For the past 11 months, the Lycos 50 has produced a list of the top 10 music artists each week for Billboard Online. What we have found is that the music industry seems to be very, very constant. Where are all the new music superstars? Or any new music superstars?
In the 48 weeks we've counted the music top 10, only 25 different artists have appeared on the list. Seven of those artists have appeared only one week: Celine Dion, Elvis Presley, Justin Timberlake (solo), Kid Rock, Ricky Martin, Shania Twain, and U2.
The only two artists to make the list after releasing their debut albums are "Thong Song" boy Sisqo, who was on for seven weeks, and St. Louis rapper Nelly, who was on for 17.
On the other hand, four artists have made the list every single week. Three of them are Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, and Jennifer Lopez. The other is the unstoppable juggernaut Britney Spears, who has been the most-searched musician every single week we have counted since March 2000.
Other musicians who have dominated the music top 10 include Christina Aguilera, who has spent 47 of 48 weeks on the list, and Eminem, who has spent 43 of 48 weeks there.
The music top 10 has featured the same 10 artists for the past six weeks. Since the end of November, 9 of the 10 artists have been the same every single week; only a three week absence by Metallica keeps the string from including all 10 artists. The nine stable musicians include the six listed above, plus Madonna, Limp Bizkit, and The Beatles.
Is any change on the horizon? Let's take a look at some other artists who could make the list for the first time.
The artist closest to making the music top 10 is reggae singer Shaggy, who currently has about 90 percent as many searches as Metallica. Despite having been at the top of both the album and single charts for a few weeks now, Shaggy still hasn't made it into the music top 10. But he's been growing at roughly 20 percent a week since early October, so he may have hope.
Two other artists have seen steady growth recently, and may be close to breaking through. One is Dido, whose solo album began getting noticed in October thanks to the sample on Eminem's "Stan" single. She gets about 80 percent as many searches as Metallica right now, and has been growing by about 10 percent a week. The other artist is the Dave Matthews Band; Dave and the boys have been going up about 25 percent a week since their new single was released, and their new album is expected to debut at the top of the Billboard charts next week.
Both Dido and the Dave Matthews Band, by the way, have featured downloads on Lycos Music.
The stealth band we closely watching right now is Lifehouse. They got no searches before September, but now they get as many as Dave Matthews Band or Nelly. Their single "Hanging on a Moment" is mentioned in more searches than any other specific song.
Can new blood emerge on the music top 10? While Shaggy may make it for a week or two, we think Dave Matthews is the one artist who may be able to get a long stay on the list. If he can't make it, we may have to wait for late spring -- when almost-superstars like Destiny's Child, Mandy Moore, and Jessica Simpson all release new albums.
