A much quieter week on the BR250 than the last edition. Olivia Rodrigo held off challenger, Silk Sonic’s “Leave The Door Open”, which moved 25-2 and came within just over 150 points of the leader. The song has spent the last 2 months at the top. The return of Bruno Mars, however, is on the most charts (55), 10 more than “Driver’s License”. Rag ‘N’ Bone Man and Wolf Alice also enter the top 10 at #9 and #10 with 6 and 8 adds, respectively.
A nice move from 40-12 was made by the Atlanta band Manchester Orchestra, with the propulsive “Bed Head”. The song is top 20 on AAA radio chart. In 2017 they reached #2 on that chart with “The Gold”. Another “Bed” shows up in the top 15 with DJ Joel Corry’s collaboration with Raye and David Guetta landing at #14.
It looks like Pop radio in the States is jumping on Justin Bieber’s “Peaches” as the next focus track from his just released #1 album “Justice” but it’s the internationally focused “Hold On” that jumps 55-16 (it is also receiving Pop airplay in the States). “Peaches” also debuted atop Billboard’s Hot 100, while the song “Anymore” sits just outside the Pop top 10, giving 3 songs in the top 40.
On the other side of the spectrum is another song with a similar move, 58-19. “This Is Heaven” by Nick Jonas has virtually no radio support anywhere but got 15 personal chart adds this cycle. IMO a better song than “Spaceman” though to be fair that has no support either. ‘Heaven’ is certainly formulaic but has a nice laidback retro vibe and arguably would sound good on the radio.
Part of the beauty and purpose of Beyond Radio is to give a mixed view of what music, from all genres, is making inroads with a passionate audience that focuses on the music instead of corporate decisions. This harkens back to the day when Pop/Rock/R&B etc. could co-exist on a chart and on radio. The BR250 represents the diversity of the music that is actually out there for our consumption. To some degree it equalizes the many facets of the industry but that is only determined by the diversity of the personal chart community. And to be clear, the BR250 strives to be a representative sample of this universe. I don’t have the capacity to process all available personal charts which is why it is great to have other forums that process charts as a subset of the entire panel.
The highest debut in the top 100 is St. Vincent’s “Pay Your Way In Pain”, a quirky left-of-center song from the acclaimed artist. Annie Clark is the niece of Tuck Andress, of jazz duo Tuck & Patti, and she was a roadie for them during her teenage years. Before embarking on her solo career in 2007 she was a member of the ensemble Polyphonic Spree and spent time in Sufjan Stevens touring band. In 2015 she won the Grammy for Best Alternative Album, “St. Vincent” which includes her best-known song “Digital Witness”. That album also appeared at #1 on 7 best-of 2014 lists and #2 on another.