Official NZ Music Chart & Chartbitz March 7 2007

Chartbitz:

Gwen’s Sweet, No Escaping Akon
The woman who had the first #1 of 2007 is joined by the man who had the second #1 of the year as they score the year’s first chart-topper to debut at #1.
Gwen Stefani makes it two from two from her second solo release as the title cut The Sweet Escape starts at #1 with a combination of sales and strong airplay (#8 on the RadioScope100 this week).
Collaborator Akon looked set to score his second solo #1 of the year with his own track I Wanna Love You, which holds the runner-up spot for a second week, but instead it is his Gwen help-out that has upped his hit rate. The Senegalese-born singer racks up three concurrent Top 10 hits (his former #1 Smack That with Eminem slips to #7 this week).
Aliaune Thiam (aka Akon) now has his fourth New Zealand #1 with a total of 17 weeks atop the Chart. Two were in 2005 - Lonely and Moonshine (with our own Savage) along with this year’s pair. His hit tally is seven in all.
Back to Gwen. The Sweet Escape album slips to #27, having peaked at #13, while Wind It Up, the first pole-sitter from the record remains in the Singles Chart at #31. It was the Christmas and New Year #1.
Gwen’s solo hit tally is now eight, stretching from 2001 to today and including two #1s. As part of No Doubt she’s been part of eight more hits, including the 1996 chart-topper Don’t Speak.

Atlas Make A Quick Crawl
Atlas used to be a New Zealand cooking institution - Atlas stoves. Now it’s set to become a musical institution as well as Auckland four-piece brother and sister Ben and Beth Campbell, Andy Lynch and Sean Cunningham land a #8 hit out of the box with Crawl.
The song makes its debut after a week of sales, backed by strong radio (#7 on the RadioScope100 and the most-played Kiwi song on radio this week). The cut is lifted from the combo’s debut album Reasons For Voyaging, which drops later in the year.
Half of Atlas used to be half of Zed - Ben and Andy. Zed racked up 10 hit singles between 1999 and 2003, including the Top 10ers Glorafilia (#9 in 1999), Renegade Fighter (#4 in 2000) and Hard To Find Her (#9 in 2003).
The band’s two albums were both Top 10ers as well, the #1 Silencer and the #4 This Little Empire.


The New Singles
#1 Gwen Stefani featuring Akon - The Sweet Escape
See story above.

#8 Atlas - Crawl
See story above.

#16 Amy Winehouse - Rehab
2007 British Female Solo Act winner Amy Winehouse gains her first New Zealand hit single at #16. While other celebs like Robbie and Britney are going into it, Amy’s been there, done that and emerged the other side now singing about Rehab, the lead track off her sophomore Back To Black. It seems 16 is Amy’s lucky number as the album is also at #16 on the Albums Chart this week (having peaked last week at #13).

#26 Omarion - Ice Box
Former LA-born B2K lead singer Omarion (real name Omari Grandberry) lands his fourth hit as Ice Box, from his sophomore 21 album, is new at #26 this week. It’s his second from that set (Entourage nudged #30 the last part of last year). His biggest local hit to date was the 2005 #8 collaboration with Bow Wow, Let Me Hold You.

#30 Bob Sinclar - Rock This Party
French DJ / Producer Bob Sinclar hit #2 just on a year back with his sole New Zealand hit to date Love Generation. This week he racks up his second with the help of a sample from C & C Music Factory’s 1991 gold-certified #2 Gonna Make You Sweat. That Robert Cliviles / David Cole track lends its hook to Rock This Party, which can be found on Bob’s Western Dream album.

The New Albums
#10 Mika - Life In Cartoon Motion
Last week 23-year-old newcomer Mika charted at #38 with his debut, and former five-week UK #1 single, Grace Kelly. It slips a point to #39 this week, but not to worry as the track’s #6 on the RadioScope100 with a retail single due out in a week.
Meanwhile the profile of that song propels the newcomer straight into the Albums Top 10 at #10 with his debut long player Life In Cartoon Motion. Like the single, the album is also a former UK #1. Mika was born in Beirut and grew up in the war (his father was held hostage in an embassy in Kuwait), before the family were exiled to Paris, before finally settling in London.

#39 Kaiser Chiefs - Yours Truly, Angry Mob
From the top of the UK chart to a #39 new entry in New Zealand, Leeds quintet Kaiser Chiefs better their 2005 Employment debut set by charting with their sophomore effort Yours Truly, Angry Mob. The lead single, Ruby, was last week’s UK #1 single for the Yorkshiremen. The Kaiser Chiefs were triple-Brit winners last year – for Best British Group, Best Live Act and Best Rock Act.

You can contact Andrew at:
andrewmiller @ radioscope.co.nz

Top 40 Albums - Week To Sunday, 4 March 2007

This Last Weeks
Week Week In Title Artist Label

1 1 4 Infinity On High Fall Out Boy Universal
2 2 34 Eyes Open Snow Patrol Universal
3 4 27 Loose Nelly Furtado Universal
4 3 6 How To Save A Life The Fray SBME
5 8 13 Albertine Brooke Fraser SBME
6 9 3 Greatest Hits Crosby, Stills And Nash WEA/Warner
7 10 25 FutureSex / LoveSounds Justin Timberlake SBME
8 7 5 Not Too Late Norah Jones BlueNote/EMI
9 6 16 The Road To Escondido JJ Cale And Eric Clapton WEA/Warner
10 new 1 Life In Cartoon Motion Mika Universal
11 12 3 Van At The Movies Van Morrison EMI
12 18 19 The Black Parade My Chemical Romance WEA/Warner
13 11 14 Extreme Behaviour Hinder Universal
14 22 42 Stadium Arcadium Red Hot Chili Peppers WEA/Warner
15 17 16 Black Holes And Revelations Muse WEA/Warner
16 13 6 Back To Black Amy Winehouse Universal
17 5 13 Boned! 12th Man EMI
18 15 6 Greatest Hits: The Atlantic Years POD WEA/Warner
19 16 3 Daughtry Daughtry SBME
20 20 22 Sam's Town The Killers Universal
21 19 15 18 Singles U2 Universal
22 14 3 The Singles: 1996-2006 Staind WEA/Warner
23 33 31 Real Life Evermore WEA/Warner
24 25 9 Number Ones ABBA Universal
25 24 4 A Weekend In The City Bloc Party Wichita/Shock
26 23 2 The Confessions Tour Madonna WEA/Warner
27 26 13 The Sweet Escape Gwen Stefani Universal
28 30 17 Alright, Still Lily Allen Capitol/EMI
29 27 6 Don't You Fake It Red Jumpsuit Apparatus Virgin/EMI
30 29 13 Eminem Presents The Re-Up Eminem Universal
31 28 96 Based On A True Story Fat Freddy's Drop TheDrop/Rhythmethod
32 21 33 Taking The Long Way Dixie Chicks SBME
33 35 15 Konvicted Akon Universal
34 40 14 Inside In / Inside Out The Kooks Virgin/EMI
35 31 22 The Open Door Evanescence SBME
36 39 3 The Cheetah Girls 2 OST Various Disney/EMI
37 37 16 One World the feelers WEA/Warner
38 36 7 Empire Kasabian SBME
39 new 1 Yours Truly, Angry Mob Kaiser Chiefs Universal
40 34 15 The Love Album Westlife SBME

Chart compiled by Media Sauce Ltd.

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