Music's Winners & Losers: Spring Into Summer
We've seen some surprises on the pop charts in recent months. An Australian female rapper equaled a 50-year-old chart feat by the Beatles. Coldplay worked with dance music star Avicii and wound up with a top 10 smash. Five years after he died, Michael Jackson landed a top 10 hit — his first since 2001. Here's a recap of the winners and losers of the past few months in pop music.
Winner: Iggy Azalea
The Australian rapper's first two Hot 100 singles held down the top two spots on the chart simultaneously. It's the first time a rookie act has done that since the Beatles in 1964. Azalea achieved the feat with a pair of all-female collaborations: her own "Fancy" (featuring Charli XCX) and Ariana Grande's "Problem," on which she is featured.
Loser: Jennifer Lopez
A.K.A. sold 33K copies in its first week. That's the lowest first-week sales tally for a Lopez studio album to date. It's even lower than her 2007 Spanish-language album, Como Ama Una Mujer. The stylish "First Love" enters the Hot 100 this week. If it had been the album's first single, things might have been different.
Winner: Sam Smith
In the Lonely Hour, the debut album by the Brit blue-eyed soul star, opened at No. 2. His gospel-shaded ballad "Stay With Me" is in the top five on the Hot 100. And Smith is featured on two other current hits: Disclosure's silky, sexy "Latch" and Naughty Boy's "La La La." Look for Smith to sweep the Grammy nominations in December.
Loser: Mariah Carey
Me. I Am Mariah…The Elusive Chanteuse sold just 58K copies in its first week. That's Carey's lowest first-week sales tally since Nielsen SoundScan started tracking music sales in 1991. "#Beautiful," a soulful collabo with Miguel, was a top 20 hit from the album. The only problem: The song was released a full year before the album was.
Winner: Michael Jackson
Five years after his death, Jackson had a top 10 hit with "Love Never Felt So Good," a collaboration with Justin Timberlake (who was just two years old in 1983 when Jackson recorded the song). It was Jackson's first top 10 hit since "You Rock My World" in 2001. (In addition, MKTO gave M.J. a shout-out in their snazzy top 20 hit, "Classic.")
Winner AND Loser: Katy Perry
Perry's "Dark Horse" (featuring Juicy J) is the second-best-selling song so far this year. So how can she possibly be called a loser? Two of her last three singles have fallen short of the top 10. "Unconditionally" peaked at No. 14. "Birthday" stalled at No. 17. Those are still hit songs, just not of the magnitude Perry is used to.
Full list at the source.
Iggy Azalea and Katy Perry WINNING
