Ask Billboard: Paulina Rubio, Black Eyed Peas, Marvin Gaye

Ask Billboard is updated every Friday. Submit your burning music questions to Gary Trust at askbb@billboard.com. Please include your first and last name, as well as your city, state and country, if outside the U.S.

PAULINA POWER

Hola Gary!

My e-mail is regarding Paulina Rubio’s performance on Hot Latin Songs, where this week she reaches the top 10 with her latest single. I was wondering how many top 10s she’s had and how that total compares among women in the chart’s history.

Music always!

Jose Carlos Santos
Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico

Hi Jose,

Paulina Rubio collects her 13th top 10 on Hot Latin Songs, as “Causa Y Efecto” leaps 15-10. The song is her first top 10 on the list since “Ni Una Sola Palabra” spent four weeks at No. 1 in fall 2006. That song was her third No. 1. She previously led with “Te Quise Tanto” (six weeks) and “Dame Otro Tequila” (one week) in 2004. The singer first graced the chart when “Mio” debuted the week of Nov. 28, 1992, eventually reaching No. 3. She releases “Gran City Pop,” her ninth studio album, June 23 (six days after her birthday).

Among female artists, here is how Rubio ranks in the category of most top 10s dating to the chart’s October 1986 launch. Below are those with 10 or more career top 10s:

22, Gloria Estefan
20, Ana Gabriel
15, Rocio Durcal
15, Ednita Nazario
14, Selena
13, Daniela Romo
13, Paulina Rubio
13, Shakira
13, Olga Tanon
10, Thalia

Among all artists, Luis Miguel owns the most top 10s (39), followed by Cristian Castro (28) and Chayanne (27).

Should Rubio’s current hit reach the Hot Latin Songs summit, it would join a select group of leaders by women since “Ni Una Sola Palabra” reigned. Jennifer Lopez (“Que Hiciste”), Fanny Lu (“Y Si Te Digo”) and Gloria Estefan (“No Llores”) rose to No. 1 in 2007, and Fanny Lu ended a 19-month lock on the top spot by solo males or male-led groups when “Tu No Eres Para Mi” capped the chart dated April 25.

LOVE FOR ‘LOVE’

Hi Gary,

What keeps a song with a catchy hook, top-notch production and irresistible melodies from being sent to pop radio? Case in point:
“I Did It for Love” by Korean singer BoA is everything pop/dance fans love, and, sonically, it’s highly reminiscent of Lady GaGa’s winning formula. Yet, the cut has charted so far only on Hot Dance Club Songs, where it rises this week to No. 19. What gives? Is this a decision on BoA’s management, or can I do more to make sure she gets the attention she deserves?

Please note that this is not a plug for BoA; I am just wondering why some radio-friendly songs fail to appear on pop radio when they could most likely be huge hits.

Thanks,

Alex Mercado
New York, New York

Hi Alex,

The Hot Dance Club Songs chart (which sports an updated name this week, segueing from Hot Dance Club Play to better align with the names of our other song charts) always sports an interesting mix of pop hits and those that remain confined to within club walls.

This week, the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100, “Boom Boom Bow” by the Black Eyed Peas, is No. 2 on Hot Dance Club Songs, while major radio hits by Akon, Britney Spears, Beyonce and Katy Perry also appear. Meanwhile, songs spinning in clubs without significant radio support show by dance music veterans Pet Shop Boys, Deborah Cox, RuPaul and Jody Watley.

Why don’t more dance club hits cross to pop radio? There are several reasons: sometimes they’re not promoted to the format (BoA’s song is on the relatively modestly-sized SM USA imprint), and sometimes they may just be a bit too dance-oriented for top 40, which borrows from a variety of formats but remains true to a core pop sound. Sales and artist profile also factors in, making pop programmers more comfortable playing a superstar act than one who’s known only to the more niche dance culture.

Even the current darling of top 40 radio – Lady GaGa – took awhile to make inroads at the format. The 22-week rise to No. 1 (Jan. 17) on the Billboard Hot 100 for “Just Dance” was the chart’s longest since Creed’s “Higher” reached the top in its 27th week in November 2000. Her popularity at the format since could serve as a good sign for dance music on pop radio. “Just Dance” and “Poker Face” each reached No. 1 on the Mainstream Top 40 airplay chart, and “LoveGame” this week bounds 17-11.

Additionally, the No. 1 song this week on Hot Dance Club Songs, “When Love Takes Over” by David Guetta featuring Kelly Rowland, is gaining in airplay and bubbling under the Mainstream Top 40 tally.

IRREPLACEABLE

Dear Gary,

As of the July 4 weekend, the king of countdowns is abdicating the throne.

Premiere Radio Networks has announced that it will no longer air new shows of “American Top 10” and “American Top 20” with Casey Kasem. I used to listen to both Kasem and Shadoe Stevens on “American Top 40” in the ’80s. Even though I stopped listening to the shows (and radio, for that matter), I still kept track of the biggest songs via Joel Whitburn’s “Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits.”

And, so, it has come to this. On the 39th anniversary of the debut of “American Top 40,” Casey Kasem will no longer be counting down current hits on the radio. At least we can still listen to his classic shows from the ’70s and ’80s on either terrestrial or satellite radio.

We’ll miss you counting them down, Casey.

Lisa Curry
Beachwood, New Jersey

Hi Lisa,

Well said. I, too, began listening to Casey Kasem on “American Top 40” in spring 1988, just before “the Shadoe,” who I also liked, took over. In early 1989, Kasem returned on “Casey’s Top 40,” and with numerous additional countdown and new music shows at the time by Rick Dees, Dick Clark, Dave Sholin and Joel Denver (who hosted my all-time favorite radio show, “Future Hits”), each weekend provided must-listen opportunities to follow then-current pop music.

I was fortunate enough to have met Kasem in the mid-’90s, and it was such a thrill to find out that he was as friendly and sincere as he sounded on-air. A liner that he recorded for me for use on my college station (“Hi, this is Casey Kasem, and you’re listening to Gary Trust!”) remained in rotation on my show (a countdown, of course) until I graduated.

“AT40 with Ryan Seacrest” continues, and having one of the country’s most recognizable personalities is a coup for the show. For those who grew up listening to the show’s original host, however, there’s just something about hearing him introduce a song and revealing its chart position that remains timeless. Kasem, who turned 77 April 27, will certainly be missed on his two most recent countdowns, which tracked adult contemporary hits.

In tribute, here’s a look at the top 10 titles on the Billboard Hot 100 the week that “American Top 40” premiered in 1970:

No. 1, “Mama Told Me (Not to Come),” Three Dog Night
No. 2, “The Love You Save/I Found That Girl,” the Jackson 5
No. 3, “Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World Is Today),” the Temptations
No. 4, “Ride Captain Ride,” Blues Image
No. 5, “Band of Gold,” Freda Payne
No. 6, “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain),” Melanie with the Edwin Hawkins Singers
No. 7, “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” Carpenters
No. 8, “The Long and Winding Road/For You Blue,” the Beatles
No. 9, “The Wonder of You/Mama Liked the Roses,” Elvis Presley
No. 10, “Hitchin’ a Ride,” Vanity Fare

The very first song played, kicking off the inaugural show at No. 40, was, ironically, “The End of Our Road” by Marvin Gaye.