Gary Lowder Dominates CAMMYs; Shaboozey Scores Week #17; Deb, Christina Top SNS Debuts (SNS week of 11/10/2024)

 A LOT TO TALK ABOUT THIS WEEK, so let's get right to it.

SMOKIN' HOT:   Beach music artist Gary Lowder was the story at last weekend's Carolina Beach Music Awards, garnering ten awards, including Entertainer, and Male Vocalist, and several which also included his band, the aptly named Smokin' Hot.

Gary Lowder was the big winner at the annual Carolina Beach Music Awards.  Gary, along with his band Smokin' Hot won 10 awards, including Entertainer and Male Vocalist.

In addition to his solo nods, Gary and his band captured Album of the Year honors for In the Moment, the "Smoothie" (i.e. Ballad) for "I'll Be Loving You Always", and Collaboration, with Joe Morris.   Also, the band's "Wildfire" song won for Engineer (Scott Frazier), Producer (Ricky Fox), and Live Production (Bob Blair).   Finally, its vocalist and trombonist Bridger Warlick won for Rising Star.

Meanwhile, among the other awards, Rhonda McDaniel won for Female Artist, and Too Much Sylvia won four times, three for "Another Day" as Song of the Year, along with its writer Rick Lee, and Video of the Year as well, and also for Group of the Year.

Teddy Swims, a national breakout artist in the pop field this year but popular in beach music circles for a few years now, won for the National Dance/Shag song for "Broke", a duet with country star Thomas Rhett.

Congratulations to all the CAMMY winners for 2024!!!!

MEANWHILE ON THE HOT 100, Shaboozey moved a little closer to history as his "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" scores a 17th week on the Billboard Hot 100.  That moves him all alone in second place among the longest running number one songs on the big chart.    It breaks out of a logjam for the 16-weekers, but in doing so, breaks a tie with Morgan Wallen's "Last Night" for the longest running song by a solo artist.

"A Bar Song" is now only two weeks off the record of 19, set in 2019 by Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus' "Old Town Road".   I have theorized that it really has only those two weeks to tie that record, as the barrage of Christmas songs usually takes the top come December.    However, a look at the Billboard chart for week ending November 16 still doesn't show any holiday entries, despite that adult contemporary stations usually start playing all-holiday music come November 1 (and several new holiday songs debut on the AC chart).    These songs usually make their way on top gradually as more people start getting into the spirit in the week before and after Thanksgiving.      Thus, it may take an extra week for that to happen, enabling "A Bar Song" to potentially set the record.    Of course, the way it is going, regardless, it can set the record come January when the holiday entries vanish from the charts.

I might also add that Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" has logged 14 weeks at #1 by spending at least a couple weeks (often more) at the top every year since 2019.     Assuming that the week of December 7 would be the first of five possible weeks in the holiday season, Carey could also tie the record of 19 if it runs the holiday table.    Last year, the song logged two weeks at the top but was beaten out by Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" which topped the chart for three weeks.

Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars' "Die With a Smile" is still #2 and also can be a factor in "A Bar Song's" fate, but it is just a wait and see.  And again, not much change in the top 10 as many of the "regulars" of the past several months are still there.     One to watch is the #5 song, "Lose Control" by Teddy Swims which hit #1 back in March but has now logged 43 weeks in the Top Ten, and 65 weeks on the entire chart.   The record is 91 set by "Heat Waves" by Glass Animals set in 2022.   Because of the recurrent rules, a song lasting this long that drops out of the top 25, gets removed from the chart, which is what happened to the song during that holiday season, as it had ranked at #21 before the holiday blitz.   While "Lose Control" is still 26 weeks away from the record, it has been steadily in the top 10 that the barrage of Christmas entries may not be able to dislodge it from the chart.

One more note.   This week's chart, ending November 16 will be the final chart before Billboard tabulates its year-end list.    While the odds-on favorite is "A Bar Song", with its 17-week chart toppers, don't discount "Lose Control",a number one in its own right, which has been on the chart all year and much of it in the top ten.

MOVING BACK TO THE SNS 100, "A Bar Song" vaults back to the top spot for a second week; it previously topped my list during the combined September 15/22 week but has been in the top four every week since.     In fact, the top two songs mirror Billboard's as "Die with A Smile" holds at #2 here. "Takes One To Know One" by The Beaches, which had a four week run, drops to #3, Jitwam's "Opendoors" drops 3-4, and Starbuck's "Jones About You" moves 6-5.

There are no new entries in the top 10, nor are there in the top 20, either. Thus, the Impact award goes to the biggest point mover in the top 20, which happened to be last week's winner, "Feels Like Love To Me", by Doyle Wood and Terri Gore (18-15).  Just outside the top 20 is "Driving Me Out of Her Mind" by Gary Lowder and Smokin' Hot, no doubt spurred by their CAMMY blitz, moving 33-21.  Finally, the Mover of the Week goes to last week's Top Debut, "Feel" by The Heavy Heavy, spurred by their appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show earlier this week, moving 69-40.

NORTH CAROLINA QUEENS:   Two personal favorite artists have the top two debuts this week.    Deb Browning from Fayetteville scores the Top Debut with her new Christmas song, "Christmas In the South" at #41, while Charlotte's Christina Taylor breaks a three-year hiatus with "Pretty Like You" coming in at #51.

Both of these artists have been blog faves over the years.   Deb has been dominating the SNS 100 (and year-end) lists for three years now, Christina has had hits here going back to 2013 when her debut "Alibi" under her real name Taylor Centers reached #22 that year.    

While they were both from North Carolina, their musical paths diverged.   Ms. Browning went east to the Grand Strand and became one of the top beach music artists; she was voted "Rising Star" at the 2021 CAMMYs, and Female Vocalist in 2023.   Meanwhile Ms. Taylor went west to Nashville and has been on the verge of country stardom.     Some of her early work was featured on CMT, as well as the Radio Disney channel, but somehow never really broke through to the mainstream.  

Let me start with Deb's new Christmas song, one of two holiday entries to debut this week.    Deb previewed "Christmas in the South" on November 13, on Jim Quick's show on 94.1 The Surf, then followed it up on Ray Scott's Riptide Radio that afternoon.  A bouncy, shaggable song, with music and lyrics by Jerry Layne, the upbeat song is about while other parts of the country are getting snow and cold weather, the South, while lamenting the things that are associated with the holiday, is very much content with the relative warm weather that greets that area during the season.   Deb's voice is so much suited to the holiday season and is no stranger to this time of year.  She hit #1 two years ago with "Here Comes Amazon", one of only three holiday entries to ever top my chart, and this one has a good chance as well.   Definitely a winner, but of course, you wouldn't expect anything else from Deb Browning.

Country singer Christina Taylor debuts on the SNS 100 with "Pretty Like You", her first single in three years.

As for Christina Taylor, "Pretty Like You" breaks a three-year hiatus as her last song was also a holiday entry; her take on "Jingle Bell Rock" which featured Haley Mae Campbell, Brenna Bone and Kaylee Rose, reached #9 in 2021.   Ms. Taylor had taken the time off to get married and raise a family, but she is very much back.

I've never met Christina, but I am friends with Mary Anne Reed Nolan, from my hometown of Roselle Park who has known Christina since she was a child and has followed her growth both as a person and artist.   It was Mary Anne that recommended "Alibi"---a rock song--that piqued interest in her music.   However, she wasn't comfortable with that style of music and her next song "Wild" was more in a pop direction.    Still, that really didn't suit her as well, thus she tried country for her third effort, ,"Dodged Your Bullet" which reached #10 on the SNS 100.    She found her wheelhouse, and that was when she changed her stage name from Taylor Centers to Christina Taylor (perhaps to avoid confusion to another famous singer with a first name of Taylor?).    

Christina is very much country and should be very much bigger than she has thus far.    Despite a cool duet with Canadian country star Brett Kissel, a few years back, she still hasn't gotten much notice.    I've always touted her to be a star.    While it has been tougher for a female country artist to break through, we've seen the likes of Lainey Wilson, Carly Pearce and Gabby Barrett have hits and find stardom.   To be honest, Christina should be up there as well. 

As for "Pretty Like You", this is a well-delivered song with a personal message.   Very introspective in nature, it's about striving to be someone you admire and wishing you were there as well, trying to change to be that person, when you really have to just be yourself and realize that you are indeed "pretty" without resorting to be someone you aspired to be.

I really hope this gets some country airplay.    She is a star.   She has six top 10 blog hits; this should easily be number seven.

AMONG THE OTHER DEBUTS: Whiskey-Chitto Ramblers enter with "Breakdown" with a solid guitar intro and Seth Storer's ultra cool voice leading the way.  This one has a lot of emotion and should be the song to break them into the top 20.   England's Gotts Street Park, coming off a big #1 blog hit enter with "Mountains".  This one features Enny, a British rapper and singer.   While her voice is similar to Pip Millett's, it sort of has a Sade feel to it, but the song has elements of hip hop.   But it's a nice cool and often jazzy thing, different enough from GSP's prior song.

The Cynz follow their top 30 "Crow-Haired Boys" with "Woman Child", a very melodic rocker with sort of a 60's flair to it.   Some good harmonies between Cyndi Dawson and Henry Seiz, the song is up-tempo with awesome production but retains the rawness.     

Actress Kate Hudson has been making some inroads in music; her "Gonna Find Out" reached my top 20, and this week she enters with TWO songs.    "Voices Carry" is a cover of the 1980's hit by Til Tuesday; Kate adds a new dimension to Aimee Mann's original voice without straying too far from it.    Her other entry is her take on the holiday classic "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas".  On this one she changes the tempo a bit, and that adds a lot to the oft-covered classic.    Different enough to score; let's hope this gets airplay on adult contemporary stations.    It's deserving of that. 

Hannah Goodall's "Angel and Devil" is a fast follow to her "Narcissist"; it's more in a pure pop direction than her "The Girl Who Once Loved You".  Might take a few listens, but a good song.  Finally, "Light On" by White Denim is a sort of psychedelic jazz, a very interesting combination, to be sure.

Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100 Playlist

November 10, 2024

This Week	Last Week	ARTIST-Title	Weeks on List
1	4	NUMBER ONE: SHABOOZEY " A Bar Song (Tipsy)"● Album: Where I've Been, Isn't Where I'm Going (2 weeks at #1)	15
2	2	Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars - Die With A Smile	11
3	1	The Beaches - Takes One to Know One	12
4	3	Jitwam - Opendoors	12
5	6	Starbuck - Jones About You	12
6	8	Dani Zanoni - I Know	10
7	5	Gotts Street Park ft Pip Millett - Got To Be Good▲	13
8	9	Pip Millett - Hard Life	10
9	10	Nikki Briar - Free Fallin'	10
10	7	Jalen Ngonda - Here To Stay	14
11	11	The Pozers - Missing You (Missing Me)	10
12	13	Thee Sacred Souls - Live For You	11
13	16	Teddy Swims - Bad Dreams	7
14	12	Beabadoobee - Beaches	9
15	18	TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK: DOYLE WOOD and TERRI GORE "Feels Like Love To Me" (Single Release)	8
16	14	The Black Keys - Don't Let Me Go	11
17	20	Orbis Max - We Shall Rise Again	7
18	15	Dustin Ahkuoi and Sharon Woodruff - Back By Popular Demand	14
19	17	Michael Kiwanuka - Floating Parade●	15
20	19	The Black Keys - I Forgot To Be Your Lover	11
21	33	Gary Lowder and Smokin' Hot - Driving Me Out of Her Mind	6
22	23	The Dust-Ups - What Getting Over You Looks Like	9
23	25	Leon Bridges- Peaceful Place	11
24	26	Billie Eilish - Birds of a Feather	9
25	30	Calypso Joe and the Coconuts - Beacha' Didn't Know	9
26	37	Mighty Saints of Soul - You Don't Know What Love Is	4
27	21	Post Malone ft Blake Shelton - Pour Me A Drink	15
28	38	Øff Guard - North Star	5
29	22	Mike Taylor -  I Don't Wanna Cry	12
30	24	Vacations - Midwest	11
31	35	Linkin Park - The Emptiness Machine	6
32	36	Sylvia Johns Ritchie -I Don't Care Who Knows ( I Love My Baby)	7
33	43	Rivermist - Jukebox Jenny	3
34	29	Sir Prize and the Twomorrow Knightz - Glitter Balls	13
35	42	Arc De Soleil - Trying to Escape	4
36	39	Randy Clay Band - It's The Simple Things	7
37	41	Bon Jovi - Living Proof	5
38	31	Cage the Elephant - Rainbow	15
39	32	Royel Otis - Foam●	20
40	69	MOVER OF THE WEEK: THE HEAVY HEAVY "Feel" Album: One of a Kind	2
41	---	TOP DEBUT: DEB BROWNING "Christmas In the South" (Single Release)	1
42	27	Steve Cheek - Last Summer	19
43	28	Marsha Morgan - Knockin' Down Doors	15
44	34	Public -Make You Mine	17
45	45	Franz Ferdinand - Audacious	5
46	44	Phantogram - Happy Again	7
47	46	The Shang Hi Los - Morganatic Panic	5
48	40	Chappell Roan - Good Luck Babe	6
49	49	Rainy Day Outlaws - I Know	4
50	47	Foster The People - See You In the Afterlife	7
51	---	Christina Taylor - Pretty Like You	1
52	56	Karen O and Danger Mouse - Super Breath	3
53	52	Mavis Staples - Worthy	6
54	57	Sports Team - I'm In Love  (Subaru)	4
55	50	Myles Smith - Stargazing (Take My Heart Don't Break It)	7
56	76	Morgan Wallen - Love Somebody	2
57	59	The Last Dinner Party - Nothing Matters	4
58	60	The Cactus Blossoms - Statues	3
59	61	The Veils - The Ladder	3
60	90	Pepper Creek - We Crus'n	2
61	83	Sabrina Carpenter - Taste	2
62	65	Dollys - Cornerstones	4
63	71	Orbis Max - Candy On the Hill	3
64	48	Amplifier Heads - They Came to Rock	7
65	67	Tamar Berk - Good Impression	4
66	68	Kacey Musgraves - The Architect	3
67	81	Jelly Roll - I Am Not Okay	2
68	66	Orbis Max and Jim Richey - Learning to Love	16
69	53	Norah Jones - Running	17
70	55	Abi Carter - Peppermint Sky	12
71	80	U2 - Picture of You (X+W)	3
72	79	Artemas - Dirty Little Secret	6
73	86	Einsteins Dad - It's Just America	5
74	82	Isabella Pombrio - Avoiding Highways	4
75	54	Anna Lavigne - Falling	16
76	64	Widely Grown - While the Night Is Young	5
77	97	Deb Browning and Marlisa Kay Small -Sunshine and Summertime●	29
78	---	Whiskey-Chitto Ramblers - Breakdown	1
79	58	Hozier - Nobody's Soldier	9
80	---	Gotts Street Park ft ENNY - Mountains	1
81	70	Shang Hi Los - Op-Operator	27
82	94	Blondshell - What's Fair	2
83	77	Lake Street Dive - Dance With a Stranger	6
84	87	Cola - Pulling Quotes	3
85	---	The Cynz - Woman Child	1
86	75	Michael Des Barres - Fox on the Run	5
87	---	Kate Hudson - Voices Carry	1
88	51	The Cynz - Crow-Haired Boys	11
89	93	Cool Band - Sugar Baby	2
90	95	David Gray ft. Tallia Rae -Plus and Minus	2
91	---	Hannah Goodall - Angel and Devil	1
92	62	David F. Porfirio - Nero's Fiddle	10
93	---	Kate Hudson - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas	1
94	78	Gwen Stefani - Somebody Else's	5
95	84	Rev. Bubba D. Liverance and the Cornhole Prophets - Down With That	11
96	89	Charlotte Sessions - I've Fallen For A Dragon▲²	38
97	---	White Denim - Light On	1
98	85	Ray Lamontagne - Step Into Your Power	17
99	63	Late Night Drive Home - Stress Relief	14
100	74	Øff Guard - The Minute	13

Murmurs:

David F. Porfirio - Fuori del Ristorante

Sarah Kinsley - Sublime

Monophonics - Sage Motel

Hajej - High No More

Moto Bandit - Daylight Down

The Beaches - Jocelyn

Sir Prize and the Twomorrow Knightz - Temptress

Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats - Call Me

Dexter and the Moonrocks - Sad in Carolina

Lady Gaga - Disease

Kelly Clarkson - You For Christmas

Melinda Lindner - Come On a Sleigh Ride

Blake Shelton - Texas

The Wombats - Sorry I'm Late

The Struts - Can't Stop Talking

Harper Grace - Santa Baby

Murmurs: Songs which are in the queue for future adds onto the Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100 Playlist.

 

Songs with the greatest increase in favorite points over the prior week

Holiday Songs

 

▲Song garnered most plays on Spotify, for the  month, with a superscript following the symbol if most played for multiple months; or if a song was among the top 5 most plays for two months. ● Song among top 5 most plays on Spotify.  Awards given during the last blog of each month.  To qualify, the song must be currently or have peaked in the top 40. (Until September 2024)

 

 

 

Songs on the SNS 100 are included on the following public Spotify playlists

 

Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves Top 40:  Contains songs in positions 1-40 on the SNS 100

Scenes Up and Coming:  Songs From 41-100 that are moving up the chart that have not reached the top 40

Scenes Down and Going:  Song formerly in the top 40 that are descending but still on the SNS 100.

Scenes Recurrents: Songs which had been in the top 20 and/or songs on the chart 25 weeks or more, that have dropped off the SNS 100.