billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - january 12, 2019 (VIDEO)

Man alive, this took so damn long to finish... oh well, let's see what I can do next - stay tuned!

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - january 12, 2019

So this is one of those weeks on Billboard BREAKDOWN that can be draining to talk about, mostly because it's easy but time-consuming to explain at length. To put it simply, if you look at the Hot 100 a full half of it advanced ten positions or more, we have a ton of returning entries, and a full slate of fourteen new arrivals - and no, there wasn't an album bomb. No, as I said, I can explain this fairly easily: along with the album bomb from 21 Savage drying up, all the Christmas music exited the chart and a lot of older music this week picked up radio spins thanks to year-end countdowns, and given that there was no big releases to plug in the gap, the flood of music to replace it is all over the damn place and really shows no indication of what could last long term.

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - august 6, 2016 (VIDEO)

Well, this was an interesting week. I wouldn't quite call it a great one, but overall pretty solid.

Next up, we hit Chicago with Dreezy and Jamila Woods, so stay tuned!

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - august 6, 2016

And just like that, the summer lull gets burst wide open, and there's a part of me that couldn't be happier. Yeah, I could definitely raise questions about why - to say nothing of the viability of both the new songs and the new #1 that did it - but I have to admit, the past few weeks have been so stagnant that there's a part of me that's thrilled there's change at all!

video review: 'lukas graham' by lukas graham

Apparently it's surprising that I chose to cover this album. I was just genuinely curious - for a pop record, it certainly has unique personality, just a little too slick and sanitized for my taste.

Next up... I think I want to keep it as a surprise, if only because how much its existence surprised me. Stay tuned!

album review: 'lukas graham' by lukas graham

I think I've said in the past that music from around the world landing on the US Hot 100 is basically a crapshoot. It happens occasionally, but with the exception of huge established acts from Canada like Drake or Justin Bieber or the UK in Adele, it tends to be very rare that you get a smash hit. And that becomes especially true when you look at the indie scene, as most acts barely have the money to promote themselves within their own country, let alone internationally. However, it becomes a little more likely when you get an act that gets traction stateside and major labels look to hop on the trend and flesh out their respective rosters with whoever they can find. And obviously they're going to opt for Americans first - paradoxically then taking them on international tours before trying to break into the US market - but sometimes they get a little desperate or they find an act that's been quietly doing well and prime the pump for a real push.

So when 'Stressed Out' by twenty one pilots got big, I knew it was only a matter of time before indie pop-leaning acts with borderline emo lyrics would start to creep towards the mainstream pop music to provide the 'smarter' counterbalance to Justin Bieber's whiny narcissism - hence we have Lukas Graham. Now they released a self-titled debut in their native Denmark back in 2012 that got huge reception there... and pretty much nowhere else. And while I wouldn't say I was blown away by it - the writing definitely showed the signs of being a debut, the pop soul blend seemed a little too polished for my taste - it did catch the attention of Warner Bros, which put some backing behind their second self-titled album, otherwise known as the 'blue album', where '7 Years' actually wasn't the lead-off single. It was the third single from that sophomore release... and then thanks partially to the success of twenty one pilots opening the way, the song is now absolutely huge and everywhere, propelling Lukas Graham into the spotlight and Warner Bros to desperately repackage an album for mainstream consumption. So on that promising note, how's the album?

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - february 6, 2016 (VIDEO)

So, not quite as good as last week, but still not all that bad either. Let hope for better next week... because with this Megadeth album, we sure aren't getting better right now. Stay tuned!

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - february 6, 2016

Well, it finally looks like we're out of the January lull and into the weeks where the charts get a little busier - and sure, some of that was bound to happen thanks to the new Panic! At The Disco album doing a lot better than I'd argue anyone expected, but more of it is the feeling that things are starting to change up in force, with the chart instability of the past few weeks only further indicative of that.