NLOTH Singles Chart Watch

[Irishteen]

i don;t understand. Magnificient debuted in Netherlands at number 23. Previous single was also not a success.

While Beautiful Day, Elevation, Vertigo, Window in the Skies and The Saints and I thought also Sometimes ALL reached number 1 here .... ?

Magnificent debuted early on downloads, the other singles debuted on physical sales

Magnificent hasn't been released physically yet and physical sales are in the toilet anyway

 

[cjboog]

Here are the Radio and Records numbers for Magnificent on US radio this week...

Alternative
Up to #19 from 22
741 plays (+103)

Hot AC
Up to #34 from 36
432 plays (+97)

Rock
Holds at #20
108 plays (+17)

Triple A
Up to #2 from 3
573 plays (+33)

Boy this song could really use an SNL performance or something push it over the edge...

It keeps on moving up though

 

[Native_Son]

the increases in position seem very slow, but i guess thats just how radio works in the US right? how did VLV do on these charts, presumeably #1 on nearly every format?

 

[Florence76]

Here are the Radio and Records numbers for Magnificent on US radio this week...

Alternative
Up to #19 from 22
741 plays (+103)

Hot AC
Up to #34 from 36
432 plays (+97)

Rock
Holds at #20
108 plays (+17)

Triple A
Up to #2 from 3
573 plays (+33)

Boy this song could really use an SNL performance or something push it over the edge...

It keeps on moving up though

Believe and Cjboog:
Do you think Magnificent will be able to increase a little bit until U2 realize the new video or until the physical single is out (in May)?
In this case the boost could bring the single back in hot 100.

 

[cjboog]

Believe and Cjboog:
Do you think Magnificent will be able to increase a little bit until U2 realize the new video or until the physical single is out (in May)?
In this case the boost could bring the single back in hot 100.

Well I wish I could answer that. Believe or Doctorwho would be better to ask then me. They have vastly more knowledge on the topic!

Here's the best I've got...it may be right or wildly off the mark

I would say that things are looking good. Magnificent is steadily climbing the charts with no promotion, no actual single release, and no video. That is a good sign for sure.

I personally think this song is going to keep on climbing for a while because it's so damn good, in my opinion it is one of the best songs U2 has ever recorded. There seems to be a fairly wide consensus that this is the best song on the album and it's definitely catchy with that unforgettable guitar riff. I think there are a lot of radio stations out there that are looking for a great U2 song to play after the mixed reception of GOYB.

I think what it would take for this song to come back into the Hot 100 is continually increasing airplay as well a front page iTunes ad when the single is released, and some remixes or something (a b-side?) included to entice people to download it who already own the album. Because it's going to take more than just airplay alone to help the chart position, it will take downloads as well.

That being said, I personally don't care about chart position. I care about radio airplay because if this song is reaching a lot of people, it means more people are buying the album. Casual U2 fans may have been confused by GOYB, but Magnificent has such a classic U2 anthem feel to it, how could you listen to this song as a fan and not think about buying the entire album?

Anyway...that's my 2 cents. I absolutely love this song so I hope it keeps on going!!


Magnificent

 

[Irishteen]

Magnificent is sadly going nowhere on downloads in the US, if it doesn't take off it'll struggle

 

[cjboog]

Magnificent is sadly going nowhere on downloads in the US, if it doesn't take off it'll struggle

Maybe in chart position, yes. But radio airplay could be a different story. Right now the radio play is looking good and hopefully will continue to increase.

 

[Irishteen]

Maybe in chart position, yes. But radio airplay could be a different story. Right now the radio play is looking good and hopefully will continue to increase.

Radio airplay without downloads isn't a good sign though

 

[KUEFC09U2]

It reached the top 100 on downloads alone didnt it?

 

[cjboog]

It reached the top 100 on downloads alone didnt it?

Yah pretty much. A lot of people were downloading it the first week of the album's release on iTunes. Since it started to pick up respectable radio airplay though, it hasn't been downloaded very much. I suspect a lot of people who would download it if, for example, it were the first single, already have the album. That's why I think when they release the single, they need to entice people to download it by including extra songs if they want to get back into the Hot 100.

 

[bram]

Well this is all very intriguing. Ever since this song was just a beach clip last summer I thought it had the potential to connect with people in a big way. It will be interesting to see if that bears out. Some decent promotion could put it over the top; it seems that if it can reach some type of "magic" threshold, the song could spill over into a phenomenon (as far as this type of rock single goes), surpassing even Viva la Vida and Beautiful Day. Everyone knows Beautiful Day. It'd be pretty awesome if Magnificent had that type of power. I agree wholeheartedly with cjboog--I think this is easily one of their best songs. Ever.

 

[Native_Son]

Am i missing something? compared to the singles off the last two albums, i dont consider magnificent anything special at all. best ever U2 song? without being unkind i don't think it has a place in my favourite 50.

Needless to say i'll be proved wrong when it hits #1 on the Hot 100!

 

[cjboog]

Am i missing something? compared to the singles off the last two albums, i dont consider magnificent anything special at all. best ever U2 song? without being unkind i don't think it has a place in my favourite 50.

Needless to say i'll be proved wrong when it hits #1 on the Hot 100!

Well you are definitely entitled to you view but I think you're in the minority. You can go here to see a poll of Interference for what song everyone thought was the best on NLOTH. Magnificent was voted the best song by a wide margin, with about 32% of the votes compared to 20% for Moment Of Surrender in 2nd place.

http://www.u2interference.com/forum...h-song-poll-which-song-will-win-193702-9.html

And you can go here to see the current thread going on where people are ranking their top 50 favorite U2 songs. I went through and quickly counted and so far Magnificent is ranked somewhere in the top 50 on 20 of the 25 lists posted to far, many times in the top 10 or 15 songs. So I think people are loving this song. It may not be in your top 50, but so far it is in the top 50 of 80% of people who've posted their top 50 U2 songs...

http://www.u2interference.com/forum...2-songs-nloth-redux-voting-thread-196034.html

 

[Irishteen]

And you can go here to see the current thread going on where people are ranking their top 50 favorite U2 songs. I went through and quickly counted and so far Magnificent is ranked somewhere in the top 50 on 20 of the 25 lists posted to far, many times in the top 10 or 15 songs. So I think people are loving this song. It may not be in your top 50, but so far it is in the top 50 of 80% of people who've posted their top 50 U2 songs...

http://www.u2interference.com/forum...2-songs-nloth-redux-voting-thread-196034.html

It's the song that's been on the joint third highest amount of lists so far. I don't want to say the total number for risk of spoiling the final results but Magnificent is definitely up at the top end of the scale

Native Son needs to throw in his list to bring it down now I feel

 

[digitize]

When someone buys NLOTH, I'm assuming all eleven songs don't get another check on their respective single charts, do they?

(Specifically, in America, although that question extends to the whole world, too, I guess)

 

[cjboog]

When someone buys NLOTH, I'm assuming all eleven songs don't get another check on their respective single charts, do they?

(Specifically, in America, although that question extends to the whole world, too, I guess)

Correct.

 

[beLIEve]

Magnificent moved up on all Billboard Airplay only charts this week. It's #2 on AAA, and it's pretty much a lock to reach #1 next week. It's up to 19 on Alternative/Modern Rock with the "AIRPOWER" designation, a much larger format, where it needs to reach Top 5 to help with the Hot 100. Even on Billboard's "Mainstream Rock" chart, called "Active" or "Hard" rock by other chart services, Magnificent is on it's 3rd week, up one spot at 37, with increasing plays.

To confuse things even more, Billboard calls Hot AC "Adult Top 40", and this format is probably the 3rd largest in the U.S., behind "Pop" and "R&B/Urban/Rap". Anyway, Magnificent is up from 36 to 34 in it's 2nd week, with a large increase in airplay. Coldplay reached #1 on this format.

If Magnificent can hit the Top 5 on Alternative and Adult Top 40 at the same time, I would not be surpised to see it in the Hot 100 on airplay alone. People downloaded the album track a lot the same week that NLOTH came out, and much of the album was played on AAA radio. It was enough to earn the song a spot in the Hot 100 for that week. To return, there has to be some promotion and a bonus b-side or something...if the single is ever officially released in the U.S., which has yet to be seen. The May 1 release date will be more important around the rest of the world...it's already being played on the typical U2 formats in the U.S. and the official release date could be a complete "non-event" here.

Boots video comes in at #13 on Billboard's "Hot Videoclip Songs" chart this week during it's 5th week. The video is better than the song, IMO, and if it had been released back when Boots was released to radio, then Boots might have done better on the charts. Who knows.

So, in summary, Magnificent is moving up on all 4 "Rock" or "Adult Top 40" charts on Billboard despite not yet being officially released and w/o a video. If the song gets promoted here in the U.S., perhaps it can get another boost in downloads when it is officially released, but that is doubtful in my opinion. If it reaches the Hot 100, it will most likely be on airplay alone. In looking at the Hot 100 right now...most of the songs on that chart make me want to gag. I don't consider it all that relevant, but Billboard does, and so do young people age 10-20. Radio play is more important in the U.S., I think, to help drive album sales. I'd rather see Magnificent at #1 on the Modern rock and Adult Top 40 charts than at #50 on the Hot 100.

 

[Irishteen]

Magnificent needs to jump back into the top 100 on downloads to be a true hit I think, otherwise it's just radio playing it and no one wanting to download it. Getting back up on downloads would be a huge boost for it

 

[Native_Son]

i dont understand how magnificent is getting an increase in play every week and 'airpower' yet its only moving up 1 position. how on earth does a song get to #1 on these charts, must it have 'airpower' for 40 consecutive weeks?

 

[beLIEve]

i dont understand how magnificent is getting an increase in play every week and 'airpower' yet its only moving up 1 position. how on earth does a song get to #1 on these charts, must it have 'airpower' for 40 consecutive weeks?

The "AIRPOWER" designation on Billboard's Modern Rock Chart simply means that Magnificent had the biggest increase in airplay of all the songs in the Top 40 of that format. It's only been on this chart for 3 weeks, and it has not even been officially released as a single yet. It debuted at #30, then climbed to #22, and in just it's 3rd week, it moves up to #19. Once a song gets into the Top 20, large moves each week are less likely, as the number of times that these songs get played each week is in the thousands.

Even on Triple A Rock, Magnificent has been 3-3-2 over the last 3 weeks, and it's only been on that chart for 5 weeks. However, despite little chart movement, it has doubled in airplay in that time. In fact, the #1 song is losing plays, and Magnificent is within less than 50 plays to reach the top. It should happen next week.

 

[Native_Son]

Thanks beLIEve

[am currently (trying) to do my u2 top 50. its so difficult! have managed to get down to 125 so far]

 

[mobonofo]

Most radio stations are pay to play and U2 don't pay to play.

Unfortunately, the charts are mostly fixed in the U.S.

 

[digitize]

I find it a bit ironic that downloads are what would have almost certainly pushed Vertigo into the top ten on the Hot 100 back in 2004 if they had been counted, but that downloads are keeping Magnificent off of the Hot 100 at all now.

 

[Native_Son]

I find it a bit ironic that downloads are what would have almost certainly pushed Vertigo into the top ten on the Hot 100 back in 2004 if they had been counted, but that downloads are keeping Magnificent off of the Hot 100 at all now.

very true. in the UK vertigo was #1 download for months. but boots got held off the top by kiddies downloading

 

[Native_Son]

good news from UK - Magnificent appears as 'New' on Radio2 B-list.
hopefully it will be playlisted by Radio1 for next week. Then album sales should improve.

 

[GibsonExplorer]

Most radio stations are pay to play and U2 don't pay to play.

What? Commercial radio stations make the bulk of their money in adverts. Where do you get your info from?

 

[niallyb]

There have been multiple payola scandals in the USA. The last one is only a couple of years old. Generally the owning corporation issues a playlist to the stations it owns and the DJs have very very little discretion on whats played.

Pay to play isnt operated above the table but everyone connected with the industry knows it exists. It comes from artists recording jingles for radio stations, giving exclusive interviews, presents from the record company etc......

 

[niallyb]

Payola - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The last payola scandal is less than 3 years old. Don't think the practice is dead in any way. The form has just changed slightly.

The fact that so many radio stations are owned by so few companies is a very very serious problem in a media market like the USA.

 

[beLIEve]

I find it a bit ironic that downloads are what would have almost certainly pushed Vertigo into the top ten on the Hot 100 back in 2004 if they had been counted, but that downloads are keeping Magnificent off of the Hot 100 at all now.

It's more of a case of Magnificent not having the benefit of downloads for the Hot 100 than it is "downloads are keeping Magnificent off of the Hot 100 at all now". There is also a Hot 100 Airplay Chart, and if Magnificent was, say, #50 on that chart, but missing entirely from the overall Hot 100, then you would be on to something.

The Hot 100 measures TOTAL AIRPLAY, across all formats, and then it also factors in a songs sales, whether it be downloads (vast majority of song purchases) or physical singles (nearly dead in the U.S.; not so much in other countries). I'm not sure of how this is split...anyone know if it's 50/50 between airplay and sales...or something else? Regardless, Magnificent has not ever charted on the Hot 100 Airplay Chart, so it's one-week stay in the overall Hot 100 at #79 was pretty much on the strength of downloads of the album track.

Except for Vertigo, I don't really remember the last time U2 promoted a single heavily in the U.S.; Discoteque debuted at #9 back in 1997, and back then it was the physical single sales that pushed it that high, although it did get some airplay. Not enough, however, to keep it from plummeting out of that chart rather quickly. Magnificent is a great song, but I'm just not sure it's going to attract a substantial number of 10-20 year olds to go and download the song. Between legal and illegal album sales, it's a safe bet that over 1M U2 fans already have NLOTH in the U.S.. If U2 released a killer video for the song, and perhaps included 2-3 good b-sides all for a heavily promoted $.99 download plastered all over the homepage of i-tunes, then MAYBE this would help the song on the Hot 100.

I agree with many of the folks here that see what's on the Hot 100 and want to puke...part of me doesn't even want to see U2 included amongst the majority of those "songs". Over half of them just outright suck. However, Coldplay appealed to enough of the download generation to get a #1 hit with VLV, and I do think it certainly helped the album. So far, Magnificent is doing rather well on the traditional formats that always play U2. If that continues, then it could give NLOTH a small bump. What I'd like to see is a true single promotion in the U.S., ala Vertigo or VLV, for Magnificent surrounding it's worldwide release date, now May 4, and for U2 to really push a true single in the U.S. for a change. If the song crosses over from the Rock formats to Adult Top 40, and maybe even mainstream Top 40, I really think it could be U2's last, prominent nationwide "hit single" in the U.S., and that would push NLOTH sales higher.

I have no doubt that outside of the U.S., Magnificent will be considered a hit single and it will do well on singles charts around the world. Bono claims to care about getting U2's music out to as many people as possible, and while I agree NLOTH is not instantly accessible, IMHO it's their best album since AB, and a song like Magnificent could be this album's WOWY, One, or even Vertigo. With the tour being a major money maker, while also helping album sales in it's own right, maybe it's not worth the effort for U2 to try to conquer the U.S. singles charts. For this song, and for the sake of this album, I wish they would give it a go...it couldn't hurt anything, but it sure could help out if U2 are to get a significant number of new fans and get NLOTH to the masses outside of their traditional fanbase.

For those of you who are avid chart watchers, I finally found the mediabase websites that give DAILY updates on airplay only charts in the U.S. I remember this being centralized into one site back in 2004, but all I can find right now are individual sites, for each format, that update daily. As you can see, Magnificent is a day or two away from taking the top spot on Triple A. It's also moving up nicely on Alternative, Rock, and Hot AC/Adult Top 40. The last site on the list below is the Mediabase Weekly Summary Chart that gets into the U.S.A. today. Here you go:

Mediabase 24/7 - 7 Day Charts

Mediabase 24/7 - 7 Day Charts

Mediabase 24/7 - 7 Day Charts

Mediabase 24/7 - 7 Day Charts

AMERICA'S MUSIC CHARTS -- 0 3 . 3 1 . 0 9 -- powered by MEDIABASE

 

[fna692002]

Its kinda interesting to note that the song "Right Round" by Flo Rida is HUGE at radio, yet album sales for him are projected at 45k. The Itunes generation doesnt care about albums, they just want whatever song is big at the moment than move on to something else. I gurantee your top ten right now will be forgotton in 5 months by 80% of people. Yea it would be nice to see U2 on it, but really its not that big of a deal. When a song called "kiss me thru the phone" is on your top ten, it really says how dumb these charts are.

12yr olds are not going to get into a song like Mag. It just isnt slutty enough or autotuned up for them. When I think of U2 aiming for the younger crowd I consider that to be 18-23yr olds....the college crowd.