CHART BUZZ: Nicki Minaj, Ricky Martin, Wiz Khalifa, Amos Lee, Aerosmith
Nicki Minaj takes the No. 1 seat, Ricky Martin’s star shines brighter, Wiz Khalifa’s “Steel City’ anthem produces a No. 1 single, Amos Lee’s No. 1 album drops to No. 26 and Aerosmith records get sales rebirth
Nicki Minaj’s debut LP Pink Friday climbs to No. 1 on the Billboard 200; eleven weeks after its debut. The album’s highest peak was No. 2 but has since claimed the top spot. The album should also be applauded for crossing the 1 million sales mark. The Trinidadian rapper/singer will be promoting her album this summer with Lil Wayne on his “I Am Music II” tour.
Last week’s No.1, Amos Lee’s Mission Bell drops to No. 26. It’s the hardest No. 1 drop since Cake’s Showroom of Compassion, which collapsed 1-25 three weeks ago. On a positive note, Lee’s album is his first No. 1 and is reported as a career-high for him with sales exceeding 40,000 copies.
It looks as if Ricky Martin is the first comeback kid of 2011. His predominately Spanish LP, Musica+Alma+Sexo, debuts at No. 3; selling 32,000 copies. With his Joss Stone duet “The Best Part Of Me Is You” and with major appearances on Oprah and Jimmy Fallon, Martin’s career as a pop sensation seems to be shaping up once again. The Latin prince also dominates the No. 1 spots at Hot Latin Songs chart and Latin Pop Ariplay with the Latin version, “Lo Mejor de Mi Vida Eres Tu,” featuring Natalia Jimenez.
This week’s singles sensation, Wiz Khalifa’s “Black and Yellow,” surprisingly takes the No. 1 spot. Much of the buzz surrounds its lyrical tag celebrating the Pittsburgh Steelers. Although the ‘Super Bowl’ team lost, Steeler fans made Khalifa this week’s winner as the song jumped from 4-1. The Rostrum/Atlantic MC’s “Black and Yellow” holds at No. 2 on Digital Songs (198,000 downloads sold, up 6%, according to Nielsen SoundScan) and pushes 10-7 on Radio Songs (81 million audience impressions, up 11%, per Nielsen BDS).
Also in the singles’ world, Train’s “Marry Me” is showing strong popularity in sales and radio airplay. After spending 11 weeks on the Hot 100 since its chart debut, “Marry Me” moves 42-38 in one week, according to the Feb. 12 survey.
P!nk’s “F***in’ Perfect” lands at No. 2 on the Feb. 12 survey of the Hot 100; soaring from 11.
Since Steven Tyler landed in the front seat of ‘American Idol’ as a panelist, record sales for Aerosmith’s Greatest Hits has soared over 250 percent than normal, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Fans of Aerosmith felt that Tyler’s presence on the show would undermine his credibility and damage Aerosmith’s career in the long run. Prior to the Fox show’s launch, Aerosmith catalog sales were declining, selling under 1,000 copies a week. That number has swelled to well over 2,000 per release. As announced prior to the new season’s debut, Aerosmith plans to hit the studio to record a new record and plan to release it later this year.
CHART BUZZ is a bi-monthly series tracing the latest airplay, radio impressions and unit sales numbers goverened by Billboard and measured by Nielsen Soundscan. For more chart information and additional chart data, go to www.billboard.com or www.billboard.biz. Visit our abbrievated Billboard and iTunes charts at: www.hifimagazine.net/blog/charts
