VIBE: WE'VE GOT THE BUGG (AND POST-GRAMMY SHAKES)
Brit singer-songwriter Jake Bugg, who steps onto the Vibe stage this week, saw his self-titled debut album bow at #1 on the U.K. charts last October. Now U.S. listeners are catching the Bugg, thanks to mad PoMo and Triple A exposure at Sirius XM Spectrum, WKQX, KITS, WXRV, WRNR, WWCD, WRLT and others. The clip of his "Two Fingers," a canny re-imagining of '60s-style pop, is on at MTV Hits and mtvU.
The lad's Mercury album hits Stateside on 4/9, and he'll begin conquering America with SXSW sets in March, followed by Coachella and West Coast dates with Band of Horses, and back-to-back TV dates with Letterman (4/10) and Ellen (4/11). Press love, unsurprisingly, is fervent.
In other Vibe news, ATO's Alabama Shakes jump from #5 to #2 this week, following singer Brittany Howard's firebrand contribution to the all-star Levon Helm tribute on the Grammys telecast. "As for carving out space and winning new listeners at the Grammys," declared The New Yorker, "Brittany Howard probably converted the most folks through the sheer power of performance."
The proof was in the pudding, as the thrice-nominated band's sales blew up following the awards show. Album Boys and Girls saw a 150% spike, the biggest bump for any Grammy title, and sits just outside the Top 10 at iTunes as of this writing. The set has moved 400k+ since last April's release.
Single "Hold On"--Rolling Stone's #1 Song of the Year for 2012-- jumped by 175% in digital sales after the Grammys (for a total of 350k+ so far), earned an add at KWYE, is Buzzworthy at MTV and enjoys VH1 Medium rotation. The track's passed the 4 million mark in YouTube views; it's now Top 30 at PoMo following its re-launch there, with KROQ, KKDO and Sirius XM Alt Nation leading; the story at Hot AC, meanwhile, is getting, well, hot. Another track, "Hang Loose" is #26 at Triple A.
An SNL perf on 2/16 will undoubtedly kick things up another notch; their Austin City Limits appearance airs the same night. The band will then play a suite of sold-out U.S. dates 3/1-3/16.
Capitol's brilliant Emeli Sande also moves up this week, after conquering industry listeners at Lucian Grainge's pre-Grammy showcase and a more civilian crowd at L.A.'s El Rey Theatre. Her Our Version of Events has already been #1 for ages in the U.K., and America is now feeling the magic.
The Brit singer-songwriter's beguiling single "Next to Me" was #2 Most Added at Pop and top 25 at Hot AC, going on at WHTZ, KDMX, WISX, KFRH, KRCK, WIOQ and KLLY. Spins continue at KBIG, WWFS, WWMX, Sirius XM Hits 1 and The Pulse, KPSI, KIOI, WWMX, WSJO and elsewhere.
Her sold-out U.S. tour is underway, riding radio love and recent TV perfs on The Today Show (1/29), Letterman (1/31), Kimmel (2/5) and Ellen (2/7). The vid has passed the 100m mark at Vevo.
You can check out the rest of the Vibe crew here. And you can send boxes of Valentine's chocolate here.
