As previously reported, Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” crowns the Billboard Hot 100 and John Legend leaps 11-4 with “All of Me” to land his first Hot 100 top 10. Who else is happy thanks to notable moves on Billboard song charts this week?
— Keith Urban: The singer/”American Idol” judge claims his 31st top 10 on Hot Country Songs, as “Cop Car” speeds 12-10. Urban first reached the region with the No. 4-peaking “Your Everything” on the Aug. 12, 2000, chart. Since, only Kenny Chesney boasts more top 10s (35). Brad Paisley and Rascal Flatts follow with 29 each in that span. (On the Hot 100, “Cop Car” motors 60-52.)
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— Lorde: Debuting at No. 88 on the Hot 100, “Glory and Gore” nearly doubles in sales to 32,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan, following its promotional usage ahead of the History channel’s Feb. 27 second-season premiere of “Vikings.” UPDATED: The song is the third promoted radio single, following “Royals” and “Team,” from Lorde’s album “Pure Heroine.” Billboard first reported that “Tennis Court” would be the third single, per Republic Records, but the label has since switched its plan to “Glory and Gore.”
— Naughty Boy: “La La La,” featuring Sam Smith, arrives on the Hot 100 at No. 98 after topping the Official U.K. Singles chart dated June 8, 2013. His debut album “Hotel Cabana” (a No. 2 U.K. hit last year) features his frequent collaborator Emeli Sande, as well as Bastille, Ed Sheeran and Wiz Khalifa.
— U2: As “Ordinary Love” debuts at No. 99, U2 notches its 33rd Hot 100 hit and first since 2009. The song should gain further following the band’s performance of it on the Academy Awards on March 2 (as should fellow best original song nominees at Nos. 1 (“Happy”) and 18 and 61 (Idina Menzel and Demi Lovato’s respective versions of “Let It Go”).
— Cage the Elephant: The group scores its first Triple A No. 1, as “Come a Little Closer” rises 2-1. While the band has tallied six Alternative top 10s, it made just one prior Triple A appearance, reaching No. 24 with its breakout hit “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” in 2009. RCA senior VP of promotion Adrian Moreira says that “Closer,” which topped Alternative for 10 weeks and has become the act’s first Adult Top 40 entry (32-27), is a better fit for triple A. “It manages to be edgy, cool and fresh-sounding, while still having a very memorable hook. Sonically, it bridges the gap between an upper-demo that grew up on Nirvana and today’s younger alternative radio listener.”
— KONGOS: The band crashes the Alternative top 10 with its debut hit “Come With Me Now,” which jumps 12-9 with Greatest Gainer honors. The song is the first maiden Alternative entry to reach the top 10 so quickly since Lorde’s eventual seven-week No. 1 “Royals” also needed just five frames (July 27, 2013). KONGOS’ song completes the fastest flight to the Alternative top 10 for a band in its first appearance since Flobots’ No. 3-peaking “Handlebars” pedaled into the top in its third frame on the May 3, 2008, chart.
— We Are Toonz: Atlanta’s latest dance craze, the Nae Nae, makes its presence felt on multiple Billboard charts via We Are Toonz’s addictive debut single “Drop That #NaeNae.” The cut opens at No. 38 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 20 on Hot Rap Songs, due primarily to a 116% increase to 16,000 downloads sold; 73% of the song’s points on the charts are due to sales. The popularity of “Drop That #NaeNae” and its accompanying dance mushroomed last week thanks to Washington Wizards guard John Wall breaking into the dance after his contest-winning dunk during the NBA’s All-Star Weekend (Feb. 15).
— Betty Who: The Australian pop singer/songwriter scores her first Billboard No. 1, as “Somebody Loves You” surges 5-1 on Dance Club Songs. The cut first made an appearance on Pop Digital Songs for a week last year (Sept. 28) after it served as the soundtrack for a video that went viral in which Spencer Stout (with the help of some flash mob friends) proposes to his boyfriend, Dustin Reeser, at a Home Depot.
— Prince Royce: The Bachata singer lifts 4-1 on Tropical Airplay with “Te Robare,” nabbing his eighth leader on the chart. The track, from his recent set “Soy El Mismo,” concurrently climbs 11-9 on Hot Latin Songs, granting him two top 10s on that chart, as former 14-week No. 1 “Darte Un Beso” dips 4-5.
— Christopher Cross: The renowned singer lands his first top 10 on a Billboard chart in more than 30 years, as Jeff Golub’s “How Long,” featuring Cross and Brian Auger, jumps 12-8 on Smooth Jazz. The remake of Ace’s No. 3 Billboard Hot 100 hit from 1975 marks Cross’ first top 10 since “Think of Laura” crowned Adult Contemporary for four weeks and reached No. 9 on the Hot 100 in February 1984. The silky-voiced Cross, who released his most recent studio set, “Doctor Faith,” in 2011, arrived with eight consecutive Hot 100 top 40 hits (including two No. 1s among four top 10s) in 1980-84, while his self-titled debut album garnered him five Grammy Awards.
Additional reporting by Wade Jessen, Amaya Mendizabal and Rauly Ramirez