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.
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Idolator
50 Cent thinks that the path Lil Wayne is currently traveling down—while it may have led him to his first career No. 1 single—is a dangerous one, because it's one that Curtis sees as similar to the path he traveled down in recent years. You may remember that era, when he released "Candy Shop" and "Amusement Park" back to back, only to see the latter greeted by yawns that were so loud, they pushed Curtis' release date back by months. So is 50 saying that "Lollipop" is a crummy song propped up by a persona that's as calculated as the supplement list in a bottle of Vitamin Water, and that No. 1 lightning doesn't strike twice on those sorts of combinations? As if! He's under the impression that the masses rejected "Amusement Park" because it just gave the audience too much sexy after the lick-heavy metaphors of "Candy Shop"... and that people will do the same to Weezy's next track from Tha Carter III if he isn't careful.
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Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" is your No. 1 single this week, and the first chart-topping single of his career. Hey, look, a sign that Tha Carter III might actually not get pushed back to October 2009! (Also, if anyone chalks this bit of success up to blogs, they're going to get a kick in the shins.) [
