Ask Billboard: Katy Perry, Kylie Minogue, Cee Lo Green
By Gary Trust
Ask Billboard is updated every Friday. As always, submit your questions about Billboard charts, sales and airplay, as well as general music musings, to askbb@billboard.com. Please include your first and last name, as well as your city, state and country, if outside the U.S.
GREEN ENERGY
Hi Gary,
I'm happy to see Cee Lo Green's "F**k You (Forget You)" benefiting from his brilliant Grammy Awards performance (Feb. 13). Its No. 2 Hot 100 peak (so far) reminds me how one of the most distinct tunes of the past decade, and another contender for record of the year - "Crazy" (2006), by Gnarls Barkley, featuring Green's vocals - settled in at No. 2 for seven consecutive weeks.
I think it would be phenomenal if Green makes it to No. 1. If he doesn't, however, he'll have something in common with another remarkable pop/soul vocalist, Aaron Neville. Both have never had a No. 1 hit and both have peaked at No. 2 twice, once as a solo act and once as part of a duo.
In Neville's case, I'm talking about his solo 1966 smash "Tell It Like It Is" (a No. 1 on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs) and his 1989 Grammy Award-winning duet with Linda Ronstadt, "Don't Know Much" (a No. 1 on Adult Contemporary).
Of course, Green's career is riding high, so a No. 1 is still possible. I'll swear to that (please don't censor me).
P.S.: With the Recording Academy honoring Danger Mouse in the category of non-classical producer of the year and rewarding "F**k You" for best urban/alternative performance, it was a reunion of sorts for the Gnarls Barkley partners, and a top-ranking one at that.
Best,
Pablo Nelson
Berkeley, California
Hi Pablo,
There's life - and a chance at the Hot 100's penthouse - yet for "F**k You," despite the song's 39% digital decline this week (to 252,000, after its prior Grammy-boosted weekly sum).
The song claims the Hot 100's Airplay Gainer award for a second consecutive week, charging into the top 10 (14-6) on Radio Songs (80 million in audience, up 28%).
On Pop Songs, the track reaches the top 10 (11-7) in its 20th chart week, tying for the third-longest climb to the tally's top tier after Edwin McCain's "I'll Be" (31 weeks, 1998) and matchbox twenty's "Back 2 Good" (21 weeks, 1998-99).
If we counted the five weeks the song was absent from the chart in November/December after its first chart run, in which it peaked at No. 18, "F**k You" would trail only "I'll Be" for having taken the most scenic route to the chart's top 10.
Green's other big news this week? He'll join Maroon 5's Adam Levine as a judge on "The Voice." Hosted by Carson Daly, the NBC reality competition launches April 26.
"It's an honor for me to be able to help mold a malleable and new talent in such a fashion as 'The Voice'," says Green.
"Being a coach on 'The Voice' is a substantial responsibility and I take it with sincerity and distinction."
