Rihanna's 'Umbrella' Reigns Again On Hot 100

July 12, 2007, 10:50 AM ET
Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

Rihanna's "Umbrella" begins a seventh week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, having successfully fended off Shop Boyz' "Party Like a Rockstar," which drops 2-4. Its newest competitor is Plain White T's' "Hey There Delilah," which inches up 3-2. Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry" is also climbing on the Hot 100 4-3, and with a 2-1 advance on the Pop 100, earns her the distinction of the first lead artist to notch four No. 1s on that tally.

Back on the Hot 100, T-Pain's "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')" holds at No. 5, while another song, "Bartender" featuring Akon, jumps 14-10. T-Pain thus becomes the first lead artist with two simultaneous Hot 100 top 10 hits since Akon in late January.

Timbaland's "The Way I Are" featuring Keri Hilson holds at No. 6, as does Maroon 5's "Makes Me Wonder" at No. 7. Hurricane Chris' "A Bay Bay" continues to rise with a 13-8 move, and T.I.'s "Big Things Poppin' (Do It)" jumps 11-9 in tandem with yesterday's No. 1 Billboard 200 debut for his latest Grand Hustle/Atlantic album, "T.I. vs. T.I.P."

After previously peaking at No. 7, Linkin Park's "What I've Done" rebounds 24-14 as the chart's greatest digital gainer. It also remains No. 1 on Billboard's Modern Rock chart for an astonishing 14th consecutive week.

T.I. has the Hot 100's top debut with the Wyclef Jean collaboration "You Know What It Is" at No. 68. Also new is Justin Timberlake's "Lovestoned" at No. 85 and the Goo Goo Dolls' "Before It's Too Late (Sam and Mikaela's Theme) at No. 86.

Fantasia's "When I See U" is No. 1 for a third week on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart but will face a challenge from Fabolous' "Make Me Better" featuring Ne-Yo, which is the chart's fastest growing track at radio and climbs 8-4.

On Hot Country Songs, Big & Rich claims its first No. 1 with "Lost in This Moment" after 22 weeks on the chart. The duo had never previously been higher than No. 11 on Hot Country Songs before the release of this single. Rascal Flatts' "Take Me There" is the chart's top debut at No. 24; the Kenny Chesney co-write is the first single from the group's Sept. 25 Lyric Street release.

Marco Antonio Solis' "Ojala" is No. 1 on Hot latin Songs for a third week, while Ozzy Osbourne leads Mainstream Rock for a third with "I Don't Wanna Stop."

Rihanna, Shop Boyz Still Not Budging On Hot 100

July 05, 2007, 10:20 AM ET
Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

For a fifth straight week, Rihanna's "Umbrella" and Shop Boyz' "Party Like a Rockstar" are locked in at the top two spots of the Billboard Hot 100. "Umbrella" scores a sixth week at No. 1, and also inches up to the top of the Hot 100 Airplay chart, her first such achievement on that list.Plain White T's' "Hey There Delilah" rises 4-3 on the Hot 100 and moves to No. 1 on Hot Digital Songs thanks to sales of 146,000 downloads. The track thus becomes Hollywood Records' best Hot 100 showing since Jennifer Paige's "Crush" peaked at No. 3 there in 1998.Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry" is down 3-4, while T-Pain's "Buy a Drank (Shawty Snappin')" holds at No. 5. Timbaland's "The Way I Are" featuring Keri Hilson continues its fast rise, soaring 18-6 a week after jumping from No. 40. The cut is also the chart's fastest digital gainer.Maroon 5's "Makes Me Wonder" is down 6-7, while Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" drops 7-8, Justin Timberlake's "Summer Love" slides 8-9 and Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" falls 9-10 to round out the top 10.Kenny Chesney's "Never Wanted Nothing More" rockets 65-22 on the Hot 100 in just its second week, tying his prior peak on this chart with "The Good Stuff" in 2002. The first single from his Sept. 11 BNA release "Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates" also climbs 9-5 on Hot Country Songs, where Montgomery Gentry is No. 1 for a second week with "Lucky Man."

The Hot 100's top debut is Hannah Montana's "Life's What You Make It" at No. 25. As reported yesterday, the title character of the Disney show, Miley Cyrus, debuted at No. 1 yesterday on The Billboard 200 with "Hannah Montana 2 (Soundtrack)/Meet Miley Cyrus." The Montana character is also at No. 27 on the Hot 100 with "Nobody's Perfect."Also new this week is Reba McEntire's cover of Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You" at No. 52, which features Clarkson herself, and Aly & AJ's "Potential Breakup Song" at No. 92.On Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Fantasia's "When I See U" is No. 1 for a second week. Linkin Park dominates the Modern Rock tally for a 13th week with "What I've Done," while Ozzy Osbourne begins a second week atop Mainstream Rock with "I Don't Wanna Stop."

Album of the Week

When you've released a pair of albums containing a few monster singles and a considerable amount of unsteady, unassured material, why mess around the third time out? From beginning to end, Good Girl Gone Bad is as pop as pop gets in 2007, each one of its 12 songs a potential hit in some territory. Unlike Music of the Sun or A Girl Like Me, neither Caribbean flavorings nor ballad ODs are part of the script, and there isn't an attempt to make something as theatrical as "Unfaithful." There is, however, another '80s hit involved: just as "SOS" appropriated Soft Cell's version of "Tainted Love," "Shut Up and Drive" turns New Order's "Blue Monday" into a sleek, forthcoming proposition, one that is as undeniable and rocking as Sugababes' 2002 U.K. smash "Freak Like Me" (a cover of Adina Howard's 1995 hit that swiped from another '80s single, Gary Numan's "Are Friends Electric?"). "Shut Up and Drive" is part of an all-upbeat opening sequence that carries through five songs. Rihanna knows exactly what she wants and is in total control at all times, even when she's throwing things and proclaiming "I'm a fight a man" amid marching percussion and synthesizers set on "scare" during "Breakin' Dishes." The album's lead song and lead single, "Umbrella," is her best to date, delivering mammoth if spacious drums, a towering backdrop during the chorus, and vocals that are somehow totally convincing without sounding all that impassioned -- an ideal spot between trying too hard and boredom, like she might've been on her 20th take, which only adds to the song's charm. The album's second half is relatively varied and a little heavier on acoustic guitar use, but it's not lacking additional standouts. Three consecutive Timbaland productions, including one suited for a black college marching band and another that effectively pulls the romantically co-dependent heartstrings, enhance the album rather than make it more scattered. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide

Umbrella

The upbeat song from Rihanna that sky rocketed from #42 position to the #1 spot in the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. It's been a while since we last heard of Rihanna after her Top 10 hit Unfaithful. According to producer Terius Nash, the song was offered to many labels before being recorded by Rihanna. Artists Mary J. Blige and Akon are all rumored to have passed on the song, before Karen Kwak at Universal contacted Antonio "L.A" Reid. (source: Wikipedia).

The song's beat and tempo makes you stomp your feet from where you are seating (even though there are some portions of the song that are quite boring to listen to), the urban contemporary rhythm and beat suits the rapping of Jay-Z and Rihanna's vocal style (I'm sure many critics will pan me after they read my review). We know for a fact that R&B songs now are currently dominating the radio airplays and music charts but this song offers an additional contemporary sound and I'm pretty sure every Club Dancers and Bar hoppers would surely love to dance and sing a long with this song.