Music Power Rankings: Jay-Z, Rush, and Nine Inch Nails top the list

1. Jay-Z: He lands his 13th No. 1 album on the Billboard 200. We get the feeling he doesn”t have an unlucky number.

.2 Clear Channel: In three years, it has turned IHeartRadio from a vanity project to a viable, tremendously successful two-day festival. Let”s face it, if you were an artist dependent on radio play, would you tell them no?

3. Marc Anthony: After idiots on Twitter criticized someone “foreign born” being selected to sing “God Bless America” at this week”s MLB All-Star game, he quietly and elegantly reminded people that he was born in New York. Wake up, people. It”s not 1950.

4. Rush: The power trio gets their own Canadian stamp. Isn”t it a shame audio doesn”t come with it?

5. Thom Yorke: He and Nigel Godrich take on Spotify by removing Atoms For Peace”s music and griping that the service doesn”t help new artists. Yeah, that”ll hurt them.

6. Bruce Springsteen: While touring in Europe, he dedicated “41 Shots” to Trayvon Martin because, sadly, misplaced brutality never goes out of style.

7. Stevie Wonder: The singer takes a stand on Stand Your Ground, declaring that he will not play any states who have passed the law. Does he know that immediately takes 22 states off his tour route?

8. Nine Inch Nails: The Trent Reznor-led band releases four different covers for different configurations for “Hesitation Marks.”  Will die-hard fans feel compelled to collect the full set?

9. Anna Kendrick: As “Cups” continues to gain radio play, she becomes only the second person to have landed a Top 10 single, and nominations for both an Academy Award and a Tony. The other?  Barbra Streisand. #notanegot
 

10. Kanye West: The rapper takes his frustrations out on a paparazzo at LAX, allegedly resulting in the photographer being hurt and planning to press charges. Hey, you”re a daddy now, ‘Ye. Chill.

 

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