MERGED ----> WITS Chart Success? + How big of a "hit" will WITS be?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Re: Re: Ireland

Irishteen said:


The single was only out for half a week, next week it should go up a few places.

is this ireland?


the new chart rules in the UK will no doubt screw U2 over. 70% of uk single sales are now downloads, so without WITS being released for download / not being downloaded for whatever reason, it hasnt got a hope of topping the charts.
 
Re: Re: Re: Ireland

ybird3k said:


is this ireland?


the new chart rules in the UK will no doubt screw U2 over. 70% of uk single sales are now downloads, so without WITS being released for download / not being downloaded for whatever reason, it hasnt got a hope of topping the charts.

yep it's Ireland, it debuted at 6th as said before, which isn't bad considering it was only out for 4 days.
 
one only got to number 7 yet it is one of U2 most famous singles ever so chart positions means nothing! standing the test of time is the way to judge a good song not chart postion!
 
andyuk said:
one only got to number 7 yet it is one of U2 most famous singles ever so chart positions means nothing! standing the test of time is the way to judge a good song not chart postion!

Very true. So how does WITS airplay position in the UK, currently #5, compare to other U2 singles? It is ironic, though, that WITS is off a "Greatest Singles" collection, yet it will probably never be released as a single in the U.S. and now I'm hearing it cannot even be downloaded in the UK. I doubt U2 cares, as this is just more evidence of the business case that drives their "singles" strategy, which is to maximize album sales. In this situation, with WITS being the last "main attraction" for anyone who won't or can't get an mp3, I think U2 is even holding out on the downloads in the UK to squeeze every last album sale out of this package.

Wouldn't surprise me, though, if, like Saints, it does eventually become available for download, perhaps after airplay has peaked. That's basically what happened with Saints, which strangely is now gaining airplay again on Rock and Alternative radio again here in the U.S. Maybe it's due to the Saints football team adopting the song as an anthem, and they are making a championship run now, but the stations that have added it this week are on the East or West coasts in major markets. Who knows? WITS is likely the most played single U2 has had since Sometimes, at least in the U.S., which isn't saying much, sadly.
 
Re: Re: Re: Ireland

ybird3k said:


is this ireland?


the new chart rules in the UK will no doubt screw U2 over. 70% of uk single sales are now downloads, so without WITS being released for download / not being downloaded for whatever reason, it hasnt got a hope of topping the charts.
lets face it, singles charts in the UK have been crap for god knows how long, its by no means the way to judge a song....
 
Actually the UK singles chart aint bad at all if you compare to other countries.
 
why is everyone saying you can't download WITS in the UK? i have just seen it at number 33 in the UK itunes chart so it available to download as a single!
 
Obviously you can't say it's a flop. I'd call it as of now a middle of the road hit for the band.
 
so would you call 'one' a flop U2 song because it only got to no 7 in the UK charts? you can not say this song is a flop becuase of the chart position the test of time is the only way you can tell whether or not a song is a great!
 
i think thats pretty good. i checked iTunes serval times the beggining of the week, and im certain WITS was not in the UK top 100 on there, so maybe it wasnt available till midweek.

also does anyone know it has to be the iTunes single version of a song to be downloaded to count towards the chart and not the album version?
 
# 4 is a bit better than i thought after reading the predictions here. It sold nearly 12k & it's now up 5 to # 1 on airplay! Just a shame it hasn't kept U218 in the top 10 then.
 
edge3 said:
# 4 is a bit better than i thought after reading the predictions here. It sold nearly 12k & it's now up 5 to # 1 on airplay! Just a shame it hasn't kept U218 in the top 10 then.

#1 airplay!, thats better than #1 in singles chart, i think thats 1st #1 in airplay since 'sometimes' think COBL was#2

surprising to see the album drop though.
 
Not rockin' enough

thetalkinkkid said:
How is it doing on US Modern & Mainstream Rock charts?

WITS is still in the Modern Rock Top 40...barely. A few weeks ago it was losing plays on all formats where it was being played, but so was everything else. Now that the Christmas songs are fading out, WITS is actually picking up steam again on Hot Adult Top 40, Triple A, and Modern Rock. It debuted today on mainstream hits radio, too, albeit at #269.

I doubt it will come back on Modern Rock...not sure about mainstream rock, either. It's picking up speed on Active Rock, of all formats. These are relatively small formats, though, and it's Adult Top 40 and Mainstream Hits that will determine if WITS is going to be anything more than a very modest hit on a few formats, with Triple A being the exception. It's been number 1 on that format for 8 weeks now, which is a good run on niche format. Today's Triple A seems like a mix of what used to be Alternative and Progressive Adult Radio. It's a sad state on the radio in the U.S., really, and these fragmented formats make for regional hits and strange chart positions.

WITS is not availabe for download in the U.S. at this time, and that alone will keep it from doing a whole lot on the "big" chart, the Billboard Hot 100. It might crack the chart based on airplay as Sometimes did, and it's chart run so far is almost identical. Sometimes made a nice debut on Modern Rock radio, peaked quickly at #29, and then was a long runner on Adult Top 40. It peaked there weeks after it's run on the rock radio formats, hitting #15 and staying there for nearly 3 months. While that's a fairly large radio format, it's nothing compared to Rap, R&B, and Mainstream Pop, and it peaked at #97 on the Hot 100. WITS looks destined to do the same, UNLESS it does crack Mainstream and/or become available for download. Personally, I think it's U2's best song in a long time for the Mainstream format, but that may not be enough in a country where the airwaves are dominated by Rap, Country, Justin and Britney.
 
Re: Not rockin' enough

beLIEve said:


WITS is still in the Modern Rock Top 40...barely. A few weeks ago it was losing plays on all formats where it was being played, but so was everything else. Now that the Christmas songs are fading out, WITS is actually picking up steam again on Hot Adult Top 40, Triple A, and Modern Rock. It debuted today on mainstream hits radio, too, albeit at #269.

I doubt it will come back on Modern Rock...not sure about mainstream rock, either. It's picking up speed on Active Rock, of all formats. These are relatively small formats, though, and it's Adult Top 40 and Mainstream Hits that will determine if WITS is going to be anything more than a very modest hit on a few formats, with Triple A being the exception. It's been number 1 on that format for 8 weeks now, which is a good run on niche format. Today's Triple A seems like a mix of what used to be Alternative and Progressive Adult Radio. It's a sad state on the radio in the U.S., really, and these fragmented formats make for regional hits and strange chart positions.

WITS is not availabe for download in the U.S. at this time, and that alone will keep it from doing a whole lot on the "big" chart, the Billboard Hot 100. It might crack the chart based on airplay as Sometimes did, and it's chart run so far is almost identical. Sometimes made a nice debut on Modern Rock radio, peaked quickly at #29, and then was a long runner on Adult Top 40. It peaked there weeks after it's run on the rock radio formats, hitting #15 and staying there for nearly 3 months. While that's a fairly large radio format, it's nothing compared to Rap, R&B, and Mainstream Pop, and it peaked at #97 on the Hot 100. WITS looks destined to do the same, UNLESS it does crack Mainstream and/or become available for download. Personally, I think it's U2's best song in a long time for the Mainstream format, but that may not be enough in a country where the airwaves are dominated by Rap, Country, Justin and Britney.

No Britney, she's GONE ...like her panties.

Right now Saints is doing the deed on the Hot 100, and WITS is like the lil brother, doing good on the side charts. I honestly think until the football season and grammys are over, Saints will be the main single being in the spotlight. It's become a anthem for the NO Saints, and has a grammy nom. WITS IMO was released way to fast, and should have been held off until Feb. BY than I am assuming Saints will be off the charts and U2 could have had a nice one-two punch with Saints and WITS. Who knows, if anything is going to push WITS is going to be Adult top 40/Itunes/ and pop radio. TO me WITS isnt alternative enough to last on Modern/Mainstream rock. Regardless of what WITS does, Saints was quite the hit worldwide. In the US, it didn't do to shabby, and alot of people who never really gave U2 any listen enjoyed it.
 
Last edited:
You are right

U2girl said:
Saints was no. 51 on the Billboard chart - how is WITS doing?

Your post above this one is spot on. WITS is at #40 on Billboard's Modern Rock chart, and it's at #27 on the Adult Top 40 chart. (See my week 7 post). Adult Top 40 is the larger of the two formats, and WITS is still rising there, unlike on Alternative. Plus, it has been released to Mainstream Hits Radio now, although it's only been picked up by a few stations so far. WITS is #1 on AAA rock, which is a subformat of Adult Top 40 but small...about the size of Mainstream Rock is now. On Adult Top 40, it's now being played on 45 stations (out of about 90), and on Triple A, it's being played on 33 of 34 stations.

Sometimes followed a similar pattern. Released to radio only in the U.S., it did make it to #29 on BB's Modern Rock format, but fizzled quickly. ABOY was still the "rock song" from the bomb that was on both BB's Modern and Mainstream Rock charts. After disappearing altogether from all rock formats, Sometimes made a slow and steady rise on Adult Top 40, and also dominated AAA at #1 for nine weeks. WITS made it to 32 on Modern Rock, has been #1 on AAA for 8 weeks, and is making a slow and steady rise on Adult Top 40.

Sometimes eventually made it to #15 on what Billboard then called Hot AC but now strictly calls Adult Top 40. Billboard has dropped the AC, or adult contemporary chart, and combined it with the Hot AC chart, which no longer reflects Adult Top 40 or Triple A. Ironically, the exact charts that Billboard uses for all it's airplay only charts, which is everything except the Hot 100 and Pop 100, is taken from "Radio and Records" charts. R&R still calls Adult Top 40 "Hot AC", and WITS is at #27 this week with a bullet, just like it is on Billboard's Adult Top 40. WITS is also on R&R's Alternative chart at #40, dropping fast, and likewise, it's on Billboard's Modern Rock chart, at #40, down from 35, where it was last week on both charts. Confused yet?

Sadly, while Triple A rock is tracked at Radio and Records and every other radio-play only chart I can find, it's not specifically broken out by Billboard, and I can't really say for sure if those spins are calculated in ANY of the BB charts. I used to think so, but now that Radio and Records is actually linked on BB's website and referred to as the radio play source of info for BB, only the larger formats that R&R tracks are shown on BB's single charts. Chart methodology is changing so fast these days, and online charts are already available on BB, too, that you can't go by BB alone to determine how a song is doing on U.S. radio.

Now, back to WITS chances on the BB Hot 100. You are right, Saints keeps making a comeback because it's an anthem for New Orleans and their football team. It's being phased out on many stations but still being picked up for the first time on others. The video is out of rotation on some stations and #1 on others. WITS is a good pop song with a good video, but it's currently being overshawdowed. Sometimes broke onto the Hot 100 just as it entered the Top 20 on Adult Top 40 and was barely hanging on the Modern Rock chart. I'm afraid WITS will have to either get past #15 on Adult Top 40 or make a splash on mainstream radio to make the Hot 100. Sometimes did stay on BB's Adult Top 40, staying in a range from 15-17, for a relatively long time, like 3 months I think. The wildcard is if WITS is every made available for download in the U.S., and right now, it's not. I-tunes has it listed as "album" only. Saints initially was available for download only on Rhapsody, and it was not the studio version, but the 10 minute medley performance at the Superdome. Once that faded out, but the song became a worldwide hit, it was made available for download in studio version format, which resulted in it debuting at #51 on the BB Hot 100. WITS has probably equalled Saints in airplay, or it will eventually, but without downloads or a major crossover to Mainstream Radio, it's chances to make the BB Hot 100 are not very good IMO.

Hope that explains it...probably way more than you want to know! Go to @U2dotcom for an interesting article about the song "Saints", too. The song is a definite hit worldwide and even here in the U.S., which is great if they do make sure all the money helps music rising. I really do think WITS is helping U218 stay up on the charts here in the U.S., as well as Saints, and that these two songs have done more than I ever expected in helping to keep U218 from being a complete flop, which is what I originally expected.
 
agree 100%. Another dumb move, is the video for WITS thats being played on VH1 is the second version, the black and white. The who's who version was amazing and really could have done something for the song. a 2nd video was not needed at all. Thats U2 for ya.

The 18 singles disk had a ok first sales week, but as time progressed it's doing very well, esp for a GH cd, that isn't The Beatles or Stones. For anything release the single verison of WITS to Itunes just because its FAR better than the album version...at least to me. Regardless what they do, for the 4th qtr of 06, U2 did their classic "where everywhere" move and I'll be content if they just worked on a new album for a Nov 07 release: drool: and let the promotion for 18 singles rest.
 
Last edited:
Despite the issues for WITS talked about in this thread (that could keep it from realizing it's full potential on the charts, that is), it did debut at #24 on the Global Singles chart at mediatraffic today, as well as a #16 debut on Billboard's Eurochart Hot 100 Singles. Not to shabby.
 
Thanks, beLIEve. I thought all U2 post-Vertigo singles were downloads...

Over here Saints is doing well on the radio - heard it more times than any of the Bomb songs except Vertigo.
 
fna692002 said:
agree 100%. Another dumb move, is the video for WITS thats being played on VH1 is the second version, the black and white. The who's who version was amazing and really could have done something for the song. a 2nd video was not needed at all. Thats U2 for ya.

No offense fna692002, but VH1 is playing both versions. I've seen both since the second version launched on Jan 1st. It seems they alternate. If you see the first early, then they play the second next.
I click back and forth in the morning's getting ready for work and I have seen both versions between 6 and 10am.
That's a first for me, 2 - U2 videos being played for the same song. Works for me..
 
Back
Top Bottom