Fred and his readers discuss artists with multiple No. 1s in a single year, Madonna and single-word song titles.
NO REPEATS
Hi Fred,
I read your columns every week and really enjoy them. I don’t know how many e-mails you get from India — at least, I don’t remember seeing too many published in your column.
I was going through the list of this year’s No. 1s and noticed that no artist has gone to No. 1 more than once. This includes collaborations. The year is not over, and I think Nelly Furtado has a good chance of returning to No. 1 with “Maneater” if it gets a single release. Has there ever been a year where no artist has gone to No. 1 more than once?
Thanks as always for your column, which is heaven-sent for a detail-monger like me.
Binoy Mohan
Bangalore, India
Dear Binoy,
It’s always nice to know that Chart Beat is read all over the world, so thanks for writing.
If Nelly Furtado doesn’t go to No. 1 with “Maneater,” and if no other artist who has been on top of the Hot 100 in 2006 returns to pole position, this will be the first year since 1992 that at least one artist hasn’t had two No. 1 hits in a calendar year.
In 1992, the artists who had one No. 1 each were, in alphabetical order:
Boyz II Men
Mariah Carey
Color Me Badd
The Heights
Whitney Houston
Elton John
Kris Kross
Madonna
George Michael
Mr. Big
Right Said Fred
Vanessa Williams
Sir Mix-a-Lot
Before 1992, the last year to have no repeats at the summit was 1972. The artists who had one No. 1 apiece that year were, again in alphabetical order:
America
Chuck Berry
The Chi-Lites
Mac Davis
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Neil Diamond
Roberta Flack
Al Green
Michael Jackson
Looking Glass
Don McLean
Johnny Nash
Nilsson
Gilbert O’Sullivan
Billy Paul
Helen Reddy
The Staple Singers
The Temptations
Three Dog Night
Bill Withers
Neil YoungCONFESSIONS ON THE BOXSCORE
Hi Fred,
I am curious as to how the [Boxscore chart in the] concert section of Billboard gets its numbers. I have not seen Madonna listed twice in a two-week period and it doesn’t take a genius to tell you that her concert tour is mostly a sell out. She just finished a very successful four-day stint at Madison Square Garden and
three days at Boston’s TD Banknorth Garden.
Where is there a mention of this, as I’m sure her concert totals are high enough to make these charts?
I’m beginning to get even more annoyed at people being afraid to show Madonna
any publicity in this country. So tell me how this works?
Wally Tarantino
Dear Wally,
To get the answer to your question, I turned to Billboard’s expert on concert grosses, Bob Allen.
Bob is the person who compiles the Boxscore listing that appears in every issue of Billboard. Here is Bob’s explanation:
“The concert box office totals are reported by concert promoters and venues.
They usually report about two weeks after the event occurs. In Madonna’s
case, her tour grosses are reported by the tour’s promoter. They report
several dates at a time about every three or four weeks. The first four
dates, which ran in the June 17 issue of Billboard, were all reported together. The next five dates were reported about three weeks later and ran in the July 8
issue. Her promoter will ultimately report all her shows, but it may be a
few weeks after the shows occur.”‘HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL’ REVISITED
Hello Fred,
I have been reading Chart Beat for about two years now and eagerly await each new column. However, this is the first time that I am writing to you.
In the last Chart Beat Chat, Matthew Helmer asked: “Are there any other artists in Billboard history (beyond ‘Idol’) who have charted with their first two debut singles in the same week?” I think I may have found an answer, actually given by you! In the Chart Beat dated Feb. 2, you wrote: “Last week, [Zac] Efron also made some chart history when he debuted on the Hot 100 with his first two entries, ‘Breaking Free’ at No. 86 and ‘Get’cha Head in the Game,’ another ‘High School Musical’ track, at No. 100. That makes him the first debut artist to begin a chart career with two simultaneous debuts.”
I hope that this answers the question.
I was also wondering about the chart policies concerning a double-sided single such as “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”/”My Destiny.” Both songs received the same physical sales but separate digital sales. How are each song’s total points calculated?
Kind Regards,
Peter Linde
South Africa
Dear Peter,
A number of Chart Beat readers reminded me of my own words, written in February, concerning the first artist to begin a chart career with double debuts. While what I wrote seemed accurate at the time, confusion over the correct credits for the “High School Musical” tracks resulted in a revision of the artists’ billing the following week.
When the credits changed, so did chart history. “Breaking Free” and “Get’cha Head in the Game” did indeed both debut on the Hot 100 dated Feb. 4. But “Breaking Free” is now credited to Zac Efron, Andrew Seeley and Vanessa Anne Hudgens, because Andrew’s vocals were mixed in with Zac’s on the track (on camera, the song is a duet between Zac’s character and Vanessa’s character). And “Get’cha Head in the Game” is now credited to Andrew Seeley.
That means that even though I wrote that Zac Efron was the first artist to begin his chart career with twin debuts, that honor falls to Andrew Seeley.
At the time, I questioned in Chart Beat if an actor like Efron would even know that he had made chart history. It turns out Zac lives in my neighborhood and I’ve had a chance to explain to him since what he accomplished on the Hot 100, even with all of the revisions to the credits.
As for Katharine McPhee’s hit, the single is listed as a double-sided hit in the same chart position on the Hot Singles Sales chart. On Hot Digital Songs, each track is listed separately according to its individual sales. On the Hot 100, the side receiving the most airplay would receive credit for all physical sales and digital sales of the two-sided single. Each song would get separate credit for airplay and digital sales of one track. CRAZY SEXY COOL
Hi Fred!
Thanks again for all your intriguing research and chats.
I’ve been noticing the recent rarity of long titles for No. 1s on the Hot 100.
Catchy one or two-word titles are of course common, but other than “Do I
Make You Proud” and “Don’t Forget About Us,” there has been quite a string
of quick titles in recent months. Where’s Bryan Adams when you need him?
Over the years, there have been plenty of one-word No. 1s replacing other
one-word titles. However, if “Crazy” takes the top spot from “Promiscuous,”
there will be a chart oddity of two consecutive one-word adjectives at No. 1.
Perhaps I’m the chart oddity for looking this up.
Back in October 1999, it was close with TLC’s “Unpretty” almost being
directly surpassed by Santana’s “Smooth” featuring Rob Thomas, but Mariah Carey’s “Heartbreaker” squeezed in between them. Looking back through the history of the Hot 100 (back to Ricky Nelson’s “Poor Little Fool” in 1958), I didn’t notice any other back-to-back one-word adjectives.
Thanks for all the connections you help us chart enthusiasts make.
Peace,
Pablo Nelson
Berkeley, CA
pablonde88@hotmail.com
Dear Pablo,
Looking at “Promiscuous” and “Crazy” in the top two slots on the Hot 100, I did get an inkling about a potential Chart Beat item, should “Crazy” go to No. 1, but you beat me to it!
Your e-mail also reminds me of the time in 1962 when we had back-to-back one-word No. 1 hits featuring girls’ names: “Sheila” by Tommy Roe and “Sherry” by the Four Seasons. They even both started with the same three letters, and were both six-letter titles.
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