It's Saint Etienne's "Tonight" Video

Saint Etienne's video for lead Words And Music By Saint Etienne single "Tonight" has been out for a bit now, but last time I had checked it wasn't viewable in this country. And now, lo and behold, it is!

It's a low key but classy affair that depicts two female friends meeting up to take in a concert. Footage of SE is intersperses in with shots of various venues and city lights, which makes for a somewhat flashy three minutes.



Can't wait for this album.

UK Chart Post: Adele Is A Dominatrix

It's a UK chart snooze this week as Gotye and Kimbra's "Somebody That I Used To Know" returns to #1 after a brief interruption by DJ Fresh and Rita Ora's "Hot Right Now".

Meanwhile, like in the US, Adele's 21 is currently the #1 album for a 21st non-consecutive week. The LP got a boost thanks to the singer's win at this past week's Brit Awards.

That's great. It really is. Now, how about a goddamn break from Adele, world? Sound sexy?

The UK Top 10:

1. "Somebody That I Used To Know" - Gotye feat. Kimbra *2 weeks*
2. "Next To Me" - Emeli Sande *new*
3. "Hot Right Now" - DJ Fresh feat. Rita Ora
4. "Wild Ones" - Flo Rida feat. Sia
5. "Titanium" - David Guetta feat. Sia
6. "Domino" - Jessie J
7. "Starships" - Nicki Minaj
8. "Turn Me On" - David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj
9. "Ass Back Home" - Gym Class Heroes feat. Neon Hitch *new*
10. "T.H.E." - Will.i.am ft. Jennifer Lopez/Mick Jagger

US Chart Roundup: Katy Perry Is #1, Madonna Drops & Whitney And Adele Keep Selling

Katy Perry's bland leftover "Part Of Me" debuts at #1 on the Hot 100 this week, giving her the first chart-topping single off Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection and her seventh overall. What a dismal offering to become only the 20th single to enter in the peak position on the chart.

Meanwhile, Adele sees a post-Grammys surge as all three of her 21 jams clutter the Top 10, marking the first time a female has pulled off such a feat as a lead artist. Over on the Top 200 album chart, 21 is at #1 for a 21st week exactly one year after it was released in the States. The LP sold another 703,000 copies, and its domestic total now stands at 7.3 million.

Elsewhere, Madonna's Top 10 stay with "Give Me All Your Luvin'" proved to be short-lived, as the song has now predictably plunged 29 positions to #39 in its third week on the Hot 100. Meanwhile, I just took out a 75-year loan to see finally the Vampyre on tour this fall. I figured, well, the old '80s broads are dropping like flies these days. Better catch them while I can.

Speaking of which, Whitney Houston's former #1 single "I Will Always Love You" was a re-entry at #7 last week, and jumps up to #3 this week. Also, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" is up to #25, "Greatest Love Of All" is at #36 and "How Will I Know" re-enters the chart at #49. On the Top 200, Whitney: The Greatest Hits climbs to a new peak of #2. (It originally got to #5 upon its release in 2000).

Along these lines, be sure to check out the Whitney Houston's 10 Best Songs That Radio Forgot feature I did for Idolator this week. It will rock your to your very foundation

We'll end things on a British boy band note: The Wanted's "Glad You Came" inches up two positions to #23 on the Hot 100 this week, while One Direction's former UK #1 "What Makes You Beautiful" debuts at #28.

The U.S. Top 10:

1. "Part Of Me" - Katy Perry *new* *1 week*
2. "Set Fire To The Rain" - Adele
3. "I Will Always Love You" - Whitney Houston
4. "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" - Kelly Clarkson
5. "Rolling In The Deep" - Adele
6. "We Are Young" - fun. feat. Janelle Monae
7. "Someone Like You" - Adele
8. "We Found Love" - Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris
9. "Starships" - Nicki Minaj *new*
10. "Turn Up The Music" - Chris Brown *new*

The Brits: Adele's Middle Finger & All The Other Winners

Hey all, sorry for the lack of updates here this week. Some other writing has been kicking my butt, but things will resume as normal in the next day or so.

Here's the list of winners from yesterday's BRIT Awards. I haven't even had a chance to watch this trash yet, and that makes me sad since Adele kept things classy by flipping the bird when her British Female Solo Artist award was cut short.

2012 BRIT AWARDS WINNERS
British Male Solo Artist: Ed Sheeran
British Female Solo Artist: Adele
British Breakthrough Act: Ed Sheeran
British Group: Coldplay
British Single: One Direction (”What Makes You Beautiful”)
British Album of the Year: Adele (21)
International Male Solo Artist: Bruno Mars
International Female Solo Artist: Rihanna
International Group: Foo Fighters
International Breakthrough Act: Lana Del Rey
Outstanding Contribution to Music: Blur
Critics Choice: Emeli Sande
British Producer: Ethan Johns

Saint Etienne's 'Words And Music' Out In May

In addition to this snazzy new photo, Saint Etienne revealed today that their upcoming LP, Words And Music By Saint Etienne, will be out May 21 in CD, two-CD deluxe, LP and special box set versions.

Says the band:

Do you remember that special alchemy that transforms even the most mundane of experiences - walking home with the headphones on at night, sitting in a bedroom with your friends in the day, getting ready to go out on the weekend - into a lingering moment of seamless enchantment, one that resonates for the rest of your life?

Our new album, Words and Music by Saint Etienne, is about that. About how music affects your life. How it defines the way you see the world as a child. How it can get you through bad times in unexpected ways. How songs you've known all your life can suddenly develop a new attachment and hurt every time you hear them.

More than how it affects and reflects your life though, the album is about believing in music, living your life by its rules.

The tracklist:

1. Over the Border
2. I've Got Your Music
3. Heading For the Fair
4. Last Days of Disco
5. Tonight
6. Answer Song
7. Record Doctor
8. Popular
9. 25 Years
10. DJ
11. When I Was Seventeen
12. I Threw it All Away
13. Haunted Jukebox

UK Chart Roundup: DJ Fresh And Rita Ora Are Hot Right Now

Rita Ora looks like a knockoff of fellow Roc Nation ho Rihanna — and time will tell if she has the chops to stand out on her own — but for the time being, DJ Fresh's "Hot Right Now", which she features on, is at least decent (if not disposable) winter trash.



At any rate, "Hot Right Now" is the new UK #1 single. You probably won't even remember this song existed by the time July rolls around. Use once and do sexy.

The UK Top 10:

1. "Hot Right Now" - DJ Fresh feat. Rita Ora *new* *1 week*
2. "Next To Me" - Emeli Sande *new*
3. "Somebody That I Used To Know" - Gotye feat. Kimbra
4. "Titanium" - David Guetta feat. Sia
5. "Wild Ones" - Flo Rida feat. Sia
6. "Domino" - Jessie J
7. "Alone Again" - Alyssa Reid feat. Jump Smokers
8. "T.H.E." - Will.i.am ft. Jennifer Lopez/Mick Jagger
9. "One Thing" - One Direction
10. "Twilight" - Cover Drive

Lady Miss Kier Of Deee-Lite Vs. Madonna

In case you're not up on the drama surrounding Madonna's new Top 10 single "Give Me All Your Luvin'" and the supposed similarities between it and Brazilian artist Joao Brasil's "L.O.V.E. Banana", then read here.

Here's the "L.O.V.E. Banana" video:



Here's what Lady Miss Kier of Deee-Lite had to say about it all on her tumblr:

"that is the exact same hook of the song ( which is the only rememberable part of both songs ) in the same key , same delivery. oops..she did it again. she’ll probably pay them approx 500,000$ in hush money to retain writers credit or probably already did. it’s what she’s always done. she’s McDonna being herself."

 Here's what an Idolator reader had to say when I included Miss Kier's commentary yesterday:

"The songs sound nothing alike. And Lady Miss Kier is just mad she spent all her money on Crystal Meth and raving in the 90’s while Madonna was working out and working hard. I used to see that poor girl out all the time and she was always grinding her teeth and looked tweeked out of her head. That was back in the Alig days. God bless her but she is no creative genius and clearly bitter at the 'Other' lower east side girl’s success."

And here's Kier's response to the reader in the comments section:

"Japes- i have never smoked meth , never liked cocaine and have never been out gurning as you say – you ought to be ashamed of yourself for spreading rumors about me. I speak my mind because i am confident in my knowledge of music. both songs are not well written but I’m tired of mediocre fans of Madonna giving praises to a thief and I’m not the only one saying it. you are deaf and blind if you havn’t noticed how fake your idol is-Just because i chose not to work with the crooks i met in the music industry dosnt mean i’m not a success- I have no regrets for walking away from a 7 album contract on the same label as madonna- the politics were rotten and i’m not a puppet- I am an original songwriter who takes my unique abilities seriously- do not speak of what you dont know lady miss kier"

All in all, a good read on a Friday morning, no? Considering I've played Deee-Lite 573 times in the past year, according to last.fm, I almost did a back flip over getting a response from Miss Kier on a post I wrote.

 Where do you stand on the whole "Give Me All Your Luvin'" vs. "L.O.V.E. Banana" kerfluffle? Other than the cheer-like "L-O-V-E", I'm not hearing much of a case there.

US Chart Roundup: Madonna Lands 38th Top 10 Hit, Battles Whitney Like It's 1992 Again

Madonna's lead MDNA single "Give Me All Your Luvin'" jumps up from #13 to #10, thus becoming her 38th Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. This puts her even further ahead of The Beatles, who racked up 34 Top 10s, and Michael Jackson, who had 28. Ye Olde Vampyre's last Top 10 single in the States was "4 Minutes," which peaked at #3 in 2008.

Billboard notes that the song's radio airplay dropped 54%, however, since the special Clear Channel promotion, where the song was played on the company's stations every hour on the hour, ended once the Super Bowl kicked off.

And if you've been following "Give Me All Your Luvin'" on iTunes, then you noticed the song had been in the Top 10 at the digital store up until last weekend, when both sales of Whitney Houston songs jumped after her death and The Grammys aired. "Poor" Madge got pushed further and further down in the wake of both events (many artists who performed at the Grammy ceremony saw an expected surge in single sales), and her single is now floundering at #34 at the store. What she could use right now is an increase in radio play.

And speaking of Whitney, her 1992 Bodyguard single "I Will Always Love You" flies back into the Top 10 at #7. The song had previously spent 14 weeks at #1 between '92 and '93. Madonna released her album Erotica three weeks before The Bodyguard soundtrack back in fall 1992, but found herself sidelined on the charts by Whitney's juggernaut movie tunes. (The fact that the public was recoiling from Madge's graphic Sex book and gouging their eyes out with sporks after watching her godawful Body Of Evidence trash in the theater didn't help.)

Other Whitney songs that re-enter the Hot 100 this week: "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" (#35) and "The Greatest Love Of All" (#41). Over on the Top 200 album chart, Whitney: The Greatest Hits is back at #6 after selling 64,000 copies by Sunday evening. The collection previously peaked at #5 in 2000.

Back on the Hot 100, The Wanted climb to #25 with "Glad You Came," Ellie Goulding's "Lights" is up to #79 and Calvin Harris debuts at #90 with "Feel So Close," a previous #2 hit in the UK.

The U.S. Top 10:

1. "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" - Kelly Clarkson *2 weeks*
2. "Set Fire To The Rain" - Adele
3. "We Are Young" - fun. feat. Janelle Monae
4. "Sexy And I Know It" - LMFAO
5. "Good Feeling" - Flo Rida
6. "We Found Love" - Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris
7. "I Will Always Love You" - Whitney Houston *re-entry*
8. "Turn Me On" - David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj
9. "Rack City" - Tyga
10. "Give Me All Your Luvin'" - Madonna feat. Nicki Minaj & M.I.A.

Whitney Houston's 'Greatest Hits' Sold A Bunch Of Copies Last Weekend

Whitney Houston's 2000 collection Whitney - Greatest Hits sold 64,000 copies by this past Sunday's chart data cut-off time — enough for it to debut on Billboard's Top 200 at #6. Pretty remarkable, considering news of Whitney's death didn't break until Saturday afternoon.

Here in the States, Houston's hits collection had been the top downloaded album on iTunes until Adele won 7,459 Grammys on Sunday and bumped the late singer down to #2. Likewise, "I Will Always Love You" had been perched atop iTunes' singles roundup until Katy Perry's godawful new warble fest "Part Of Me" was released yesterday and captured the #1 position. Great going, America!

Personally, I remember when Whitney - Greatest Hits was released and being annoyed at the fact that some of her older jams were only on it in remixed form. Isn't that always a kick in the junk? Junior Vasquez remixes of "How Will I Know" and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" over the original versions? We weren't all having fucked up weekends on meth at circuit parties at the turn of the millennium, you know.

But, hey — those remixes totally stood the test of time, right?

Nicki Minaj's Single "Starships" Is Generic

So basically, it's Taio Cruz's "Dynamite" with some swear words. And yet, there it is at #7 on iTunes. Guess "Stupid Hoes" didn't really work out so well? Nicki Minaj imperial phase, please end soon (and take RedOne with you).