JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT Ella Langley couldn't score any more triumphs, she scored another major success when she pretty much swept the annual Academy of Country Music (ACM) awards, televised on Prime network on Sunday, May 17.
Ms. Langley scored awards for Female Country Artist, as well as prizes for her song "Choosin' Texas" which won "Song of the Year" (she co-wrote the song with Miranda Lambert among others), "Single of the Year", "Songwriter of the Year" and "Music Event of the Year". The latter category was for the performance of "Don't Mind if I Do", in which she was featured with Riley Green. Ella pretty much won every category that she was nominated for.
 |
| Ella Langley was the big story at this year's ACM awards. |
Other winners included Cody Johnson, who took two awards: Male Vocalist and Entertainer of the Year; Group of the Year to The Red Clay Strays, Brooks and Dunn for Duo, and to Parker McCollom for Album of the Year for his self-titled album.
It was a nice, pleasant evening for the awards, which were telecast from Las Vegas, and it was all about the music and no politics at all. Ella also performed "Choosin' Texas" as well as "Be Her". Several other standout performances included Kasey Musgraves performing her current single, "Dry Spell". Little Big Town, Lainey Wilson, Miranda Lambert, Cody Johnson, Riley Green, Kane Brown, Jordan Davis, Zach Top, Thomas Rhett, and Avery Anna, among others, also performed. Shania Twain hosted the awards, which had tributes to Willie Nelson, who had recently turned 93 this year (he wasn't present), and then a tribute to the late Kenny Rogers. Blake Shelton closed the night out singing was perhaps Kenny's signature song, "The Gambler".
While the event was too late to consider in this week's Billboard Hot 100 chart action,"Choosin' Texas" nonetheless logged a 10th week at the top of the big chart, while "Be Her" continued at #2. On my SNS chart, the song logs a 4th week, just barely holding off Vaughan Penn's "Bands on the Beach". It appeared that Vaughan would hit the top, until Ella's sweep kept her atop on my list for now. The song was even performed locally by Karen Wallo with her band Rendezvous at Patio's in Little River, SC on Thursday (last night as I am writing this). More on Karen below.
HOT 100: As mentioned above Ella Langley has her 10th week at the top and also is runner-up. "Man, I Need" by Olivia Dean moves back up to her familiar 3rd spot, and Bruno Mars' "I Just Might" back up to #4, breaking into the female dominance once again. Ms. Dean's other hit "So Easy (To Fall in Love)", round out the top 5. "Ordinary" moves back up to #6. Look, it was a great song when released last year, but for me, it's long worn out, so I am not sure why this song keeps showing up in the top 10. Even with Billboard's revamped recurrent rules that went into effect last November, it's still here, now in week 65. A song gets removed from the Hot 100 when it drops below #5 after 78 weeks, and below #10 after 52 weeks, which might finally be soon if it drops more than three notches. And that may actually happen as early as next week. More on that below. Olivia Rodrigo's "Drop Dead" is at #7 and Bruno Mars joins Ella and Ms. Dean with two songs in the top 10 as "Risk it All" moves 15-8. Kehlani's "Folded" and Tame Impala ft. JENNIE's "Dracula" round out the top 10.
Further down (but not by much), Michael Jackson continues to make major inroads with his old songs in the wake of his biopic. "Billie Jean", which debuted two weeks ago, continues to move up, now at #15, "Human Nature" goes 29-21, "Beat It" (32-29), and "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" (42-36). And two more MJ tracks re-enter the chart: "Dirty Diana" from Bad, enters at #44, and "Rock with You" from Off the Wall, at #47.
However, everything might shake up next week, as early indications are that Drake is set to drop a new album, and with it, score with a whitewashing of the top 10, including unseating "Choosin' Texas" for the top spot, which would still be in the top five. That may finally eliminate "Ordinary" as it would fall below the #10 spot, thus off the chart. "Golden", another long-runner, currently still at #13 after 47 weeks, might drop under #25, which would also cause it to be gone as that criterion would be 26 weeks. It may force Michael Jackson off the list as well. We shall see.
TURNING TO MY CHART, as mentioned above, Ella Langley just barely holds off Vaughan Penn's "Bands on the Beach" as "Choosin' Texas" logs a fourth consecutive week at #1. Points-wise, the two songs are tied, but the tie goes to Ella as she had more points last week. But momentum for Vaughan continues to build: the song is #1 on two beach music charts this week. She has been the subject of a couple interviews, one with the Internet radio station Back to the Beach Radio, via a podcast with Rock Hall and Mike Hall, and another with Wayne Troutman on his Surfside Stories. There are a lot of stories about her career which stretches back twenty-five years and more. On the 94.9 The Surf, Chris Jones did a story on her career as well as that station's "Spotlight of the Week". If she ascends to #1 next week---aside from Ella, the other songs on my chart are far back--I will provide the lowdown on her very interesting career that goes far back beyond her new beach music entry.
Women still have the top four here, with Brooke Combe's "Tears Won't Lie" switching places with Ruth Morayniss' "Come the Light" for #3 and #4 although both are still gaining in points. Sombr, whose "Homewrecker" hits #19 on Billboard, maintains the #5 position, as does "Be Her" by Ella Langleyat #6. Although both are still bulleted, Tim Sidden and Jennifer James switch places 7 and 8 with "Don't Let Us Fade Away" and "Takin' It Easy", respectively. The Pink Slips' "Catch a Ride" holds at #9, while The Mac Daddy's Band grabs its third straight top 10 as "Bad Time" inches up a notch, the only new entry in the top echelon this week.
Just outside the top 10 is this week's Impact winner, The Tams' Charlie Sattenfield-penned "I Tried" (21-11). Two other new entries in the top 20 are Deb Browning's and Townsend Link's "The Sea, Sand and You" (23-15), giving the Pink Slips' lead singer two songs in the top 20. Bruno Mars' "Something Serious (28-20) is the other new entry in that area.
 |
| Jennifer James teams up with Brad Cox for the new single, "Suspicious Minds", originally a 1969 #1 hit for Elvis Presley. It's this week's Top Debut at #54 |
JENNIFER AND BRAD? No, it's not Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt, but Jennifer James and Brad Cox with the Top Debut this week, "Suspicious Minds", leads several new entries, but again, with the competition, many of them are regulated to the Tremors "bubbling under" list.
Ms. James, of course, has two entries on her own, produced by her boyfriend Brad Cox, on the chart, with "Takin' it Easy" at #8, and "Carolina's Home" still hanging in there at #100 after 31 weeks on SNS. This time, it's both of them singing on this oft-covered classic popularized by Elvis Presley, his final #1 song, in 1969. The song is faithful to the original, but the male-female duet of this adds a lot to the song.. Jennifer's voice, as usual is very sweet, but Brad's vocal ability is right up there as well. This should be a third straight hit for Ms. James. It enters as the Top Debut at #54.
The song itself has a vast history. Its writer, Mark James, who also wrote "Always on My Mind", first released "Suspicious Minds" in 1968 but didn't chart. Several covers followed: Dee Dee Warwick (Dionne's sister) got to #80 in 1970 (and #24 on the R&B chart), another couple, Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter duetted on the country chart, going to #25 that same year, then got re-released five years later and hit #2 on that chart, when it was included on the Wanted: The Outlaws set which included the two singers, along with Willie Nelson and Tompall Glaser. The version most familiar to me is the one by Fine Young Cannibals in 1986. That speeded up cover hit the Dance Chart that year and also made my year-end list. Since then, there have been remakes by Dwight Yoakim (#35 Country in 1992), and Garth Gates and Candi Stanton both made the U.K. charts in 2002 and 1982, respectively. Gates was a runner-up on the reality competition show Pop Idol runner-up on that season.
 |
| The venerable Rolling Stones, debut this week with their new single, "In the Stars", from their new album Foreign Tongues. |
The next highest entry? That would be "In the Stars" by the venerable Rolling Stones, still grinding it out in spite of its principals, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards being 82 years old. Ronnie Wood, the only other permanent member (since 1975), is 78. The Stones will release their latest album, Foreign Tongues on July 10, with "In the Stars" the first single, which debuts at #84. Actually, the band isn't new to SNS: "Living in a Ghost Town", released in 2020 during the pandemic, hit #1 on my chart. 2023's album Hackney Diamonds yielded "Angry" which got to #5 on the SNS 100. As for the new song, it's classic rock and roll from what many say is the greatest in that genre. Nothing too hard and heavy here, but just rock music in melodic form. Some good harmonies, and the band is still efficient in what they do. They're just having a good time, and it shows in their music. It's very catchy and good timey. Well done.
Starbuck follows up Red Cadillac with "Sleeping in the Rain and Thunder" from the new EP, Summer Snow. It's actually somewhat of a departure for Bruce Blackman's project as it features singer Elsie B on lead vocals. It's actually a ballad, nice and smooth and keeps growing on you as the song goes on. I love Elsie's voice on this, and the production is excellent. I love its potential. It comes in at #89.
Heading to north of the boarder, Ruth Morayniss follows her huge blog hit "Come the Light" with "Another Tragic Love Story". The song starts out more mellow acoustically, but quickly assumes more of a rock approach, as the guitars kick in, and it complements her voice to a tee. The rhythmic aspect that kicks in during the chorus just adds to it. A lot going on here, all of it good. It debuts here at #95. I also add her "You Don't Know" which bubbles under at #106. Released around the same time as "Come the Light", I was going to add it when her current song ran its course, but I figured adding it at the same time as her new single would work, too. A bit lighter in texture, but very more bluesy and haunting, showing off her versatility. This one should do well in its own right.
Back to the main chart, Clarion makes their blog debut with "Hello Juliet" which has sort of a post-grunge, lo-fi, hardcore 1990's vibe to it. If you liked bands like Lush, or even early Silversun Pickups, you would like this one. This is a male-female duo with definite possibilities. It enters at #98. Teddy Swims enters with "Mr. Know It All". No relation to Kelly Clarkson's hit of the same name. It's been a little while since he blitzed my chart (and other charts as well). This is a good reminder that he has retro soul vibes in him. Very listenable, the song has some Sting vibes to it and should return him to the upper part of the chart. It starts out at #99.
BUBBLING: Aside from the Ruth Morayniss song mentioned above, several others start on Tremors. This includes another Ella Langley song, this one a duet with Morgan Wallen, "I Can't Love You Anymore" (#103). Ella has a way with melodic country, and this one has all the tools for another smash. While maybe not as impactful (so far) as her two big hits, but those hits took a while for me to catch on, and this one should follow suit.....finally we have Beck with "Ride Lonesome" (#107). This is a ballad with some country-ish overtones but not fully so, it's more of a bluesy southern rock vein. Then again, Beck has been for over 30 years a master at reinventing himself. This one has a chance.
 |
| Karen Wallo of Rendezvous performing at Little River's Patio's on May 21. |
ON TO THE NEXT ROUND: As you know, Karen Wallo, who leads the Rendezvous band that plays in the Grand Strand area, is also an artist (who paints), and was in the running for The Peoples Artist, a contest sponsored by actor Johnny Depp, with the ultimate winner receiving $25,000 and work featured in The Art of Elysium's Salon. In this round, she came in first and now qualifies in the top 15, ready for the next round. Again, click here to vote: Karen Wallo | The People's Artist presented by Johnny Depp, and here to see her art work: Artist,Vocalist, Animal Advocate| home|karenwallo-fineart.com/
And definitely check out her band Rendezvous if you're in the area. They play everything from the 1960's onward to the current day.
AND WHILE WE'RE VOTING, another artist, Harley Olivia, an alt-rock artist from Toronto, currently on SNS with "San Francisco" at #23, has been nominated for the Amazon Prime People's Choice Awards. Harley is very talented and does a great job in interacting with her fans. The winner of this competition will receive a $1,000 cash prize, courtesy of Amazon Prime, studio time, a slot on the N X NE stage (Canada's answer to S X SW), and other perks. You can vote for her here: https://nxne.fillout.com/prime-peoples-choice-awards
TWO MORE PASSINGS: More deaths in the music industry as we lose Dennis Lacorriere, who was the lead singer of Dr. Hook, which scored many top 10 hits in the 70's and early 1980's. He was originally from Union City, NJ and his band started in the Garden State. He was also a prolific songwriter, writing for the likes of everyone from Bob Dylan to Helen Reddy, to Southside Johnny, Olivia Newton-John and many others. He passed from kidney disease. He was 76.
Rob Base was an old-school rapper, who as part of Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock, had some late 1980's hits such as "It Takes Two", and "Get On the Dance Floor". Both of those songs made my year-end list of 1989. Born Robert Ginyard, he met E-Z Rock in the fourth grade, and they performed at many talent shows for years. Rock had died in 2014, but Rob Base passed away on May 22. He was 59. The duo released three albums, and many of the songs hit the pop, rap and dance charts.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100 Playlist
May 17, 2026
This Week | Last Week | ARTIST-Title | Weeks on List |
1 | 1 | NUMBER ONE:  Album: Dandelion (4 Weeks at #1) | 18 |
2 | 2 | 7 | |
3 | 4 | 7 | |
4 | 3 | 8 | |
5 | 5 | 14 | |
6 | 6 | 12 | |
7 | 8 | 7 | |
8 | 7 | 8 | |
9 | 9 | 11 | |
10 | 11 | 12 | |
11 | 21 | TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:  "I Tried" (Single Release) | 6 |
12 | 10 | 14 | |
13 | 19 | 5 | |
14 | 12 | 13 | |
15 | 23 | 3 | |
16 | 13 | 13 | |
17 | 15 | 14 | |
18 | 18 | 11 | |
19 | 14 | 16 | |
20 | 28 | 10 | |
21 | 31 | 9 | |
22 | 33 | 10 | |
23 | 32 | 9 | |
24 | 34 | 8 | |
25 | 36 | 6 | |
26 | 17 | 11 | |
27 | 22 | 12 | |
28 | 30 | 8 | |
29 | 25 | 18 | |
30 | 16 | 15 | |
31 | 27 | 35 | |
32 | 20 | 15 | |
33 | 24 | 16 | |
34 | 44 | 4 | |
35 | 26 | 11 | |
36 | 41 | 8 | |
37 | 29 | 13 | |
38 | 58 | 3 | |
39 | 37 | 15 | |
40 | 35 | 15 | |
41 | 48 | 8 | |
42 | 51 | 4 | |
43 | 49 | 7 | |
44 | 52 | 4 | |
45 | 53 | 5 | |
46 | 54 | 4 | |
47 | 57 | 5 | |
48 | 60 | 6 | |
49 | 55 | 7 | |
50 | 71 | 3 | |
51 | 61 | 9 | |
52 | 67 | 5 | |
53 | 75 | 3 | |
54 | --- | TOP DEBUT:  (Single Release) | 1 |
55 | 38 | 15 | |
56 | 39 | 16 | |
57 | 46 | 16 | |
58 | 93 | MOVER OF THE WEEK:  "Ride" Album: The Rideout | 2 |
59 | 45 | 12 | |
60 | 66 | 17 | |
61 | 40 | 15 | |
62 | 43 | 10 | |
63 | 70 | 5 | |
64 | 82 | 4 | |
65 | 92 | 3 | |
66 | 97 | 2 | |
67 | 47 | 10 | |
68 | 78 | 10 | |
69 | 83 | 5 | |
70 | 42 | 17 | |
71 | 76 | 19 | |
72 | 81 | 5 | |
73 | 50 | 18 | |
74 | 84 | 4 | |
75 | 87 | 3 | |
76 | 68 | 11 | |
77 | 90 | 3 | |
78 | 69 | 6 | |
79 | 77 | 6 | |
80 | 91 | 3 | |
81 | 79 | 19 | |
82 | 56 | 18 | |
83 | 95 | 3 | |
84 | --- | 1 | |
85 | 59 | 15 | |
86 | 89 | 4 | |
87 | 100 | 2 | |
88 | 101 | 1 | |
89 | --- | 1 | |
90 | 65 | 7 | |
91 | 96 | 2 | |
92 | 63 | Rev. Bubba D.
Liverance and the Cornhole Prophets - Wish You Were Here | 14 |
93 | 86 | 7 | |
94 | 99 | 2 | |
95 | --- | 1 | |
96 | --- | 1 | |
97 | 62 | 9 | |
98 | 73 | 13 | |
99 | --- | 1 | |
100 | 94 | 31 |
Tremors:
101. Rosecoloredworld, Die Here With You
102. Dominick Fike, Babydoll
103. Ella Langley and Morgan Wallen, I Can't Love You Anymore
104. Dexter and the Moonrocks, Freakin' Out
105. Yellowcard ft. Good Charlotte, Bedroom Posters
106. Ruth Morayniss, You Don't Know
107. Beck, Ride Lonesome
Tremors: Songs which have steady or increasing points but not enough to chart on the SNS 100.
Murmurs:
Starbuck - Doo Wop Bop
Kurt Vile - Chance to Bleed
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
●Songs garnering 25 plays
on Spotify (“Scrobbles”) according to Last.Fm (effective October 2024) ▲ Songs garnering 50 plays.
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
41-100 and Newbies Songs in Positions 41-100 on the SNS 100 plus
new additions
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.
(Rob Sheldon
is a music fan who has followed music trends the past 60 years, and covers new
and classic music, specializing in pop, rock, alternative, beach, soul and
country genres). He can be contacted
at rsheldonx4804@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment