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.

NEW MUSIC: "Grenade (Remix)" by Bruno Mars featuring Lil Wayne

Lil Wayne has effectively capitalized on the "Black and Yellow" franchise remixes by creating the Super Bowl XLV anthem for the winning Green Bay Packers. Now, the New Orleans-native is capitalizing on the number one hit record of Bruno Mars as he has now remixed the multi-platinum selling "Grenade."

Listen to the remix below:

Pink Catapults to #2 on Billboard Hot 100; Bruno Mars Holds Summit

Pink's new single from her compilation album Greatest Hits...So Far!!! has catapulted to the top of the Billboard Digital Songs chart and came awfully close to the top position on the Billboard Hot 100. The song, whose music video was recently released, rapidly ascended up the chart as it moved up 11-2 this week, only to be held off by the Bruno Mars's second number one hit "Grenade."

The song is the second release from her greatest hits album to reach top five as her lead single "Raise Your Glass" topped the Hot 100 back in December. This feat is remarkable for any act to achieve, but the fact that two songs have reached top five - and the possibility for two number hits is still there - from a greatest hits album is certainly inspiring, much like the messages both songs have possessed.

Take a look at the top ten of the Hot 100 below:

Bruno Mars Accepts Plea Deal In Drug Case

With a number one song and an album on the verge of release, Bruno Mars was riding high (no pun intended) in September 2010. Unfortunately, with the good comes the bad and that's exactly what happened when police arrested the singer on cocaine possession charges. With no prior convictions, the singer was able to accept a plea bargain with the Clark County (Las Vegas) District Attorney to have the charges dismissed if the "Grenade" singer agrees to certain terms, which include a $2,000 fine, 200 hours of community service, and no other run-ins with the police for the next year.

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.

Bruno Mars covers Katy Perry's "California Gurls"

"California Gurls" caught the attention of music listeners last summer by its catchy, uptempo, synth-heavy confectionary quality. Bruno Mars, however, has stripped down the song for BBC Radio to a smooth, bluesy skeleton of its former self, laced with piano chords and his silky smooth vocals. The cover is barely recognizable as the hit that stormed the pop charts just months ago and showcases the finesse of the "Grenade" singer along with the great chemistry between him and his Smeezington songwriters.

Check out Bruno Mars's "California Gurls" cover below:

Rihanna and Bruno Mars Dominate UK Charts

Picture Source

Rihanna spends a third week atop the UK album chart with her fifth studio album Loud, while Bruno Mars debuts at the penthouse position on the singles chart this week. Rihanna's album, which debuted at number two behind Take That's Progress in November, has become a steady seller into the new year as the album has held the top spot for all charting weeks of the new year. The triple-platinum album has held off Plan B's The Defamation of Strickland Banks which moves to number two this week.

Check below for the top ten albums and singles in the UK:

53rd Annual Grammy Awards Predictions

It is January and that means Grammy prediction time! The nominations, which were revealed last month, have been dominated by Eminem's staggering 10 nods, followed by Bruno Mars at seven, Jay-Z, Lady Antebellum, and Lady Gaga with six, while B.o.B and John Legend share five nominations each. With so many big names in music competing against each other, it will be very interesting to see who ends up the big winner of 2011. But until February 13th arrives, here are some predictions of mine for the winners of the upcoming ceremony.

Record of the Year

Nothin' On You - B.o.B featuring Bruno Mars

Love The Way You Lie - Eminem featuring Rihanna

F*** You - Cee-Lo Green

Empire State of Mind - Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys

Need You Now - Lady Antebellum

U.S. Billboard 200 Chart Update

The thing about releasing a holiday album is that although it may dominate sales during the holiday season, it will inevitably spiral down the charts after Christmas, something most evident in this week's Billboard 200 chart. Some of last week's strong chart players have tumbled down the charts, such as Susan Boyle's The Gift, which loses 92 percent of last week's sales and free-falls from number 2 to number 31 with 19,000. Jackie Evancho's O Holy Night has 89 percent of last week's shaved off to fall from number 4 to number 34, while the Glee Christmas album collapses from number 3 to leaving the top 100 at number 108, a sales hit of 96 percent.