Pop Shots - A Look At The Charts
Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, this week Pop Shots is hitting you with some Billboard singles chart analysis. It’s been nearly three months since I’ve done this, so I felt it was time to once again break down who’s climbing the charts, who isn’t, and what I really think of some of today’s biggest songs. The chart positions I'm using are from the Billboard Hot 100 as it was listed on Billboard.com this past Friday, and since this is Pop Shots, you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.
We have come to a point in popular music where all a song needs to have is David Guetta’s name associated with it and it’s going to be a hit. This is actually a good thing for those of us who are members of the media, because it means the daily, sometimes seemingly hourly, emails about Guetta have slowed down due to his publicists recognizing he now needs very little publicity. Instead of receiving press releases about David Guetta three times a day, I now hear “Titanium” three times a day, and I’m actually pretty cool with that trade. “Titanium” is a “never give up” anthem that simply singing the chorus of can create a feeling of power. Sia is the singer on the track, and although she mumbles her lyrics as if she’s some kind of EDM version of Stevie Nicks, her style works for her, and the song. I dare anyone to not turn this up when it comes on the radio.
I love making fun of Justin Bieber in this column, but you gotta give someone their props when they deserve it, and “As Long As You Love Me” has earned Bieber those props from me. Ignoring the fact that with lyrics like “I’ll be your platinum, I’ll be your silver, I’ll be your gold,” Bieber will never do well with the whole “put these things in order” section of an IQ test, the chorus is straight up deadly. It gets in your head, and the “la la la la love me” part is brilliant. Throw in the fact that Big Sean, who I’m not normally a fan of, has some nice lines in his guest verse, including “Ask me what's my best side, I stand back and point at you,” and “But the grass ain't always greener on the other side / It's green where you water it,” and you have a terrific collaboration. This is unlike recent singer/rapper collabs where the rapper’s verse has nothing to do with the rest of the song (I’m looking at you Wiz Khalifa and Maroon 5!). I like “As Long As You Love Me” and I’m not afraid to admit it. You still won’t catch me in a “Belieber” t-shirt, though!
I did just mention Maroon 5, didn’t I? Adam Levine is damned near at pop god status with the way he continues to release amazing hit song after amazing hit song, and “One More Night” is one more song to add to that list. In addition to having a fantastic voice, in a pop scene that has been seemingly abandoned by Justin Timberlake, and with Justin Bieber being far too young for grown women, Levine is THE male pop singer du jour, and he deserves to be. “One More Night” is yet another Maroon 5 song you can't help but enjoy, and to top it all of he put one of the most beautiful women on the planet, Minka Kelly, in the video. I not so secretly hope she cheated on Derek Jeter with Levine. It would accomplish two of my goals - have her break up with Derek Jeter, and have her scream “Adam” in a positive, non-restraining order, kind of way.
When I first heard “Settle Down” I was a little disappointed. The song is growing on me, and I’m even beginning to like it, but I really wanted No Doubt to go back to their ska roots rather than continuing with the reggae they’d been doing more recently. Yes, reggae is an element of ska, but I miss the more boisterous No Doubt of years past. All that being said, it’s really hard to dislike anything Gwen Stefani does. She’s this generation’s Debbie Harry. She is a certified icon, and her voice is still amazing. So for now I’ll settle down with “Settle Down,” knowing there’s likely something even better coming from No Doubt right around the corner.
This song deserves so much better. Chester’s vocals are incredible, going from the superbly clean vocals of the verses, to the gritty, raspy, throaty, vocals of the chorus. The lyrics are fantastic. The energy of the song is great. It shows an evolution in Linkin Park’s sound. Yes, their sound now borrows a bit from Innerpartysystem, but when Innerpartysystem started their sound borrowed a bit from Linkin Park, so fair is fair. For some reason, however, “Burn It Down” is not burning up the charts. Are people so consumed with dance music that they’ve forgotten how to rock out? It’s OK to go wild, folks. Really, I promise!
There’s only a month or so left of summer, but with Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know” and Carley Rae Jespen’s “Call Me Maybe” having had their day in the sun we have room for one more summer song. Icona Pop’s “I Love It” should be that song. I have absolutely no idea why this song isn’t currently on the charts. It’s fun, it’s high energy, the lyrics are cheeky, and it’s easy to sing/shout along to. It has everything one could possibly ask for in a summer song. Being that Demi Lovato’s “Give Your Heart a Break” and Havana Brown’s “We Run The Night” rocketed up the charts after I predicted they would back in May, here’s hoping this mention can have the same effect for Icona Pop’s “I Love It,” because the title of the song succinctly sums up my feelings on it.
And with that, my time is up for the week, but I'll be back next week with more shots on all things pop.
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