by Andrew Arnold
Another Monday, another great concert. This time it was Justin Timberlake, courtesy of John Strazza and RCA, at the Baltimore Arena, which is much more intimate than the Ravens’ stadium, where I saw the JT-Jay Z extravaganza last summer. The high-energy show featured a band of 12, including horns and percussion. He did one solo set with a piano and another with just a guitar, and covered Elvis Presley and B.B.D.’s “Poison,” which the crowd loved. Timberlake’s the consummate performer, keeping the crowd on their feet for the entire show… Speaking of RCA, John Strazza, Inca and Lori G have Tinashe f/ScHoolboy Q’s “2 On” printing at #1 on the building chart. It’s looking like it’ll be the next #1 record, her very first. They also have Kid Ink’s “Main Chick” inside the Top 5, up over 400 spins, and Magic!’s “Rude” climbing into the Top 10, also up 400 spins. They debuted Chris Brown’s latest, “New Flame” f/Usher &Rick Ross, at #37, and have a double impact this week with Usher f/Nicki Minaj’s “She Came to Give It to You,” along with G-Eazy f/Rick Ross’ “I Mean It”… Def Jam has some heaters as well, with Jeremih f/YG’s “Don’t Tell Em” at #14, up 500 spins, and August Alsina’s “Numb,” which leaps #23-18 this week, up almost 300 spins. Iggy Azalea f/Rita Ora’s “Black Widow” moves #34-30, up 220 spins. They also have Mariah Carey’s “You Don’t Know What to Do” which is climbing the chart, and Jeezy f/Jay Z’s “Seen It All,” which they’re impacting this week… The Republic crew continues to kill as well. In addition to Ariana Grande f/Iggy Azalea’s “Problem,” which is sitting at #1 this week, Gary Spangler and Davey Dee have Lil Wayne f/Drake’s “Believe Me” at #6, up 400 spins, Nicki Minaj’s “Pills N Potions” at #11, Adrian Marcel’s “2AM” at #16 and Sage the Gemini’s “College Drop” at #27. Ariana Grande f/Zedd’s “Break Free” will debut this coming week and Tyga f/Young Thug’s “Hookah” continues to develop… Ayelet Schiffman and James White at Columbia have Pharrell Williams’ “Come Get It Bae” at #17, as well as T.I. f/Iggy Azalea’s “No Mediocre” jumping #26-19, up 315 spins. Beyoncé’s “Pretty Hurts” climbs #36-31 and T Mills’ “All I Wanna Do” continues to build a bigger profile… Sujit Kundu has Epic doing big things, as TeeFlii’s “24 Hours” leaps #24-20, up 140 spins. They’re impacting Gipp f/CeeLo Green’s “Shine Like Gold” this week and Lil Jon f/Tyga’s “Bend Ova” next week, although it’s already at #42 with 140 spins up this week… Lee L’Heureux and Warner Bros. has Nico & Vinz’s “Am I Wrong” steamrolling up the chart; it moves #11-7 this week, gaining 569 spins. And get ready for the next Jason Derulo track, entitled “Trumpets,” which they’re impacting in a few short weeks… Franco Iemello at Capitol has Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me” leaping #31-22 this week, adding 340 spins. He also has Ne-Yo’s “Money Can’t Buy,” which sits just outside the chart… And after a very successful run at Rhythm, Glassnote takes Childish Gambino to Pop next week. It was just added at KIIS L.A. and VH1. There’s just something special about this record.
Most Increased:
1) Nico & Vinz “Am I Wrong” Warner Bros.
2) Jeremih f/YG “Don’t Tell Em” Def Jam
3) Kid Ink “Main Chick” Alumni/88Classic/RCA
4) Lil Wayne f/Drake “Believe Me” YMCMB/Republic
5) Magic! “Rude” Latium/RCA
The Pulse:
1) Chris Brown f/Usher & Rick Ross “New Flame” RCA
2) Ariana Grande f/Zedd “Break Free” Republic
3) Usher f/Nicki Minaj “She Came to Give It to You” RCA
4) Lil Wayne f/Drake “Believe Me” YMCMB/Republic
5) Lil Jon f/Tyga “Bend Ova” Epic