Week 14

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Japan

Issue Date: Feb 28, 2005

#92 "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb"- U2 (2,586) (234,775 so far)

Run so far: *4*-9-14-22-29-25-25-30-34-42-74-96-94-92 (14 wks)
Sales so far: 84,129 + 44,394 + 24,903 + 15,549 + 11,576 + 12,600 + 0 + 18,820 + 5,802 + 4,926 + 3,947 + 2,968 + 2,575 + 2,586 = 234,775
 
ajax said:
uk singles chart:sometimes #18 (#7) ,uk albums chart HTDAAB #12 (#10)

Bomb's performance is reasonable here (with no new advertising for the album) - although I hope for better when the tour hits

Mike
 
it did hit no1 in the UK, and it seems as if its gonna do well in the US... i wouldnt complain :huh:
 
Actually, HTDAAB & Sometimes are doing quite well...

POP-ROMANCER said:
by the way, I think 'sometimes' in charts is dissapointing. Not here in Netherlands but in rest of the world.

PR,

Sometimes is doing very well where it's been released, and it's helped Album sales, too. It's even climbing the charts where it has NOT been released.

Albums by Music & Media / Billboard

European Top 100 Information Group 2.02
European Top 100 Singles 2.02

http://www.allofmp3.com/ratings/cha...tion=EUROalbums

http://www.hart87.freeserve.co.uk/eurocharts.html

In N.A., ABOY has had moderate success, but releasing a single to "part of the world" doesn't work too well these days. Add that to U2 playing Sometimes at the Grammies, and the song basically released itself in the U.S. and is charting already. So, it's being officially released here this week, and Billboard Biz picked it as "the next big hit", and I posted that article in reply to another BB message in this forum. It's not too common for BB to gush over a U2 song. In summary, it looks like it will be their biggest worldwide hit since....Vertigo :wink: :wink: ...just kidding. The last song that reached the Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic was from AB (One or MW). Sometimes has that potential.

Cheers
 
Sometimes

I cant see 'sometimes' getting into the top 50 of the billboard 100, let alone the top 10!

though now as downloads are included in the U.S. chart, U2 have more chance of chart sucess now than they've had in a long time.
 
Right again, Doctor

doctorwho said:
I think the last song to reach the Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic was "Discotheque", not something from AB.

How could I forget...this song reached #9 in the U.S. and #1 in the UK. If the downloads would have been counted before the Vertigo release, then it may have cracked the Top 10 in the U.S. and therefore on both sides of the Atlantic.

As for Sometimes, I disagree. The video will get major airplay in N.A. once we get it, and it's got more crossover potential than either Vertigo or ABOY. I wish U2 would make an official Sometime release with a great B-side like Mercy...that would surely help it's cause...

If U2 ever want to top the U.S. charts again, they will have to have an official single release in the U.S. Vertigo may have made it to #5 or so, but that's a stretch. I doubt U2 really cares if a single tops the Hot 100, as they do peak at #1 in certain formats and you don't have to reach #1 to have a hit single (aka, Vertigo)


P.S. Hey Doctor Who, things just aren't the same at Interference these days, are they? You don't seem the same as you did back during ATYCLB's chart run, or maybe I'm just imagining things. Still, I post more these days in defense of U2, although I certainly like good critics and thought-provoking threads. HTDAAB was my instant U2 favorite back in November, and on the Eve of March, it's still up there. I've burned an ATYCLB/HTDAAB "masterpiece", and it's all I have been playing for 5 months. Whay was that album back in 1987 called...?
 
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And Australia? I read something last week that 'sometimes' did not enter the top 10 but most songs from u2 do. And in UK, almost every song from a 'big' artist enter at #1, but a really good one can hold the top spot, or at least second week in top3. Sometimes fell to #7, I thought. But, on the other hand, it's the first time that the 2nd song from an album reached #1 in UK. When will sometimes be released in US by the way?
 
Sometimes is released for radio play in the U.S. tomorrow, "officially", although it's already in heavy rotation on some formats and charting. No video here yet. Here's Billboard's "pick of the week":

This Week's Billboard

Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own
U2
Producer(s): Chris Thomas, Steve Lillywhite, Nellee Hooper
Writer(s): U2
Publisher(s): Universal Music Publishing; Blue Mountain Music; Mother Music
Genre: ROCK
Label/Catalog Number: Interscope 11362 (CD promo)
Source: Billboard Magazine
Originally Reviewed: March 05, 2005

Fresh from its Grammy Awards performance of "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" (not to mention three wins), U2 releases the tender ballad as the third single from its global smash "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb." The cut is already off to a fast start at adult top 40 and modern AC, and certainly modern rock can't be far behind. The song's chorus, sung in Bono's familiar falsetto, is a knockout: "And it's you when I look in the mirror/And it's you when I don't pick up the phone/Sometimes you can't make it on your own." The singer penned the emotional track for his late father, though the sentiment of the cut should hit home with just about anyone with a heart. While it's a no-brainer that rock stations will play this, we hope mainstream top 40 will also come onboard.—KC
 
POP-ROMANCER said:
And Australia? I read something last week that 'sometimes' did not enter the top 10 but most songs from u2 do. And in UK, almost every song from a 'big' artist enter at #1, but a really good one can hold the top spot, or at least second week in top3. Sometimes fell to #7, I thought. But, on the other hand, it's the first time that the 2nd song from an album reached #1 in UK. When will sometimes be released in US by the way?
that really isnt the case here in the UK..... its not often a song will stay at number 1 for very long, mainly only when there is no new releases, U2 getting to number 1 was massive, its never happend before as everybody knows, plus to be fair the UK top 40 singles chart is such a mess anyway
 
i can't remember the last real rock band to last 2 weeks in a row at no1 in the UK? it very rarely happens to any act only maybe a charirty record or a pop act but in the UK its massive that any rock track gets to no1!
 
Re: Right again, Doctor

beLIEve said:


How could I forget...this song reached #9 in the U.S. and #1 in the UK. If the downloads would have been counted before the Vertigo release, then it may have cracked the Top 10 in the U.S. and therefore on both sides of the Atlantic.

As for Sometimes, I disagree. The video will get major airplay in N.A. once we get it, and it's got more crossover potential than either Vertigo or ABOY. I wish U2 would make an official Sometime release with a great B-side like Mercy...that would surely help it's cause...

If U2 ever want to top the U.S. charts again, they will have to have an official single release in the U.S. Vertigo may have made it to #5 or so, but that's a stretch. I doubt U2 really cares if a single tops the Hot 100, as they do peak at #1 in certain formats and you don't have to reach #1 to have a hit single (aka, Vertigo)


P.S. Hey Doctor Who, things just aren't the same at Interference these days, are they? You don't seem the same as you did back during ATYCLB's chart run, or maybe I'm just imagining things. Still, I post more these days in defense of U2, although I certainly like good critics and thought-provoking threads. HTDAAB was my instant U2 favorite back in November, and on the Eve of March, it's still up there. I've burned an ATYCLB/HTDAAB "masterpiece", and it's all I have been playing for 5 months. Whay was that album back in 1987 called...?

A bit off topic, but I really hope U2 do NOT use Mercy as a B-side. Its already one of my top 25 favorite U2 songs of all time. The song is better that most of the tracks on HTDAAB with the exception of "Sometimes and Miracle Drug". I notice that its not possible to purchase this song anywhere, even with "U2 Complete". This makes me think the band are saving it for the next album. Perhaps there will be an album at the end of 2006 which will be a collection of songs that were recorded for but not on HTDAAB album or singles. I could then see a totally brand new album in 2008, followed by the 3rd greatest hits in 2010. U2 have released an album of hits or new material every two years since 1998.
 
Re: Re: Right again, Doctor

STING2 said:


A bit off topic, but I really hope U2 do NOT use Mercy as a B-side. Its already one of my top 25 favorite U2 songs of all time. The song is better that most of the tracks on HTDAAB with the exception of "Sometimes and Miracle Drug". I notice that its not possible to purchase this song anywhere, even with "U2 Complete". This makes me think the band are saving it for the next album. Perhaps there will be an album at the end of 2006 which will be a collection of songs that were recorded for but not on HTDAAB album or singles. I could then see a totally brand new album in 2008, followed by the 3rd greatest hits in 2010. U2 have released an album of hits or new material every two years since 1998.

totally agree (and i've expressed this many times): don't waste something thet has the potential to become a great song like Mercy for a B-Side that will be heard only by collectors...i think we should start a campaign :hmm:
 
What is this 'Mercy' song you are talking about? if its not even on the 'complete U2' how have u heard it?
And how can it be a B-side in the U.S. when U2 do not sell singles, only downloads?
 
ybird3k said:
What is this 'Mercy' song you are talking about? if its not even on the 'complete U2' how have u heard it?
And how can it be a B-side in the U.S. when U2 do not sell singles, only downloads?

The origions of how this song was leaked is still a bit of a mystery to me despite multiple stories and theory's. The clean one is that a member of interference here went to a "U2 listening party" for the new album before it was released and was given a copy of HTDAAB by another fan. She later discovered that it had this extra song on it and she got it uploaded on here and it spread from there.

I downloaded the song from www.u2mp3s.com . I don't know if they have it on there at the moment. They often put up songs for a brief period of time and then take it down.

The song is a just an amazing classic in my opinion.

When people talk about B-sides, their talking about the commercially released single, regardless of where in the world it is released or not released.
 
Re: Re: Re: Right again, Doctor

Dima said:


totally agree (and i've expressed this many times): don't waste something thet has the potential to become a great song like Mercy for a B-Side that will be heard only by collectors...i think we should start a campaign :hmm:

I don't think we have anything to worry about. I'm very sure they won't release it as a B-side.
 
I liked this part of Billboard's description of Sometimes: "The singer penned the emotional track for his late father, though the sentiment of the cut should hit home with just about anyone with a heart." Amen.

I think the Sometimes video needs to be released in the US very soon. I think it's one of U2's best videos. I think it communicates the feeling of the song very well. The last part with Bono walking down the street is classic, and heart-wrenching if you let it get to you. If that video doesn't seriously compete for #1 on VH-1's Top 20 Countdown, I think the message is clear: when an artist hits their mid-40's they should just curl up, die, and never be heard from again.

I agree wholeheartedly that Mercy should be on the next album. Although, I'll have played it hundreds of times before the next album get released, I want as many people as possible to hear it. For those critics who say U2 has grown lazy and predictable (which I don't believe), Mercy is a great song for shutting them up. Whatever it is, it is NOT cliche.
 
I thought Mercy was part of the complete U2. I didn't know so few people had heard it...now I feel priveleged, as I even have the "cleaned up" version with no hiss. Anyway, I agree then that Mercy must be saved for the next album, especially after reading the interview with Steve Willyhite about the songs already in "storage" waiting for another album.

Bono did call Mercy the "best B-side you will ever hear" several months ago, and they do have this 25th anniversary thing coming up...but Sometimes for N.A. is just a promo CD for now, but with one b-side listed, maybe it will be made available for download.
 
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