Tag Archives: billboard

This year in music, as told by DJ Earworm’s mega-mashup

By now you should be anticipating DJ Earworm’s mashup of the top 25 hits according to Billboard Magazine when the year is near its end. Like always, in addition to masterfully mashing together all these songs he also manages to fuse together all of the corresponding music videos that accompany the tracks. Adele, Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, LMFAO, and Rihanna dominate this year’s selection; for the full tracklist jump after the break. Download “United State of Pop 2011 (World Go Boom)” right here. Now turn your speakers up and sing-along…you know all the words, don’t deny it.

Continue reading This year in music, as told by DJ Earworm’s mega-mashup

‘Watch The Throne’ debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200, 436,000 copies sold in first week

Jay-Z and Kanye West, arguably the two greatest rappers alive, hung out and created an album together. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that first weeks sales for the collaborative effort Watch The Throne are nothing short of impressive. According to Nielsen SoundScan, 436,000 copies of the album were sold as it debuted at the top spot on the Billboard 200 chart. This marks the second-largest sales week of the year for an album; Watch The Throne simply couldn’t come close to Lady Gaga’s Born This Way which sold 1.1 million copies when it released in May. Throne accumulated 321,000 legal downloads, marking the second-largest digital week ever; again it trails behind Born This Way (662,000 downloads). In addition, according to various sources Throne managed to break the iTunes first-week sales record by surpassing Coldplay’s 2008 release Viva La Vida (282,000) with a staggering 290,000 downloads.

Now you might be looking at that 436,000 number and think it’s rather low for such an anticipated album release. It all ties back to the way in which Jay & ‘Ye trickled the album to the masses. Throne was made exclusively available through iTunes from Monday August 8 to the 11th, and then it released wide to all digital and physical retailers. If the duo had dropped the album traditionally (by allowing all retailers to sell it on the 8/8 release day) analysts are certain that they would have moved over 500,000 copies. I will keep track of second-week sales and we’ll see if the numbers prove that theory. For an album that wasn’t promoted all that much by the artists and their record labels, Watch The Throne and all its “luxury rap” proved to be a hot commodity this summer.

And if that wasn’t enough, Throne becomes the latest major achievement for the rappers that put it together. The album is Jay-Z’s 12th No. 1 and Kanye’s 5th. Jay-Z maintains the record for the most No. 1 albums in history as a solo act.

[Via Billboard]

‘Glee’ kids best Elvis Presley’s Billboard Hot 100 record

You knew it was only a matter of time before the barrage of Glee singles would prove their strength in numbers on the Billboard charts. Back in November 2010 Glee posted 93 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 list. This week the Glee kids finally passed Elvis Presley’s all-time record of 108 chart entires. As of today, 113 songs from the hit FOX series have made their way to the chart, besting the likes of Elvis, James Brown (91 songs), Ray Charles (74), and Aretha Franklin (73). While Elvis’ chart-topping songs gathered steam between 1958 and 2003, Glee managed to post their record-breaking amount in less than two years. It all began with their fantastic rendition of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” in June 2009. The only significant difference between the Glee singles and tracks produced from other famous artists is that the Glee tracks are covers borrowed from said artists. Though you might find this news tainted with unoriginality in terms of where the Glee songs are coming from, that shouldn’t take away from the monumentality of it all.

In related Billboard news, this week Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” became the 1,000th song to top the Hot 100 chart in its 52-year history. Says Gaga, “It is a tremendous honor. To be the 1000th no. 1 on Billboard…I would be silly not to say this is the greatest honor of my career.”

[Via Billboard]

DJ Earworm’s “United State of Pop 2010” mashup has arrived

DJ Earworm never fails to impress with his annual “United State of Pop” track.  Again this year he has masterfully figured out how to mash together the top 25 hits according to Billboard Magazine.  Ke$ha, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and Taio Cruz dominate the five-and-a-half minute track, with some Train, B.o.B., Enrique Iglesias, Eminem, and Bruno Mars sprinkled in for good measure.  You can watch the mashup come to life in the music video above, and then download the explosively catchy track right here.  Look after the break to find a list of all the songs used in the mashup and some cover art.

How does 2010’s “Don’t Stop the Pop” match up to 2009’s “Blame It on the Pop”?  Sound off in the comments below.

[Via DJEarworm] Continue reading DJ Earworm’s “United State of Pop 2010” mashup has arrived

Kanye West’s ‘Twisted Fantasy’ sells 496,000 copies in first week, debuts at #1 on Billboard

There’s no denying the popularity of Mr. West.  In just one week his latest outing My Beautiful Twisted Dark Fantasy sold nearly half a million copies–496,000 to be exact, according to Nielsen SoundScan–and perched itself atop the Billboard 200 chart at the No. 1 spot.  Ye’s pursuit of perfection, along with rave reviews, certainly contributed to this impressive early sales figure.  Right behind him at the number 2 spot is female rapper Nicki Minaj; her debut album Pink Friday sold 375,000.  Pretty good start, wouldn’t you say?  Rounding out the top ten are Susan Boyle, Taylor Swift, Jackie Evancho (O Holy Night), Rihanna (Loud), Justin Bieber (My Worlds Acoustic), My Chemical Romance (Danger Days: the True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys), Ne-Yo (Libra Scale), and Glee‘s Christmas album.  Look after the break to see the rest of the corresponding sales numbers.

[Via EW-MusicMix] Continue reading Kanye West’s ‘Twisted Fantasy’ sells 496,000 copies in first week, debuts at #1 on Billboard

IBM’s interactive billboard changes color based on your outfit

IBM’s Smarter Planet campaign acknowledges the importance of intelligent systems in the world today.  In the retail industry, for example, consumer data around something as simple as color can have massive implications around shipping, inventory and, ultimately, overall sales.  This interactive billboard is a simple and engaging virtual demonstration of how a smarter retail system can work.

In other words, IBM is trying to make retailers and consumers alike recognize the importance of technology in the retail industry.  Imagine, if you will, a world where when you walked into a Gap clothing store, a digital personal assistent recognized you by what you were wearing and helped you pick out a new season of clothes based on previous choices and personal taste.  Yeah, that’s what IBM is going for here.

[Via Gizmodo]

DJ Earworm is back with the ultimate 2009 mashup

From the Black Eyed Peas to Lady Gaga to Kings of Leon, 2009 proved to be a big year for music.  DJ Earworm is back with what he does best–mashing together the top 25 Billboard hits of the past year.  Watch “The United State of Pop 2009 (Blame It On the Pop)” above and download it for free here.  Oh, and look after the break for the full listing of songs used in it.  It’s been one wild year for music, indeed!

[Via EW-MusicMix]

Continue reading DJ Earworm is back with the ultimate 2009 mashup

Resistance 3 on the way?

From the looks of this strategically placed billboard advertisement all signs point to a resounding “yes.”  This photo was taken on the set of the upcoming film “Battle: Los Angeles” in Louisiana.  Publisher Insomniac Games had no comment on the matter.  Nevertheless, hold on to your hats, gamers; it looks like you’ll be fighting the next alien invasion on Earth in the great city of New York (see the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building) in the next installment of Resistance soon.

[Via IGN]