The end of the Olympics provided a pretty slow sales week for the music industry, which allowed the 43rd edition of the Now That’s What I Call Music! compilation series to peak at #1 on the Billboard 200, selling 111,000 copies.

The Pop Hunter Podcast is a live performance mix of Top 40, Hip-Hop, and Pop, with original remixes, mash-ups, and original beats – as much a party soundtrack as a portal for new music discovery. Check out our May mix, and subscribe on iTunes!

At the end of each month, Pop Hunter highlights the best songs that were released. Consider it your cheat sheet for year-end lists. This month, we’re featuring Sabi, Marina and the Diamonds, Nelly Furtado, Cheryl Cole, and Little Nikki.

It’s been a full 48 Hours since the limited edition Record Store Day releases were scooped up, so we thought we’d take a gander on eBay. How much is Jack White’s liquid-filled record being flipped for online?

You’re a Pop Hunter now, and it’s time to start acting like one. Our patented RADIO SURVIVAL GUIDE will feature three songs that are brand new to pop radio, and tell you whether or not they’re worth your time. Welcome to the jungle.

The 24 year-old Virginia-born songwriter and producer Benny Blanco is actually the protege and main collaborator of Dr. Luke, who we’ve featured before in our producer Friday Mixtape series. The pair have worked together extensively over the past few years (Blanco is listed as co-producer and songwriter on many of Dr. Luke’s biggest hits), but Benny Blanco is really starting to carve out his own niche in the pop production spectrum.

There’s no quicker path to a million YouTube views than a music video parody. Except for those vlogs where big-chested ladies yammer on about nothing with the camera trained on their breasts, but Pop Hunter refused to run a feature that was just screencaps of YouTube user “MissTattums”. So this is The Parody OD, a bi-weekly roundup of the ‘Tube’s burgeoning pop parodists!

So, you’re going through a break-up. It’s likely that you are too caught up in trying to mend your heart and are oblivious to the fact that there are three stages of a breakup. You should also beg your ears and your pride for forgiveness because you’ve likely subjected yourself to some questionable pop music. Carrie Underwood, Adele, Taylor Swift — these are all musical staples of a rough split. Let’s break down the stages of a breakup and try and understand why we listen to the songs we do when our hearts are broken.

In preparation for tonight’s Brit Awards broadcast, print off a few of these and play along with our official Pop Hunter Brit Awards Pool. Will Adele look sad adjacent to a piano? Will a member of JLS bare his nipples? Will Emeli Sandé’s hair be over 4 inches tall? If you think you know the answers to these questions, get a pool going and rob your friends.

Crap on a stick! It’s Valentine’s Day, and you didn’t even grab a wilty bouquet of posies for your pop-music obsessed sweetheart. Don’t panic! Pop Hunter has you covered with these clever love notes, featuring your dude/lady friend’s favourite contemporary chart-topper. Just MS-Paint both of your names on one of these babies, forward it to the attention of your lover’s social networking hub of choice, and presto — it’s an instant governor’s pardon from the Death Row of never knockin’ boots again. You’re welcome.