It might have been overtaken by Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” on the Mediabase pop radio chart (albeit one rendered messy by year-end countdowns, last-minute Christmas music and an update freeze), but Fifth Harmony’s “Sledgehammer” is definitely not ending 2014 in a bad way.
The single, which is #25 on Mediabase’s pop radio airplay chart, #22 on Billboard’s Pop Songs chart (a new career high) and #75 on the all-encompassing Billboard Hot 100, has surged into the Top 20 of the iTunes all-genre single sales chart.
“Sledgehammer,” which spent much of Saturday in the #21 spot, leapfrogged Rae Sremmurd’s “No Type” to claim the #20 position mid-day Sunday.
While the song’s growing airplay and buzz are undoubtedly contributing factors, the rise of “Sledgehammer” must also be credited to a favorable situation. In addition to benefiting from Christmas gift card redemptions and auxiliary exposure from the group’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” performance on NBC’s “TODAY,” “Sledgehammer” is also scoring by virtue of its current, discounted price point of $0.69.
Of course, insofar as no other (current) $0.69 song is in the top 20–Jessie J’s “Masterpiece” is #38, Chris Young’s “Lonely Eyes” is #74, Tyler Farr’s “A Guy Walks Into a Bar” is #100 and Jake Owen’s “What We Ain’t Got” is #145″–the former attribution to the song, group and its current level of radio exposure cannot be dismissed.