Two songs that competed for the Academy Award for Original Song on March 2 are listed in the top five on this week's Hot 100. Pharrell Williams's "Happy" holds at #1 for the fifth week. Idina Menzel's "Let It Go" rebounds from #14 to #5, in the wake of the release of the DVD and blu-ray of "Frozen." ("Let It Go," of course, won the award.)
This is the first time in 16 years that two of the Original Song finalists were top five hits on the Hot 100. The two nominees for 1997 that made the top five were Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" (from "Titanic"), which spent two weeks at #1, and LeAnn Rimes's "How Do I Live" (from "Con Air"), which spent four weeks at #2. (Those songs were never in the top five at the same time, however.)
"Let It Go" this week becomes the highest-charting Oscar winner for Original Song since Eminem's "Lose Yourself," the 2002 winner. That song logged 12 weeks on top. ("Lose Yourself" made news of its own this week. Details below.) "Let It Go" this week surpasses Adele's "Skyfall," the 2012 winner, which peaked at #8.
Menzel won a Tony as Actress (Musical) in 2004 for "Wicked." Menzel is only the second person who has won a Tony for a performance in a Broadway musical ever to land a top five hit on the pop chart, dating back to the inception of the pop chart in 1940. The first was Harry Belafonte, who reached #5 in February 1957 with the classic "Banana Boat (Day-O)." Belafonte won a Tony for Actor (Featured Role—Musical) in 1954 for "John Murray Anderson's Almanac."
"Happy" rang up 219 million all-format "audience impressions" at radio this week. Only one song has had more in the 23-year history of the Radio Songs chart. That's Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines," which rang up 229 million audience impressions last August. That song, of course, featured Williams (and also T.I.).
Also, "Happy" tops the 3 million mark in digital sales this week. This is Williams' third song to reach this plateau; his first as a lead artist. "Happy" is the first song to sell 3 million copies in 2014. "Dark Horse" by Katy Perry featuring Juicy J had been the first to sell both 1 million and 2 million copies in 2014.
Finally, "Happy" tops Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for the seventh week.
John Legend's "All Of Me" jumps from #3 to #2. The song tops 2 million in digital sales this week. It's Legend's first song to reach that plateau.
OneRepublic's "Counting Stars" dips from #7 to #8. This is its 22nd week in the top 10. The group's breakthrough smash, Timbaland's "Apologize," logged 25 weeks in the top 10.
As promised, here's the news about "Lose Yourself." The hip-hop anthem tops the 6 million mark in digital sales this week. The song was released in October 2002, six months before the opening of the iTunes store. So the fact that it has achieved this tremendous sales tally is remarkable. Only one other song that was released prior to 2007 has sold 6 million digital copies. That's Journey's 1981 hit "Don't Stop Believin'," which has sold 6,041,000 copies.
On March 23, 2003, "Lose Yourself" became the first hip-hop song to win an Academy Award for Original Song. Eminem didn't appear on the telecast, either to perform or pick up his Oscar. (He had performed the song on the Grammys exactly one month earlier—an appearance that probably clinched his Oscar win.)
Here's a recap of this week's top 10 songs.
The Top Five: Pharrell Williams's "Happy" holds at #1 for the fifth week in its 12th week on the chart. This is its eighth week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #1 (370K) … John Legend's "All Of Me" jumps from #3 to #2 in its 24th week on the chart. This is its fifth week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #2 (224K) … "Dark Horse" by Katy Perry featuring Juicy J dips from #2 to #3 in its 27th week on the chart. This is its 12th week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #5 (150K) … "Talk Dirty" by Jason Derulo featuring 2 Chainz holds at #4 for the third week in its 14th week on the chart. This is its ninth week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #3 (188K) … Idina Menzel's "Let It Go" rebounds from #14 to #5 in its 17th week on the chart. This is its second week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #4 167K).
The Second Five: Bastille's "Pompeii" dips from #5 to #6 in its 32nd week on the chart. This is its ninth week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #8 (98K) … Lorde's "Team" dips from #6 to #7 in its 26th week on the chart. This is its 10th week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #12 (70K) …. OneRepublic's "Counting Stars" dips from #7 to #8 in its 40th week on the chart. This is its 22nd week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #18 (62K) … Aloe Blacc's "The Man" jumps from #10 to #9 in its 13th week on the chart. This is its second week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #6 (126K)…."Drunk In Love" by Beyonce featuring Jay Z drops from #8 to #10 in its 14th week on the chart. This is its eighth week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #13 (66K)
Soko's "We Might Be Dead By Tomorrow" drops out of the top 10 after debuting last week at #9. You may recall that, despite that lofty Hot 100 bow, its digital sales were meager last week (Digital sales rank: #157, 10K). Amazingly, they dropped this week (Digital sales rank: below the top 200, 3K).
Three songs that are not yet listed in the top 10 on the Hot 100 are already ranked in the top 10 on Hot Digital Songs. They are: The Chainsmokers' "#Selfie" (Digital sales rank: #7, 101K), "Turn Down For What" by DJ Snake & Lil Jon (Digital sales rank: #9, 89K) and "This Is How We Roll" by Florida Georgia Line featuring Luke Bryan (Digital sales rank: #10, 78K). "This Is How We Roll" hit #1 on Hot Country Songs last week and is sure to stay there this week.
"Holy Grail" by Jay Z featuring Justin Timberlake tops the 3 million mark in digital sales this week. It's the pair's second 3-million seller. "Suit And Tie" is up to 3,044,000. This is not the first time that two superstar acts have teamed up repeatedly. The leaders in terms of repeat pairings are Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters. From 1943 to 1951, the crooner and the popular sister trio teamed up for 12 top 10 hits, including the classic "Don't Fence Me In." You're just getting started, Jay and Justin.
One Direction's "Story Of My Life" tops the 2 million mark. It's the boy band's second song to reach this plateau, following "What Makes You Beautiful" (4,525,000). That catchy confection played to its teen base. This pretty ballad expanded its audience. The song reached #6 on the Hot 100.
Avicii's "Hey Brother" tops the 1 million mark. It's his second million-seller. "Wake Me Up!" is up to 4,060,000. "Hey Brother" has climbed as high as #20 on the Hot 100.
"Show Me" by Kid Ink featuring Chris Brown tops the 1 million mark. The song has climbed as high as #14 on the Hot 100.
"Stay The Night" by Zedd featuring Hayley Williams tops the 1 million mark. The song reached #18 on the Hot 100. This is Zedd's second million-seller, following "Clarity" (featuring Foxes), which is up to 2,238,000.
To My Readers: I'll have a separate Chart Watch report on this week's key movers and debuts on the Hot 100 later today. I won't recap the top 10 in that second report. It will be fresh material.