At the age of 85 Tony Bennett has a chance to earn the first #1 album of his career. His collaborations with a who's who of pop artists lead this week's list of new pop albums.
1. Tony Bennett - Duets II
Courtesy Columbia
At the age of 85, Tony Bennett has become the oldest living person to ever reach the Billboard Hot 100 with "Body and Soul," an Amy Winehouse duet from this album. Now he may actualy reach #1 on the album chart. Tony Bennett has experienced a phenomenal revitalization of his recording career in the past decade. In that time he has placed six albums in the upper half of the Billboard album chart including the #3 hit Duets, his highest charting album ever.
2. Demi Lovato - Unbroken
Courtesy Hollywood
19 year old Demi Lovato has returned from her stay in rehab seemingly stronger, both personally and artistically, than ever. It looks like Unbroken may have the highest first week sales yet of her albums. The new collection includes the top 10 pop hit "Skyscraper" which sold 176,000 copies in its first week of release.
3. Gavin DeGraw - Sweeter
Courtesy RCA
Gavin DeGraw is returning with his fourth studio album. So far his commercial peak has been his 2008 self-titled album which reach the top 10 on the album chart. It included the top 5 adult pop hit "In Love With a Girl." "Not Over You," the lead single from Sweeter has climbed inside the top 20 of the adult pop radio chart. It is one of two songs on the album that are co-written by Ryan Tedder.
4. Tori Amos - Night Of Hunters
Courtesy Deutsche Grammophon
Singer-songwriter Tori Amos is one of the most consistently successful of female album artists in the past two decades. She has placed seven studio albums in the top 10 on the album chart and six of her albums have been certified platinum. She reached the top 30 of the modern rock chart with six different songs. Night Of Hunters moves in a different direction from past releases. It is a song cycle inspired by classical music themes and released on classical label Deutsche Grammophon.
5. Never Shout Never - Time Travel
Courtesy Reprise
Never Shout Never was originally the name adopted by Christofer Drew Ingle for his work as a solo recording artist. As such, he released two albums that both reached the top 30 of the album chart. For this new album, Never Shout Never is officially a pop rock band.
6. Cody Simpson - Coast To Coast
Courtesy Atlantic
Cody Simpson is a 14 year old Australian pop singer. He was discovered by producer Shawn Campbell after he posted videos of himself singing cover songs on YouTube in 2009. Cody Simpson has since moved with his family to Los Angeles to pursue a recording career in the US. His first EP 4 U was released in December 2010 and reached #4 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.
7. Mindless Behavior - #1 Girl
Courtesy Interscope
Mindless Behavior are an R&B / pop boy band in their early teens. They toured as an opening act for both the Backstreet Boys and Justin Bieber in 2010. This is their debut album.
8. needtobreathe - The Reckoning
Courtesy Atlantic
Christian rock band needtobreathe rose into the top 20 of the album chart with their second collection The Outsiders. They have four top 10 Christian singles and two songs that have climbed into the adult pop top 40. They have performed this year in concert as an opening act for Taylor Swift.
9. Thrice - Major / Minor
Courtesy Vagrant
Rock band Thrice have been consistently hitting the album chart for the past decade. They have three releases that have peaked inside the top 20. Major / Minor was first released two weeks ago in a vinyl only special edition.
10. Ivy - All Hours
Courtesy Nettwerk
The indie pop trio Ivy was first put together in 1994 by Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger, Adam Chase, and singer Dominique Durand. The group has released four full-length albums of new songs and one collection of covers. Ivy are known for a sophisticated pop sound. All Hours is their first album of new material in six years.
