THE COMPLETION PROCESS
Dear Fred,
First of all, thank you for always mollifying us chart freaks with answers about Billboard’s chart policies!
iTunes released four of the Jonas Brothers’ singles before their actual album came out and all four debuted in the top 20 due to digital sales (“Burnin’ Up” at No. 5, “Pushin’ Me Away” at No. 16, “Tonight” at No. 8 and “A Little Bit Longer” at No. 11).
When the Jonas Brothers’ album came out, it sold 525,000 copies in its first week. If you had purchased any of the four singles on iTunes, you could complete the album when it came out. Does completing your album count as buying an album? It doesn’t seem fair to get points for singles sales and then also get album sales. I am utterly confused, so please clear up this question.
Aaron Aceves
Los Angeles, Calif.
Dear Aaron,
It’s a good question, one that was never an issue until iTunes introduced the completion process. When I was growing up, you couldn’t buy 45s and then purchase the rest of the tracks on an album to have the complete LP.
To get an accurate and detailed answer to your query, I turned to Billboard’s director of charts and senior analyst Geoff Mayfield. Here’s what he had to say:
“When a consumer completes an album, the original tracks that were bought individually get processed as returns. That means that as albums are completed, charting songs will have some sales subtracted from the title’s sales in the weeks such returns are processed. However, the original sale continues to count in the week the song purchase was made.”
In other words, we don’t go back and and refigure the charts, as what’s done is done. But when the “singles” are processed as “returns,” the total sales numbers for a given song would be subtracted from that sales week’s total.HOW DOES ‘STAND’ COUNT?
Hi Fred,
On the cover of the charity single “Just Stand Up!” literally all contributing singers are mentioned. Does this mean Billboard will also credit the single to every one of them?
So would the single, if it hits No. 1 in the United States, count toward Mariah Carey’s total of No. 1s, thus making it her record-breaking 19th No. 1 hit?
Unfortunately I haven’t heard the song yet, but I’m sure it’s great and will hit big.
Thanks a lot.
Holger R. Heinrich
Berlin, Germany
Dear Fred:
“Just Stand Up!” is available to downland on iTunes and apparently is doing very well even before the concert takes place on Sept. 5. Since this a huge collaboration (the song includes 15 lead artists), what is going to happen if the song moves into the penthouse?
Would this mean a No. 1 hit for all of the artists? If so, would this be Mariah Carey’s 19th No. 1?
Thank you for your help and your always amazing column.
Fued N.Martin
Merida, Yucatan
Mexico
Dear Holger and Fued,
The charity single “Just Stand Up!” enters The Billboard Hot 100 this week at No. 78, and as Fued points out, this is based on sales prior to the broadcast of the television benefit, “Stand Up for Cancer.” The song is likely to take a huge jump after the multi-network broadcast, although whether it’s going to take a record-setting 78-1 leap remains to be seen.
The official artist credit for this charity song is Artists Stand Up to Cancer. Since the individual artists are not listed by their own names (even if those names appear on the cover of the single), they would not receive credit for this hit as individual artists. That’s the same way we treated the charity single “We Are the World,” credited to USA for Africa.
It’s a fair question to ask, but since this song was recorded with a higher purpose in mind, I don’t think any of the artists involved are thinking about how this will affect their career totals on the Hot 100.
For the record, the 15 female artists who have recorded the vocals for “Just Stand Up!” are: Ashanti, Natasha Bedingfield, Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Ciara, Keyshia Cole, Sheryl Crow, Miley Cyrus, Melissa Etheridge, Fergie, Leona Lewis, Rihanna, LeAnn Rimes and Carrie Underwood.WHERE DOES ‘WINE’ FIT IN?
Dear Fred,
I know Keith Urban set a record for the longest time from first week charted to No. 1 on Hot Country Songs, but does UB40 hold the record for any chart with “Red Red Wine” when it hit Number One on the Hot 100 over four years after first charting there?
Brian C. Cole
Largo, Fla.
bcole83@tampabay.rr.com
Dear Brian,
Keith Urban’s “You Look Good in My Shirt” achieved pole position on Hot Country Songs four years, one month and four weeks after its debut, but UB40’s “Red Red Wine” took even longer to reach No. 1 on the Hot 100 – four years, eight months and two weeks. If anyone can think of a longer time between a debut week and first reaching No. 1, they should let me know.
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