In The Meantime... What Happened in July?

As you have probably noticed, I have taken some time away from posting (243 days to be exact). Who would have thought so much in music would have changed between July 2011 and March 2012. But it has, both for good and bad. Below are the biggest news stories to have occurred in my blogging absence.

Let's begin with July...

Adele Scores Biggest Digital Week Since Lady Gaga

Adele is not only doing wonders on the albums chart but she's destroying the competition on the singles chart as well. After selling 353,000 copies this week, she holds the second best sales week for a single after Lady Gaga's much anticipated "Born This Way" sold an astounding 509,000 copies its debut week (or weekend as it was a Friday-Sunday sales week).

This is ironic considering that Adele is on track for a ninth week atop the album charts here in the US. And who is the biggest threat to making a tenth week at number one??? Oh just Lady Gaga with her second (or third) album Born This Way. With two million albums shipped to a variety of different stores, the album will likely earn the distinction of being the largest sales week for an album of 2011.

Adele Spends Eighth Week at Number One

Everyone expected 2011 to be Gaga's year and with no album out yet, it may very well turn out that way. But Adele is giving the pop songstress a run for her money as she spends a second cumulative month atop the Billboard 200. That's right, London's 22-year-old blue-eyed soul singer has taken America by storm as she spends an eighth week atop the charts with her album and will likely stay atop the Billboard Hot 100 this week as well.

This makes Adele the first British female solo artist to hold the top spot on the Billboard 200 & Hot 100 for two consecutive weeks ever. Add to that, she shot a stunning cover for Out Magazine which you can check below. The sweet, sweet taste of success!

Adele Scores Her First Hot 100 Number One Single

An enormous congratulations is in order for Britain's soul diva as Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" ascends from the runner-up spot to take the number one space on the Billboard Hot 100. This marks the first time a solo female artist from the UK holds the number one spots on both the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 since Leona Lewis achieved it in April 2008, and only the second solo female artist from the UK in British history.

The song has racked up massive airplay increases this week and outsold the juggernaut that is Katy Perry's "E.T." by nearly 60,000 more digital downloads with 294,000. The singer will also likely get a boost this week as the hit show Glee covered the song this past week. Interestingly enough, "Rolling In The Deep"'s ascent to the top spot makes the song more successful in the US charts as opposed to the UK, where the song stalled at number two.

Enjoy the video below of the number one song in America:

A Third the Way Through: How's 2011 Been?

At the end of 2010, Katy Perry was atop the singles charts in America and several other national charts, while Susan Boyle capitalized on what worked with her debut album as she secured her reign atop the album charts around the world for a second holiday season. But exactly how the first few months of 2011 would shape out would surely be an interesting ride.

The big story thus far this year has been Adele's enormous success. Having the strongest first week sales of any album this year and being the first album of 2011 to cross the platinum barrier, Adele's 21 has officially confirmed that her transatlantic journey proved to be successful. Add to that the growing momentum of her lead single "Rolling in the Deep," she may be the first British female with a number one album and single since Leona Lewis accomplished that feat in 2008.

Another major story was Britney Spears's return to music. Her lead single "Hold It Against Me" would preform quite well on the charts, debuting at number one on the Hot 100 with over 400,000 copies sold in its first seven days on digital music media. Unfortunately, the song strong entrance on the charts would be short-lived as the song rapidly fell off the charts (largely because of the absence of any promotion). March would prove to be far better as the album debuted at number one, her sixth chart-topper and the youngest artist to do so.

Katy Perry's 5th Week at Number One; "Judas" & "Girls" Tumble

Katy Perry' "E.T." spends a fifth week at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 after selling another 300,000 copies this week. This is the fourth week the song has pushed 300k or more and its seventh week atop the Hot Digital Songs chart. Equally impressive is the song has spent a second week atop the Radio Songs chart, making it even less likely that the song will be overtaken atop these charts anytime soon.

Although Perry's reign atop the charts is impressive, a charging late-bloomer is rapidly catapulting up the charts in the form of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep." Although the song was released in late November, the song has steadily risen up the charts. This week the song, who undersold "E.T." by just a few hundred copies, rises to number two on the charts.

Interestingly enough, some of the most highly anticipated songs have not performed as many might have expected. Lady Gaga's controversial "Judas" falls out of the top ten Digital Songs chart from 9-16 (81,000), while Beyonce's lead single from her upcoming fourth album falls 23-39 with 47,000 sold. Their exact spots on the Billboard Hot 100 will be released tomorrow.

Check out the rest of the top five on the Hot 100 below.

Adele Scores Biggest Sales Week of 2011 in US

Adele's early success may have been a product of serendipity when her first SNL performance coincided with a cameo by Sarah Palin during the height of the 2008 Presidential Election, but there's no denying that her success today is purely her own doing. The London crooner has not only secured herself a top spot on the U.S. albums chart, she has also secured herself the best sales week of the year in the ninth week of 2011, according to Hits Daily Double.

REVIEW: "21" by Adele

When Adele's debut single hit the airwaves, it propagated ripples of excitement throughout the industry. Adele was that unique blend of blue-eyed soul with a pinch of pop and a dash of blues. Her voice possessed this power, a resoundingly fruitful sound that could own an acoustic performance by her vocal acrobatics alone, yet reserved enough to know what instrumental would appropriately accent her abilities. While her debut album 19 had its faults, it functioned as a springboard from which she could ascend into a musical euphoria for her sophomore effort. But is 21 the musical euphoria it could possibly be?

Adele Makes UK Chart History; To Be US #1

Adele is one of those artists that does not necessarily need to conduct a major promotional campaign for her album to get to that renowned number one spot on the Billboard 200. An artist of her vocal abilities works purely on the talents she possesses rather than the oft-utilized gimmicks we all too often witness with today's pop starlets. Don't get me wrong, I love me those gimmicks, but the refreshing sounds of an artist who can do it all and prove themselves with just their vocal chords and a mic is a remarkable achievement.

Adele's "21" Dominates UK Albums Chart

Adele's sophomore album 21 has debuted at number one on the UK Albums chart with sales of 208,000 copies. Not only does this mark the singer's second UK number one album, it marks the highest sales week for an January release in five years. The album, which unseated Bruno Mars's Doo-Wops and Hooligans at the top, has received rave reviews.

Adele Covers Cheryl Cole's "Promise This" And...

...it sounds amazing!! Cheryl Cole's UK number one "Promise This" has always been defined by the kinetically pulsating, bass-heavy beat of the song but Adele has taken the uptempo track and stripped it down into a piano-laced ballad. Her impeccable vocals over the gentle chords of the piano and cymbal taps culminate in a smooth, jazzy rendition of one of pop's biggest dance songs of last year.

Listen to Adele's cover of "Promise This" below:

Bruno Mars's "Hooligans" Gets Him To The Top

Bruno Mars has ended Rihanna's three week reign atop the UK Albums Chart, while the "Grenade" singer has held off major releases on the singles chart from overtaking his spot at the summit. His debut album, which was released in the states last fall, has finally seen its release in the UK, outselling Loud by a substantial margin. The success of his first two singles, both of which have enjoyed number one success on both sides of the Atlantic have made Bruno one of the biggest new artists of 2010/11.

Adele's Very Inexpensive Studio Time With Ryan Tedder

Imagine working with the one of the biggest songwriters/producers in pop music today for free. Well that was a reality for Adele, whose studio time with Ryan Tedder came to a grand total of zero dollars and zero cents. The "Rolling In The Deep" singer has revealed that Tedder's reverence for the singer and strong friendship gave her the opportunity to work without pay.

"I loved working with Ryan," she said in an interview with the Daily Star. "And he came cheap. I didn't pay him."

Rihanna, Adele and Cee-Lo to Perform at BRIT Awards

The 2011 BRIT Awards will feature a star-studded lineup of performers this year as Rihanna, Adele, and Cee-Lo plan hit the stage. The ceremony, which will take place at London's O2 Arena on February 15th, is the British equivalent to the U.S.'s Grammy Awards, which will air just two days before the the BRITs. Rihanna is nominated for the International Female Solo Artist award, while Cee-Lo Green's The Lady Killer is nominated for the International Album of the Year award. Other performers expected to perform include Grammy nominee Mumford & Sons, along BRIT nominees Tinie Tempah and Plan B, whose albums continue their strong run in the top ten in the UK charts.

Adele Thankful for Sarah Palin?

Picture Source

Adele may not agree with any of Sarah Palin's ideological positions, but she does have one thing for which to thank her: ushering in her U.S. breakthrough. Serendipitously, Adele was booked to perform on the October 2008 episode of Saturday Night Live, in which Sarah Palin was scheduled to appear. It would turn out to not only give the show some of its highest ratings ever, it would expose a relatively unknown Adele to a huge audience.

During an interview with Attitude magazine, the "Chasing Pavements" singer, whose sophomore album is due out next month, explained that, "Sarah Palin made my career by coming on that show." Shortly after the show, in which she performed "Chasing Pavements" and "Cold Shoulder", her album skyrocketed up the charts, reaching number one on iTunes and number 11 in the weeks after her performance. "Pavements" reached top 10 on iTunes and peaked at number 21 with little radio support on the Billboard Hot 100.

52nd Grammy Awards 2010 Predictions

Today marks one of the biggest days in international music as the biggest stars on radio, iPods, iPhones, MP3 players, and music software convene to honor the winners (and not the nominees) of the 52nd Grammy Awards ceremony at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Whereas previous ceremonies have been dominated by critically acclaimed but commercially mediocre artists, some of the most successful artists in music have garnered substantial nominations, from Kanye West to Taylor Swift, Beyonce to Lady Gaga, Rihanna to Jay-Z, and Kings of Leon to Metallica. With any awards show, a little predictive input is always some fun!


Below is a list of a few of the major categories and MY winner predictions and the reasoning behind such predictions.

Record of the Year
Halo - Beyonce
I Gotta Feeling - The Black Eyed Peas
Use Somebody - Kings of Leon
Poker Face - Lady Gaga
You Belong with Me - Taylor Swift

PREDICTION: "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga. Arguably the most critically praised and commercially successful song of the past year, "Poker Face" is Lady Gaga's pièce de résistance, solidifying dance-pop's domination on radio and in the record stores, while lyrically ambiguous enough to garner varying interpretations as to the song's meaning. However, "You Belong with Me" would not be a surprising upset in this category.

Album of the Year
I Am... Sasha Fierce - Beyonce
The E.N.D. - The Black Eyed Peas
The Fame - Lady Gaga
Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King - Dave Matthews Band
Fearless - Taylor Swift

PREDICTION: Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King. This particular album has received very favorable reviews from critics and has been a particularly strong album contender for this cateogory for quite sometime. In particular, this category often goes to an album that has received substantial praise from the critics and public, while also retaining an ability to be likable across different cohorts of listeners. Fearless by Taylor Swift is once again a close second for this category.

Song of the Year
Poker Face - Lady Gaga
Pretty Wings - Maxwell
Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) - Beyonce
Use Somebody - Kings of Leon
You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift

PREDICTION: Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) by Beyonce. This is a songwriters' award but since Beyonce has songwriting credits, she will be a receiver of this award, should she win (which I think she will). This song far exceeded expectations and, coupled with the widespread popularity of the music video, became a pop culture phenomenon. I find it hard to believe that this song, with its substantial cultural impact, would be denied the honor of Song of the Year. However, a close second in this category is "Use Somebody" by Kings of Leon.

Best New Artist
Zac Brown Band
Keri Hilson
MGMT
Silversun Pickups
The Ting Tings

PREDICTION: The Ting Tings. While The Ting Tings have not achieved the success here as they have in their native UK, they managed to score two songs on the top 30 songs on pop radio, with "That's Not My Name" reaching 39 on the Billboard Hot 100, an impressive feat for a group that had virtually no promotion in the US for any of the singles (with the NOTABLE exception, of course, of the use of "Shut Up and Let Me Go" on an iPod commercial over a year ago). This category is a little tricky, with a potential upset coming with Keri Hilson or MGMT in this category.

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Hometown Glory - Adele
Halo - Beyonce
Hot N Cold - Katy Perry
Sober - Pink
You Belong with Me - Taylor Swift

PREDICTION: "You Belong with Me" by Taylor Swift. This song has become one of country music's most successful songs in the past decade, peaking just shy of the peak spot on the Billboard Hot 100 at #2. Furthermore, it has become Swift's breakthrough song in pop and adult contemporary radio formats, while attracting critical appeal and fan jubilation. "Hometown Glory" is a very likely candidate for this award as well, as she did take two awards last year, even at the young age of 20 just one year after her debut album was released in the UK. This would not be a surprising victory for this Brit at all.

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
This Time - John Legend
Love You - Maxwell
Make it Mine - Jason Mraz
If You Don't Know Me By Now - Seal
All About the Love Again - Stevie Wonder

PREDICTION: "All About the Love Again" by Stevie Wonder. Stevie Wonder has always been a Grammy favorite and this song will likely be no exception, giving the R&B/Rock/Pop musician another award to fill his already (rightfully) crowded mantle of golden gramophones. A close second is possible with Maxwell's "Love You."

More award predictions will be added shortly as we near showtime Sunday evening!