• Mayer Chooses Rock Over Drama at MSG
• Behind Animal Collective’s Oddsac
• In the Studio: Sara Bareilles
• Iggy Pop Brings Punk Carnage to Carnegie Hall
• Read Slash’s Love Letter to “My Michelle”
• Jennifer Lopez Helps Mock “World” on SNL
• Carly Simon Shoots Down “Vain” Theory
• John Cale Shoots Down VU Reunion
• News Ticker: White Stripes, Gang Starr
• Billy Joel Nixes Rumors He Canceled John Tour
• Gorillaz Debut New “Superfast Jellyfish”
• Check out The Runaways‘ Track List
• Hear Prince’s New Rocker “Cause and Effect”
• In the Studio: Hammond Jr. and the Postelles
• Unearthed Stones Songs on Exile Reissue
• Aerosmith Reconcile, Announce 2010 Tour
• Exclusive New Runaways Photos
• Thom Yorke’s Atoms for Peace Confirm Tour
• Jeff Beck on His Unreleased Motown Album
• STP’s Self-Titled Disc Due May 25th
• iTunes Winner Gets Surprise Steve Jobs Call
• Breaking: Nneka

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Nearly 10 years after the group’s last studio effort, Sade is back with “Soldier of Love,” blasting in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with 502,000 copies sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The star-packed charity cover of R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts,” rush-released under the name Helping Haiti and organized by Simon Cowell, stormed to No. 1 on the new U.K. singles chart.

Expect the smooth sounds of Sade to overtake the No. 1 slot on the Billboard 200 album chart next week, as the group’s new effort “Soldier of Love” could sell between 375,000 to 400,000.

After several of music’s biggest stars showed their support for Haiti relief efforts, consumers are doing the same.

Lady A crashes into the Billboard 200 with the biggest debut sales week for any album since Susan Boyle’s “I Dreamed a Dream” bowed atop the chart in November.

• Beyoncé, Taylor Swift Dominate Grammys
• Tyler Threatens Suit Over Aerosmith Singer Search
• News Ticker: Kokua Festival, Noel Gallagher
• 2010 Grammy Winners List
• RS Grammys Live Blog: Follow the Action
• Slash, Fergie Team at Clive Davis Bash
• Neil Young Honored By All-Stars at MusiCares
• Hendrix’s “Valleys of Neptune” Debuts Online
• Tankian Talks Symphony, SOAD Weigh Return
• Dave Matthews Band Plot Haiti EP
• My Morning Jacket, Jazz Band Announce Tour
• Watch Roy Orbison’s Walk of Fame Ceremony
• Weekend Rock List: Radio Songs
• Paramore, Sia Announce New Tours
• Sly Stone Sues Former Manager for $50 Mil
• VH1 to Revisit Rock-Star Deaths in New Series
• Searching for J.D. Salinger: A Writer’s Quest
• Eminem, Wayne, Drake, Barker Join Grammys
• Grammys: Pink, ?uestlove Predict Winners
• Exclusive: Watch the New Gorillaz LP Teaser
• Mariah Carey Unveils Two Videos
• Joe Walsh Battles Politician Over Song Parody
• Will.i.am, Slash Remix the Who
• Breaking: Dam-Funk
• Party Animal: Behind Ke$ha’s Big Debut
• Radiohead Rock for Haiti at Tiny L.A. Gig

Scroll down for full news stories, commentary and much more in Rock Daily.

Florence and the Machine’s debut album “Lungs” (Universal Island) finally claimed the No. 1 spot it was denied in an opening five-week run at No. 2 last summer, as the new U.K. sales charts were announced.

Vampire Weekend’s sophomore album “Contra” is looking like a good bet for No. 1 on next week’s Billboard 20.

The first sales week of 2010 could be another battle for No. 1, as Susan Boyle and newcomer Ke$ha compete for the top spot on the Billboard 200.

With a stunning voice that frequently strives to hit impossibly high notes, Songz let his set list alternate between soulful ballads like “Black Roses” and more playful pop fare like “LOL ”.

They’re about to drop that ball, which means it’s time to drop my #1 Top Song of 2009…

“Empire State Of Mind”

Call me biased (I work in Times Square), but no song knocked harder or louder this year than Jay-Z’s love song to the Big Apple, “Empire State Of Mind.” From its chase-you-down beat, to Jay-Z’s always-hypnotic roller coaster cadence, to Alicia Keys‘ plunky piano parts and soaring, raise-the-roof chorus, “Empire State Of Mind” either made you proud to be a New Yorker or wish you were one.

Happy new year! Once more, with feeling!

(Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, live at the 2009 MTV VMAs… in New York!)

Buzzworthy’s #1 Top Video Of 2009: Lady Gaga, “Bad Romance”

Lady Gaga’s built her bottle rocket of a career on full-frontal performance art, freakish fashion, and insanely infectious hooks. But the platform upon which those pillars are built is Lady Gaga’s ability to absolutely next-level everything she does. Where some artists take a good idea and repeat it, Lady Gaga doesn’t just reinvent the wheel — she makes a better one — and takes it a step higher every time, from her VMA performance to her American Music Awards performance (uh… FLAMING PIANO!??!) down to the red dress she wore to meet the Queen of England. But nothing Gaga’s done has been more next-level than her “Bad Romance” video.

On its own, as a record, “Bad Romance” was almost too big to be believed. And the anticipation wrapped around the “Bad Romance” video was an event in and of itself. It’s hard to think of a video since “Thriller” that, well, thrilled like “Bad Romance.” It became an instant classic and Gaga’s best video yet. In 2009 we needed to escape, and no artist’s video met that need better than Gaga in “Bad Romance.”

Let’s check the rear-view for the other Top 5 Songs of 2009. Number 5: Mario, “Break Up,” Number 4: Paramore, “Where The Lines Overlap,” Number 3: The Clipse, “Popular Demand (Popeyes),” Number 2: Drake, “Best I Ever Had,” and now…

+ Number 1: Phoenix, “Lizstomania”

An unassailably perfect pop song, taken from Phoenix’s amazing Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix album. The opening tinkle of keys, the galloping beat, The Smiths-esque guitars that crash in before the chorus and those ponderous lyrics; are they about composer Franz Liszt’s 19th Century rise to stardom? A regretful look at the end of a relationship? Both? Doesn’t matter, once Thomas Mars coos, “So sentimental/Not sentimental, no” you’ll fall under this brilliant song’s spell.

And then there was one. Quick recap of my Top 5 Vids of 2009: #5: Rihanna, “Russian Roulette,” Number 4: Vampire Weekend, “Cousins,” Number 3: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “Heads Will Roll,” and Number 2: Handsome Furs, “I’m Confused.” And now…

+ Number 1: Taylor Swift, “You Belong With Me”

Gurl! Don’t look so surprised! “You Belong With Me” was a teen rom-com (a bunch of teen movies, actually) wrapped up in a music video, wherein Taylor plays two roles (whoa there, Meryl Streep!); one bad brunette, convertible-pushing mean girl, the other a nerd-tastic band geek vying for the attention of the boy of her dreams.

While things don’t look so good in the beginning (notes are written with Sharpies and read through windows… because your parents suspended your texting privs or something?) this is, ultimately, a love story, and, baby, he says, “yes.” TEAM TAYLOR!

Susan Boyle’s “I Dreamed a Dream” holds at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart for a fifth consecutive week, selling another 510,000 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan. So far, the set has shifted 2,982,000 copies in America.

Alicia Keys has to play runner-up to Boyle, whose “I Dreamed a Dream” album continues to lock up the top slot on the Billboard 200 chart for a fourth week in a row.

Newcomer Ke$ha takes “TiK ToK” to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 (2-1), making her the first female singer to rise to No. 1 with her debut single since Lady Gaga.

It’s looking like Susan Boyle will again block a diva from the top slot on the Billboard 200.

Rage Against the Machine snowed on teenager Joe McElderry’s Christmas parade, as the results of the unlikely battle for the U.K.’s prestigious festive No. 1 single were confirmed.