西洋音樂告示牌

 

本週排行榜有幾個值得注意的紀錄跟大家整理一下:

Jay-Z 以 The Blueprint 3 拿下專輯榜冠軍  累積總共11張冠軍專輯  其中包括9張個人專輯和2張合輯 (+R. Kelly, +Linkin Park)  一舉超越貓王  成為 Billboard 200 史上冠軍專輯次多的藝人  僅次於 Beatles
相較於貓王及 Beatles 的冠軍專輯分別是散佈在9年與7年內  Jay-Z 的第一張冠軍專輯至今橫跨的時間長達11年  更是難能可貴  一個歌手要維持5年的巔峰都不容易  更何況是11年

Lady GaGa 成為第一位擁有二支單曲分別都被付費下載超過400萬次的歌手  那兩首歌?  想當然爾是 just dance 以及 poker face

Black Eyed Peas 繼續以 I gotta feeling 拿下第12週的單曲榜冠軍  連同前一支單曲 Boom Boom Pow 同樣佔據12週#1  他們加入 Mariah Carey 跟 Boyz II Men 的行列  成為唯三個擁有兩首以上12週冠軍單曲的藝人

2009年的 CMT (Country Music Television) Music Awards 於6/16晚間舉行
這是一個沒有評審參與  完全由歌迷投票決定的獎項  因此是歌手人氣的最佳指標

在沒有強敵環伺  最大競爭對手 Carrie Underwood 2008年沒有出片的情況下  Taylor Swift 毫不意外地奪下 Female Video Of The Year and Video Of The Year 兩項大獎  尤其是在 Video Of The Year 這個最大獎擊敗了 Carrie Underwood - just a dream
這個可以說是全美人氣最高的女歌手  當天還是開場影片的主角  並和 Def Leppard (她最愛的樂團)一起演出 pour some sugar on me  以及她自己的單曲 you belong with me  感覺整個晚上就是她的個人秀

其中創意十足且搞笑的開場影片值得一看
Taylor Swift 扮成了 Star Trek, NFL player, rapper  令人絕倒

Forbes magazine has revealed its newest Celebrity 100 list, which ranks the power of celebrities, factoring in their income and fame. This time, Angelina Jolie dethrones Oprah Winfrey, taking away the #1 seat. These celebrities, from movie/TV stars and dirctors/producers to athletes, talk show hosts, and even magicians (David Copperfield) and chefs (Rachael Ray), are cashing in like there is no recession at all.

Here are the singers/musicians who made it in the list (numbers after the names are their estimated earnings in millions). Guess who ranks the highest in this field? Hint: (1) not the foxy on the magazine cover. (2) you got "4 minutes" to figure out the answer and maybe you want to bite a "hard candy" while you're doing it.

#99 Jennifer Love Hewitt (6)
#75 Carrie Underwood (14)
#69 Taylor Swift (18)
#60 Jonas Brothers (25)

 

While the focus of this week's single chart may be the multiple entries of Kris Allen and Adam  Lambert, Eminem, the most controversial white rapper of all time, topped the album chart again - his 5th consecutive #1 album. Although the singles released are not as successful as his previous ones and have received no thumbs-up critics, he still managed to sell more than 608000 albums of his latest work "Relapse" in its first week, the biggest opening week since AC/DC's Black Ice last year (2008).

So, another number 1 album by Eminem, what's the difference? With estimated more than 31 million copies sold, he is the best selling artist since January 2000. Yes, that means he beats Mariah Carey, 'NSync, Britney Spears, Beyonce, Shania Twain, Rascal Flatts, etc. If you look at the top 20 best selling artist in the 1990s and in the 2000s, only 4 names are overlap: Alan Jackson, Beatles, Celine Dion, and Metallica. The top 2 selling artists in the 1990s, Garth Brooks and Mariah Carey, are (so far) not even in the top 20 of the same list of the 2000s. Keep in mind that the album sales has been declining at a roller coaster speed since the year 2000, give credit to Eminem's achievement and popularity.

Here's the run-down of the best selling artists since the first week of 2000:
#20.  Celine Dion
#19.  Kid Rock
#18.  Johnny Cash

第44屆 ACM Award 於美國時間昨晚(4/5/2009)在 Las Vegas MGM 舉行
頒獎典禮由 Reba McEntire 主持  以下是幾個網路上找得到的表演片段:

Carrie Underwood - I told you so  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p61ed1o89dc
非常誇張的禮服  下襬快跟地毯一樣了  唱得實在非常棒

George Strait - troubadour  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74cq9-PVkkA

Keith Urban - kiss a girl  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf7uOm013Y0
很棒的一首歌  難怪能把 Nicole Kidman 娶回家

鄉村/流行跨界小公主 Taylor Swift 的第二張專輯 Fearless 在本週(4/2/2009)"終於"跌出專輯榜前10名  在這之際讓我們來細數一下這張專輯的豐功偉業:
(更新  8/8/2009)

**自1/1/2009以來  唯一一張總銷售量超過 Michael Jackson - Number Ones 的專輯
**發行38週以來  有32週位居專輯榜top 10  專輯榜史上只有一張鄉村專輯待在top 10更久 誰? Shania Twain - Come On Over (53週)
**鄉村專輯榜史上第五位歌手有二張專輯分別都在榜上待了超過20週 (其他四位是 Alabama, Garth Brooks, Kenny Rogers, Shania Twain)
(參考資料來源: Yahoo Music Chart Watch Blog)

 

兩張搖滾大碟預告:
Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown
In Store: 5/15, First Single: know your enemy (4/20)

Green Day - know your enemy music video


Third Eye Blind - Ursa Major

梅西百貨(Macy's)的廣告詞是 "That's the magic of Macy's."  同樣的句子運用在流行歌曲上  相信不少人同意冠軍單曲有種魔力
有沒有一首歌  你原本對它沒什麼印象  不覺得特別好聽  但當它登上冠軍或是慢慢爬到#1之後  你開始喜歡上它了?
沒錯  冠軍單曲就是有這種把你洗腦的魔力!  基本上這也是一種滾雪球效應  當一首歌的曝光率越來越高  越來越受歡迎  你就會不知不覺地常常聽到它  或是因為它登上了冠軍  你會再去聽幾次  聽它到底為什麼有本事成為#1?
漸漸地  它在你心目中的地位有所轉變  也就是你被洗腦了

我猜2008年的 Katy Perry - I kissed a girl 對很多人來說正是如此  以下列舉三首對我來說是這樣的歌曲
你的歌單裡也有這樣的例子嗎? (點藍色歌名試聽)

Fergie - London Bridge
Fergie 的這首 London Bridge 一開始聽到我心想: Oh shit, what kind of crappy song is that?

 

年度音樂盛事  第51屆葛萊美獎 Grammy Awards 已經揭曉
這次 Grammy 的老毛病又犯了  Robert Plant & Alison Krauss 目前在流行樂壇並不活躍  卻是最大的贏家
入圍5項抱走5項  百發百中  包括 record of the year, album of the year 兩項大獎  基本上是把 Grammy 當成鄉村/民謠獎在頒

不過其他獎項倒是分配頗為平均  除了在 rap 類幾乎一面倒地給了 Lil Wayne
Ne-Yo, Jennifer Hudson 兩個賣座歌手都有展獲
John Mayer, Alicia Keys 仍是 Grammy 的最愛  這次入圍不多但都有得獎  不過兩人合作的 lesson learned 卻落空了
Adele 和 Duffy 之爭  評審會偏愛靈性較高的 Adele 也不令人意外  拿下最佳新人(best new artist)和最佳流行女演唱(best female pop vocal performance)兩項大獎

As most of who pay attention to US charts should've known, Kelly Clarkson's new single "my life would suck without you" skyrocketed from #97 to #1 on the latest Billboard Hot 100, surpassing Britney Spears, the former record holder whose "womanizer" jumped from #96 to #1.

In fact, Kelly, whose "a moment like this" started at #52 and then rose to #1 next week, was the first record holder of "Largest Jump to #1." This stats was then broken by Maroon 5, T.I., Britney Spears, and most recently herself. The key factor helped Kelly make it to the top is the digital download - "my life" is the #1 of Hot Digital Songs, selling 280000 downloads. Another reason is that the song received astonishing airplays, making it an Adult Top 40 hit as well (a 28-18 upward movement).

Very similar to "since u been gone," the single has received mediocre reviews. Its chart performance, however, clearly reflects how bad her fans want her to be the queen of mainstream pop rock/power ballad again, as her last album My December has been a disappointing work in terms of sales. Do you like the song? I think the more you listen to it, the more you will like it. That's the magic of No. 1 song!

Another stats you may be interested is that Taylor Swift's Fearless has been on the top of album chart for 8 consecutive weeks. This is the longest since Usher's Confessions, which spent 9 weeks on the same spot. Yes, taking into account of all genres, not only country. For a country album, Fearless is also the longest running #1 album since Garth Brooks' The Hits in 1994, tying Garth Brooks' record. Why do I say "tying" here? Because this week is likely to be the last week that Fearless beats all other competitions, as Bruce Springsteen's new album Working On A Dream is expected to debut at #1 next week.