VOA常速英语:Top 5 Songs for Week Ending Feb. 28

We’re partying with the five most popular songs in the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart, for the week ending February 28, 2015.

This week, we greet a true musical legend. He’s just minutes away, but first Maroon 5 steps back a slot to fifth place with “Sugar.”

On Sunday, the band was in Los Angeles performing at the Academy Awards. Adam Levine and company sang “Lost Stars,” from the movie Begin Again. It was nominated for Best Original Song, but lost to “Glory,” by John Legend and Common.

Now, as for that musical legend we mentioned: Paul McCartney turns up in our fourth-place song, “FourFiveSeconds,” along with Rihanna and Kanye West. It’s the lead single from Rihanna’s upcoming eighth album, which features Kanye as executive producer. We don’t have a release date yet, but it should be soon. Paul’s been away from the Top Five for a very long time… he hasn’t cracked the U.S. Top Five since 1983, when he and Michael Jackson topped the Hot 100 with “Say Say Say.”

It’s all a bit of an anti-climax from here, we're afraid. Good ol’ Hozier remains in third place with “Take Me To Church", which has hit number one in 12 countries, including Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lebanon, Poland, and Switzerland.

Ed Sheeran spends another week in second place with “Thinking Out Loud.” On February 25, he was at the BRIT Awards, where picked up two trophies. Ed won the coveted Best British Male Solo Artist and British Album awards. After that he flew to the Middle East and India before touring Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. One week’s rest…and then he hits South America!

Up at number one, it’s a lucky seventh week and counting for Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars with “Uptown Funk.” This single is topping charts the world over, but there’s one place you’ll never hear Mark sing… He told the New York Post that while the song’s a hit, he knows his own voice is terrible…and he won’t even sing in the shower.