"Leave The Pieces," The Wreckers

[tozion]

Top 20 smash!

[tozion]

#14 and the third greatest gainer. It's looking like a Top 10.

[duh5]

Their album is also holding steady on the charts as well.

[tozion]

#8 and the greatest gainer in the Top 10

[Robert J]

I'm amazed by how well this has done. Completely blew my expectations away.

[irice22]

I expected this to do very well in the first place. If you put a good song out to country radio, it's usually recognized. Unless you're the Dixie Chicks.

[duh5]

I'm glad to see this doing well, I hate to use the word, but this song is "cute." Any word on the next single?

[tozion]

Second greatest gainer on the entire chart.

[mike]

I enjoy this.

[tozion]

GIVE 'PIECES' A CHANCE: They could have called themselves Harp and Branch, but Jessica Harp and Michelle Branch went with the Wreckers, and their debut single makes some chart history this week.

"Leave the Pieces" (Maverick/Warner Bros.) advances 11-8, making it the first debut single from a duo to enter the top 10 in this century. The last debut single from a duo to land in the top 10 was "Lonely and Gone" by Montgomery Gentry in October 1999. That single peaked at No. 5.

If the Wreckers can reach the top of the chart, "Leave the Pieces" will be the first debut single from a duo to be No. 1 since "Brand New Man" by Brooks and Dunn ruled for two weeks in September 1991.

Two Chart Beat readers from Nebraska both had something to add about Branch's success on the country chart. Shawn Michaels of Tekamah and John Maverick of Burt County pointed out that Branch is one of the few artists to have top 10 hits on Hot Country Songs, the Hot 100, the Adult Contemporary chart and Modern Rock Tracks. Maverick added that Branch joins a list of artists who have gone top 10 on the Hot 100, AC and country charts that includes Lonestar, Faith Hill, LeAnn Rimes, Bon Jovi, Sting and Uncle Kracker.

Michaels and Maverick both had something to say about the latest Brooks and Dunn hit, which features Sheryl Crow and Vince Gill. "Building Bridges" (Arista) moves 15-13 this week, making it a candidate for the top 10. The Nebraskans pointed out that this would be Crow's first top 10 hit on the country tally, and Gill's first top 10 hit since "Feels Like Love" went to No. 6 in 2000.

"Burning Bridges" is already Crow's biggest hit on the country survey. She first appeared on this chart in 2002 when she duetted with Kid Rock on "Picture," which peaked at No. 21. That was Crow's biggest country hit until now. She also charted with two solo recordings: "The First Cut Is the Deepest" reached No. 35 and "No Depression in Heaven" stopped at No. 55, both in 2004.

[TotallyEnormousExtinctDinosaur]

Wow, I had no idea Michelle's project was so successful. And Country of all formats reviving it after he "sucking dick" rant a few months back. But good for her.

[Robert J]

Seemingly out of nowhere, the song rocketed to #3:

7 3 WRECKERS Leave The Pieces 4040 3741 299 35.987

[irice22]

That's on the big chart with added stations. Which one does R&R use?

[tozion]

At this rate, this is going to #1. It's #3 and has the second biggest bullet on the entire chart. The #2 song is bulletless and the #1 song has a really minor bullet.

[irice22]

Which chart does R&R use? The big one or the one on the main site?

[duh5]

So does this make them the first lesbian duo with a top 5 country hit? Sapphic power!

[breakthroughdiva]

#34 on The Hot 100!

[Robert J]

#2!

3 2 WRECKERS Leave The Pieces 4360 4040 320 38.966

[RedDragon]

I'd love to see Michelle record another solo album. I still like "Hotel Paper". I'm happy for her country success though.

[Robert J]

It's beginning to look like this might miss #1 now. Hopefully Rodney starts dropping faster.

1 1 RODNEY ATKINS If You're Going Thro... 4906 5119 -213 44.833
3 2 WRECKERS Leave The Pieces 4422 4301 121 39.360
5 3 STEVE HOLY Brand New Girlfriend 4130 3791 339 35.164
7 4 LITTLE BIG TOWN Bring It On Home 4224 3848 376 34.432

[Robert J]

Well, now it's looking like a guaranteed #1 - will they do it before the final update tonight?

1 1 RODNEY ATKINS If You're Going Thro... 4567 4930 -363 40.666
2 2 WRECKERS Leave The Pieces 4619 4382 237 39.350

[irice22]

Okay, so does R&R use the big chart or the small chart for their information? They're different.

[Robert J]

#1! (I missed if they made it for the official chart or not)

2 1 WRECKERS Leave The Pieces 4791 4398 393 40.728
1 2 RODNEY ATKINS If You're Going Thro... 4523 4926 -403 40.387

[tozion]

WRECKERS' HOME RUN: For their first time at bat, the Wreckers have hit one out of the park. Michelle Branch and Jennifer Harp's debut single, "Leave the Pieces" (Maverick), moves 2-1 on the Hot Country Songs chart, making the Wreckers the first female duo to have a No. 1 hit with a debut single since the Davis Sisters topped the chart in October 1953 with "I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know."

The unrelated Davis sisters were Skeeter Davis (born Mary Penick), later famous for "End of the World," and Betty Jack Davis. The song was a posthumous No. 1 for Betty Jack, who was killed in an automobile accident on Aug. 2, 1953. Her real sister, Georgia, took her place in the duo.

The Wreckers is the first duo to have a No. 1 hit with a debut single since Brooks & Dunn kicked off a successful career with the chart-topping "Brand New Man" in September 1991.

[tozion]

Pitchfork gave it 3.5/5 stars.

Country music seems to be looking for a way to fill its Dixie Chicks-size hole, and SheDaisy ain't cutting it. So enter (again) the Wreckers, whose "Leave the Pieces" is a recent #1 country single. Michelle Branch and Jessica Harp have more in common with Jewel than with Faith or Shania, which might be proof that radio will take those chirpy harmonies and female-empowerment lyrics from anywhere but the actual Dixie Chicks. Let's not get bogged down with questions of authenticity though, at least for now. "Leave the Pieces" is a fine slice of country-pop with an interesting twist: It's sung from the perspective of a woman who must persuade a weak-willed guy to get on with it and break her heart. Branch and Harp sing with such easy harmony and confident phrasing that you never question their strong-willed determination for heartbreak. Still, you'll wonder why they just don't dump the chump themselves.