“I tried to remove fear and anxiety from the process as much as possible. I was aware that if I had to cry take after take, it would affect my sinuses, which are integral to singing.”
Such is how Anne Hathaway explains the
secret to her singing
in the current box office smash “Les Miserables.” As the movie’s music
blasts 33-2
on the
GOT(YE)TEN ‘USED TO’ THE HOT 100:
As noted in this week’s
Hot 100 recap story
,
Gotye
‘s “Somebody That I Used to Know,” featuring Kimbra, last year’s top Hot 100 title, rises 49-48 with top Airplay Gainer honors. The cut rebounds 45-24 on Radio Songs thanks to year-end countdowns and AC radio reverting to regular programming after the majority of the format’s stations had played all-holiday music throughout much of December; “Somebody” re-enters the Adult Contemporary chart at No. 1 (for a 17th total week on top).
As the song logs its 52nd week on the Hot 100, it’s just the fifth year-end No. 1 to spend at least a year on the chart. 2011’s top hit,
Adele
‘s “Rolling in the Deep,” leads with 68 weeks tallied, followed by Lifehouse’s “Hanging By a Moment” (2001, 54),
Faith Hill
‘s “Breathe” (2000, 53) and Next’s “Too Close” (1998, 53).
‘SNOW’ STORM:
Speaking of AC, although
Rod Stewart
‘s “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow” falls 1-18 on Adult Contemporary, the song departs the summit after five weeks having tied the record for the longest-leading yuletide title in the chart’s 51-year history.
Last holiday season, Michael Buble’s ballad cover of
Mariah Carey
‘s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” reigned for five frames, while
Josh Groban
‘s “Believe” first set the mark in 2004-05.
CARPENTERS’ WORK:
Another veteran AC act logs its highest rank on the Billboard 200 in 37 years, as the Carpenters’ “Singles: 1969-1981” scores the chart’s top debut at No. 45.
The duo of Richard and the late Karen Carpenter had last placed higher with 1976’s No. 33-peaking “A Kind of Hush.”
HAPPY NEW YEAR:
Chris Brown
begins 2013 by entering R&B Songs at No. 25 with “2012.”
The song is the latest chart hit whose title is solely a year. The
Smashing Pumpkins
topped Alternative Songs the week of March 2, 1996, with “1979.” Perhaps most famously,
Prince
partied to No. 12 on the Hot 100 in 1983 with “1999.” The song returned for a week in the year of its name (Jan. 16, 1999) at No. 40.
Honorable mention to Mark Wills’ ode to the ’70s and ’80s, “19 Somethin’.” The song began a six-week reign on Country Songs 10 years ago this month.
A group whose name is also a year hit the Hot 100 in 1989: The Billboard chart history for Australia’s
1927
consists of a one-week stay at No. 100 with the melodic “That’s When I Think of You.”
Despite its brief U.S. foray, 1927 remains active in 2013. Lead singer Eric Weideman revived the group, which formed 25 years ago, in 2009 after a 16-year break. Former members include Garry Frost, who, as part of fellow Australian pop act Moving Pictures, reached No. 29 on the Hot 100 in 1983 with
“What About Me.”