VIDEO CHARTS THE RADIO STAR
Recently, iTunes has been offering music videos for purchase. Considering that they are actual purchases of a song, are they or should they be included on the charts? Right now the No. 1 downloaded music video [on iTunes] is Pink’s “Stupid Girls,” so could it help the song reach a higher position on the chart because of how well it is doing in music video sales? I enjoy your articles and chats and I hope that this E-mail will clarify this question for many music fans.
Thank You,
Brandy Esman
Pound Ridge, N.Y.
Dear Brandy,
I’m glad you enjoy Chart Beat, and thanks for the question. Billboard has tracked sales of videos for years, and there is currently a chart called Hot Videoclip Tracks. But videos are videos, even if they are videos of a performance of a song, and just as we don’t mix singles and albums on one chart, we don’t mix sales of audio and video products. So sales of videos count only for video charts, not for our various singles charts. THE HITS FROM SPAIN STAY MAINLY OFF THE HOT 100
Hi Fred,
I’m a Spanish reader of the online version of your Chart Beat and Chart Beat Chat sections. It is not very common for Spanish artists to enter the Hot 100 (though you can easily find them on Hot Latin Songs) and, obviously, it is really rare to find a Hot 100 No. 1 by a Spanish artist.
I know the duo Los Del Rio, from Spain, made it to the top with their song “Macarena,” which was a huge hit in the United States. But can you tell me if any other artists of Spanish origin have made it to No. 1 on the Hot 100? Maybe Julio Iglesias or his son Enrique?
Thanks a lot. Best regards,
Toni Fernandez
Girona, Spain
Dear Toni,
America has not been overly receptive to European hits over the years, outside of the United Kingdom, although countries like Spain, Germany, Sweden, Italy and the Netherlands have given us a number of chart entries.
You mentioned “Macarena” by Los Del Rio, and that No. 1 single is by far the most successful on the Hot 100 by an act of Spanish origin. It is also the most successful Hot 100 hit from any European country.
You asked about Julio Iglesias and his son Enrique, both born in Madrid. Julio has never had a No. 1 hit on the Hot 100; his highest-ranked single is “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before.” That duet with Willie Nelson peaked at No. 5 in 1984. Enrique is the only Spanish-born artist aside from Los Del Rio to reach pole position on the Hot 100. His first chart entry, “Bailamos,” spent two weeks at No. 1 in 1999. A year later, he had a three-week run at the top with “Be With You.”
I can only think of three other acts from Spain who have had an impact on the Hot 100. In 1970, Granada-born Miguel Rios went to No. 14 with “A Song of Joy.” In 1974, the Bilbao-based group Mocedades peaked at No. 9 with “Eres Tu (Touch the Wind),” sung in Spanish (the English version was on the B-side). The song became an international hit after placing second in the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest. In 2002, Majorca-born DJ Sammy took a remake of Bryan Adams’ “Heaven” to No. 8.
That same year, I thought the three sisters known as Las Ketchup were going to have a huge hit in America with “The Ketchup Song (Asereje),” but despite being a hit all over the world, the single stalled at No. 54. For now, Las Ketchup is a one-hit wonder in the United States, but they have another chance. Now a foursome (with the addition of another sister), they are representing Spain in the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest (to be held in Athens on May 20) with “Bloody Mary,” the title track of their new album. SAY UNCLE!
Last week a reader mentioned Bon Jovi becoming the first act to have a country top 10 and a pop/rock top 10 since 1989, when Roy Orbison hit with “You Got It.” With all due respect, although they were completely different songs, the reader did fail to mention that it was actually Uncle Kracker who was the last pop/rock act to hit the top 10 on the Hot Country Songs list, as he was Kenny Chesney’s duet partner on the No. 1 country smash, “When the Sun Goes Down.”
Just for good measure, the last country act to have a pop/rock top 10 was Tim McGraw, as he was Nelly’s duet partner on 2004’s No. 3 hit, “Over and Over.”
Jason Martin
Oakland, Neb.
Dear Jason,
While you’re right about Uncle Kracker crossing over to the country chart thanks to his collaboration with Kenny Chesney, reader Tony Payne was correct when he said that Bon Jovi was the first act since Roy Orbison to have top 10 hits on the country chart as well as our rock singles charts. Uncle Kracker has never appeared on either the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart or the Modern Rock Tracks chart. He does hold the record for having the longest-running No. 1 in the history of the Adult Contemporary chart. His remake of Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away,” recorded with Gray, reigned for 28 weeks.
Jason, you weren’t the only person with the initials “J-M” to write in this week about the country charts from a city in Nebraska that starts with the letter “O.” See the next E-mail. ON THE COUNTRY CHART BEAT
With George Strait’s “The Seashores of Old Mexico” moving 25-22 on the Hot Country Songs list, I couldn’t help but notice that this is the 26th consecutive year he’s had at least one top 40 hit on this chart. It is also his 81st top 40 hit, putting him in a three-way tie for ninth place among acts with the most top 40 country hits.
However, with “That’s How They Do It in Dixie,” the latest from Hank Williams, Jr. [with Gretchen Wilson, Big & Rich and Van Zant], at No. 49, that could become a four-way tie as that would put Bocephus at 81 as well.
Keith Urban moves up 4-2 on the country list with “Tonight I Wanna Cry.” Should the track move up one more notch and take over the No. 1 spot from Kenny Chesney, it would be the fourth No. 1 from Urban’s “Be Here” album, [making it] the first album to spawn four No. 1s since Tim McGraw’s “Set This Circus Down” did it in 2002.
John Maverick
Omaha, Neb.
Dear John,
Thanks for the Hot Country Songs chart facts. There’s still more mail from your home state about country artists, so read on. THREE OF A KIND
To: Mr. Fred Bronson
On the Adult Contemporary Chart, LeAnn Rimes moves 11-10 with her former No. 3 country hit, “Probably Wouldn’t Be This Way,” making that her first non-seasonal hit to reach the top 10 since “Life Goes On” hit No. 9 in 2002. She is one of two country acts in the top 10 of the AC chart, Keith Urban being the other with “Making Memories Of Us” moving 6-5.
With Faith Hill looking to break into that territory with “Like We Never Loved at All” (up 13-11 this week), would that possibly make that the most country acts in the AC top 10 since the fall of 2004?
Shawn Michaels
Wisner, Neb.
Dear Shawn,
To get an accurate answer, I turned to the manager of the Adult Contemporary chart, Patrick McGowan. He told me the last time there were three country artists in the top 10 of the AC chart was the week of June 11, 2005. Those three hits were:
“Live Like You Were Dying,” Tim McGraw (No. 5)
“In My Daughter’s Eyes,” Martina McBride (No. 9)
“You’ll Think Of Me,” Keith Urban (No. 10)
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