‘HUNG’ UP: By moving up 14-7 on The Billboard Hot 100, Madonna’s “Hung Up” (Warner Bros.) generates a great deal of chart news this week. The most important feat is matching Elvis Presley’s 36 top 10 hits, the most for any artist in the rock era.
Madonna racked up that tally in 21 years, five months and three weeks, counting back to the week that “Borderline” peaked in the top 10. Presley scored his 36 top 10 hits in 16 and a half years, from the first week in 1956 that “Heartbreak Hotel” made the top 10 of the Best Sellers in Stores chart until the week in 1972 when “Burning Love” entered the top 10.
“Hung Up” is Madonna’s highest-charting single in almost five years, since “Don’t Tell Me” reached No. 4 in February 2001. It is her first top 10 hit since “Die Another Day” bonded to the No. 8 position in 2002. Madonna already held the record for the most top 40 hits by a solo female artist; she continues in first place as “Hung Up” becomes her 45th top 40 hit, out of 51 chart entries. Aretha Franklin is in second place with 43.
The parent album to “Hung Up” debuts at No. 1 on The Billboard 200. “Confessions on a Dance Floor” is Madonna’s sixth album to achieve pole position. Her No. 1 albums to date are:
“Like a Virgin,” three weeks (1985)
“True Blue,” five weeks (1986)
“Like a Prayer,” six weeks (1989)
“Music,” one week (2000)
“American Life,” one week (2003)
“Confessions on a Dance Floor,” one week to date (2005)
STRAIT UP: A 12-10 move for George Strait’s “She Let Herself Go” (MCA) gives the artist his 72nd top 10 hit on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, pushing him into fourth place on the list of artists with the most top 10s on this survey.
Strait still has miles to go before becoming the artist with the most top 10s. He’d have to earn another 21 top 10 hits to capture first place. Here’s a list of the top 10 country artists, according to the number of top 10 hits they’ve earned:
1. Eddy Arnold (92)
2. George Jones (78)
3. Conway Twitty (75)
4. George Strait (72)
5. Merle Haggard (71)
6. Ernest Tubb (58)
7. Red Foley (56)
8. Dolly Parton (55)
9. Webb Pierce (54)
10. Waylon Jennings (53)
DOUBLE BON JOVI: Bon Jovi makes news on two different Billboard charts this week. On the Adult Top 40 list, the band finds itself in the top 10 for the first time, thanks to the song “Have a Nice Day” (Island). An 11-8 move bests the No. 11 peak of the first Bon Jovi song to appear on this list, “It’s My Life,” which reached its highest position in October 2000.
The surprise is that Bon Jovi is on the Hot Country Songs chart, a first for the group. “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” (Island), a collaboration with Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland, debuts at No. 48 after Bon Jovi and Nettles performed the song on the Country Music Association (CMA) Awards last week.
It’s not the first time on the country chart for soloist Jon Bon Jovi. In October 1998, “Bang a Drum” went to No. 68. That single was credited to Chris LeDoux (Duet with Jon Bon Jovi).
FOUR SEASONS OF WINNERS: The fifth season of the TV series “American Idol” is less than a couple of months away, but this week the focus is on the winner of the fourth season of the popular singing competition.
Carrie Underwood is the first of the four “American Idols” to be No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. Her “Some Hearts” (Arista) enters that chart on top. Second season contestant Josh Gracin has had three top five hits on Hot Country Singles, and his self-titled album peaked at No. 2 on Top Country Albums.
On The Billboard 200, Underwood debuts at No. 2. How does this stack up against the three previous “Idol” winners’ debut albums? Kelly Clarkson’s “Thankful” debuted at No. 1 the week of May 3, 2003. Ruben Studdard’s “Soulful” opened at No. 1 the week of Dec. 27, 2003. And Fantasia’s “Free Yourself” bowed at No. 8 the week of Dec. 11. 2004.
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