US Chart Roundup: Little Mix Fly With "Wings"

Bruno Mars' second Unorthodox Jukebox single, "When I Was Your Man," is now his second to top the Billboard Hot 100. It's just the type of run-of-the-mill radio fodder that whores who think they've been cheated out of love because they take cash for pussy eat up. So good for you, Bruno, for being intuitive enough to tap into that market!

Elsewhere, while Justin Timberlake's "Mirrors" drops one position to #12 (I'm over it), his third solo album The 20/20 Experience is #1 for a third week, bringing its grand total to 1.43 million sold so far.

Meanwhile, Icona Pop and Charli XCX crack the Top 20 with "I Love It" (it's up to #17), the song that topped Chart Rigger's 10 Best Pop Singles Of 2012 list in December. Olly Murs' "Troublemaker" drops from its peak position of #29 to #32, and Swede-dance-pop outfit Krewella inch up to #40 with "Alive."



On a final note, UK X Factor winners Little Mix land their first entry on the US singles chart with "Wings," which goes in at #98 (ironically the same week that fellow UK X Factor contestants One Direction tumble to #99 with "One Way Or Another").



The TMS-produced "Wings" was Little Mix's second #1 single in the UK in 2012, following "Cannonball."

The U.S. Top 10:

1. "When I Was Your Man" - Bruno Mars *1 week*
2. "Thrift Shop" - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Wanz
3. "Just Give Me A Reason" - Pink feat. Nate Ruess
4. "Stay" - Rihanna feat. Mikky Ekko
5. "Suit & Tie" - Justin Timberlake feat. Jay-Z
6. "Harlem Shake" - Baauer
7. "Can't Hold Us" - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Ray 
8. "Cruise" - Florida Georgia Line
9. "Started From The Bottom" - Drake
10. "Feel This Moment" - Pitbull feat. Christina Aguilera

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Last Week I Interviewed 98 Degrees, Bright Light Bright Light & Del Marquis

It was a busy first week in New York.

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Watch Bright Light Bright Light Perform New Song "In Your Care" Live In New York

This past Friday, I caught Bright Light Bright Light's superb first performance at Joe's Pub in New York with a full band. (Read my review of the show.) I snapped the above pics, and many more can be viewed on my Tumblr. (Are you broads following me there yet?!)

One of the highlights: BLx2's (aka Rod Thomas) doing the fully-produced version of new song "In Your Care." I shot this video, which didn't turn out to be as ratchet in quality as I was expecting:



Another highlight: my vinyl copy of his album Make Me Believe In Hope. I got the last one on the table.

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Jessie Ware's "Imagine It Was Us" Video Has Me Falling Deeper And Deeper

Jessie Ware's debut Devotion made my Best Albums list in 2012 for its original UK release. On April 15, the Gold Edition will be released in her home country, and a day later the album finally sees the light of day, officially, in the US.

Tacked on to both is new single "Imagine It Was Us." Xolondon describes it this way: "The video, like the arrangement, has threads of the early 90s." I'll take it one step further and say that the visual is giving me strong, glitter-strewn shades of Madonna's 1992 vid for "Deeper And Deeper."



Excellent track with a complimentary, era-capturing video.

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UK Chart Roundup: Duke Dumont & A*M*E Thankfully Kick PJ & Duncan To The Curb

Last year's BBC Sounds Of 2013 nominee A*M*E and British DJ Duke Dumont finally break through with their joint single "Need U (100%)" — a number that doesn't sway from the current trend of retro-'90s dance/house throwbacks — which debuts at #1 in the UK this week.

It's good stuff for many reasons, not the least of which is that it bumps actual '90s reheated semi-flop-turned-viral-hit "Let's Get Ready To Rhumble" by PJ & Duncan off the top of the chart.



The UK Top 10:

1. "Need U (100%)" - Duke Dumont feat. A*M*E *1 week*
2. "Just Give Me A Reason" - Pink feat. Nate Ruess
3. "Mirrors" - Justin Timberlake
4. "What About Us" - The Saturdays feat. Sean Paul
5. "Pompeii" - Bastille
6. "Let's Get Ready To Rumble" - PJ & Duncan
7. "Hey Porsche" - Nelly
8. "Feel This Moment" - Pitbull feat. Christina Aguilera
9. "When I Was Your Man" - Bruno Mars
10. "It's A Beautiful Day" - Michael Buble *new*

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US Chart Roundup: Thank God Justin Timberlake Is Here To Erase The Memory Of Justin Bieber

Justin Timberlake's "Mirrors" has climbed to #11, making everything right in the world this week. Over on the Billboard 200 album chart, JT's The 20/20 Experience is tops for a second week, and has sold 1.29 million copies in just 14 days.

The U.S. Top 10:

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

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Texas Return With 'The Conversation'

To give you an idea how much I've been living under a rock these past two months, I had zero clue that Texas were back! Ageless, genderless goddess Sharleen Spiteri & Co.'s first album since 2005 is The Conversation, and it's out worldwide on May 20. Bonus: Suede/McAlmont & Butler/Duffy mastermind Bernard Butler worked on the record!

Title track "The Conversation," the lead single, was made available on iTunes last week.



The song's pretty rad, right? Sharleen released two solo albums (2008's Melody and 2010's The Movie Songbook) following Texas' previous LP Red Book.

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