Chart Beat Thursday: “Glee” Gleans 2nd No. 1
With a second No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in as many months, the cast of "Glee" breaks a chart record held for 44 years by the Beatles.
TV SETS: With an album that opens with a cover of the Beatles‘ “Hello Goodbye,” the “Glee” cast breaks a Billboard 200 record that the Fab Four had held for almost 44 years.
Just four weeks after the troupe topped the Billboard 200 with “Glee: the Music, the Power of Madonna,” the cast returns to the summit with “Glee: the Music, Volume 3: Showstoppers.” With its second leader, the act logs the shortest span between first weeks at No. 1 with different albums in the 54-year history of the Billboard 200.
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The ensemble eclipses the mark set by the Beatles, who sent “Yesterday”…and Today” to the top July 30, 1966, and followed with “Revolver” six weeks later on the chart dated Sept. 10, 1966.
(The “Glee” cast could break its own record on the June 26 Billboard 200. If the club’s EP “Journey to Regionals,” due June 8, opens at No. 1, the cast will have notched new No. 1 albums just three weeks apart).
The cast of “Glee” additionally logs the shortest span between No. 1 sets by an act since Simon & Garfunkel‘s “Bookends” replaced the duo’s own soundtrack to “The Graduate” on the chart dated May 25, 1968, after the latter album had led for its first seven of nine weeks spent at the apex.
By scoring a second leader, Fox’s first-season smash becomes the third TV series to yield multiple No. 1s in the Billboard 200’s archives.
Previously, NBC’s “The Monkees” and Disney’s “Hannah Montana” spurred more than one No. 1 on the list. Here is a look at the three programs to each produce more than one Billboard 200 leader:
“The Monkees”
“The Monkees,” 13 weeks at No. 1, 1966
“More of the Monkees,” 18 weeks, 1967
“Headquarters,” one week, 1967
“The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees,” five weeks, 1967
“Hannah Montana”
“Hannah Montana,” two weeks at No. 1, 2006
“Hannah Montana 2 (Soundtrack)/Meet Miley Cyrus,” one week, 2007
“Glee”
“Glee: the Music, the Power of Madonna,” one week at No. 1, 2010
“Glee: the Music, Volume 3: Showstoppers,” one week (to-date), 2010
BRYAN RYAN FLYIN’: Having already banked three Emmy Award nominations, a star turn on Broadway and hosting honors at the Academy Awards and Tony Awards, Neil Patrick Harris adds a Billboard Hot 100 appearance to his resume.
The actor/singer makes his first visit to the chart as a featured artist on the “Glee” cast’s cover of Aerosmith‘s “Dream On” at No. 26. In the role of Bryan Ryan, Harris sang the song as a duet with the show’s glee club director, Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), in the May 18 episode “Dream On.”
For a fourth consecutive week, the “Glee” cast sends five songs onto the Hot 100, upping its total to 53 visits in a span of 53 weeks. The group first appeared with “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” and “Rehab” a year ago this week.
Here is a look at how the latest debuting “Glee”-makes compare to any prior charted versions:
“Dream On”
No. 59/6, Aerosmith, 1973/76
No. 26, Glee Cast featuring Neil Patrick Harris, 2010
“I Dreamed a Dream”
No. 62, Susan Boyle, 2009
No. 31, Glee Cast featuring Idina Menzel, 2010
“Safety Dance”
No. 3, Men Without Hats, 1983
No. 81, Glee Cast, 2010
“Bad Romance”
No. 2, Lady Gaga, 2009
No. 86, Glee Cast, 2010
“Poker Face”
No. 1 (one week), Lady Gaga, 2009
No. 100, Glee Cast, 2010
The latter two tracks were released digitally prior to their TV premieres on this Tuesday’s (May 25) episode. Both songs are expected to register notable rises on next week’s Hot 100.
LOFTY LAUNCHES: Miley Cyrus‘ “Can’t Be Tamed” roars onto the Hot 100 at No. 8, marking the third consecutive week that the chart’s top 10 has welcomed newly-arriving titles.
Last week, Katy Perry‘s “California Gurls,” featuring Snoop Dogg, started at No. 2. The previous week, Eminem‘s “Not Afraid” and 3OH!3‘s “My First Kiss,” featuring Ke$ha, began at Nos. 1 and 9, respectively.
The three-week streak of top 10 bows marks the Hot 100’s first such string since Aug. 2, 9 and 16, 1997, when the Notorious B.I.G.’s “Mo Money Mo Problems,” featuring Puff Daddy and Mase (No. 4), Dru Hill’s “Never Make a Promise” (No. 10) and Spice Girls’ “2 Become 1” (No. 6) each opened in the top tier.
LEADING LADY: Collecting a 10th week atop Adult Contemporary with “Need You Now,” Lady Antebellum rewrites the record for longest reign by a country group in the chart’s 49-year history.
The act passes another trio it had tied for the mark last week; Rascal Flatts spent nine weeks at No. 1 with “What Hurts the Most” in 2006-07.
GUERRA + 440 = 1: Juan Luis Guerra Y 440’s “Bachata En Fukuoka” vaults 6-1 on Latin Songs and Tropical Songs. On the latter list, the track becomes Guerra’s fifth topper in-a-row, a feat last accomplished by Marc Anthony in 1995-96.
On Latin Songs, Guerra monopolizes the top two slots, as he sports a featured billing on Enrique Iglesias‘ “Cuando Me Enamoro” (7-2). Guerra is the fourth artist in the chart’s 24-year history to concurrently chart at Nos. 1 and 2, following Selena (1995), Alejandro Fernandez (1998) and Juanes (2008).
CHART BEAT BITS: With their “Exile on Main St.” re-entering the Billboard 200 at No. 2 (and the Target-exclusive “Exile On Main St.: Rarities Edition” debuting at No. 27), the Rolling Stones enjoy their highest rank since “Forty Licks” debuted at No. 2 on the chart dated Oct. 19, 2002. On the Triple A adult alternative radio airplay list, “Plundered My Soul” bounds 17-10 to become the group’s first top 10 since “Rough Justice” reached No. 5 in 2005 …
The passing of Ronnie James Dio May 16 resonates on Billboard charts, as his namesake band’s “Holy Diver” re-enters the Billboard 200 at No. 149 on the Billboard 200. The set had last appeared on the chart, also at No. 149, on March 10, 1984. Dio also sends two tracks onto the Rock Digital Songs chart: “Holy Diver” (No. 33) and “Rainbow in the Dark” (No. 41) …
Country Music Hall of Famers the Statler Brothers return to the Billboard 200 after almost 24 years, as two volumes of gospel songs bow at Nos. 113 and 116. The venerable act, which won three Grammy Awards in 1965 and 1972, last appeared on the survey when “Four for the Show” spent two weeks at No. 183 on the charts dated Aug. 9 and 16, 1986 …
Besting her sixth-place finish on the latest season of “The Celebrity Apprentice,” Cyndi Lauper debuts at No. 2 on Blues Digital Songs with “Just Your Fool,” featuring Charlie Musselwhite. Lauper performed the song on the series’ season finale May 23. She releases the blues set “Memphis Soul,” also featuring guests B.B. King and Jonny Lang, June 22 …
While last night’s official results confirmed that Lee DeWyze was crowned this year’s “American Idol” champion, Billboard’s album chart designed to highlight rising artists had already offered an indicator of the singer’s popularity. DeWyze earns Greatest Gainer honors on the Heatseekers Albums chart, as his second album, “Slumberland,” flies 32-17. Billboard defines the Heatseekers Albums tally as ranking the top-selling sets by “new or developing acts (that) have never appeared in the top 100 of the Billboard 200 or the top 10 of R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Country Albums, Latin Albums, Christian Albums or Gospel Albums.”
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