These are the top 100 songs that are making gains at mid-month
October 2020
POS/ARTIST/SONG/POS ON BR250/POINTS
1 ROYAL BLOOD Trouble’s Coming 8 2851.6
Whoever thought Royal Blood would add a dance edge to their bluesy rock music? Well here it is, and it is quite groovy. They were trying to achieve a Daft Punk meets rock vibe and I think they found it. By blasting onto the BR250 this week at #8 it seems likely that they will surpass the #6 peak of 2017’s “Lights Out”.
2 KYLIE MINOGUE Magic 13 2495.85
The other out of the box BR250 splash (#13 debut) comes from Queen Kylie. The second single from the upcoming “Disco” album would keep me on the dance floor after the Royal Blood song. It has a wonderfully happy groove. This has been a great year for dance-pop. This week Dua Lipa tops my personal chart with “Hallucinate”, the first in that genre in a long time.
3 SHAWN MENDES Wonder 71 1198.15
This new single has a grand Sam Smith-ian chorus and is quite introspective from a lyrical standpoint. It’s already top 20 Pop in the States and top 10 in the UK. For some reason, his voice has always somewhat irked me. He has only made my top 100 once.
4 AC/DC Shot In The Dark 78 1144.15
It has been 5 years since AC/DC’s last release and Rock radio was clamoring for it. It debuted at #5 on that chart last week. Funny, in an interview with Mike Kerr of Royal Blood, he talked about AC/DC and their connecting of rock and dance music. The band’s 17th album “Power Up” will be released in November. This song also marks the return of vocalist Brian Johnson.
5 SAM SMITH Diamonds 18 2238.65
Oh look, Sam Smith right here. He’s also right behind Mendes on the Mediabase Pop airplay chart right now. I’ve always been hot and cold with Smith but on this dance track I’m liking what I hear. This has already surpassed the BR250 peak of his 3 other singles over the last year. His third album “Love Goes” is scheduled for release at the end of the month.
6 DAVID GUETTA f/ SIA Let’s Love 9 2822.65
This duo has teamed up on numerous tracks over the years including the smash “Titanium”. I hear shades of A-Ha’s “Take On Me” but I don’t see a songwriting credit. The song is currently top 10 in the UK and top 15 in Australia.
7 LADY GAGA 911 29 1860.2
The frenetic techno pulse of the third single from Chromatica fits the theme of the song quite well. I have a different take on the song now that I understand it. The song talks about her relationship with taking an antipsychotic drug, thus the lyric “pop a 911”.
8 TRAVIS SCOTT f/ YOUNG THUG & M.I.A. Franchise 102 958.15
Scott made Billboard history with this song, it being his third to debut atop the Hot 100 in less than one year. It made it with one week to go. “Highest In The Room debuted at #1 on Oct. 19, 2019 and this on Oct. 10, 2020. In-between the song “The Scotts” with Kid Cudi was the third.
9 JUSTIN BIEBER f/ CHANCE THE RAPPER Holy 57 1348.35
The gospel influenced track actually features gospel artist Kirk Franklin in the choir at the end of the song. It is an across the globe hit, already top 5 on the Hot 100, Australia and in the UK plus top 15 across Europe.
10 BASTILLE Survivin’ 100 968
This UK band does not typically get a song on Pop radio in the States out of the box but it is already charting at Pop, Hot AC, AAA and Alternative. The thing that makes this song unique is the saxophone line that almost seems out of place.
11 OF MONSTERS AND MEN Visitor 24 2111.35
This Icelandic band has had an impressive run on Alternative radio over the last decade, landing 10 songs on that chart. This driving electro-pop song becomes their first top reach the top 25 on the BR250. In 2019 “Alligator” peaked at #36 and “Wars” topped out at #32.
12 BLACKPINK Lovesick Girls 122 829.1
This single co-written by David Guetta is the fourth to make the BR250. 2 of those are still on the chart, “Ice Cream” at #44 and “How Like That” #147 after a #20 peak.
Learn more about an era of music and the connections behind the songs. Interwoven with personal anecdotes, commentary and artist history. A unique way to tap into music nostalgia and discovery.
My Personal Chart, October 7, 2000
See my October 7, 2000 chart here
The playlist on the left features the songs discusssed in this section, the one on the right features all the songs on the chart for this week as well.
My Personal Chart Blog, October 7, 2000
Part 1, The Mainstream Side of Post-Grunge, Iconic Songs, Music Party Impact, and the Future Wives Club.
Leaving Town/Dexter Freebish (1)
“Leaving Town” ranks as one of my all-time favorite songs. Back in 2001 was the last time I put together my all-time list and at that time it ranked at #220, in a similar zone to songs I have talked about in my blog posts this year (“Breakdown Dead Ahead” by Boz Scaggs, Elton John’s “Sartorial Eloquence” and the Jeff Healey Band version of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”). I feel that when I re-do this list, which I should do for my 60th birthday coming up next July, this song will move upwards, possibly into the top 100 or higher. The Austin, Texas band has a connection to the Beatles in that they won Song of the Year in the 1999 John Lennon Songwriting Contest with this song. That contest was established in 1997 by Yoko Ono and gives awards in 12 different categories plus the Song of the Year grand prize. Sadly, it is the only song by the band that charted, reaching #30 Pop, #25 Alternative, and #15 AAA. It missed the Hot 100, placing at #111 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under chart. It was a favorite among my circle of friends and was #24 at the 2001 music party that I host each summer. The second series of my podcast “Beyond Radio Presents” chronicles the #1 songs from the parties that started in 1984 and that will have a virtual version later this fall.
Over the course of 3 albums, they scored 15 placements on my personal chart (plus at least 5 others that should have charted) with 7 of those making my top 5 including 2 #1’s (“Wonderland” was the other). Their debut album “A Life Of Saturdays” is definitely among my favorite albums of all-time, which is why I’m perplexed that 4 of the songs from that never charted (though 5 did) and 2 of those that didn’t (“Spotlight” and “Deeper”), would easily make the top 10 if I re-did those charts now. The band was named after a roller coaster at Astroworld in Houston, Texas that closed in 2005. The coaster was originally called “Dexter Frebish’s Electric Roller Ride”, opening in 1972. Its name was changed to Excalibur and they closed that coaster in 1998. I only late last year discovered the band’s 2010 third album “Shine On” with the song “Save The Last Dance” reaching #7 on my chart in February.
Though only a one-hit-wonder (and moderate at that), Dexter Freebish fits into the mold of the mammoth Pop-Rockers of the time, Matchbox 20. The Orlando group led by Rob Thomas first hit the airwaves 4 years earlier with “Long Day”, a #8 Rock song that was their first #1 on my chart. It was a melodic slice of Post-Grunge but slightly harder than what would follow and establish the band. The next single “Push” was the breakthrough, taking them to #1 on the Alternative chart and #3 Pop. The album “Yourself Or Someone Like You” proved to be a hit-making machine and eventually sold over 12 million copies. By the time the 2nd album “Mad Season” came out, Thomas had become a household name due to his turn as the vocalist on the #1 song of 1999, Santana’s “Smooth”. That song is ranked by Billboard as the #2 song of all-time, behind Chubby Checker’s “The Twist”.
The lead single from “Mad Season” was the fabulously insinuating “Bent” which was another multi-format smash that topped the Hot 100 in July and my personal chart the week of my birthday at the end of the month. It was the #5 song at the 2001 party, and it will always be connected to my friend and business partner at the time, Keino from South Africa. He came to the States for the party and if I recall correctly it was his favorite song at the time. The opening instrumental line of the song is definitely part of what makes the song great, a moody lick that is repeated later and contrasts the gentleness of the verses. Thomas has said this was the first love song he had ever written, though not necessarily tender and sweet.
“If You’re Gone”, the second single (and I guess his second love song), was released to radio the first week of October. It debuted on my chart the following week but somehow only managed to hit #72 on my chart 2 weeks later. The horn line, most prevalent in the bridge and towards the end, so totally reminds me of the early ‘70s and specifically the Partridge Family. Maybe the top 5 Pop hit was too bland for me in that moment. At the time the song had the distinction of taking the longest to reach #1 on the AC chart, 42 weeks. The Rock-oriented “Crutch” debuted on my chart the same week and reached #5, albeit 7 months later, so it was a long slow burn. In all 11 of the 13 songs from this album charted for me with the title track also going to #1. More to that story when I circle back to early 2001 next March.
Another song that fits into the Matchbox playbook is an obscure song from the California band Neve. Their #30 Alternative and #25 Hot AC song from 1999 “It’s Over Now” spent 4 weeks at #1 on my chart in mid-99 and was my #2 song of the year. For some reason that escapes me now, it re-appeared on my chart in June 2000 and spent another 6 weeks in my top 15. It was unusual for a song to chart twice for me in those days but typically it was if I knew the song better and thus it performed better in its second appearance. This was not the case with this one. This band came and went quickly and were also compared to the New York band Nine Days. They are an almost one-hit-wonder. Their song “Absolutely (Story of A Girl)” was a true Pop hit, spending 2 weeks at #1. The autobiographical song was written about the lead singer’s future wife (Matchbox 20’s “If You’re Gone” was also written for Rob Thomas’ future wife). They were able to reach the Pop top 40 a second time with “If I Am” (124), peaking at #25. 4 of the 9 songs that I charted from the band between 2000-2003 made my top 20, better than “Absolutely” which peaked at #25. The third single “257 Weeks” (16) was a piano rocker while the break-up song “Bitter” went to #1 on my chart for 2 weeks in the summer of 2001. The follow-up album was mired in release delays by their label because they said there wasn’t a single (“Good Friend” and “Marvelous” both made my top 15 so I disagree) and they were eventually dropped.
Fellow New Yorkers Splender had a remarkably similar life on my personal chart. They also scored a #1 on my chart with the Pop top 20 ballad “I Think God Can Explain” for 2 weeks in June 2000. Before that, they peaked at #15 with “Yeah Whatever”, a top 25 Alternative song in 1999. ‘God’ placed at #21 for the 1991 music party. In total, they also placed 9 songs on my chart, 6 of those reaching my top 25. They also had 2 songs on this week’s chart, “Spaceboy” (70) and “Monotone” (115). Like Nine Days, their follow-up album went nowhere. Both bands also appear on the album “Music From Dawson’s Creek, Vol 2”.
See the Rest Here
Beyond Radio Alternative Sub-Genre Charts–October 15, 2020
Each of these charts (top 100’s) now have their own page found on the Monthly Genre Charts Menu