Billboard Chart Review-2/28/13

This week's chart dated March 9, 2013 actually reflects the sales week of February 18-February 24.

The Billboard Hot 100:
Song                                        Position           Last Week
Harlem Shake                          1                      1          *Digital Gainer*
Thrift Shop                              2                      2
When I was your man             3                      8          *Airplay Gainer*
I knew you were trouble         4                      5
Scream & Shout                      5                      4
Started from the bottom          6                     10
Stay                                         7                      3
Suit and Tie                             8                      9
Locked out of heaven             9                      7
Love Me                                  10                    19        *Pacesetter*
Obviously, "Harlem Shake" has not died down, as the thousands of videos of the dance garnered 98 million views last week. I still don't think they should all count, but like it or not, it's a viral phenomenon and we're just gonna have to let it take its course. At least it's gaining in sales, but still not as much as "Thrift Shop". That song continues to gain in airplay and it posts a seventh straight week of 300,000+ copies sold. It's technically more qualified to be number one, but Nielsen YouTube scans continue to tell us otherwise. "Love Me" is the new top ten entry, and it's a Lil Wayne song...wow, totally didn't see that one coming. Anyway, a look at what's happening outside of the top ten: "Ho Hey" drops 6-11, One Direction scores their second top twenty hit as "One Way or Another" shoots 45-13, Rihanna inches 22-21 with "Pour it Up", Fun's "Some Nights" falls 28-38 in its 53rd chart week, absent from the chart is Gotye and Kimbra's "Somebody That I Used to Know", Adele's "Skyfall" is gaining from its Oscar win and it rises 83-61, Pink's duet with Nate Ruess "Just Give Me a Reason" bullets 84-72, Ellie Goulding's "Anything Could Happen" is thankfully still on the chart, but it falls 85-94 in its 20th week, and yeah, that's about it.

The Billboard 200:
Album                                     Position           Last Week
Babel                                       1                      1
Unorthodox Jukebox              2                      3
All That Echoes                      3                      5
Now 45                                   4                      8
The Lumineers                        5                      6
Boys and Girls                        6                      20
2013 Grammy Nominees        7                      2
Some Nights                           8                      7
Unapologetic                           9                      15
Red                                         10                    4
Now that the Grammy-boosted sales are over, we're back to a mundane week. Actually, this week posts the most uneventful album sales in over six months. "Babel" keeps number one on the strength of 63,000 copies, and since the best selling album sold less than 100,000 copies, there wasn't much competition for the top. The only albums that posted a gain in sales were Rihanna's "Unapologetic" and Alabama Shakes' "Boys and Girls". But let's see if the rest of the chart brought excitement:
The "Pitch Perfect" soundtrack rises 16-11, Adele's "21" shoots 19-14 in its 105th chart week, Macklemore's "The Heist" bullets 33-16, Alicia Keys' "Girl on Fire" rockets 28-18, Usher's 2004 blockbuster "Confessions" makes a surprise comeback as it vaults 199-114, and is the pacesetter of the week, and taking the biggest plunge is Gotye's "Making Mirrors" as it plummets 80-181. The album with the most weeks on the chart right now is, surprise, Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon", it falls 143-195 in its 824th week.