March kicks off as Kelly Clarkson comes in like a lion, sending “Piece By Piece” to a new #8 peak in its third run on the chart. Beyond her appearance, the top ten is fairly quiet: two of Lissie’s three top-ten singles move up, while Kris Allen squeaks “Waves” into the upper echelon. Nick Fradiani and newcomers MUNA both score top-forty debuts with their respective new singles “Get You Home” and “Winterbreak.”
Kelly Clarkson
Laura Mvula is steady at #1, with Lissie’s “Daughters” up a spot to #4 and Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Run Away With Me” back into the top ten. Rihanna scores a third top-twenty single from ANTI as lead, Drake-featuring single “Work” moves 25-19, joining “Kiss It Better” and “Close To You.” Dua Lipa makes it a second week with a pair of big leaps for “Be The One” (#20) and “Last Dance” (#31), the latter just ahead of the second re-entry for Kelly Clarkson’s “Piece By Piece” and the week’s highest debut, “Love Me Like That” by The Knocks featuring Carly Rae Jepsen. Jepsen’s Fuller House theme rendition, “Everywhere You Look,” debuts as well, as do new selections by The 1975, Yuna featuring Usher, Tove Lo, Javier Colon, Kris Allen, Miike Snow, and Miguel.
With the top ten completely frozen, the first interesting moves come later in the top twenty, with Josh Groban and Kelly Clarkson’s “All I Ask Of You” jumping 28-19 and R5’s “Let’s Not Be Alone Tonight” also entering the top twenty, up 31-20. It’s a quiet week for debuts as well, with Neon Trees scoring the highest of the four new entries with newly-released single “Songs I Can’t Listen To.” Sia and Little Big Town also re-enter with their current singles; the additional debuts come from American Idol‘s Clark Beckham, NEEDTOBREATHE featuring Gavin DeGraw, and another single from Allen Stone.
Walk The Moon makes it a dozen weeks at the top with “Shut Up And Dance” continuing its reign. The top ten is mostly unchanged, impacted mainly by Carly Rae Jepsen’s jump to the top five with “I Really Like You.” Cheerleader’s “The Sunshine Of Your Youth” is the week’s biggest mover, leaping 32 positions to #35 in its fourth week on the chart. Just below, Chris Stapleton enters with the highest debut, “Traveller,” at #36. Josh Groban and Kelly Clarkson also make a debut in the chart’s upper half as their cover of The Phantom Of The Opera track “All I Ask Of You” reaches #50. Nine more debuts are led by Erik Hassle, another track from Handsome Ghost’s Steps EP, and two new tracks from the upcoming release of Alabama Shakes’ sophomore album, Sound & Color.
While many people flocked south to Austin, Texas last week for this year’s South By Southwest festival, which showcases more than two thousand artist performances alongside label presentations, technology reveals, and discussion panels, some of us had to settle for attending Couch By Couchwest from home. I spent the past week digging through a spreadsheet of 2,121 artists who were slated to play during SXSW 2015, and after whittling down the list and listening to 622 of them, I have selected 76 independent acts that warrant further attention now that the festivities have ended. Read a short blurb on each artist below along with a prime track among their discography, or skip ahead to the full playlist on SoundCloud by clicking here. Continue reading “76 independent artists to watch following SXSW 2015”
It’s a quiet week as a whole on the chart, thanks mainly to my preoccupation of digging through artists who played at SXSW in Austin this week. Very little movement occurs within the top twenty, save two entries by Christine and the Queens and Kelly Clarkson. Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song” makes a big jump of 36 positions to land at #40, and Sam Hunt (“Take Your Time,” 77-46) and The Veronicas (“You Ruin Me,” 95-64) each score 31-position jumps. The week’s highest debut belongs to Martin Luke Brown, who returns at #75 with “Take Out Of Me,” the title track from his upcoming EP. Delta Rae debuts another album preview track, as do AIR BAG ONE with their debut track “1992” and Of Monsters And Men with new single “Crystals;” Kelly Clarkson’s “Second Wind” also appropriately makes a re-entry at the bottom of the chart.
The top ten is stagnant save its bottom spot, which is newly occupied by Carly Rae Jepsen’s “I Really Like You.” For the second week in a row, Christine and the Queens have the highest debut: this time, “Saint Claude” enters at #34. The Chainsmokers and Great Good Fine OK have the biggest mover with “Let You Go,” up 38 spots to #42, followed by CAFUNÉ’s “Instant Crush” (up 23 to #75) and Kelly Clarkson’s “Someone” (up 20 to #38). In the bottom quadrant of the chart, eight more debuts are led by Rachel Platten, Sam Hunt, and Olly Murs featuring Demi Lovato.
Alabama Shakes are one of the week’s biggest movers and shakers, launching 39-3 with Sound & Color album cut “Gimme All Your Love,” one spot ahead of lead single “Don’t Wanna Fight.” Carly Rae Jepsen makes the highest jump as “I Really Like You” jumps 45 spots to #18, while Kelly Clarkson and John Legend duet “Run Run Run” is second, jumping from #77 to #37. French artist Christine and the Queens makes her first chart appearance at #40 with her first English song, “Tilted,” from her forthcoming EP Saint Claude. She beats out four more Kelly Clarkson debuts, led by “Nostalgic” at #59. Also charting their first songs this week are XYLØ, The Chainsmokers (featuring the formerly-charting Great Good Fine OK), and current American Idol contestant Clark Beckham, as well as a new cover from CAFUNÉ.