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Year-End Top Songs 75 - 51

And the countdown continues... We're now halfway down on The TMJ Charts Top 100 Songs of 2010 with the 75 to 51 positions. This one includes The Chart's current No. 1 song by Drake and Young Jeezy, Unforgettable, at No. 75 and double spots for Interpol, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Katy Perry, Timbaland and La Vida Bohème.

Don't know what this is all about? Read yesterday's post. More tomorrow, but for now check these out:

Drake Finally Reaches The Top

After several close calls Drake has finally reached the top of The Chart this week as Unforgettable featuring Young Jeezy makes a twelve-spot jump to No. 1, the second biggest leap to the summit this year behind Katy Perry's Teenage Dream and the fifth biggest overall. Drake had previously only reached No. 2 on four different occasions with Best I Ever Had, Over, Mary J. Blige's The One and Timbaland's Say Something. For Young Jeezy this is his 4th chart-topper as a collaborative artist, having reached the top before with Mariah Carey's Side Effects (3 weeks), Jay-Z's Real As It Gets (2 weeks) and Akon's I'm So Paid (1 week).

Lupe Fiasco Scores a 2nd Week at No. 1

The Show Goes On for Lupe Fiasco as he scores a second week at the top of The Chart with his first single from the highly-anticipated Lasers album, due out early 2011. The current lead for the song is too high for it to leave the top anytime soon, so it may very well become Lupe's longest-charting No. 1 so far. Following at No. 2 is another fast-rising track: N*E*R*D's I've Seen The Light / Inside Of Clouds. It could've easily become their first chart-topper but its fate will depend on how long it'll take for Lupe's track to start slowing down. Another highlight for the Top 10 is a new peak for Brandon Flowers' Only The Young. The second single from Flamingo sits now at the No. 5 position. The rest of the top 10 is pretty much stationary except for a re-entry by Interpol with Try It On.

Kanye West: "Amazing (Feat. Young Jeezy)" video

T-Pain, Lil Wayne among winners at BET Awards

T-Pain transformed the BET Awards into a circus Tuesday with a multi-artist medley that showed the rapper and singer's wide-ranging influence on urban music, while best-selling rapper Lil Wayne and songstress Alicia Keys gave rousing performances of their own.

Wearing a spangled top hat, T-Pain -- nominated for a leading five BET Awards -- shared the stage with fellow nominees Flo Rida, Rick Ross, Ludacris and Big Boi, along with a bevy of big-top freaks, including fire eaters and acrobats.

"This industry is my circus," said T-Pain. "Ride with the ringleader."

Then T-Pain -- whose nominations came not for his own hits but for his collaborations with others, and whose vocoder-assisted voice is among the most ubiquitous in urban music -- gave a sample of his musical assists over the past year.

Double nominee Flo Rida performed his hit with T-Pain, "Low"; a bare-chested Ross flaunted his gut while singing his song with T-Pain, "Boss"; and all joined in on the collaborative "I'm So Hood."

Not to be outdone, the ladies offered a showstopping performance of their own, led by double nominee Keys. Rocking a sleek bob and skintight jeans, Keys invited vintage girl groups SWV, En Vogue and TLC to join her onstage for a medley of their biggest hits. By the time they closed with TLC's "Waterfalls," the crowd at the Shrine Auditorium was on its feet. Even Kanye West was singing along.

Viewers Choice award winner Lil Wayne was set to deliver the night's most anticipated performance, and he didn't disappoint. Joined by uber-collaborator T-Pain, who wore a t-shirt that read "T-Wayne," Lil Wayne delivered a medley of hits including "A Milli" and his No. 1 smash "Lollipop."

West, who won awards for best male hip-hop artist and best collaboration for his song with T-Pain, "Good Life," used his victories to praise both T-Pain and Lil Wayne.

"We're blessed to be in this man's presence," West said of T-Pain, whom he called "a genius." "I'll let y'all know because I'm one of the kings of this game. My opinion counts."

West called Lil Wayne "my fiercest competition." The New Orleans-based rapper last week sold 1 million copies of "Tha Carter III" for the year's best sales debut.

"You scared me man," West said. "Congratulations on selling over a million records. And they say hip hop is dead."

After tributes by Jill Scott and Maxwell, Lifetime Achievement Award winner Al Green delivered a smash performance of his own, hitting all the high notes on his hits "Let's Stay Together" and "Love and Happiness."

Diddy, Ludacris and the rest of the awards-show audience sang along as the 62-year-old Reverend Green shook his booty on stage.

"I'm sorry I didn't sing as well as I could. I got scared," a modest Green confessed backstage.

Queen Latifah introduced Humanitarian Award recipient Quincy Jones, calling him "an international artist, an innovator ... and a leader."

"He showed us black entertainment is more than just a hustle," she said. "It's more than just selling albums. It's about inspiration."

Jones said growing up on the south side of Chicago during the depression moved him to give back to people in need.

"My piece of bread only belongs to me if everybody has a piece to eat," he said.

Receiving the award "is one of the very treasured moments of my life," Jones said, "and I always hope to live up to this honor."

A somber moment came when UGK was named best group. Bun B honored his fallen bandmate, Pimp C, who died in December at age 33 from complications of sleep apnea.

"It's hard to do this with my brother not being here," Bun B said, while joined onstage with Pimp C's wife. "We want to thank y'all for supporting UGK all these years. It's still UGK for life... Long live Pimp C."

Usher opened the show pyrotechnics-filled performance as he sang "Love in this Club." The highly choreographed set, which featured Usher pop-locking, gyrating and grooving his way across the stage with a bevy of voluptuous dancers, gave the show a high-energy start.

Host D.L. Hughley's opening monologue was a little less explosive -- his jokes about Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, the recently acquitted R. Kelly and President Bush fell flat -- but he didn't slow the pace of the performance-heavy show.

Key collaborations kept the show buzzing along.

Singer (and BET reality star) Keyshia Cole gave a glamorous performance of her ballad "Heaven Sent," descending from the ceiling while wearing a long flowing gown, before a dancer ripped it off, revealing a white top and shorts as she sang her hit "Let It Go" with Lil Kim.

West rapped alongside Young Jeezy in performance that was marked by its omissions -- censors muted much of their performance. Chris Brown, who was seated next to rumored girlfriend Rihanna, won the night's first award: best male R&B artist. Brown was later joined onstage by Ciara for a sizzling performance that showed off each artist's dance skills, and a shirtless Nelly unveiled a new song with Fergie.

Kobe Bryant and Missy Elliott were early winners, but the best male athlete and female hip-hop artist weren't there to collect their awards, nor was the evening's best new artist winner, The-Dream.

Source: CNN.com

Lil Wayne's 'Lollipop' Returns To Hot 100 Peak

After a three-week break, Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" featuring Static Major returns to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week. It's the longest chart-topping hiatus since Usher's "U Got It Bad" went four weeks between No. 1 stints in January 2002.

Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love" is No. 2 for a second week, while last week's chart-topper, Rihanna's "Take a Bow," slips 3-1 despite being the fastest-growing track at radio. Usher's "Love in This Club" featuring Young Jeezy rises 5-4, trading places with Jordin Sparks' "No Air" featuring Chris Brown.

Ray J & Yung Berg's "Sexy Can I" holds at No. 6, and Madonna's "4 Minutes" featuring Justin Timberlake remains No. 7. Natasha Bedingfield's "Pocketful of Sunshine" rises 9-8, trading places with Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body." Danity Kane's "Damaged" holds at No. 10 to round out the top tier.

Another new Usher song, "Love in This Club, Part II," soars 63-18 in its fourth week, thanks to digital sales of 44,000.

The Hot 100's greatest digital gainer is Duffy's "Mercy," which sold 59,000 downloads en route to a 66-27 climb. The U.K. artist's debut Mercury album, "Rockferry," debuted yesterday at No. 4 on The Billboard 200.

The week's top debut comes from the reunited New Kids On The Block with "Summertime" at No. 57. The song shifted 39,000 downloads and is off to a strong start at top 40 radio, moving 40-35 this week on the Pop 100 Airplay tally.

Also new this week are Kate Voegele's "Hallelujah" at No. 66, Three 6 Mafia's "Lolli Lolli (Pop That Body)" at No. 79 and Jason Mraz's "Lucky" featuring Colbie Caillat at No. 82.

Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" is No. 1 for a fourth week on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, where Kanye West's "Homecoming" featuring Chris Martin is the top new entry at No. 68.

Brad Paisley's "I'm Still a Guy" moves 2-1 to overtake Hot Country Songs, his fourth chart-topper from the album "5th Gear."

On Billboard's rock chart, Weezer is No. 1 on Modern Rock with "Pork & Beans" for a third week, and Disturbed's "Inside the Fire" tops Mainstream Rock for a third. The Cure has the top debut on Modern Rock with "The Only One" at No. 35.

Source: Billboard.com

Young Jeezy, Lupe Fiasco, Rick Ross, Grateful For Their Spots On 'Hottest MCs' List

Hate it or love it, MTV News' "Hottest MCs in the Game" list is well respected — just ask the artists themselves.

"MTV, y'all's top 10 is the certified top 10," Game said last week on Ed Lover's Power 105.1 radio show, when the Compton star was interviewed with several members of MTV's Hip-Hop Brain Trust. "I don't think it's another top 10. People scramble [to see] who's the best MCs all year. I don't think fans respect anything more than MTV's list."

"Justice! Justice! Justice for the downtrodden and the oppressed!" Lupe Fiasco yelled recently at a stop on Kanye West's Glow in the Dark Tour when MTV News correspondent Sway told him he was one of our "Hottest MCs in the Game." "Justice does exist in this world, ladies and gentlemen."

Lupe was very vocal when he was left off last year's list — and didn't even receive an honorable mention. "Yeah, I went and found all of the individual board members and asked them what was up," Fiasco said. "It feels good, man. I used that as motivation. I took that as, 'Oh, OK. I'll be back.' And I came back with a vengeance. [The Cool] is gold. Smash record that was nine weeks at #1. The bells and whistles and everything that comes with it. So, you know, I'm happy. I'm happy. A Grammy that just came out of nowhere. It feels good, man, the work. So now I've got to find something else to motivate me again, so I can be the underdog. I like being the underdog. I like that. It feels like you've got something to achieve. You wake up in the morning with a purpose."

Lupe placed seventh — one above Young Jeezy.

"I love Jeezy. Jeezy's got charisma," Fiasco said of the Snowman. "Even with the stuff he talks about — people say it's worlds away and worlds apart — I come from the world that Jeezy comes from. I'm from the 'hood and the whole situation. And the way he articulates it ... it motivates you. Like that's what his first album was, Thug Motivation. It really is like he's a motivational speaker, the charisma and the energy that he puts into the record. ... Like Tupac, the way he gives it and the way he says it and the ad libs, the whole thing. The way he sets it up for you. It's just phenomenal."

Mr. 17.5 was in his Dirty South Studio in Atlanta when he was told he made the list. "I'mma respect that, though," Jeezy said. "I feel at the end of the day, I take what I do very seriously. You only gonna get out what you put in."

Jeezy did take a brief hiatus last year after putting out the USDA album. But he's since gone on a tear with cameos, catapulting him into the top 10. "Sometimes you gotta give it a break," Young said. "You can't be all over the place all the time. It has to be an event when you jump on something. Normally you wouldn't do that. Now I'm on it. If it sounds right, I'm on it. If [the song] sounds right and I like it, I'm on it. I don't need no money or nothing."

Rick Ross, whose swagger and lyrics have been a staple in the game this past year, earned the #4 spot on the 2008 list.

"You get into best of the best," the boss said about going top five. "You looking at moguls, entrepreneurs, bosses when you crack that top five. That's where the boy wants to be. That's where everybody should aspire to be if you in the game and wanna go to that next level."

Ross was delighted to make the list. He felt he's come a long way. "Just being a fan of the game and coming from the streets and now participating in the countdown is something you can be proud of. It's definitely an accomplishment. It's all good, man."

Ross names Cash Money Millionaire key players Lil Wayne and Baby as being in his personal top five. He also likes Jay-Z and Kanye West.

"His presentation!" Ross said of why he respects West. "The level, the art. You see the art when you look at it. It definitely inspires you. Even if it's a different genre, a different lane, it still is gonna inspire you. I get that from Kanye. Listening to different records, it sounds like he made them for arenas.

"Jay's the best," Ricky Ross continued. "It's not even a comparison. Hands down ... Jay's the best. Either way you look at it, from the music standpoint to the accolades to the new GMC Jay-Z Denali. So Jay, that's how he's been able to remain relevant. He's the best."

Source: MTV.com