She seems to be everywhere: showing up in the unlikeliest of places like dueting with Sugarland”s Jennifer Nettles at this month”s Academy of Country Music Awards or partnering with fellow diva Britney Spears for a remix. One place she”s showing up with startling frequency is at the top of the charts and this week is no exception as she takes “S&M” to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and breaks two records.
1) Rihanna (not ranked last week): She heads off a strong charge from Lady Gaga”s “Judas” to top the Billboard Hot 100 and, in doing so, sets a record for shortest time span between her first and 10th No. 1 by a solo artist. Plus, the 23-year old is the youngest artist to score 10 No. 1s, although she better watch out for Justin Bieber.
2) Apple (not ranked): Not only does the company generate $24 billion in quarterly revenue, a staggering 83% increase over the same quarter last year, it looks like iTunes” cloud-based music locker is close to launch, with All Things D reporting that Apple has closed licensing deals with two of the big four label groups. As you”ll recall, Amazon decided it didn”t need no sticking licenses for its cloud-based service, incurring the wrath of labels everywhere. https://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20110421/one-difference-between-apples-music-locker-and-amazons-label-deals/
3) Beyonce (not ranked): After a short break, Bey is back and fierce as Sasha always proclaimed to be. What first single “Girls (Run The World)” lacks in a hummable melody it more than makes up for in attitude and sass.
4) Ticketmaster (not ranked): The ticketing giant has inked a deal with MarketShare that will likely lead to dynamic pricing for the concert business, meaning you may finally be able to set your own price for a ticket as prices will better reflect market demands instead of artist greed. Now, if we could just do something about those service fees….
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5) Mariah Carey (not ranked): As she waits for her bambinos to burst forth, no doubt as they sing “Vision of Love” instead of cry, rumors are circulating that she will play some role on Simon Cowell”s “X Factor,” though not as a full time judge. Speculators are speculating that with her former Island Def Jam L.A. Reid likely headed to Sony, he may lead the charge to bring Carey with him, marking her return to the label that started it all for her 20 years ago.
6) “Weird Al” Yankovic (not ranked): He gets more publicity for himself in two days than he has in 10 years with his parody of Lady Gaga”s “Born This Way.” Look for his new album, “Alpocalypse” in June on Jive. Yes, he and Britney Spears are now label mates. We can”t wait for his parody of “Three.”
7) Kanye West (not ranked): His restoration is complete…or at least until he says something stupid again Kanye delivered what many considered to be the best set at Coachella on Sunday as he closed out the Indio, Calif. fest with a two-hour performance that some called one of the best hip-hop concerts ever.
8) Warner Music Group (not ranked): And then there were three. Although it seems there”s still a lot of negotiating to be done and there”s room for spoilers, the number of credible bidders for the record company is down to three, rumored by Bloomberg to be Ron Burkle”s Yucaipa Companies, Len Blavatnik”s Access Industries, and the Gores brothers” Platinum Equity and the Gores Group. The price of entry: north of $3 billion.
9) Dr. Dre (not ranked): It”s a little confusing since he started Death Row Records, but a U.S. District Judge ruled this week that the current incarnation of Death Row, no longer owned by Dr. Dre, has no right to sell his pivotal 1992 album “The Chronic” digitally unless the current owners pay him 100% of the royalties. No word on if that has to be in cash or, um, other green.
10) Foo Fighters (No. 4): Sixteen years after its debut, the band scores its first No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Looks like they finally learned to fly.