‘HOME’ IS WHERE THE CHART IS: Michael Buble is No. 1 on Hot Country Songs? Yes. But as a songwriter, not an artist.
Buble topped the Adult Contemporary survey three years ago this month with his original recording of “Home.” This week, Blake Shelton advances 2-1 on the country tally with his cover of Buble’s hit. That makes “Home” the first song to occupy the penthouses of the AC and country charts in versions by different artists since 1992, when “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston led the AC list, after Dolly Parton achieved pole position on the country chart with her own composition in 1974 and 1982.
The last song to reach No. 1 on Hot Country Songs after topping another chart in a version by a different artist is “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” No. 1 on the Hot 100 for Aerosmith in September 1998 and No. 1 on the country survey for Mark Chesnutt in February 1999.
“Home” is Shelton’s fourth song to go all the way on Hot Country Songs.
SWIFT NOTE: A 13-10 jump on Hot Country Songs for “Should’ve Said No” (Big Machine) sends Taylor Swift into the record books as the first solo female artist to score five top 10 hits from a debut album since the album chart was first published in 1964.
Swift’s run began with her very first charted single, “Tim McGraw,” which sailed to No. 6 the week of Jan. 27, 2007. The follow-up, “Teardrops on My Guitar” cried its way to No. 2 the week of Aug. 18, 2007. Then came “Our Song,” which began a six-week run at No. 1 on the chart dated Dec. 22, 2007.
After an interlude of five holiday songs, Swift was back in the top 10 with “Picture of You,” which peaked at No. 3 the week of May 17. “Should’ve Said No” is that fifth song from Swift’s debut album that allows her to go where no other solo female country artist has gone before.
The last act to pull five top 10 songs from a debut album on the country chart was the Dixie Chicks, with a quintet of hits from “Wide Open Spaces” in 1998-99.
‘GOLD’ STANDARD: It’s not surprising, given how close we are to the opening of “Mamma Mia!” the movie on July 18, but “ABBA Gold” returns to the Top Pop Catalog chart after an absence of almost two years, and reaches its highest position since Sept. 27, 2003.
This greatest hits collection made its debut on The Billboard 200 the week of Oct. 9, 1993, at No. 63, which turned out to be the set’s peak position. The album remained on the chart for 104 weeks and was then removed to the Top Pop Catalog Albums tally. “ABBA Gold” entered the catalog chart on Dec. 7, 1996, at No. 31 and went as high as No. 7 the week of Sept. 13, 2003. This week the album re-enters at No. 18, its highest placing since the week of Sept. 27, 2003, when it was No. 11.
“ABBA Gold” has been on the Catalog chart for 337 weeks now, and for 45 of those weeks the album has been in its current position of No. 18 or higher. Adding the number of weeks on The Billboard 200 and the catalog list gives “Gold” a cumulative total of 441 charted weeks.
Early reviews, including one in The Hollywood Reporter, are very favorable, so if “Mamma Mia!” is a box office hit, it could spur sales of the soundtrack as well as “ABBA Gold,” giving that 15-year-old release an opportunity to surpass its catalog peak of No. 7.
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