
Week Ending Aug. 18, 2013. Songs: Perry Trumps Gaga
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Katy Perry
trounced Lady Gaga in this weekโs showdown of the pop female megastars. Perryโs โRoarโ sold 557K copies in its first week on sale, about 2-1/2 times as many as Gagaโs โApplauseโ (218K). The total for โRoarโ is the third-highest first-week sales tally in digital history. It trails Flo Ridaโs โRight Roundโ (636K in February 2009) and Taylor Swiftโs โWe Are Never Ever Getting Back Togetherโ (623K in August 2012).
This is the biggest one-week sales tally of Perryโs career. It tops her anthemic โFirework,โ which sold 509K copies in its 11th week in December 2010.
โRoarโ vaults from #85 to #2 in its second week on the Hot 100 (it debuted last week based just on airplay points). It was blocked from the top spot by โBlurred Linesโ by Robin Thicke featuring T.I. + Pharrell, which holds at #1 for the 11th week. (The Hot 100 measures not only digital sales, but also radio airplay and streaming activity.)
โBlurred Linesโ becomes the longest-running #1 hit since the Black Eyed Peasโ โI Gotta Feelingโ topped the chart for 14 weeks in 2009. Itโs the longest-running #1 by a male artist or an all-male collabo since โYeah!โ by Usher featuring Lil Jon & Ludacris logged 12 weeks on top in 2004. (Iโll have more on โBlurred Linesโ in a minute.)
โApplauseโ enters the Hot 100 at #6. Itโs Gagaโs fifth single to debut in the top 10, though it fell short of the debut positions of two of her previous hits. โBorn This Wayโ opened at #1. โThe Edge Of Gloryโ bowed at #3.
These are the 12th top 10 hits for both Perry and Gaga. Perry had a nearly six-month head-start in piling up top 10 hits. She first cracked the top 10 with โI Kissed A Girlโ in June 2008. Gaga first cracked the top 10 with โJust Danceโ featuring Colby OโDonis that December. These are the first singles from the superstarsโ upcoming third albums. Perryโs Prism is due Oct. 22. Gagaโs ARTPOP is due Nov. 11.
It will be interesting to see if Perryโs hit makes it to #1. A boffo first-week sales number doesnโt guarantee a #1 ranking. Just ask Justin Bieber, whose โBoyfriendโ sold 521K in its first week; Maroon 5 featuring Wiz Khalifa, whose โPayphoneโ sold 493K in its first week; or Taylor Swift, whose โI Knew You Were Trouble.โ sold 416K in its first week. All three songs peaked at #2. Reaching #1 often comes down to timing and plain luck.
Many have noted similarities between โRoarโ and Sara Bareillesโ โBrave.โ The comparisons have drawn attention to โBrave.โ The song jumps from #66 to #46 in its 10th week, surpassing its initial peak at #61. The song sold 51K digital copies this week, up 80% from 28K last week.
(You do get the sense that Perry is steeped in pop history. Her hit echoes lyrics from two former #1 hits: Helen Reddyโs โI Am Womanโ (โhear me roarโ) and Survivorโs โEye Of The Tiger,โ as well as Queenโs top five hit โWe Are The Champions.โ)
โBlurred Linesโ is also #1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for the 11th week. This equals the mark set by Thickeโs 2007 hit โLost Without U.โ But of course โBlurred Linesโ is a vastly bigger crossover hit. โLost Without Uโ peaked at #14 on the Hot 100.
For the third week in a row, โBlurred Linesโ set a new record for the most โall-format audience impressionsโ since Nielsen BDS starting measuring such things in 1990. The song had 228.9 million impressions this week.
This marks the first time that a song titled โApplauseโ has made the Hot 100, though a different song with that title made a splash in pop culture in 1970. Bonnie Franklin (who went on to TV fame in One Day At A Time) sang โApplauseโ in the hit Broadway musical of the same name. The great Pearl Bailey covered the song and took it to #37 on the Easy Listening chart (as it was called then). (OK, Iโm a nerd.)
โApplauseโ zooms from #16 to #1 on the Dance/Electronic Songs chart, displacing โGet Luckyโ by Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams.
โApplauseโ enters the U.K.โs Official Singles Chart at #5. Gaga got more good news from the U.K. this week. โBad Romanceโ became her second million-seller in the U.K., following โPoker Face.โ Gaga is the first American-born female artist ever to land two million-selling singles in the U.K. Sheโs just the fourth female artist overall to achieve the feat. Rihanna (who was born in Barbados) is out front with three U.K. million-sellers. Olivia Newton-John (born in England) and Celine Dion (born in Canada) have each notched two.
In the U.S., Gaga is the only artist with two songs in the top 10 on Nielsen SoundScanโs running list of the 200 best-selling songs in digital history. โPoker Faceโ ranks #6. โJust Danceโ ranks #8. The Black Eyed Peas had two of the all-time top 10 digital hits from December 2009 through June 2013, but โBoom Boom Powโ was nudged out at the end of June (by โThrift Shopโ).
Miley Cyrusโ
โWe Canโt Stopโ dips from #2 (where it spent three non-consecutive weeks) to #3. This is its ninth week in the top 10. Among Cyrusโ hits, only โParty In The U.S.A.โ has had as many or more weeks in the top 10. It held tight for 16 weeks in 2009. โWe Canโt Stopโ is #1 on the Streaming Songs chart for the ninth week.
Imagine Dragonsโ โRadioactiveโ dips from #3 (where it spent four non-consecutive weeks) to #4. This is its 10th consecutive week in the top five. The song is #1 on Rock Songs for a record-extending 22nd week.
โHoly Grailโ by Jay Z featuring Justin Timberlake holds at #5 for the third week. The song tops the 1 million mark in digital sales this week.
Anna Kendricksโ
โCups (Pitch Perfectโs When Itโs Gone)โ drops from #6 to #8. This is its sixth week in the top 10. โSixโ is the magic number for this project. The Pitch Perfect soundtrack spent six weeks in the top 10 on The Billboard 200. And the movie itself spent six weeks in the top 10 on the box-office chart.
Here's the low-down on this week's top 10 songs.
The Top Five: โBlurred Linesโ by Robin Thicke featuring T.I. + Pharrell holds at #1 for the 11th week in its 18th week on the chart. This is its 12th week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #2 (291K)โฆKaty Perryโs โRoarโ vaults from #85 to #2 in its second week. Itโs her 12th top 10 hit. Digital sales rank: #1 (557K)โฆMiley Cyrusโ โWe Canโt Stopโ dips from #2 to #3 in its 11th week on the chart. This is its ninth week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #6 (148K)โฆImagine Dragonsโ โRadioactiveโ dips from #3 to #4 in its 51st week on the chart. This is its 18th week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #8 (121K)โฆโHoly Grailโ by Jay Z featuring Justin Timberlake holds at #5 for the third week in its sixth week on the chart. It has been in the top 10 the entire time. Digital sales rank: #4 (178K).
The Second Five: Lady Gagaโs โApplauseโ debuts at #6. Itโs her 12th top 10 hit. Digital sales rank: #3 (218K)โฆ โGet Luckyโ by Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams drops from #4 to #7 18th week on the chart. This is its 14th week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #17 (79K)โฆ Bruno Marsโ โTreasureโ dips from #7 to #8 in its 14th week on the chart. This is its ninth week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #11 (91K)โฆAnna Kendrickโs โCups (Pitch Perfectโs When Iโm Gone)โ drops from #6 to #9 in its 34rd week on the chart. This is its seventh week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #13 (91K)โฆCapital Citiesโ โSafe And Soundโ dips from #9 to #10 in its 16th week on the chart. This is its third week in the top 10. Digital sales rank: #14 (88K).
Two songs drop out of the top 10 this week. โClarityโ by Zedd featuring Foxes drops from #8 to #12. Maroon 5โs โLove Somebodyโ drops from #10 to #13.
Aviciiโs
โWake Me Up!โ jumps from #15 to #11 in its eighth week. Digital sales rank: #7 (138K). The song spent three weeks at #1 on the U.K.โs Official Singles Chart.
โSummertime Sadnessโ by Lana Del Rey & Cedric Gervais jumps from #16 to #15 in its sixth week. It's likely to become Del Rey's first top 10 hit. Digital sales rank: #9 (117K).
Luke Bryanโs
โThatโs My Kind Of Nightโ is the weekโs second-highest new entry at #16. Digital sales rank: #5 (164K). The song is from Bryanโs Crash My Party, which enters The Billboard 200 with sales of 528K. By reaching #16, the song ties โDrunk On Youโ from 2012 as Bryanโs highest-charting hit to date on the Hot 100. Also, it vaults from #35 to #1 on Hot Country Songs, bumping Florida Georgia Lineโs โCruiseโ out of the top spot after a record-setting 24-week run on top. Itโs Bryanโs fifth #1 country hit.
Bryanโs previous single, โCrash My Party,โ jumps from #27 to #22 in its 19th week. The song has climbed as high as #18. The songโs sales this week were held back because many fans who had previously purchased the song opted to take advantage of iTunesโ โComplete My Albumโ feature. Those transactions, when fans โtrade upโ and buy the digital album, are deducted from the songโs sales for the week.
โCruiseโ has sold 5,638,000 copies. This week, it moves up to second place on Nielsen SoundScanโs running list of the best-selling country songs in its history. Lady Antebellumโs โNeed You Nowโ is #1 (6,198,000). Taylor Swiftโs โLove Storyโ dips to third place (5,609,000). โCruiseโ also becomes the fourth song to sell 4 million copies in 2013. (On the Hot 100, the song, credited to Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly, drops from #14 to #19 in its 46th week.)
Lordeโs โRoyalsโ jumps from #24 to #17 in its seventh week. Digital sales rank: #10 (107K).
โJust Give Me A Reasonโ by P!nk featuring Nate Ruess, which drops from #22 to #28 in its 27th week, tops the 4 million mark in digital sales. Itโs the third biggest seller for both acts. For P!nk, it trails โSo Whatโ (4,624,000) and โRaise Your Glassโ (4,162,000). For Ruess, it trails fun.โs โWe Are Youngโ (featuring Janelle Monae, 6,735,000) and โSome Nightsโ (4,826,000). (P!nkโs follow-up, โTrue Loveโ (featuring Lily Allen), jumps from #69 to #60 in its third week.)
Selena Gomezโs โCome & Get It,โ which drops from #23 to #31 in its 19th week, tops the 2 million mark in digital sales. Itโs her second song to reach this level, following โLove You Like A Love Songโ (which she recorded with The Scene, 2,502,000).
Keith Urban
lands his 15th top 40 hit on the Hot 100 as โLittle Bit Of Everythingโ jumps from #43 to #33 in its 13th week. Itโs already Urbanโs highest-charting hit since โKiss A Girlโ reached #16 in June 2009, which suggests that his exposure on American Idol did him some good. Heโs good on the show. Heโll be back next seasonโฆCarrie Underwoodโs โSee You Againโ jumps from #41 to #34 in its 16th week. This is the second time in a little more than five years that a song with that title has been a hit. Miley Cyrus took a song with the same title to #10 in May 2008โฆThomas Rhettโs โIt Goes Like Thisโ jumps from #49 to #40 in its 10th weekโฆParamoreโs โStill Into Youโ jumps from #57 to #45 in its sixth week.
โBewareโ by Big Sean featuring Lil Wayne & Jhene Aiko jumps from #79 to #59 in its fourth weekโฆTim McGrawโs โSouthern Girlโ jumps from #72 to #64 in its fourth weekโฆBlake Sheltonโs โMine Would Be Youโ jumps from #75 to #65 in its third weekโฆ โLove Moreโ by Chris Brown featuring Nicki Minaj jumps from #90 to #73 in its fourth week. The song has climbed as high as #56โฆPassengerโs โLet Her Goโ jumps from #86 to #74 in its third weekโฆSheryl Crowโs โEasyโ jumps from #97 to #84 in its fourth weekโฆTaylor Swiftโs โRedโ jumps from #100 to #85 in its seventh week. The song has climbed as high as #6.
Panic! At The Discoโs
โThis Is Gospelโ debuts at #87. Itโs from the groupโs fourth studio album, Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die!, which is due Oct. 8โฆThe Wantedโs โWe Own The Nightโ debuts at #94...Bastilleโs โPompeiiโ debuts at #95. Itโs from the British bandโs first U.K. album, Bad Blood. This song reached #2 on the U.K.โs Official Singles Chartโฆ Little Big Townโs โYour Side Of The Bedโ debuts at #96. Itโs from the groupโs fifth album, Tornado, which reached #2 in September 2012โฆโBruisesโ by Train featuring Ashley Monroe debuts at #97. Itโs from the groupโs sixth studio album, California 37, which was released in April 2012.
John Mayerโs
โWildfireโ re-enters the chart at #98. The song has climbed as high as #91. Itโs from Mayerโs sixth studio album, Paradise Valley, which is expected to challenge Luke Bryanโs album for #1 next weekโฆ โWithout Meโ by Fantasia featuring Kelly Rowland and Missy Elliott re-enters the chart at #100. The song has climbed as high as #74.
Ellie Gouldingโs โBurnโ debuts at #1 on the U.K.s Official Singles Chart. Itโs her first #1 in her home country. Her version of Elton Johnโs โYour Songโ reached #2 in 2010. โBurnโ has climbed as high as #53 on the Hot 100.
M.I.A.โs โPaper Planesโ tops the 4 million mark in digital sales this week. The smash reached #4 on the Hot 100 in September 2008. It received a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year.