Top of the Year, Top of the Chart
Now that 2011 is well behind us, it’s time to look forward to what might be in store for us in the way of pop music in 2012. While several sources provide access to this type of information, those that we tend to use regularly for up-to-date snapshots of what consumers are into musically are the rankings in iTunes. Following is a summary of the top ten downloaded songs for the first week of January 2012.
The number one iTunes music download for the week is a song by Jason Mraz—I Won’t Give Up. Jason is an American singer-songwriter whose music performance genres are primarily pop rock and blue-eyed soul. The 34 year old, born in Mechanicsville, VA, released his debut album—Waiting for My Rocket to Come in 2002.
Reporting in at number two is the tune, Sexy & I Know It by LMFAO, an American electro-pop duo comprising Stefan Gordy, son of Motown founder Berry Gordy and Skyler Gordy, Stefan’s nephew and Berry’s grandson. LMFAO’s music, incorporating drinking and partying themes, falls into the “party rock” genre. The duo also locked in the ninth place position for the week with their Party Rock Anthem hit which flew to the number one position in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland the U.K. and the U.S. last year.
Third on the list is Set Fire to the Rain by Adele. This artist, whose full name is Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, is an English singer-songwriter who was born in North London in 1988. She was first offered a recording contract with XL Recordings following a posting of her demos by a friend on MySpace in 2006. Adele has received the British Critics Choice Award and has also won the BBC Sound of 2008 Music Poll.
Robyn Rihanna Fenty, better known as just Rihanna, garnered song number four for the week, We Found Love. Rihanna, a recording artist, singer, producer and actress was born in Barbados in 1988. Recording with the Def Jam label, her third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), produced four hit singles—Umbrella, Take a Bow, Disturbia and Don’t Stop the Music. She won a Grammy Award that year for Best Rap Song/Collaboration for Umbrella which also featured Jay-Z.
Tramar Dillard, better known as FloRida, is a rapper, songwriter and actor who was born in Carol City, Florida in 1979. His song Good Feeling ranked number five on iTunes this week. Raised by his mother along with seven sisters, he sang in a local gospel group as a youth. He is active on the Atlantic-Poe Boy label performing southern hip hop, pop rap, R&B and electropop.
It Will Rain by Bruno Mars charted at number six this week on iTunes. Real name Peter Gene Hernandez, the 26 year old Mr. Mars was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is a singer, songwriter, record producer, model and dancer also recording on the Atlantic label. He won Best Male Pop Vocalist at the 53rd Grammy Awards for his song Just the Way You Are. He is one of six children and is active in the pop soul, reggae, fusion and contemporary R&B genres.
Katy Perry’s The One That Got Away, came in at number seven on this week’s iTunes rankings. Katy, or Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, is an American singer, songwriter and actress born in 1984 in Santa Barbara, California. She rose to fame with her second single release—I Kissed a Girl in 2008. She was the first female artist to have five hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in one year. She was elected Artist of the Year by MTV in December 2011.
Number eight for the first week of January is Young, Wild & Free by Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr., better known as Snoop Dogg. Born in 1971 in Long Beach, California, Snoop Dogg is an American rapper, singer, record producer, actor and Chairman of EMI’s Priority Records label. Since 1991, he has been active in the hip hop, gangsta rap, g-funk and R&B music genres.
Topping off the top ten is The Motto by Aubrey Drake Graham, better known by the recording name Drake. He is a Canadian recording artist and actor born in 1986. He originally played Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation. Drake’s first studio album, Thank Me Later, was released in June 2010 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. He has been active on the Universal Republic label and performs largely hip hop, R&B and pop.
As the repertoire of artists and recordings continues to expand this year, Gugelplex TV will continue to follow what’s hot among consumers today. We will also keep abreast of pop cultural trends in the motion picture, television and wireless app arenas as we progress through 2012. Happy New Year!
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