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.


KE$HA: 'WORLD'-CLASS SINGER/SONGWRITER

Hi Gary,

It's been months since I wrote to your column but I follow it online every Friday.

With Britney Spears' "Till the World Ends" moving 20-9 in its second week on the Billboard Hot 100 and Ke$ha's "Blow" dropping 7-10, the latter enjoys two top 10 hits in the same week, one as a performer and one as a songwriter.

Have there been other cases of such success? It's fairly common for a singer charting two singles as the main artist in the top tier - Katy Perry, Rihanna, etc. - but seemingly rarer to populate the region the way that Ke$ha does this week.

Thank you for getting my weekend started with your fun column.

Sincerely,

Jaime Puentes
Toronto, Ontario


Hi Jaime,

Thanks for the kind words.

Ke$ha's top 10 Hot 100 placements show off her multi-talented arsenal. Now, not only have all six of her radio singles as a lead artist - all of which she's co-written - reached the Hot 100's top 10, but she has also reached the top bracket with Spears' latest hit.

She's actually, however, one of two artists doubling up this week in the top 10 as an artist on one title and a writer for another act.

For the last five weeks, Bruno Mars' "Grenade" has shared space in the top 10 with Cee Lo Green's "F**k You (Forget You)." Mars is one of the latter song's five writers.

The two weeks prior, Mars earned the same honors with "Grenade" and Far*East Movement's "Rocketeer," featuring Ryan Tedder, the latter of which Mars penned with eight other authors.

Peter "Bruno Mars" Hernandez has also co-written Flo Rida's 2009 Hot 100 No. 1 "Right Round," Matisyahu's "One Day," a top 40 hit on Pop Songs (No. 35) and Rock Songs (No. 38) and Mike Posner's new single, "Boom Chicka Wow Wow," bulleted at No. 52 on the Hot 100 this week.

As for other acts doubling up in the Hot 100's top 10 in a similar manner, Barry Gibb doubled up on doubling up for two weeks in 1978.

On the Hot 100 dated 33 years ago next week (March 26, 1978), the Bee Gees spent a second of eight weeks at No. 1 with "Night Fever," while former No. 1 "Stayin' Alive" held at No. 2.

Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb wrote both tracks, as well as Yvonne Elliman's eventual No. 1 "If I Can't Have You," which rose 14-9.

The same week, Andy Gibb's former leader "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" dipped 5-6. He wrote the disco ballad with his brother Barry.

Thus, Barry Gibb simultaneously scored two top 10s as an artist (as a member of the Bee Gees) and two as a songwriter.

All four songs occupied the top 10 the following frame, as well.

Other artists have likewise showcased their singing and songwriting talents the same way.

The June 6, 1964, Hot 100 featured the Beatles at Nos. 2 and 10 with "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You," respectively, while Peter and Gordon's eventual topper "A World Without Love" rose 7-6.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney - who was then dating Peter (Asher)'s sister Jane - wrote all three singles.

Additionally, for six weeks beginning March 28, 1970, Lennon and McCartney charted in the top 10 on the Beatles' "Let It Be" alongside Lennon's self-written "Instant Karma (We All Shine On)," credited to John Ono Lennon, and Badfinger's "Come and Get it," penned by McCartney.

And, how's this for timing? As the "Glee" cast returns "Kiss" to the Hot 100 this week at No. 83, Prince and the Revolution's original version reigned the weeks of April 19 and 26, 1986. For five weeks, the song and Bangles' "Manic Monday" concurrently ranked in the top 10. Both hits were written by Prince (the latter under the pen name "Christopher").

An R&B talent that hit such a chart double: Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds peaked at No. 7 with his own "It's No Crime" the week of Oct. 28, 1989, while Bobby Brown's "Rock Witcha" rose 13-10. Edmonds and Daryl Simmons sport writing credit on both songs.

Edmonds repeated the feat with Boyz II Men's "I'll Make Love to You" (No. 1, 14 weeks) and his own "When Can I See You" (No. 4) for 11 weeks in 1994.

And, one more, perhaps surprising, example. On the April 21, 1990, Hot 100, Michael Bolton jumped 12-7 with "How Can We Be Lovers," while Kiss' "Forever" lifted from No. 9 to its No. 8 peak. Bolton co-wrote the former track with Desmond Child and Diane Warren and the latter with Kiss' Paul Stanley.

Common among all the above examples is that the artist/writers, all with notable career longevity, scored such two-fold rankings at the heights of their chart success (the Beatles just after their U.S. invasion though their breakup, the Bee Gees during the "Saturday Night Fever" boom and Babyface and Bolton in their late '80s/early '90s heydays).

That Ke$ha adds her name to the achievement underscores just how much she is putting her stamp on the current dance-dominated pop landscape - and hints at what success might lie ahead for her.

I'll throw it open to Chart Beat readers to note examples of other renaissance men and women who have managed the impressive feat.

To your Whitburn books!

Please feel free to e-mail askbb@billboard.com and we can continue the discussion next week.