http://arts.nationalpost.com/2011/12...te-u-s-charts/
Michael Bublé is the No. 1 best-selling artist in America. That’s not surprising. Hot on the heels of a 60 Minutes segment and prime-time Christmas TV special, Mr. Bublé’s holiday album features Shania Twain, a Burl Ives cover and enough chestnuts to feed hungry record buyers in at least two or three countries.
What is significant about Mr. Bublé’s achievement is the CanCon company he’s keeping on the charts. Rounding out the top five on America’s Billboard Chart, the definitive score card of the music industry since 1940, are Justin Bieber (No. 3), Drake (No. 4) and Nickelback (No. 5). For likely the first time in history, Canadians have four of the top five best-selling albums in the United States. (Adele is No. 2.)
“Part of it’s timing,” said Gary Trust, Billboard’s associate director of charts, adding that the Christmas albums of Mr. Bieber and Mr. Bublé are obvious catnip for seasonal music buyers (the majority of whom still buy physical copies of their music from actual stores). “It shows the variety of music coming out of Canada — the balladeer, the teen pop star, a rapper from Canada? Who would’ve expected that, and a straight-ahead rock band. There’s great music coming out of Canada and it’s resonating in the U.S. and worldwide.”
Canadian music had a similar moment in the 1970s, when Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, The Guess Who and Gordon Lightfoot ruled the airwaves. As well, there was a time when Canadian women were the biggest pop stars in the world. Nielsen SoundScan has been keeping track of record sales since 1991, and in its rankings three of the Top 10 biggestselling artists are Canadians: Shania Twain at No. 2, Alanis Morrissette at No. 3 and Céline Dion at No. 10.
However, this current crop of Canadian idols — coupled with Arcade Fire taking album of the year at the 2011 Grammys, The Sheepdogs being voted onto the cover of Rolling Stone and the recent crossborder success of Leslie Feist — signifies a historic moment in Canadian content taking over prime U.S. turf.
“Maybe you want to call it a mini-Canadian Invasion,” said Paul Tuch, director of Nielsen Entertainment. “What’s happening right now is extremely rare.”
It may be rare, but at least one Canadian Hall of Fame performer isn’t surprised. Andy Kim, who had a No. 1 song in 1968 with Sugar, Sugar, which he wrote for The Archies, said that in 1974, he, Paul Anka, Lightfoot and Terry Jacks, the Seasons in the Sun singer, all reached No. 1 in the United States.
“Nationalities don’t succeed, talent succeeds,” said Mr. Kim. “In the U.S., only one thing matters: Do you have a hit?”
Canucks on Music charts
