Man, I feel like I’m starting to sound like a broken record. John Strazza, Inca and Lori G at RCA have owned the top of the chart so far this year. They’ve had either Usher f/Juicy J’s “I Don’t Mind” or Mark Ronson f/Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk” at #1 all but one week. And now it looks like Pitbull f/Ne-Yo’s “Time of Our Lives” could possibly be the next #1; it moves to #4 this week, up over 750 spins! Getting there is going to be a tough chore, though, as Ne-Yo’s “She Knows” (Motown) has a healthy lead, but it’s looking like it’s starting to run out of gas. Will it peak and see Pitbull jump Ne-Yo in the eleventh hour? Back-to-back-to-back #1s is certainly a rare feat.
Strazz and company also have Chris Brown & Tyga’s “Ayo” sliding to #9 this week, up 440 spins. Prince Royce f/Snoop Dogg’s “Stuck on a Feeling” holds at #16, while Kid Ink f/Chris Brown’s “Hotel” moves #33-26. I’m hearing quite the buzz on this new track from Tinashe f/Iggy Azalea, and I’m told it could be to us by the end of the week.
Gary Spangler and Davey Dee at Republic have Nicki Minaj f/Drake & Lil Wayne’s “Truffle Butter” climbing #11-7 and gaining over 800 spins this week; that makes it the Most Increased record. They also take Natalie La Rose f/Jeremih’s “Somebody” #15-10, increasing 400 spins. Meanwhile, The Weeknd’s “Earned It” gains 500 spins; it’s the lead track from mega movie Fifty Shades of Grey, which was the runaway box office winner this week. They also have Kaylin & Myles’ “Trampoline” at #32, adding 120 spins. Big Machine’s Taylor Swift’s moves #40-34 with “Style” and adds 200 spins.
Ayelet Schiffman and James White at Columbia take Beyonce’s “7/11” to #6. They also move J Cole’s “Apparently” to #12, gaining 260 spins. Calvin Harris f/Big Sean’s “Open Wide” jumps to #33, up 175 spins. They’re impacting T.I. f/Chris Brown’s “Private Show” next week and Snoop Dogg’s “Peaches and Cream” on March 10… The Def Jam squad of Rick Sackhiem, Noah Sheer and Scott Maness continues to build Rihanna, Kanye West & Paul McCartney’s “FourFiveSeconds,” which leaps #20-15 this week, gathering another 585 spins. Kanye West’s “Only One” has a great chart move, going #26-22. Ludacris f/Miguel’s “Good Lovin” slides into the Top 25 today, increasing triple-digits. Big Sean f/Drake & Kanye’s “Blessings” (G.O.O.D.) sits just outside the chart and is poised to make a strong debut this coming week. Logic’s “Buried Alive” is at #50 this week, while Iggy Azalea f/Jennifer Hudson’s “Trouble” (Grand Hustle) is just getting started and was already up 160 spins.
Epic’s Sujit Kundu has Meghan Trainor’s “Lips Are Movin” at #41, as well as Ciara “I Bet” at #44. The latter was up 110 spins, and is looking to chart this coming week. Right behind her is Casey Veggies’ “Backflip,” which was up 45 spins this week. He’s impacting Jidenna’s “Classic Man” this week and continues to set up Fifth Harmony’s “Worth It” (SYCO) at the more Pop-leaning stations.
Over at Glassnote, Childish Gambino’s “Sober” continues to plot along, gathering new stations each week. The track’s another labor of love for Nick P, and was just put into power rotation at KSFM Sacramento based on MScores and research.
