UK Chart Roundup: PJ & Duncan, AKA Ant & Dec, Hit #1 With 19-Year-Old Single

Nah.



The UK Top 10:

1. "Let's Get Ready To Rumble" - PJ & Duncan *1 week*
2. "Just Give Me A Reason" - Pink feat. Nate Ruess
3. "What About Us" - The Saturdays feat. Sean Paul
4. "Mirrors" - Justin Timberlake
5. "Pompeii" - Bastille
6. "When I Was Your Man" - Bruno Mars
7. "On My Way" - Charlie Brown *new*
8. "Ready Or Not" - Bridgit Mendler
9. "Hey Porsche" - Nelly
10. "Thrift Shop" - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Wanz

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New York, New Chapter

So one of the main reasons I've been so sporadic with posting here the past week or so — not to mention these past two months — is that I've been coordinating a move to New York City. And as you can see of the pic of Miss Pussy and Cracker watching "cat television" above, we finally got here, this weekend. (I'm actually in a temporary apartment until all my furniture/life's possessions arrive on a moving truck next weekend.)

I was initially hesitant to return to the East Coast. I spent the better part of my adult, post-college years in Los Angeles, and did a temporary stint in Dallas. The latter was an overall miserable time that lasted two years, seven months and one day, during which I just traveled alot to keep from being depressed — trips to Los Angeles every three months or so for work; trips back home to Pittsburgh to spend time with my mom; road trips to Austin to spend time with my friend Alex; vacations in Europe. Isolation is a terrible experience, especially when it lasts for 32 months.

Overall, however, I think I'd grown used to living with year-round warm weather, for the most part, over the past 14 years.

But once again, another unexpected path opened up earlier this year — one that really wasn't on the table or in my mind at all before, but that I'm happy to travel down and see what happens. After all, you only get one short, crazy life. And it's New York.

Happy Easter!

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US Chart Roundup: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Return To #1, Justin Timberlake's Huge Debut

After being interrupted by the five-week reign of Baauer's senses-dulling "Harlem Shake" on the Hot 100, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis return to #1 with "Thrift Shop." Both songs manage to keep Justin Timberlake's "Suit & Tie" at bay, as that song moves up one position to #3. Elsewhere on the Hot 100, JT's "Mirrors" jumps from #25 to #13.

The real chart news, though, is over on the Billboard 200, where Timberlake's third album The 20/20 Experience debuts at #1 with first-week sales of 968,000 copies. It's his biggest opening week as a solo artist (FutureSex/LoveSounds sold 684,000 out of the gate in 2006 while Justified opened with 439,000 in 2002).

Of course, let's not forget that JT's former sausage fest boy band *NSYNC saw No Strings Attached debut at #1 in 2000 after selling 2.42 million copies in the first week.

Speaking of No Strings Attached, let's just put on our capri shorts, slip into a pair of roller blades and watch these:







The U.S. Top 10:

1. "Thrift Shop" - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Wanz *5 weeks*
2. "Harlem Shake" - Baauer
3. "Suit & Tie" - Justin Timberlake feat. Jay-Z
4. "When I Was Your Man" - Bruno Mars
5. "Stay" - Rihanna feat. Mikky Ekko
6. "Just Give Me A Reason" - Pink feat. Nate Ruess
7. "Started From The Bottom" - Drake 
8. "Feel This Moment" - Pitbull feat. Christina Aguilera
9. "Love Me" - Lil Wayne feat. Drake & Future
10. "I Knew You Were Trouble" - Taylor Swift

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UK Chart Roundup: The Saturdays Land Their First #1 Single With "What About Us"

Yeah, I tried watching that Chasing The Saturdays trash on E! like one-and-a-half times back in January or February. Frankie was crying because she was tired. The blonde one with the underbite, Mollie, kept reminding us all that she's the only one who is single. One of the other broads tried having Skype sex with one of the gays from JLS. I couldn't deal. 

And their tie-in single that got promoted throughout the series, "What About Us," failed to catch on in the States. Naturally it's now gone on to become The Saturdays' first UK #1.



Let's think about that for a second. The biggest girl group still in existence in the UK released their amazing debut album Chasing Lights back in fall 2008. If we're going by quality, every single off of it should have hit the top of the chart in the Saturdays' home country. Instead, "If This Is Love" peaked at #8, "Up" made it to #5, "Issues" reached #4 and "Work" wound up at #22.

The quintet's output has sadly gotten progressively more generic and cookie-cutter since then, save for maybe a few singles like the rock-leaning "Forever Is Over" and slightly above-average floor filler "All Fired Up." (All in all, they're released three albums, an EP and 14 singles.)

All this is not to say that "What About Us," a terrible song — though the eye-roll-inducing presence of Sean Paul makes things seem more desperate than they really need to be. It's just that, for a promising group whose sound was filled with at least a modicum of originality at the onset, most of the Saturdays' singles from 2009 onward have been bandwagony tripe that any anonymous pack of strippers with a microphone could have done.

Anyway, enjoy the #1, girls.

The UK Top 10:

1. "What About Us" - The Saturdays feat. Sean Paul *new* *1 week*
2. "Mirrors" - Justin Timberlake
3. "Just Give Me A Reason" - Pink feat. Nate Ruess
4. "When I Was Your Man" - Bruno Mars
5. "Pompeii" - Bastille
6. "One Way Or Another" - One Direction
7. "Thrift Shop" - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Wanz
8. "Ready Or Not" - Bridgit Mendler
9. "Disclosure" - White Noise feat. AlunaGeorge
10. "I Could Be The One" - Avicii vs. Nicky Romero

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Daft Punk's 'Random Access Memories' Out In May

Daft Punk's first studio album since 2005's horrifyingly bad Human After All will be released on May 21, and it's called Random Access Memories. The French electro-house studs previewed a new Nile Rodgers-y track a few weeks back, and if the rest of the album is as sexy as that shit, this album will be the Jam.



The album is available for pre-order on iTunes, though the song titles have yet to be announced.

UPDATE: A brand new ad aired during Saturday Night Live this weekend featuring another 15-second song snippet.

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My Writeup On *NSYNC's Debut Album, Which Is Now 15

Alright, I've been accused by Anonymous commentators this week of being on Justin Timberlake's payroll for writing so much about "Mirrors" and The 20/20 Experience. (Imagine that: me typing out words about the biggest pop release of the year so far?) To that I say... if only that cash was coming in, sluts!

Anyway, here's another one for you: *NSYNC's debut album turns 15 on March 24, and I interviewed Kristian Lundin, who co-wrote "Tearin' Up My Heart" with Max Martin and produced the song, for an anniversary piece over on Idolator.

When I asked him if there were any songs given to Backstreet Boys (another boy band he worked with at the time) that *NSYNC really wanted, or vice versa, his response was: "No comment."

One bit that didn't make it into the Idolator writeup was Kristian's reply when I asked if Cheiron Studios head honcho Denniz Pop (who produced, among other great '90s pop songs, *NSYNC's first single "I Want You Back" with Max) got to know Justin, JC and the rest of them before he passed away in 1998.

"No, unfortunately not," he said. "We didn't see the *NSYNC guys as frequently as, say Backstreet Boys back then, so I don't believe there was enough time. But I know they liked and respected him for inviting them and giving them their first hit."

And, no, I didn't get any cash from JT to write this one, either. But it is a good read.

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Girls Aloud Finally Call It Quits

From Twitter:

Dear Alouders, we just want to say from the bottom of our hearts Thank you!! This tour has been an amazing experience and the perfect chance to say thank you for being on this journey with us through a decade. It has far exceeded any of our dreams and we hope we are forever your inspiration and reminder that dreams really do glitter!! Your love and support will stay with us forever but we have now come to the end of our incredible time together . Love you lots. 

 LOL.

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