U.S. Chart Roundup: Heh, Heh! Heh, Heh! Dr. Dre Said "Faggots"! Heh, Heh!
In this week's upper tier of the Billboard Hot 100, there are three songs produced by Stargate ("Firework," "S&M," "Black And Yellow"), three with the word "fuck" in the title ("Fuck You," "Fuckin' Perfect," "Tonight (I'm Fuckin' You)," two co-written by Bruno Mars ("Fuck You," "Grenade"), two containing the word "lesbian" in the lyrics ("Born This Way," "Black And Yellow"), one with "transgendered" in the lyrics ("Born This Way") and one with the word "faggots"("I Need A Doctor").
That's a shame about Dr. Dre's "I Need A Doctor," because I truly love Skylar Grey's haunting chorus on the single. And I've really come around to Eminem, who, after a seemingly hostile-toward-the-gays start, has said he has no problem with gay marriage and is besties with Elton John (did you catch Sir Elt's Rolling Stone cover story a few weeks back? Traaaaaashy—though read the whole thing if you get a chance. Good stuff.)
But it's Dre himself who drops the F-bomb in "I Need A Doctor" when he raps, "When the chips were down you just laughed at us, now you about to feel the fuckin' wrath of Aftermath, faggots." Okay, so the good (?) doctor is using the term in a general sense, targeting all the fair-weather MCs who turned their backs on him when he took a chance mentoring young white rapper Em. But still—faggots. It's 2011. Really?
Wonder what gay rights activist Lady Gaga, who has her own brand of headphones under Dre's "Beats By Dr. Dre" line, thinks? Maybe we're just not supposed to talk about it...
Elsewhere, Britney Spears' "Hold It Against Me" drops out of the Top 10 and lands at #11 in its sixth week on the chart, while Adele's "Rolling In The Deep" finally cracks the Top 40 by jumping 15 positions to #26. Previously the British singer reached #21 with her 2008 single "Chasing Pavements."
Meanwhile, Adele's 21 was released in the States this week, and is on track to debut at #1 on the next Top 200 album chart. Bet you won't catch her using "faggots" in a song.
The U.S. Top 10:
1. "Born This Way" - Lady Gaga*2 weeks* 2. "Fuck You" - Cee Lo Green 3. "Grenade" - Bruno Mars 4. "I Need A Doctor" - Dr. Dre feat. Eminem & Skylar Grey 5. "Firework" - Katy Perry 6. "Fuckin' Perfect" - Pink 7. "S&M" - Rihanna 8. "Never Say Never" - Justin Bieber feat. Jaden Smith 9. "Tonight (I'm Fuckin' You)"- Enrique Iglesias ft. Ludacris & DJ Frank E 10. "Black And Yellow" - Wiz Khalifa
