By Paul Kennedy
Since the heady days of 2005 when The Pussycat Dolls spawned a string of radio-friendly hits from the double-platinum debut album PCD, the various troupe members have been focused (to varying degrees of success) on their solo careers.
Now the original six-girl group, down to five following the departure earlier this year of Carmit Bachar, are back - faced with the almost impossible task of replicating the success of their debut which delivered four #1 singles: Buttons, Beep, Stickwitu and Don't Cha.By Paul Kennedy
Since the heady days of 2005 when The Pussycat Dolls spawned a string of radio-friendly hits from the double-platinum debut album PCD, the various troupe members have been focused (to varying degrees of success) on their solo careers.
Now the original six-girl group, down to five following the departure earlier this year of Carmit Bachar, are back - faced with the almost impossible task of replicating the success of their debut which delivered four #1 singles: Buttons, Beep, Stickwitu and Don't Cha.Doll Domination is off to the right start though, entering this week's chart at #8 (PCD, by comparison, made an inauspicious #23 debut back in 2005 before taking another 39 weeks to slowly claw its way to #1).
The girls also made a successful return to the airwaves and the Single Chart in June with When I Grow Up, reaching #5 on the Top40 and #4 on the RadioScope100.
With a guest list of contributors including Snoop Dogg, Missy Elliott, R Kelly, Will.I.Am and New Kids On The Block, it seems there are plenty of single options on the record. Whether there are four #1s, however, remains to be seen.
Aotearoa Albums
There's no shortage of brand new Kiwi content on this week's Albums Chart as three local acts make their debut. One's new, one's sort of new, and one's a veritable chart veteran.
In at #15 (one better than across the Tasman) is Pip Brown, aka Ladyhawke. Having cut her teeth as an indie rocker in Wellington, most notably with four-piece Two-Lane Blacktop, the 27-year-old has more recently become a darling of the UK electro-pop scene.
Her self-titled debut album, released on Australian label Modular, made a #47 start on this week's UK chart and has gained glowing reviews in The Guardian, The Observer and The Sunday Times.
At #19 Salmonella Dub are back on the Albums Chart for a sixth time. Feel The Seasons Change was recorded in February this year during two shows with backing from the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and includes contributions by Whirimako Black, traditional Maori instrumentalist Richard Nunns, and Paddy Free of Pitch Black fame.
The third of the week's Kiwi new entries, at #22, is Nathan King. It's a first showing as a solo artist but, of course, as the singer for teen rockers Zed he has already tasted chart success, hitting #1 in 2000 with Silencer and #3 three years later with This Little Empire. The Crowd was recorded in two parts, first with producer Brady Blade and the rest with Greg Haver and Clint Murphy at Neil Finn's Roundhead Studios.
It Could Be Made Into A Monster -
David Jon Gilmour CBE is no stranger to chart success, not so much in a solo capacity but his contribution to chart history as a central figure in Pink Floyd are enormous.
1975's Dark Side Of The Moon remains the longest-lived album in New Zealand chart history, having spent an incredible 299 weeks (nearly six years!) on the chart. 1979's The Wall is another of the most successful albums of all time, spending 100 weeks on the chart, 10 of those at #1.
In addition to his 15 albums with Pink Floyd, 62-year-old Gilmour has also released three solo studio albums and now adds to the tally with a live collection, Live In Gdansk, new at #20 this week.
Recorded in 2006 in front of a crowd of 50,000 at the Gdansk Shipyard to mark the anniversary of Poland's 1980 revolution, the collection features songs from both the Pink Floyd canon and his On An Island solo album, which reached #2 here in March 2006.
The only fellow Pink Floyd member to appear on the set is keyboardist Rick Wright who passed away just this month.
The Live In Gdansk set is available in a wide array of formats, ranging from a simple 2CD set to a deluxe 3CD/2DVD edition and a 5LP vinyl collection.
In May this year, Gilmour was awarded the 2008 Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Contribution to British music.
The New Singles
#30 Kanye West - Love Lockdown
Love Lockdown is the first single from Kanye's forthcoming album 808s And Heartbreak. It's a little different to the material we've come to expect from the 31-year-old hip hopper - no rapping, featuring instead generous use of the auto-tune vocal effect. It's Kanye's 10th appearance on the Singles Chart.
#32 TI - Whatever You Like
Produced by Jim Jonsin, the same man behind Lil Wayne's hit Lollipop, Whatever You Like is the first single from TI's sixth studio album, Paper Trail. TI (known to his family, and law enforcement in Atlanta, as Clifford Joseph Harris Jr) made it to #1 back in November 2006 as guest vocalist on Justin Timberlake's My Love.
#36 Christina Aguilera - Keeps Gettin' Better
Third equal on the list of female solo artists with the most #1s (behind Madonna and Mariah Carey), Christina Maria Aguilera already has a chart pedigree as long as your arm. The 27-year-old former Mousketeer is reportedly working on a new album, however Keeps Gettin' Better is taken from her forthcoming Best Of collection and was produced by former 4 Non Blondes singer Linda Perry.
The New Albums
#8 The Pussycat Dolls - Doll Domination
See story above.
#15 Ladyhawke - Ladyhawke
See story above.
#19 Salmonella Dub - Feel The Seasons Change: Live With The NZSO
See story above.
#20 David Gilmour - Live In Gdansk
See story above.
#22 Nathan King - The Crowd
See story above.
#25 TV On The Radio - Dear Science
Formed in 2001, New Yorkers TV On The Radio resist definition, during their career their sound has been described as everything from post-punk to art rocker, electro soulster to shoegaze. Whatever they are, the five-piece act has been critically acclaimed since the 2003 release of the full-length debut Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes. A #25 debut this week for Dear Science is their best chart showing here, bettering the previous showing by their sophomore effort Return To Cookie Mountain which didn't quite make the Top40 but topped the Heatseekers Chart for a week in July 2006.
You can contact Andrew at: andrewmiller@radioscope.co.nz
The Official New Zealand Music Chart by The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand , Compiled by Media Sauce
"The Official New Zealand Top 40 premieres Friday nights at 8pm on C4"
02/10/08