It makes sense that Selena Gomez’ album of shiny dance music, Stars Dance, displaces Jay Z’s Magna Carta . . . Holy Grail from Number One this week by selling 97,000 copies. Stars Dance is one big hook, swirling with all the hippest production ideas, dubstep and AutoTune, melodies and counter-melodies zooming in every direction. The album also comes with a hit single, “Come & Get It,” which peaked earlier this year at Number Six on Billboard‘s Hot 100 and lingers at Number 10 on BigChampagne’s Ultimate Chart, which measures Internet criteria, among other things. Interestingly, Gomez’ debut wasn’t as impressive on iTunes, rising just to Number Two while Magna Carta . . . Holy Grail holds at Number One. Maybe downloaders are still catching up after MCHG was available pre-release only to Samsung smartphone users.
THUN IN A MILLION: I was confused upon noticing via the Ultimate Chart that an obscure hip-hop act, FiNaTTicZ, surged 127 places (to Number 27), with its profane nursery rhyme of a song, “Don’t Drop That Thun Thun.” It came out in April 2012 and the video is nothing special – cool bros chilling among scantily clad ladies in a club. So I searched, and up came the answer: Vine twerk mashups. Of course! Vine twerk mashups! A six-second bikini Vine went viral the other week and could turn into the next “Harlem Shake.” I will continue to update you on this important pop-cultural trend as it develops.
Last week: Jay Z Stays on Top