Pop music continues its magnanimous reign on the Singles chart this week, as Carly Rae Jepsen dials
in a seventh week at No. 1 with her now-ubiquitous “Call Me Maybe.” That's the longest run by a female solo act since Adele logged as many weeks on top with "Rolling In The Deep" from May to July 2011.
Jepsen’s “Maybe,” in its 17th week inside the top 10, is the third chart-topping single to log six weeks or more at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, following "We Are Young" by fun. f/Janelle Monae, with six weeks; and "Somebody That I Used To Know," with eight. That hasn’t happened since 2002.
The reign of melodic music at the top is hardly a coincidence. A new study by Alan Burns & Associates surveyed 2,000 core female listeners of CHR and adult top 40, and found that pop and pop-rhythmic music are their favorite sounds—by more than a two to one margin over hip-hop (111 and 108 to 40). That’s a momentous change from just two years ago, when the three genres were practically on par (108, 98, 95).
Pop’s rally at CHR—and hip-hop’s decline—is reflected in the entire top 5 of this week’s Hot 100.
Following Jepsen is Maroon 5's "Payphone," f/Wiz Khalifa, at No. 2 on the Hot 100 for a sixth frame, also topping Radio Songs for a fourth week. At No. 3 is Katy Perry’s dance-pop “Wide Awake,” which earns top Airplay Gainer props, moving 5-4 on Radio Songs. The song is pushing hard to become Perry’s eighth No. 1 single, next week.
Brit singer Ellie Goulding's dance-pop "Lights" climbs 5-4 in its 31st week on the chart, ascending 4-1 on On-Demand Songs, and a No. 6 ranking on Radio Songs. And at No. 5, down 1, is former chart-topper Gotye f/Kimbra with "Somebody That I Used to Know.”
Flo Rida's "Whistle" rises 7-6 on the Hot 100, fueled by sales as the top-selling Digital Song—surpassing more than 1 million downloads this week. Rounding out the top 10: Rihanna's "Where Have You Been" edges 6-7; David Guetta's "Titanium," featuring Sia, holds at No. 8; Usher's "Scream" rises 10-9; and, P!nk's
"Blow Me (One Last Kiss)" drops 9-10. That’s likely a temporary setback for P!nk’s first single from her upcoming sixth studio album "The Truth About Love," due Sept. 18, as the track rallies 23-17 on Radio Songs. In addition, the music video was released July 26, which will drive streaming in the weeks to come.
Just outside the Hot 100's top 10, country act Jason Aldean ignites onto the chart at No. 12 with the week’s highest new entry, "Take a Little Ride.” While the single sold a robust 189,000 downloads—the most ever by a male artist at country—there’s a major caveat. Much of the track’s first-week action comes from an alliance between indie label Broken Bow and Clear Channel, with coordinated hour-after-hour airplay July 16 at the radio giant’s country
outlets.
The last time such a stunt was engineered was Madonna’s “Give Me All Your Luvin’,” which CC simultaneously launched on 95 radio stations in February. While it propelled the song into the top 10, top 40 stations immediately retreated in the following weeks. (In the U.K., sans Clear Channel’s assistance, “Luvin’” peaked at a paltry No. 37.) While there’s no indication the same will happen with Aldean, it does show the potential plight of “manufacturing” a hit. At the least, it’s hardly an upstanding maneuver.
Meanwhile, No Doubt also returns to the upper reaches of the Singles chart, launching at No. 34 with "Settle Down." The pop-ska quartet’s first single since 2004’s remake of Talk Talk’s “It’s My Life,” opens at No. 13 on Digital Songs and No. 65 on Radio Songs. The song previews No Doubt's sixth studio album, "Push and Shove," due September 25. It’s their first studio album since 2001's "Rock Steady." *
Is it my imagination, or is Abby wearying of Carly Rae Jepsen's new Kiss album that I've played about 937,891 times (so far) on endless loop? Sorry kiddo, but this uptempo pop explosion is keeping my fingers roaring across the keys, happily working away on a freelance bio... and Spencer seems to be digging it, right? *
an avalanche of uptempo sugary pop confections... just what the doc ordered. But of course the $25,000 question: Can she maintain the momentum of the eight-week No. 1 run of "Call Me Maybe," without a doubt the song of Summer 2012?
While follow-up "Good Time" with Owl City remains in the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 this week (after peaking at 8), Carly Rae's new single, "This Kiss," just released to radio, is a youthful whirlwind of singable hooks and cute instrumental dance synths... perhaps not as immediate as "Call Me Maybe," but then... what is? The song was produced by LMFAO's RedFoo and singer-songwriter Matthew Koma; and released to iTunes September 10.
for success with follow-up "She Runs Away." (Duncan made out okay, winning a Tony Award for composing Broadway's Spring Awakening in 2008.)
Know” as the longest-running No. 1 of 2012!! The track also passes 5 million digital downloads, becoming the third best-selling track of the year so far (behind Gotye and “We Are Young” by fun.).
in a seventh week at No. 1 with her now-ubiquitous “Call Me Maybe.” That's the longest run by a female solo act since Adele logged as many weeks on top with "Rolling In The Deep" from May to July 2011. 
Following Jepsen is Maroon 5's "Payphone," f/Wiz Khalifa, at No. 2 on the Hot 100 for a sixth frame, also topping Radio Songs for a fourth week. At No. 3 is Katy Perry’s dance-pop “Wide Awake,” which earns top Airplay Gainer props, moving 5-4 on Radio Songs. The song is pushing hard to become Perry’s eighth No. 1 single, next week.
"Blow Me (One Last Kiss)" drops 9-10. That’s likely a temporary setback for P!nk’s first single from her upcoming sixth studio album "The Truth About Love," due Sept. 18, as the track rallies 23-17 on Radio Songs. In addition, the music video was released July 26, which will drive streaming in the weeks to come.
outlets.
Blazing temperatures aren’t the only thing heating up the summer of 2012. Consider this the season of Girl Power at CHR radio. As Carly Rae Jepsen’s ubiquitous uptempo anthem “Call Me Maybe” 
logs a sixth week atop the Singles Chart, four other solo female singers join her in the top 10. You’d have to go back to the beginning of the millennium—a la Britney, Christina and Jessica—to see as many pop princesses rallying in the higher 
reaches of the Billboard Hot 100.
Adele’s “Rolling In the Deep” logged seven weeks from May to July 2011. It also leads On-Demand Songs for a fifth week, and is No. 2 on Radio Songs, Pop Songs and Digital Songs (after leading the latter list for eight weeks). In addition, it tops the Summer Songs 2012 tally for a third week, which Radio-Info.com’s Sean Ross has been keeping tabs on. 
Within the millennium, she has more top 10s than any other female act, other than Rihanna (22) and Beyonce (14). With the new single, she trumps both Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. 
