Girls' Generation Splinter Group Enters Billboard 200

by Jeff Benjamin, N.Y.  |   May 04, 2012 5:30 EDT

A common move with popular K-Pop groups on hiatus is to split themselves into other projects. In particular, the sub-unit concept has proven popular with members able to experiment to bring something fresh for fans. Girls' Generation created the sub-unit Girls' Generation - TTS (also known as Taetiseo) who this week became the highest charting K-Pop act on the Billboard 200 with their EP "Twinkle" -- at No. 126 on this week's Billboard 200 with 3,000 copies sold according to Nielsen SoundScan.

It was only March 17 this year that BIGBANG spent one week on the chart at No. 150.

The act also makes big moves on the Heatseekers Albums chart, debuting at No. 2, only to be bested by Human Nature who performed on "Dancing With The Stars" last week. The EP does top the World Albums chart with less than two days of its worldwide release sales counted for Billboard charts.

The act was tipped to be a hot one with over 10 million collective views of the three teaser videos featuring a different member in each. To possibly encourage orders, if fans bought the entire EP package, they would receive special tracks of the members introducing the EP songs. Additionally, if fans e-mailed an address associated with SMTown, the group's label, with a picture to prove they bought the album, they were in the running to receive a special gift from Girls' Generation - TTS.

The sub-unit is made up of three members: one of the group's most powerful vocalists Taeyeon, the charismatic and English-speaking Tiffany, and the group's youngest member Seohyun. They are also known as Taetiseo; a combination of their three names.

While Girls' Generation is known for their sexy concepts and choreography (from the slick first English single "The Boys" to playing dress up on "Mr. Taxi"), the sub-unit sees a completely revamped girls with a focus on funky vocals and vibrant outfits.

In other K-Pop news, two boy bands make appearances on the World Albums chart with B.A.P. making their comeback this week with an EP titled "Power" as well as U-KISS debuting at No. 10 and No. 12 respectively.

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Carrie Underwood Enters Top 10 on Country Chart

by Wade Jessen, Nashville  |   April 06, 2012 6:30 EDT

Jake Owen claims a second week atop Country Songs with "Alone with You," which improves 688,000 audience impressions for a total of 37 million during the March 26-April 1 Nielsen BDS tracking week. Owen's previous single and first chart topper "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" spent the second of two straight weeks at No. 1 on the audience chart dated Sept. 24, 2011. On Country Digital Songs, "Alone" moves 35,000 downloads and ranks at No. 11 in its 20th chart week.

CHARTS: Country Songs | Country Albums

Elsewhere on Country Songs, Carrie Underwood scores her 15th top 10 with "Good Girl," which gains 1 million audience impressions and steps 11-10 in its sixth chart week. That matches Taylor Swift's tally in a back-and-forth race for the most top 10 singles (15) by a woman from the start of her career. Meanwhile, 'American Idol' contender Hollie Cavanaugh's March 28 performance of "Jesus Take the Wheel" pushes Underwood's original track to No. 1 on Christian Digital Songs (on Billboard.biz).

To find a song with fewer chart weeks than Underwood's "Girl" on Country Songs, you'd have to look down to No. 26, where Toby Keith's "Beers Ago" gains 3 million impressions and achieves a new peak from No. 38 in its 4th chart week. Also new to the top 10 is Jason Aldean's "Fly Over States," which rises 12-9 in its 14th chart week; it's the artist's 14th top 10, and bullets at No. 8 with 47,000 downloads in its seventh week on Country Digital Songs.

Our national formats/secondary markets radio reporters get a jump on the new duet by Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney, titled "Feel Like a Rock Star," which dents the Country Indicator list at No. 54. The track was serviced to radio programmers during the artists' performance of the song during the April 1 Academy of Country Music Awards on CBS. The song will undoubtedly make a head-turning (if not historic) splash next week on the Country Songs list. The artists will launch a co-headlining summer tour in June. The Country Indicator list and your first look at the Country Songs chart happens each Monday night in the Billboard Country Update newsletter. Sign up for free here .

Lionel Richie appears for a second time on Country Albums, as duets set "Tuskegee" (Mercury/UMGN) opens atop the chart with 199,000 copies sold, good for a No. 2 start on the Billboard 200. That's the biggest opening week for a country album since Taylor Swift's "Speak Now" opened with more than one million copies in November 2010, however Scotty McCreery's "Clear as Day" began with 197,000 copies last fall. Richie's "Can't Slow Down" rose to No. 55 on Country Albums in 1984, driven by "Stuck on You," which peaked at No. 24 on Country Songs that year.

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Fun. Still No. 1 on Hot 100, Flo Rida Enters Top 10

by Gary Trust, N.Y.  |   March 21, 2012 3:50 EDT

Fun.'s "We Are Young," featuring Janelle Monae, spends a third week atop the Billboard Hot 100, while Flo Rida jumps into the chart's top 10 with the assistance of pop singer/songwriter Sia.
"Young" logs a fifth week at No. 1 on the Digital Songs chart with 349,000 downloads sold (up 8%), according to Nielsen SoundScan. With the sum, the song passes 2 million in digital sales since its release.

Fun.: The Billboard Cover Story

On Radio Songs, "Young" bounds 19-14 with 65 million audience impressions (up 40%), according to Nielsen BDS, granting the song the Hot 100's top Airplay Gainer award for a third consecutive week.
As announced last week, streaming data now carries a greater weight on the Hot 100 with the addition of the newly-launched On-Demand Songs chart. Streaming figures continue to help keep "Young" at the Hot 100's summit, as the song, which crowns On-Demand Songs for a second week, drew 1.1 million on-demand streams in the chart's tracking week, according to BDS.

Hot 100 March Madness Round 3: Vote Now!

Flo Rida, meanwhile, boasts the Hot 100's lone new top 10 title, as "Wild Ones," featuring Sia, surges 12-9. The track gains on all three Hot 100 chart components: Digital Songs (No. 6; 158,000, up 5%), Radio Songs (35-29; 39 million, up 17%) and On-Demand Songs (18-11; 429,000, up 22%).
"Wild" marks the Sunshine State rapper's seventh Hot 100 top 10 (all in lead roles). The song follows his No. 3-peaking "Good Feeling." Both cuts preview Flo Rida's forthcoming fourth album, "Only One Rida (Part 2)." The Australian-born Sia (last name: Furler) scores her first Hot 100 top 10. (She made mainstream inroads as far back as 2005 when her haunting track "Breathe Me" accompanied the closing scenes of the last episode of HBO's "Six Feet Under.")

Sia Explodes on Hot 100, While Stepping Back From Fame

Below "Young," the same songs as last week populate the Hot 100's top five.
Kelly Clarkson's former three-week No. 1 "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" holds at No. 2. The song bullets at No. 2 on Radio Songs (118 million, up 1%) while dipping 3-5 on Digital Songs (162,000, down 2%). It ranks at No. 8 on On-Demand Songs with 462,000 streams (up 5%).
The Wanted's "Glad You Came" advances 4-3 on the Hot 100, courtesy of a No. 2 rank on Digital Songs (183,000, down 4%) and a 13-7 jump on Radio Songs (73 million, up 13%). The boy band's debut single rumbles 7-4 on On-Demand Songs (570,000, up 21%).
Adele's former two-week No. 1 "Set Fire to the Rain" descends 3-4 on the Hot 100 and Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know," featuring Kimbra, bullets at No. 5 for a second week. The collaboration, which tops Alternative Songs for a fifth week, climbs 5-4 on Digital Songs (166,000, up 8%) and 45-36 on Radio Songs (36 million, up 21%). "Somebody" remains at No. 2 on On-Demand Songs (778,000).

Nicki Minaj's "Starships" rebounds 9-6 on the Hot 100, returning to its peak position to date and showing gains in all Hot 100 measurement fields. The song rises 4-3 on Digital Songs (172,000, up 6%), 31-21 on Radio Songs (41 million, up 12%) and 13-10 on On-Demand Songs (440,000, up 19%).

The advance of "Starships" pushes back David Guetta's "Turn Me On," featuring Minaj, 6-7 on the Hot 100, along with Drake's "Take Care," featuring Rihanna (7-8).

Below Flo Rida's "Wild," Katy Perry's "Part of Me" rounds out the top 10, holding at No. 10 for a second week. It's the first time that it hasn't fallen since it debuted at No. 1 four weeks ago. "Part" breaks into the Radio Songs top 10 (11-6; 74 million, up 13%) and elevates 41-34 on On-Demand Songs (260,000, up 31%). The song drops 7-10 on Digital Songs (114,000, down 8%) but could yet rebound on the Hot 100; it opened atop the Hot 100 due to strong initial sales but strong airplay gains are now offsetting its sales erosion. Next week's release of Perry's "Teenage Dream: the Complete Confection" should additionally enhance the song's profile and future chart potential.

Check billboard.com tomorrow (March 22), when all rankings, including the Hot 100 and On-Demand Songs in their entirety and Digital Songs and Radio Songs, will be refreshed, as they are each Thursday.

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