YES YES YES SEY SEY SEY
Fred:
Some years back one of your readers asked about palindromic titles and or artists on the Hot 100. The best example was “S.O.S.” by Abba, which is the only song in the history of the Hot 100 where both the title and the artist’s name are spelled the same, forward and backward.
But this week at the top of the Hot Dance Club Play chart I think we have a unique occurrence. John Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, is No. 1 on that chart with the track “No, No, No.” However, her credit is only the single name Ono.
That makes the combination of artist and title “Ono – No, No, No”, or in reverse, “Ono – No, No, No”!
Patrick Kelly
Brampton, Ont. Canada
Dear Patrick,
I think you’ve discovered the second perfect palindrome. “No, No, No” also has the distinction of being a title that only uses letters from the artist’s name, quite a feat when the artist’s name is only three characters long and is made up of only two letters. WHY NO SINGLES CHART?
Good Evening, Fred
Why does Billboard not have a Top Reggae Singles chart? There is one for Top Reggae Albums.
Happy Holidays!
V’Luck Wiles
Union City, Georgia
Dear V’Luck,
While the Billboard charts have a huge fan following (if they didn’t, this column probably wouldn’t exist), the charts are designed as a tool for the music industry. If there was a call for a reggae singles chart, it would exist.
Beyond that, the reason such a chart is not compiled by Billboard is that all singles charts have some airplay component. A couple of charts – The Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – combine sales and airplay information, but other singles charts, including Adult Contemporary, Hot Country Songs, Adult Top 40, Modern Rock Tracks, etc., are exclusively based on airplay, meaning they are tied to specific radio formats. There may be specialty reggae shows on terrestrial radio, but reggae isn’t a popular radio format like AC, country, modern rock, etc., so there wouldn’t be enough airplay information for such a chart to be viable.WAS ALICIA REALLY FIRST?
Hi Fred,
I love reading your column every week. Last week you mentioned that Alicia Keys was the first solo artist to occupy the top two positions on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart. Didn’t Mariah Carey do this in 2005 with “We Belong Together” and “Shake It Off”?
Thanks.
George Eng
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Dear George,
Mariah Carey did hold down the top two spots on the Hot 100 with “We Belong Together” and “Shake It Off,” but she didn’t duplicate that achievement on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
On that tally, “Shake It Off” advanced 3-2 the week of Sept. 10, 2005. That same week, “We Belong Together” fell 1-4 and “Shake It Off” was runner-up to “Like You” by Bow Wow featuring Ciara, which rose 2-1.
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