VOA常速英语:Top 5 Countdown for Week Ending Aug. 23

We’re rolling out the five most popular songs in the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart, for the week ending August 23, 2014.

Today we get to dust off the welcome mat, because we get a new title. That’s on the way; first let’s begin in fifth place, where Nico & Vinz fall a slot with “Am I Wrong.” These two Norwegians are preparing to unveil their next album…On August 14, the Norwegians revealed the cover art for their first global album Black Star Elephant. The title pays tribute to their parents’ African nationalities - Ghanaian and Ivory Coast. The album drops later this year.

Everybody, give a big Top Five welcome to your new hit: “All About That Bass” by Meghan Trainor jumps from eighth to fourth place. Twenty-year-old Meghan grew up on the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts. She’s been writing songs since age 11, and became a professional songwriter at 18. She’s written for Rascal Flatts, among other acts…and “All About That Bass” earned her a solo deal at Epic Records.

Holding in third place are Iggy Azalea and Charli XCX with “Fancy.” Charli’s about to hit us with a new single and album… This week, she announced that her next album will be titled Sucker, and we’ll get it on October 21. She also dropped a new single, “Break The Rules.”

Holding in second place is Sam Smith, with “Stay With Me.” The 22-year-old Englishman has enjoyed a meteoric rise to stardom, both here and overseas. Sam says it’s exciting…but he still fears it could stop at any time.

When will the ride end for MAGIC? Not right now: the Canadian reggae crew makes it five weeks atop the Hot 100 chart with “Rude.” It’s proving a durable hit…but it sure didn’t take long to write. Stick around for more. Band leader Nasri Atweh tells the Daily Star that the song came to him out of nowhere…and it took all of 20 minutes to write.

Our five minutes are just about up, but no worries: we’ll do it all over again next week.