Lily Allen Describes Lady Gaga as a “Martyr”

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Gossip, Pop, New Releases, Sales,

Lily Allen has called Lady Gaga a "martyr" for choosing "art" over commercial success.

The "Air Balloon" hitmaker has defended her fellow singer after she was criticized for her latest album ARTPOP being a relative flop, insisting she deserves credit for the risks she has taken.

"If she's not succeeding commercially because she's standing by what she does as art, then that's a f**king great thing. That's to be commended. That's what makes a martyr. There's nothing wrong with that," she told Rolling Stone.

Lily has had similar problems with her own music, and admitted she had to choose her singles carefully to make sure they were acceptable for radio play. "I would love 'Hard Out Here' to have been a single, but you can't have a song that has the word 'bitch' in it 72 times on the radio," she explained.

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Gotye Has Biggest Selling Song of 2012

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Artist News, The Charts, Alternative, Rock,

Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" was the biggest selling song of 2012 in the US. The Belgian-Australian singer's track sold 6.8 million copies, beating Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe," which was second, with 6.4 million sales.

"Somebody That I Used to Know (Featuring Kimbra)" became a phenomena in 2012, catapulting the previously unknown artist to the spotlight. The song has sold over 10 million copies worldwide and reached number one in more than 23 national charts, becoming the fourth most downloaded track of all time.

Speaking of the track, Gotye - real name Wouter De Backer - said he doesn't mind if it's his only successful single: "I would take a sort of perverse pleasure if a certain part of the public think of me as a one-hit-wonder. I'd be in some good company."

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Poor Album Sales Don’t Bother Nelly Furtado

Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Artist News, Gossip, The Charts, Pop, New Releases,

She might not be flying like a bird with her latest album sales, but Nelly Furtado won't let that stop her from making music.

Her new album, The Spirit Indestructible, is the follow-up to her 2009 Spanish-language album Mi Plan. Before that was her career-boosting album Loose, which featured her hit single, "Promiscuous." The Spirit Indestructible failed to meet album expectations, selling a mere 6,000 copies (debuting at 79 on Billboard) compared to Loose's 219,000 in its first week (in which it debuted at number one).

"Just like a lot of my albums, actually. I have very few albums that debut high," Furtado said. "I've had kind of everything happen to me commercially and at different levels," she says. "I've had different scenes and I've dabbled in a lot of markets so I see the music world as very global and I'm always looking for new avenues and opportunities, so one chart or anything doesn't necessarily [mean anything]."

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Read More | Huffington Post

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Susan Boyle Tops UK Charts

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Artist News, The Charts, Covers,

UPDATE: Boyle has also set a record for the US charts with the biggest first-week tally of 2009.

Reality star Susan Boyle is no longer just an internet sensation—she’s a true chart topper.

The 48-year-old Britain’s Got Talent competitor just saw her new album reach #1. Approximately 410,000 units of I Dreamed a Dream were purchased making it the quickest selling CD in Britain this year. Boyle’s entry also had the highest sales for any debut week in UK history.

“Wild Horses,” Susan’s cover of the famous Rolling Stones tune, also entered the charts with a 9th place ranking.

Read More | Billboard

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Taylor Swift Comes Back to Beat Britney

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: The Charts, Country,

Has the Britney Spears hype already died down?

Just one week after debuting at #1, the pop princess has already been dethroned. Unfortunately, Circus wasn’t topped by a new entry. Spears was actually surpassed by Taylor Swift.

Fearless, which has been out since November 11, jumped 23% over the last seven days. Swift sold 249,000 units besting Spears by 49,000. (Circus fell 60% from last week’s 505,000 achievement.) Beyonce’s release came in third during this round.

You can see the remaining Top Ten charters after the jump.

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Read More | Variety

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Twilight Soundtrack Tops Music Charts

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: The Charts, Soundtracks,

The second phase of Twilight domination is officially complete.

Now that we’re just eight days away from the big-screen adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s novel, it’s becoming increasingly impossible to avoid anything with Robert Pattinson’s face on it. The mania over the best-selling book has inspired collector’s edition magazine covers (EW), news packages (Nightline) and sight-seeing tours (Forks, WA). It’s even evolved into a #1 album.

After two turns at the top of the charts, AC/DC’s Black Ice was just dethroned by the soundtrack for the vampire-themed movie. Although Twilight is now the third soundtrack this year to reach #1 (following Juno and Mamma Mia!), it’s the only one since 2006’s Sing-a-Longs and Lullabies for Curious George to debut there.

Twilight - which includes tracks from Linkin Park, Muse and Paramore - sold 165,000 units last week. AC/DC came in second with 160,000 while High School Musical 3 came in third with 110,000.

Read More | Billboard

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