VOA常速英语:Top 5 Songs for Week Ending April 19

We’re checking out the five most popular songs in the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart, for the week ending April 19, 2014.

To paraphrase The Who and their classic hit “Baba O’Riley”: “Meet the new chart, same as the old chart.” Yes, our Top Five remains stuck in neutral.
 
Nevertheless, let’s dive in and get started. Idina Menzel holds at number five with her Oscar-winning smash “Let It Go.” Despite all her success, Idina says her first foray into albums didn’t go well.  While currently the toast of Broadway in the new musical If/Then, Idina says her problematic first album, titled Still I Can’t Be Still, only sold about 10,000 copies in 1998. Idina says her record label dropped her and it took her 10 years to record a major-label follow-up.

Staying put in fourth place is Jason Derulo with “Talk Dirty,” featuring 2 Chainz. The song went to number one in several countries, including Australia, Germany, Israel, and the United Kingdom. Jason's third album - also titled Talk Dirty - hit the United States market on April 15. It’s a reissue of his Tattoos album, released internationally last September.

Holding fast in third place is Katy Perry with “Dark Horse,” featuring Juicy J from Three 6 Mafia. Katy was at the Coachella Festival this week in Southern California, and took to Twitter to say “Dear festival friends remember, selfing is a disease.” For those of you who avoid the Internet, “selfies,” or self-taken photos, are very popular on social media sites.

John Legend just made chart history in the United Kingdom. He stays within striking distance of the Hot 100 title with “All Of Me" currently in second place. This week, the nine-time Grammy winner became the first champion on the new UK streaming chart…meaning “All Of Me” was the most listened-to song of the previous seven days.

Pharrell Williams tops the Hot 100 pop singles chart for a seventh week with “Happy.” On April 13, the singer went on Oprah Winfrey’s U.S. TV interview show, and she made him cry when she showed him a montage of fan-created videos from around the globe inspired by his hit song.

We’re out of time (and songs) for now, but no tears, please: our countdown will return next week.