Idolator

Ed. note: Chris "dennisobell" Molanphy, our resident chart guru, looks at the upward, downward, and lack of movement on this week's Billboard charts:

The upper reaches of this week's Billboard Hot 100 are a little sleepy—two songs sneak into the bottom rungs of the Top 10, and every song above them either holds position or moves at most a spot or two.

But one of the Top 10 entrants boasts an unusual pair of credits: he has his first Top 10 hit as a recording act in the same week that he's enjoying his first chart-topper as a songwriter. Making it somewhat more unusual, at least among multi-hyphenate types: he just turned 21 about a month ago.

We're talking about former boy bander, former small-screen star, and TRL mainstay Jesse McCartney. The song he co-wrote—Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love," penned with OneRepublic schlock-meister Ryan Tedder—is actually in its fourth nonconsecutive week at No. 1. The newer hit is his own: "Leavin'," which leaps four spots to No. 10 after a huge, iTunes-fueled debut last week.

Throw in the fact that he did a voice for the March blockbuster Horton Hears A Who! and this kid's having an awfully good spring.

Ed. note: Chris "dennisobell" Molanphy, our resident chart guru, looks at the upward, downward, and lack of movement on this week's Billboard charts:

As predicted last week, Lil Wayne, supported by the late Static Major, has hit the top of Billboard's Hot 100 with "Lollipop." For longtime Weezy fans, it's a bit of a Pyrrhic victory—the first great rapper of the Web 2.0 era hemming in his flow to score a big hit. But nine years after his emergence on the Juvenile classic "Back That Azz Up," it's still a bit of a thrill to see Wayne's name gracing the top of the charts.

It's not only Weezy's first No. 1 but also his first Top 10 as a lead artist and, amazingly, his first trip to the top slot in 20 chart entries (21 if you include the Hot Boys' 2000 single "I Need a Hot Girl"). Prior to this, he'd never ascended any higher than No. 3 with his supporting performance on Destiny's Child's "Soldier."

How long he stays at No. 1 will depend on whether "Lollipop" settles in as a viral hit a la "Crank That" or "Low"—and on the competition percolating below him. The Top 10 is as fluid as it's been since last summer, which makes things fun for your humble chart columnist.

Ed. note: Chris "dennisobell" Molanphy, our resident chart guru, looks at the upward, downward, and lack of movement on this week's Billboard charts:

For all their popularity the world over, songs by Radiohead haven't exactly set the charts alight. (Even in their homeland: they've never scored a U.K. No. 1.) In part that's due to their status as a top-tier album act; fans would sooner buy the full-length than an individual track.

But it's also a function of Radiohead's erratic approach to singles. Sometimes they pack singles with invaluable B-sides for collectors; sometimes songs are only serviced to radio—and that includes some of the band's catchiest tunes ("Let Down," "Bodysnatchers").

This week, we have evidence that Radiohead should release singles more often—or at least, release them in pieces. They score only the second U.S. Top 40 hit of their career, with one of the least catchy songs on the catchier-than-usual In Rainbows.

"Nude" debuts on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 37, instantly becoming their biggest hit since "Creep" made No. 34 in 1993. Honestly, though, the two hits aren't remotely comparable in terms of popularity. "Nude" achieves this high chart placement thanks to Radiohead releasing the song as a remix project, and asking rabid fans to pay 99 cents for each piece of the mix. Which they dutifully did.

Ed. note: Chris "dennisobell" Molanphy, our resident chart guru, looks at the upward, downward, and lack of movement on this week's Billboard charts:

As we previewed yesterday, Leona "Limey Mariah" Lewis has fulfilled our prediction from last week and shot to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with her debut single, "Bleeding Love."

But she's not the only newsmaker in the winners' circle. After one of the most stagnant winters in pop-chart history—just last week, the top seven records were unchanged—music lovers welcome spring by throwing a grenade into the middle of the Top 10, where songs scatter everywhere. The results: Lil Wayne has his first Top 10 hit as a lead artist, Lil Mama has her second, and an exceedingly tacky Ray J song is hurtling toward the top.

He'll have to wait, however, if he expects to crown the chart. Lewis is going to be replaced at No. 1 next week, but not by him.

Ed. note: Chris "dennisobell" Molanphy, our resident chart guru, looks at the upward, downward, and lack of movement on this week's Billboard charts:

You thought Beyonce vs. Rihanna was an old school-new school catfight? We've got a better one.

British belter Leona Lewis hurtles 13 spots to No. 8 on Billboard's Hot 100 with "Bleeding Love." Already dubbed "the next Mariah Carey" by multiple news outlets since winning British television's The X Factor last fall, Lewis is now clearly making a fast break for No. 1 in America. And she's doing it at the very moment her melismatic model is herself on the way up. Within two to three weeks, we could be witnessing an epic diva battle for the top slot.

Ed. note: Chris "dennisobell" Molanphy, our resident chart guru, looks at the upward, downward, and lack of movement on this week's Billboard charts:

When the producers of American Idol announced at the start of this season that, for the first time, they would be selling contestants' performances on iTunes, but that iTunes had agreed not to report those sales publicly or to Billboard, we chart geeks grumbled. How would we know how big an impact the show had on consumers' instant whims?

We needn't have worried—we've still got plenty of old songs, the ones the contestants sing, to keep an eye on. Long story short—the show is still huge, and it affects music sales like nothing since Ed Sullivan. Idol contestant Jason Castro: the estates of Cohen and Buckley thank you.

Ed. note: Chris "dennisobell" Molanphy, our resident chart guru, looks at the upward, downward, and lack of movement on this week's Billboard charts:

Forget what I said last week: apparently there was pent-up demand for new Usher material.

Even after three intervening years that saw little more than a flop vanity movie and some wedding-related tabloid embarrassment, Mr. Raymond remains beloved by pop and R&B radio and, most importantly, consumers—198,000 iTunes buyers can't be wrong.

Chris "dennisobell" Molanphy, our resident chart guru, looks at the upward, downward, and lack of movement on this week's Billboard charts:

One of the top debuts on this week's Billboard's Hot 100 might look a little old: Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good," which 11 months ago marked her first appearance on any U.S. chart, reenters at No. 77, instantly surpassing its original peak.

Winehouse's return is, of course, sparked by her appearance at last week's Grammy Awards, where she pummeled her way through a nerve-wracking twofer of "No Good" and "Rehab." The winner of the Record and Song of the Year trophies, "Rehab" would seem to be the likeliest post-Grammy chart beneficiary. But the quirks of Billboard chart rules make the Ghostface-backed "No Good" look like the winning jam.

That's because Billboard hates to let big recurrent hits clog up the chart after they've had their turn.

Ed. note: Chris "dennisobell" Molanphy, our resident chart guru, looks at the upward, downward, and lack of movement on this week's Billboard charts:

"Is this Feist again?" my friends asked at the Super Bowl party I attended last Sunday, as Apple's latest product-porn ad popped onto the plasma.

"No, no," I said, confidently. "Apple doesn't re-use acts in these ads. I think this is Regina Spektor."

Oops.

I pride myself on being able to nail a song in one or two listens, but I think I can be forgiven for botching that call. The fact is, no one in America had heard of Yael Naïm before her perky, warbly "New Soul" became the soundtrack to the first MacBook Air commercial. But that's all changed, now that "New Soul" is the top-selling song on iTunes. In fact, in her first week on the Hot 100, the indie-label-backed Israeli native pulls off something that took Feist about a month: Reaching the chart's Top 10.

Ed. note: Chris "dennisobell" Molanphy, our resident chart guru, looks at the upward, downward, and lack of movement on this week's Billboard charts:

Imagine, for a moment, you're in promotions at Sony/BMG, and you're trying to stoke interest in the 25th-anniversary edition of Michael Jackson's Thriller. This isn't the first time you guys have rereleased the record, and with Michael coming up on his 50th birthday, you've got your work cut out to make him look relevant.

Sure, the obvious move is lining up some current acts to help Jacko remix those classic tracks—like bringing in Akon to rethink "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'." While you're at it, try convincing the Grammy people to let Michael perform on the show (what the hell, they need ratings and hey, you can't guarantee that Michael won't have a Britney-in-Vegas-style meltdown...). But then you think:

You know what would really seal it? If we could get a current act...somebody really hot...to sample something from Thriller and have a big, fat hit with it. Like, Justin biting "Billie Jean"...or Jigga rapping over "Thriller"...or something. I mean, Kanye sampling "P.Y.T." was helpful, but that record peaked months ago. We need something hot right now, just as we're dropping the disc...

And then, like a table-dancing angel from above, Rihanna answers your prayers.