A day before he hits the big 3-0, it appears Grammy winning rapper Drake is the one handing out gifts. That’s right, as if laying claim to 2016’s best-selling album, ‘Views,’ wasn’t enough to make his year, it appears the 6 God is looking for a bit of a redo as he announced a new project.
Officially described as a “playlist, not a mixtape,” the set – which will be comprised of all original music – will be titled ‘More Life’ and is going to give his fans its namesake just in time for the holidays…
Almost a decade ago, a young lady from the UK was taking the world by storm with her first original single.
This week’s From The Vault salutes said starlet; Leona Lewis and her 2008 smash ‘Bleeding Love’ is our pick.
Helmed by hit-making extraordinaire Ryan Tedder, ‘Love’ was service as the lead single from Lewis’ debut album ‘Spirit.’
Singlehanded, the song silenced the then-mounting critique levelled against The X Factor, which claimed nothing tangible could come out of such talent shows. Indeed, with its universal acclaim and colossal chart trajectory, the cut gave the Simon Cowell-machine and Lewis a buoyant boost in credibility.
Released exactly 9 years ago in the UK, the song was a record-breaking chart-topper on home-soil. For, it actually charted in three different years – from 2007 to 2009 – and sold over one million copies in Great Britain. It went on to top the tally in over 30 countries in 2008, including the US, Australia, Canada and France.
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Melina Matsoukas directed the first version of the video which showcases the highs and lows of several relationships. It has been viewed over 140 Million times on YouTube.
A second version was released, directed by Jessy Terrero, and is known as the US incarnation. Currently at 114 Million views, it was nominated for a VMA in 2008.
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It’s unfortunate that Leona’s reign atop of the charts ended so abruptly – thanks to politics, poor decisions, and sub-par material.
Because, from our vantage point, she is among the best vocal talents the industry has to offer. Still.
With Lewis’ reportedly a free agent after parting ways Island Records, hopefully the right choices will be made to bring her back where she belongs… on top.
On the heels of her latest #1 album, ‘Joanne,’ Grammy winning singer Lady Gaga strapped on her cowgirl boots and continues stomping onto the promo trail in support of the critically polarizing project.
Taking to ‘SNL’ tonight, the stop (her fourth overall on the variety series) brought with it the first televised showings of the album’s latest offerings ‘A-Yo’ and ‘MillioN Reasons.’ Ready to “blow off the haters” with the hitmaker?
Bruno Mars has blasted back into the upper dectet of the Billboard Hot 100 with his latest single ’24K Magic.’ The retro-inspired bop, the first from his album of the same name (due November 18th), was recently unveiled and, by the end of its official premiere tracking week, amassed some seriously impressive stats. On the strength of 101,000 first week downloads, 12.8 million streams, and 65 million radio impressions, the song debuted at #5 on this week’s refreshed chart.
Thanks to a stint at ‘SNL’ last Saturday (click here to see that if you missed it), ‘Magic’ stands a chance to rise even higher next week.
But, while Mars enjoys his latest top 10 success, another powerhouse singer is finally doing the same: Ariana Grande. For, after being eluded by placement in the chart’s topmost dectet since the lead single from her third album, ‘Dangerous Woman,’ Grande – with the help of Grammy-nominated rapstress Nicki Minaj – has finally re-entered the top 10 with ‘Side to Side.’
Tuck in on the other side to find out where she and all your other favorites from the day landed:
While the likes of Drake, Beyonce, Rihanna, and Adele continue to enjoy top 30 success months and months after the debuts of their respective albums, pop princess/once bonafide seller Britney Spears can’t exactly boast the same.
In fact, since its moderate #3 debut on charts in September, the project – christened ‘Glory’ – has failed to live up to its namesake as it has been on a continuous freefall since (a haunting fact considering some of the industry’s top critics indicated it’s easily her best album in years).
With sales of less than 175,000 SPS to date, the buying public doesn’t mirror the sentiment apparently.
For, fast forward to this – the 7th week of its availability – and peruse of pop charts reveal the set has dropped over 60 spots and is one position away from falling out of the top 200 all together! Ouch…
