Adele's 21 Racks Up Milestones

As Adele's 21 continues to dominate albums charts well into its second year of release, there are a couple of notable milestones worth mentioning this week.

1) Weeks at #1

Adele's 21 has now spent 17 weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200, the most weeks at #1 since since The Bodyguard Soundtrack topped the chart for 20 weeks in late 1992/early 1993. That puts her in the company of only 26 other albums that have topped the albums chart for that long, the champion being the South Pacific cast album from 1949, which was the nation's most popular album for 69 weeks. See the full list here.

2) Number One Singles

With "Set Fire to the Rain" having ascent to the top of the Hot 100, 21 now has three #1 hits under its belt. That puts the album in the rather exclusive camp of albums to have had three or more #1 hits.

With Katy Perry's Teenage Dream scoring five #1 hits recently, there was much written (including by me) about how there are nine albums with four or more #1s (including two with five).

The club of albums with at least three #1s widens the circle a bit, but is still a pretty exclusive group of just 19 albums:

The Supremes - Where Did Our Love Go (1964): Where Did Our Love Go, Baby Love, Come See About Me

The Beatles - Help! (1965): Ticket to Ride, Help!, Yesterday

The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour (1967): Penny Lane, All You Need is Love, Hello Goodbye

The Beatles - Let It Be (1970): Get Back, Let It Be, The Long and Winding Road

Bee Gees - Spirits Having Flown (1979): Too Much Heaven, Tragedy, Love You Inside Out

Wham! - Make It Big (1984): Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, Careless Whisper, Everything She Wants

Whitney Houston (1985): Saving All My Love for You, How Will I Know, The Greatest Love of All

Madonna - True Blue (1986): Live to Tell, Papa Don't Preach, Open Your Heart

Milli Vanilli - Girl You Know It's True (1989): Baby Don't Forget My Number, Girl I'm Gonna Miss You, Blame It On the Rain

Wilson Phillips (1990): Hold On, Release Me, You're in Love

Mariah Carey - Daydream (1995): Fantasy, One Sweet Day, Always Be My Baby (*Notable for having three #1 hits and no other official singles)

Monica - The Boy Is Mine (1998): The Boy Is Mine, The First Night, Angel of Mine

Christina Aguilera (1999): Genie in a Bottle, What a Girl Wants, Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)

Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006): Sexyback, My Love, What Goes Around...Comes Around

Fergie - The Dutchess (2006): London Bridge, Glamorous, Big Girls Don't Cry

Rihanna - Good Girl Gone Bad/Good Girl Gone Bad (Reloaded)(2007/2008): Umbrella, Take a Bow, Disturbia

The Black Eyed Peas - The E.N.D (2009): Boom Boom Pow, I Gotta Feeling, Imma Be

Rihanna - Loud (2010): Only Girl, What's My Name, S&M

Adele - 21 (2011): Rolling in the Deep, Someone Like You, Set Fire to the Rain

Personal Chart, January 28, 2012

Top 40: Will Katy Perry hit #1?

It looks like Katy Perry's "The One That Got Away" will not be hitting #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song has fallen below the top 5, and with Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain" sure to claim the top spot next week and hold on for some time, I think Perry's lack of sales will prevent her from topping the chart, even if her airplay is peaking.

At top 40 radio though, she still has a shot. She's been running neck-and-neck with Bruno Mars' "It Will Rain," with both songs waiting for Rihanna's "We Found Love" to finally release its grip from #1. This finally happened this week, allowing Mars to ascend to #1 with Perry close behind at #2. The big question is what happens next week. I see three scenarios:

1) Mars remains at #1. Certainly a possibility if his airplay loss stays minimal, but he's not going to be #1 for long, given that he's hit #1 with a spin loss and several singles in the top 5 now with gains.

2) Flo Rida hits #1. "Good Feeling" is at 12,870 today with a 7-day gain of 548. Another 500 gain will put him at nearly 13,400 next week. If Mars drops 100 spins, Flo could end up at #1.

3) Katy Perry hits #1. This is probably the least likely scenario, but it's still possible. For it to happen, Mars' spin loss has to increase, which it probably will; Flo Rida's spin gain needs to hold or lessen a bit, which is also likely; and Perry's spin gain needs to at least hold for the week and certainly not decrease. Even those I say all those things are likely or possible, it's the fact that all three have to happen that makes this scenario the least likely, in my opinion.

Finally, there is an outside shot that Adele would be #1, but I think "Set Fire to the Rain" is 2 weeks away from #1. Even a 2000 spin gain (500 more than this week) would only put her at 12,200 spins, whereas the #1 contenders are all over 13,000 at present. Never the less, after next week, #1 is all hers.

Source: http://www.mediabase.com/mmrweb/insideradio/charts.asp?format=1&showyear=y&dpt=n Accessed January 23, 2012, 8 a.m.

Personal Chart, January 21, 2012

Personal Chart, January 14, 2012

Scissor Sisters "Shady Love"

Scissor Sisters return with "Shady Love," the first single from their upcoming fourth album. It's a different sound for them, but I think I'm liking it. The track features 2012 buzzy-new-artist Azealia Banks, although she's billed as "Krystal Pepsy" in honor of the failed clear '90s Pepsi product Crystal Pepsi.

New Blog

After 6 years of "Today's Music from ww_adh," I've decided to shift my writing focus to food. Thus today is born my new blog: Cook In / Dine Out, where I will writing about cooking, eating, drinking, restaurants, etc. I will continue to post on this blog, particularly my personal chart, but I expect there will be far fewer posts as I concentrate on this new topic.

Personal Chart, January 7, 2012

Best of 2011 - Movies

1. The Artist. Director Michel Hazanavicius and stars Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo of OSS 117 fame re-teamed for this beautifully shot and lovingly rendered homage to the silent film era. A thoroughly entertaining film with a wonderful story at its heart. In a year where the love of cinema was an important theme in movies (see Hugo, Super 8, War Horse, Drive, for example)--just as moviegoers continue to show less interest in actually going to movies--this arty gem shined the brightest.

2. 50/50. Cancer is no laughing matter, but 50/50 managed the perfect balance of comedy and tragedy in this sweet portrait of a young man battling cancer and his allies that support him through it.

3. Drive. Drive manages the rather remarkable feat of paying homage to cheap '80s action flicks with a pitch-perfect production and all-star cast led by Ryan Gosling, with his best performance in a stand-out year. Let's also not forget Albert Brooks playing against type in a truly scary role.

4. Hugo. I didn't plan to see this movie and didn't know what to expect when I went into it. So I was pleasantly surprised that it was absolutely dazzling, telling love story about the movies that also pays tribute to the feats of engineering that make things work.

5. Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Harry Potter movies tend to be good but not great, until now. This no-holds-barred finale was a fitting end to the film series, masterfully depicting the books' thrilling and revealing conclusion.

6. The Descendants. George Clooney sheds his usual studly demeanor to play a flawed father struggling to keep his teenage daughters in check while his wife lays dying after a boating accident. Hawaii never looked this real.

7. War Horse. Sure it's a bit over the top, but it this gorgeously retro war film from Spielberg proves the director still knows how to manipulating our hearts like no one else. Since there are so many films about World War II, it's nice to see media turn to World War I more this year (see Downton Abbey).

8. Midnight in Paris. Woody Allen's moved on from London to Paris, spinning this whimsical time-traveling tribute to great figures in historical literature. Owen Wilson's great comeback.

9. Moneyball. I'm not really into baseball, so that this movie was so engrossing despite that, was really something. Another great performance from Brad Pitt.

10. Bridesmaids. Proving that gross-out humor isn't just for the guys, Kristen Wiig and the gang scored a major summer hit and a major star-making turn for Melissa McCarthy.

Honorable mention: Hanna, Shame, The Tree of Life, The Ides of March, Crazy Stupid Love, Super 8