(09-30-2004) 'Vertigo' Hits the Charts -- Billboard.com*

[dsmith2904]

"Vertigo" Hits the Charts

Just one week after hitting radio, and a little more than a month before hitting store shelves, U2 single "Vertigo" has already ranked on Billboard's charts. The song debuted at No. 46 on the "Hot 100" and No. 18 on the "Modern Rock" chart.

Both rankings are based entirely on airplay, so be sure to call or e-mail your local radio stations and ask them to keep playing "Vertigo."

Thanks bsp77 and ChangeTheTemperature!

 

[starsgoblue]

Start calling the radio stations people!!

 

[Zooropa man]

46? that seems kinda low....don't you guys think? And 18th on the modern rock? What the.......?!?!?

 

[kellyahern]

I thought it was good, considering that the single's not available for sale yet (except on itunes) and the video hasn't been released yet

 

[-macphisto-]

I live in Utah, and I havent heard Vertigo once. I went to Vegas on Monday and I was listening to the radio stations there, and never heard it. What is up with that. Ive tried to call my radio station but they never awnser there phone? Anybody else form Utah have the same problem?

 

[Zoocoustic]

This is higher on the Hot 100 chart (which is the "biggest" of the charts) than any single from ATYCLB with the exception of Beautiful Day which peaked at #21.

CALL YOUR RADIO STATIONS AND LET'S GET VERTIGO INTO THE TOP 20!!!

 

[lady luck]

I'll do it!

Hola!

 

[Homerpalooza]

Unfortunately, I haven't heard "Vertigo" on a Massachusetts/New Hampshire radio station since the first few days after it was released. I hope it's not dying already...

 

[womanfish]

It's pretty easy to call or email your local station. If all of us on this board just requested the song once every day or a couple times a week to a couple of local stations, we would cover the U.S. and many other parts of the world with requests. Take a look online at your radio stations web sites and see what their most requested songs are, most played, etc... It's pretty easy to do for the band that you love. If in doubt get online and request to a major station like KROQ. Even email and tell them you love the song. You would be surprised how feedback like this effects what a station plays, and it can have a domino effect.

46 is a good debut on the Hot 100. Remember it hasn't even been released to Pop radio, only rock and modern rock. This also was only part of week and no retail single sales to factor in.

HERE'S MY QUESTION - Are iTunes downloads counted by Soundscan as single sales that would factor into the charts? Anyone know for sure? If so, I would think that next week we would see a healthy jump for Vertigo.

 

[STING2]

It's pretty easy to call or email your local station. If all of us on this board just requested the song once every day or a couple times a week to a couple of local stations, we would cover the U.S. and many other parts of the world with requests. Take a look online at your radio stations web sites and see what their most requested songs are, most played, etc... It's pretty easy to do for the band that you love. If in doubt get online and request to a major station like KROQ. Even email and tell them you love the song. You would be surprised how feedback like this effects what a station plays, and it can have a domino effect.

46 is a good debut on the Hot 100. Remember it hasn't even been released to Pop radio, only rock and modern rock. This also was only part of week and no retail single sales to factor in.

HERE'S MY QUESTION - Are iTunes downloads counted by Soundscan as single sales that would factor into the charts? Anyone know for sure? If so, I would think that next week we would see a healthy jump for Vertigo.

I actually did not expect to see VERTIGO on any chart this today because VERTIGO only had 3 days last week in order to make the chart. I am shocked that it even made the HOT 100 let alone #46!

Based on highest chart position in the HOT 100, VERTIGO is already U2's 16th most popular song in the USA, and that just based on 3 days of radio airplay!

But, I can't believe it has done this well and is only at #18 on the Modern Rock Chart. I-Tunes must have something to do with this high chart position after only 3 days!

 

[Windmilllane]

Vertigo is a great song, but it's not a radio song. I hate to say it, but this all reminds of Discotechque and the subsequent release of Pop. Discotechque was a great song, but aftera few days, it died down. The same thing is happening to Vertigo. And Pop had big expectations and kind of flopped. I think the same thing is going to happen to HTDAAB.

 

[Tech]

I haven't heard this song on the radio either but I think that all this hype is good for the album. It gets us old time fans excited and maybe hooks some new fans in.

 

[Windmilllane]

Don't get me wrong. I love Pop. I love every single song on that album. Shit, "Gone", "Last Night on Earth" and "Please" fucking rock in concert. "Please" is actually one of my favorite songs of all-time. It reminds me of "Stairway to Heaven" where it starts off slow and serious, then starts to kick ass, then ends slow. Unfortunately, Pop never produced the "hits" as defined by radio, which is a shame. I mean, U2 did videos for "Please" and "Last Night on Earth," which are great. If HTDAAB doesn't produce the "hits", I bet it will still be a great album. To me, U2 isn't being about pop radio. They write songs that are heartfelt, inspiring, and kick-ass. Did "Walk On" get a lot of airplay? No. Did "Elevation" get a lot of airplay? No. But they were still great songs that garnered the deserving awards.
U2's pop status isn't measured by airplay anymore. The harsh reality is U2 can't compete with the pop artists of today. But they will always be influential. And their shows are still the best ever.

 

[STING2]

Don't get me wrong. I love Pop. I love every single song on that album. Shit, "Gone", "Last Night on Earth" and "Please" fucking rock in concert. "Please" is actually one of my favorite songs of all-time. It reminds me of "Stairway to Heaven" where it starts off slow and serious, then starts to kick ass, then ends slow. Unfortunately, Pop never produced the "hits" as defined by radio, which is a shame. I mean, U2 did videos for "Please" and "Last Night on Earth," which are great. If HTDAAB doesn't produce the "hits", I bet it will still be a great album. To me, U2 isn't being about pop radio. They write songs that are heartfelt, inspiring, and kick-ass. Did "Walk On" get a lot of airplay? No. Did "Elevation" get a lot of airplay? No. But they were still great songs that garnered the deserving awards.
U2's pop status isn't measured by airplay anymore. The harsh reality is U2 can't compete with the pop artists of today. But they will always be influential. And their shows are still the best ever.

You say that U2 can't compete with the pop artist of today. Lets look at the facts!

Below are the best selling albums in the world since January of 2000.

1. Beatles: 1 : 24,000,000
2. Norah Jones: Come Away With Me : 18,000,000
3. Eminem: The Marshall Mathers LP : 17,000,000
4. Eminem: The Eminem Show : 16,000,000
5. Evanescence: Fallen : 16,000,000
6. Britney Spears: Oops!....I Did It Again : 15,000,000
7. Linkin Park: Hybrid Theory : 14,000,000
8. Avril Lavigne: Let Go : 14,000,000
9. N'Sync: No Strings Attached : 13,000,000
10. Madonna: Music : 12,500,000
11. U2: ALL THAT YOU CAN'T LEAVE BEHIND : 12,000,000
12. Dido: No Angel : 11,000,000
13. Limp Bizkit: Chocolate Starfish : 11,000,000
14. Shakira: Laundry Service : 11,000,000
15. Pink: M!SSUNDAZTOOD : 11,000,000
16. Enya: A Day Without Rain : 10,500,000
17. Shaggy: Hotshot : 10,500,000
18. Moby: Play : 10,000,000
19. Shania Twain : UP : 10,000,000

U2 has one of the biggest selling albums of the decade. They are the second strongest touring act in the world after the Stones and have the 11th biggest selling album in the world in this decade. Based on the best average of album sales and concert ticket sales, they are the biggest artist in the world.

 

[believer75]

I heard 'Vertigo' on the radio today in Macon, GA. They love it here!! And Macon is small market so it's good that it's already getting a lot of play here. Also, it's heavy in rotation at 99x in ATL. And, just wait until VH-1 gets their hands on the video!! I can't believe some people give up on something so quickly and say "oh it's gonna flop" and this and that. It's ALREADY a hit without the album or the video even being released. How many other bands can do that?? Have faith in U2!! They have faith in U.

 

[STING2]

It's pretty easy to call or email your local station. If all of us on this board just requested the song once every day or a couple times a week to a couple of local stations, we would cover the U.S. and many other parts of the world with requests. Take a look online at your radio stations web sites and see what their most requested songs are, most played, etc... It's pretty easy to do for the band that you love. If in doubt get online and request to a major station like KROQ. Even email and tell them you love the song. You would be surprised how feedback like this effects what a station plays, and it can have a domino effect.

46 is a good debut on the Hot 100. Remember it hasn't even been released to Pop radio, only rock and modern rock. This also was only part of week and no retail single sales to factor in.

HERE'S MY QUESTION - Are iTunes downloads counted by Soundscan as single sales that would factor into the charts? Anyone know for sure? If so, I would think that next week we would see a healthy jump for Vertigo.

I was thinking I-Tunes might have helped with the #46 debute, but I just discovered that it was not available on I-Tunes until Monday September 27. So, the #46 debut was indeed due to 100% airplay. U2 only cracked the top 20 in one of the "Sub-Charts" that feed into the HOT 100, and the Billboard Website only lets you see the top 20 of those subcharts, so I think it must of charted well in all formats, but just did not make the top 20. It did make it in at #18 on the Modern Rock Chart with just 3 days of airplay. It will be exciting to see what the numbers are like next week with a full 7 days of airplay!

 

[Pop Artist]

I-Tunes must have something to do with this high chart position after only 3 days!

Actually, iTunes didn't start carrying it until Monday (Day 4), so their chart position would be based solely on airplay.

Edited to say I must've had a telepathic moment with STING2.

 

[NYbrowneyedgirl]

It's pretty easy to call or email your local station. If all of us on this board just requested the song once every day or a couple times a week to a couple of local stations, we would cover the U.S. and many other parts of the world with requests. Take a look online at your radio stations web sites and see what their most requested songs are, most played, etc... It's pretty easy to do for the band that you love. If in doubt get online and request to a major station like KROQ. Even email and tell them you love the song. You would be surprised how feedback like this effects what a station plays, and it can have a domino effect.

46 is a good debut on the Hot 100. Remember it hasn't even been released to Pop radio, only rock and modern rock. This also was only part of week and no retail single sales to factor in.

HERE'S MY QUESTION - Are iTunes downloads counted by Soundscan as single sales that would factor into the charts? Anyone know for sure? If so, I would think that next week we would see a healthy jump for Vertigo.

Just a quick question to anyone who can answer:

My local radio stations are not rock or modern rock, they are more like top 40 or pop, does that mean they can't play Vertigo yet? I checked one of their websites and I didn't see Vertigo as a new release, but I did see eminem's new song on their list.

Can I still request them to play Vertigo?

Thanks!

 

[ludilobrate]

I heard vertigo on the net.In my country I had no chance to hear it on any radio station...it will be like that until they released single oficially on 8th october.

I think that VERTIGo will top the charts for 10-15 days,especially after video releasing...all in all song is great and vertigo don*t have single rival.

 

[believer75]

I would go ahead and request 'Vertigo', Dipster, even on Top 40. At the very least, even if they don't have access to the single yet, which they should, it will create name recognition and demand for them to play it in the future. Tell them to bring tha noise!!