Do you remember, or should I rewind?

Songs new to the Billboard Top 50 Singles Chart (last week), and the top debut.

#18 (from #63): Usher featuring Beyonce & Lil' Wayne, "Love In This Club, Part II"
Usher's new singles don't build off Confessions the way Confessions built off 8701, but the complacency evident his SNL performance hasn't sunk his recorded output yet. Starpower isn't wasted here so much as casually deployed. Such a mild display of largess isn't without its charms, but I'm worried what will pass for a minor track on Here I Stand.

#27 (from #66): Duffy, "Mercy"
Recommended to soul enthusiasts looking for something a little less in-your-face than Amy Winehouse or the Commitments.

#40 (from #76): Katy Perry, "I Kissed A Girl"
Because we needed the ability to directly contrast late-90's quests for self-definition with late-00's equal opportunity objectification. Because someone had to put the "She" in She Wants Revenge.

#47 (from #54): Ne-Yo, "Closer"
Nobody does better tributes to Michael Jackson, but I've gotten over the whole "why is this not a big hit?" thing. Three albums in, Ne-Yo should have a little more to his personality than "nice Michael Jackson fan." With Chris Brown's "Forever" back below "With You" on the charts, it's possible listeners don't want their dreamy male r&b singers coming off like CeCe Peniston backup dancers (though God knows I don't mind).

#57 (debut): New Kids On The Block, "Summertime"
Girl, remember when you would buy our merchandise and we would point at you and smile? The happiest days of our lives! Why did they ever end? Ok, don't think too hard about that. Just ask yourself, "is it really too late for us to relive that moment? At least for one summer...tour?"