Chris Brown Lands First Billboard 200 #1 Debut With F.A.M.E.

Written by:  Gil Kaufman

As predicted, Chris Brown will land his first #1 Billboard 200 album-chart debut when his latest release, F.A.M.E., tops the tally next week. The new LP from the embattled Brown sold 270,000 copies, which was enough to put him ahead of the #2 premiere of Jennifer Hudson's I Remember Me, according to figures provided by Nielsen SoundScan.

Brown's previous efforts, 2005's Chris Brown, 2007's Exclusive and 2009's Graffiti, debuted at #2, #4 and #7, respectively.

The second album from Oscar-winner Hudson moved 165,000 copies and was one of seven new faces in a revamped top 10. Also crashing the upper part of the chart were the Strokes, whose first new effort in five years, Angles, landed at #4 (89,000 copies sold), followed by gospel great Kirk Franklin's Hello Fear at #5 (87,000), the all-star benefit compilation Songs for Japan (#6, 68,000), Panic! at the Disco's Vices & Virtues (#7, 56,000) and Bobby V's Fly on the Wall (#9, 38,000).

The only holdovers from the previous week were British crooner Adele, whose 21 slipped two spots to #3 (96,000); Mumford & Sons' Sigh No More, which dropped from #5 to #8 (39,000); and Lupe Fiasco's Lasers, which tumbled seven places to #10 (29,000).

Just outside the top 10, Green Day's latest live album, Awesome as F---, dropped in at #14 (27,000), rapper was close behind at #18 with Return of Mr. Zone 6 (25,000) and pop-punk vets Yellowcard slid in at #19 with When You're Through Thinking Say Yes (24,000).

After an impressive #2 debut last week, Chicago punkers Rise Against's Endgame fell 20 spots to #22 as sales tanked 75 percent to 21,000, while the soundtrack to the critically flamed "Sucker Punch" limped in at #31 (16,000). Ke$ha's I Am the Dance Commander + I Command You to Dance: The Remix Album popped up at #36 (14,000) and reunited grunge gods Soundgarden's live album, Live on I-5, debuted at #47 (11,000).

One of the week's steepest descents belonged to Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker's debut solo effort, Give the Drummer Some, which lost 66 percent of its business in week two and dropped 47 places to #56 (10,000).

The Songs for Japan digital album was #1 on iTunes, pushing Brown down to the #2 slot, followed by Adele, the Strokes, Panic!, Hudson, Mumford & Sons, Franklin, "Sucker Punch" and Yellowcard. On the iTunes singles chart, heavy-lidded rapper Wiz Khalifa was tops with "No Sleep," which came in ahead of songs from the Black Eyed Peas ("Just Can't Get Enough"), Katy Perry ("E.T."), Rihanna ("S&M") and Cee Lo Green ("Forget You"). Brown also held the #6 position with "Look at Me Now," with Lady Gaga ("Born This Way"), Jennifer Lopez ("On the Floor"), Ke$ha ("Blow") and, once again, Brown ("Next 2 You") rounding out the list's top 10. 

Things should heat up considerably on the Billboard 200 next week when Britney Spears' Femme Fatale squares off against Wiz Khalifa's Rolling Papers, along with chart debuts from Radiohead, Snoop Dogg and Sum 41.

 Resources: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1660950/chris-brown-billboard-fame.jhtml

10 Hottest Banned Korean PopMusic Videos

In South Korea, songs and music videos get reviewed by the government and major TV networks, deciding whether they are deemed appropriate for broadcast. 

Here are some that didn't make the cut

Touch Me - by Ivy

Reason: Deemed inappropriate for children

Chitty Chitty Big Bang - by Lee Hyo Ri

Reason: Road rules violations, including driving without a seat belt, dancers performing on top of buses, and dancing on the street.

Turn It Up - by T.O,P

Reason: Indirect advertising, uttering brands like LV, Dior, Alexander McQueen, and Dolce & Gabbana.

Why are You Doing This To Me - by Foxy

Reason: Promotion of sexual relationships with men and women.

Mirotic - by TVXQ

Reason: Explicit lyrics, particularly "under my skin"

Abracadabra - by Brown Eyed Girls

Reason: BDSM themes, boob touching and lesbian kissing

Strong Baby - by Seung Ri

Reason: The word "crack"

Oppa, Can I Do It? - by E.Via

Reason: the song itself was banned. Because, Oppa is what a young girl calls a slightly older male

Wealthy 2nd Generation - by AJOO

Reason: Promotion of overindulgence and materialism

Suspicious Man - by Lee Jung Hyun

Reason: An extensive bathroom scene

 Resource: http://www.buzzfeed.com/empressmaruja/5-hottest-banned-korean-pop-music-videos-1fox

10 Most Downloaded iTunes Songs of All Time

Article is made by Sara D Anderson and from the site: http://www.aolradioblog.com/2010/02/25/most-downloaded-itunes-songs/

In celebration of iTunes' 10 Billion download marker (which was met on Feb. 24, 2010 at 9:43PM GMT), Apple has revealed the Most Downloaded iTunes Songs of All Time. Covering singles from Kesha, GaGa and the Black Eyed Peas, among others, these iTunes singles prove that when it comes to downloading music by the masses, we chose to fill our iPods and nanos mostly with retro club beats and dance-floor jams -- but also muse over romantic ballads by Jason Mraz and Taylor Swift, even the string-driven melody in Coldplay's 'Viva La Vida.' Check out the entire list of songs (all released within the last few years) after the jump!

10) Kesha: 'TiK ToK' (2009)

Featured off her debut album 'Animal,' this iTunes single -- with auto-synth back beats -- muses about the singer's crazy night out partying. The chorus is a definite party rocker: "Don't stop, make it pop / DJ, blow my speakers up / Tonight, I'mma fight / 'Til we see the sunlight..."

9) Leona Lewis: 'Bleeding Love' (2007)

The 2006 'X-Factor' winner released this R&B/pop track as her lead single off her debut 'Spirit.' Although it is considered a love song, the song's structure is more R&B danced-based (with wood block percussion and synthesized strings) than a slow-tempo ballad. This song not only made iTunes top 10 most downloaded list, but was the best-selling single in the U.K., as well as the top selling track of 2008, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

8) Taylor Swift: 'Love Story' (2008)

She may not have perfect pitch, but she sure can write, sharing the perfect love story that every girl would want, lyrically tying in the story between Romeo & Juliet (sans the tragic ending, obviously): "Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone / I'll be waiting, all that's left to do is run / You be the prince, and I'll be the princess / It's a love story, baby, just say, 'yes'." This tune was one of the first songs to successfully crossover from country to pop, and become not only the most-downloaded country track in history, but the best-selling country song in the U.S. -- surpassing LeAnn Rimes' 'How Do I Live?' by 1 million copies.

7) Flo Rida: 'Low' (2007)

The first single off his debut album 'Mail on Sunday' the song features T-Pain, who also co-wrote the song. According to the RIAA, this top downloaded iTunes song received the highest Gold & Platinum certification of any artist in March of 2008, earning Flo Rida Gold, Platinum, and 3x multi-Platinum prestige for his chart-topping song, which was also ranked No. 3 song on Billboard's Hot 100 Songs of the Decade.

 6) Lady GaGa: 'Just Dance' (2008)

The playful tune with prominent dance beats has the glittery, swaggering-bombshell singing about being wasted in a club: "What's going on on the floor? / I love this record baby but I can't see straight anymore / Keep it cool, what's the name of this club? / I can't remember but it's alright, a-alright / Just dance." Praised by critics, the song stayed on the Billboard 100 for almost five months before it finally topped the charts in January of 2009.

5) Coldplay: 'Viva la Vida' (2008)

A band known for stadium-scale melodies, this track's melody is no different, recognized for it's repeated, punchy string section -- so much in fact that musician Joe Satriani accused Coldplay of copyright infringement, saying that the melody was copied from his 2004 'If I Could Fly.' Luckily for Coldplay, the case was settled last September, as both parties reached a financial settlement. The lyrics to the song mention Roman cavalry, Saint Peter and Jerusalem bells, adding religious references to a pop-y song, which won both Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or a Group at the 2009 Grammy Awards.

4) Jason Mraz: 'I'm Yours' (2008)

Even though the song was released as Mraz's first single off 2008's 'I Sing. I Dance. I Steal Things,' the track was originally included as a demo on his 2006 limited Edition 'Extra Credit,' an EP to help promote his album 'Mr. A-Z.' 'I'm Yours' was nominated for two Grammys in 2009: Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and Song of the Year, but lost to John Mayer's 'Say' and, yep, Coldplay's 'Viva la Vida,' respectively.

3) Black Eyed Peas: 'Boom Boom Pow' (2009)

This top iTunes song -- with furturistic lyrics "I'm so 3008 / you're so 2000 and late" and heavy auto-tune -- gives the band a digital rebirth, not only in their sound but their image as well. So much, that in fact, the group won a 2010 Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video.

2) Lady GaGa: 'Poker Face' (2008)

Despite its upbeat electropop vibe, the song denotes a darker meaning sex and bisexuality, metaphorically linking to gambling: "Luck and intuition play the cards with Spades to start / And after he's been hooked I'll play the one that's on his heart." GaGa says she wrote this top downloaded iTunes song as a tribute to her rock 'n' roll boyfriends. The song won a 2010 Grammy for Best Dance Recording.

1) Black Eyed Peas: 'I Gotta Feeling' (2009)

You've blasted this top 2009 song once or twice while getting ready to go out, danced along to it at a club, and even rocked out to it at a house party -- yep, just like the music video, which features cameo appearances by co-producer and French house DJ David Guetta (other producer is Will.i.am) along with Katy Perry, American rapper Kid Cudi, and model/actress Chantal Jones. This No.1 downloadable iTunes song won a 2010 Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

4th Mini Album by Big Bang!

If it feels like there’s an overwhelming amount of enthusiasm dispersing across the internet, you are not alone.  A certain Korean group just so happens to have returned from a two (count them, two) year hiatus and has instantly vaulted to the forefront of the Korean pop music industry once again.  A break of that length is considered an eternity, especially to those who live their lives according to the K-pop measurement of time, which basically travels at warp-speed.

Big Bang – Daesung, G-Dragon, Seungri, Taeyang, and T.O.P – have spent the last couple years promoting their Japanese material, as well as allowing each member the time to release their own solo music, but the band hadn’t rejoined forces for an exclusive Big Bang album until this week.

Rather than returning into the arms of their fans bearing the gift of a full-length album, Big Bang and YG Entertainment decided to promote their new material via the mini album format.  It’s not a lot, but for the fans who have been shaking in anticipation for Big Bang’s valiant return to the music scene, anything is better than nothing at this point.

So how did their return fare?  Was it a lot of hype but no results, or did they justify all the buzz they received?  Let’s find out.

—

Track List:

01 Intro (Thank You & You)
02 Hands Up
03 Tonight
04 Somebody To Love
05 What Is Right
06 Cafe

—

This release marks the 4th mini album for Big Bang, and it’s yet another notch on their belt.  From their humble beginnings, Big Bang have been pushing the boundaries in Korean pop culture.  Their sound has been strongly influenced by hip-hop, R&B, and the present day electronic style, all genres which they have, at one point or another, managed to perfect and bring to life in ways that other groups have not.  Basically, Big Bang’s cultural impact is a strong one, and there’s really no refuting them as one of the few ‘trend-setters’ of this generation in music.

So when Big Bang release new material, it’s not only a big deal because they’re back from oblivion, but also for the preconceived notion that they’re going to bring forth something spectacular and utterly mind-blowing.  History has proven it, and with a distinguished swag already stapled to their style, it’s pretty hard for Big Bang not to deliver something amazing through their music.

Or is it?

Branching out has served Big Bang in ways that working as a unit has not.  Each member has had the chance to experiment with different styles and explore their potential to showcase the best of who they are as individual artists.

That’s great, and coming back as a group should have been a piece of cake for Big Bang, but this album doesn’t express as much of their signature flow as before. The first hints of a ‘difference’ in Big Bang’s musicality is apparent in their “Intro (Thank You & You)“.  The glaring detail is that the members in Big Bang are no longer singing as one, but as individual singers; meaning there isn’t a significant point in the song where more than one member is singing in unison or harmonizing with another.  I would have brushed off this observation had it not reappeared in the rest of this mini album, but boy does it ever.

Even if Big Bang aren’t vocally the strongest singers in K-pop, they do usually have one of the strongest impacts on their listeners when they sing together (see the chorus from “Lies“, and especially the one from “Haru Haru“).  There’s a reason why Big Bang are as successful as they are, and part of that is thanks to the incredible chemistry in their music.

On this EP, however, all you hear is each Big Bang member trading off lines (some much longer than others) and nothing more.  It’s good music, but where has the spark gone?

A lack of dynamics is only half of the disappointment, as the other half lies in the songs themselves.

It’s hard to consider any cluster of songs on a mini album as filler, but it feels like most of the songs on this EP are exactly that.  It doesn’t help a single bit that two of these songs (“Hands Up“, “Somebody To Love“) have already been released; they are Japanese versions of these same songs.  Both are decent songs, but they were not the lead tracks on the other EPs for a reason.  They don’t possess the bite or anything particularly special for them to stand strong among the rest of  Big Bang’s diverse repertoire, so it isn’t quite clear why they decided to throw them in here.

And that leads to the next point.

It has been two years since Big Bang participated in any official Korean promotion for an album.  With or without a busy schedule, that long of a time span could have at least prompted them to churn out a completely brand new album, full-length or mini.  We all realize they have been busy, but the amount of time they had to plan this project was immense, and they ended up basically rehashing some old tracks, which was a disappointment in itself.

If there’s one saving grace in this EP, it’s the impeccable production.  Ever since G-Dragon went solo with “Heartbreaker“, the quality of Big Bang’s songs have significantly improved.  Their sound has become very digitized, and it’s the most club-friendly music in K-pop.  As far as treatment goes, each member sounds better than ever on this EP.  The pitch-manipulation will put some people off, but I can’t deny that it’s done really well.

“Tonight” is the perfect example of how brilliant auto-tune can sound when done right.  The treatment on each member’s vocals works really well against the fullness of the amazing instrumental.  It features the YG signature hand claps, as well as some pretty cool audience cheers, which is a clever way to create an epic atmosphere to any song.  Clearly, the production on “Tonight” is one of the highlights on this EP.

Another standout is the classic sounding “Cafe.”  The style is very laid-back and consists of the Big Bang edge that I like to hear in their music.  You can’t go wrong with a suave song like this one.

“Cafe” also happens to be the only song where we receive the largest dose of Daesung’s gorgeous singing, which is an absolute shame, because just from listening to him on this song, it’s obvious that his voice has grown and developed since the last time he made any kind of vocal appearance, and I think we would have all loved to hear so much more of it.

The spotlight just doesn’t favor him in this EP, which is simply confusing.

Again, production-wise, this EP sounds fantastic, and it’s complete candy to the ears.  However, it’s the usual Big Bang spark and flair that is MIA, and that’s what holds this material back from knocking down walls and rocketing it into the leagues of “Haru Haru” type releases.

Big Bang’s previous work, specifically before 2009, was woven not only to allow each member to shine individually, but also to explode as one well-rounded group.  In this mini album, it’s obvious that Big Bang are right there singing it ‘together’, but their newfound structures and methods of recording leaves these songs sounding relatively flat.  The member’s individual material was far more engaging than anything revealed here, which is a worrisome conclusion.

Big Bang have the tools at their disposal to craft the most amazing music imaginable, but if they can’t return as one to rekindle the group’s character and musical presence, let alone deliver an EP that surpasses expectations, than perhaps isolating themselves in their own styles wasn’t the best move for the future of the group after all.

 Resources: http://www.allkpop.com/2011/02/review-4th-mini-album-by-big-bang