Week Ending Aug. 18, 2013. Songs: Perry Trumps Gaga

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Katy Perry

trounced Lady Gaga in this weekโ€™s showdown of the pop female megastars. Perryโ€™s โ€œRoarโ€ sold 557K copies in its first week on sale, about 2-1/2 times as many as Gagaโ€™s โ€œApplauseโ€ (218K). The total for โ€œRoarโ€ is the third-highest first-week sales tally in digital history. It trails Flo Ridaโ€™s โ€œRight Roundโ€ (636K in February 2009) and Taylor Swiftโ€™s โ€œWe Are Never Ever Getting Back Togetherโ€ (623K in August 2012).

This is the biggest one-week sales tally of Perryโ€™s career. It tops her anthemic โ€œFirework,โ€ which sold 509K copies in its 11th week in December 2010.

โ€œRoarโ€ 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 โ€œBlurred 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.)

โ€œBlurred Linesโ€ becomes the longest-running #1 hit since the Black Eyed Peasโ€™ โ€œI Gotta Feelingโ€ topped the chart for 14 weeks in 2009. Itโ€™s the longest-running #1 by a male artist or an all-male collabo since โ€œYeah!โ€ by Usher featuring Lil Jon & Ludacris logged 12 weeks on top in 2004. (Iโ€™ll have more on โ€œBlurred Linesโ€ in a minute.)

โ€œApplauseโ€ enters the Hot 100 at #6. Itโ€™s Gagaโ€™s fifth single to debut in the top 10, though it fell short of the debut positions of two of her previous hits. โ€œBorn This Wayโ€ opened at #1. โ€œThe 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 โ€œI Kissed A Girlโ€ in June 2008. Gaga first cracked the top 10 with โ€œJust Danceโ€ featuring Colby Oโ€™Donis that December. These are the first singles from the superstarsโ€™ upcoming third albums. Perryโ€™s Prism is due Oct. 22. Gagaโ€™s ARTPOP is due Nov. 11.

It will be interesting to see if Perryโ€™s hit makes it to #1. A boffo first-week sales number doesnโ€™t guarantee a #1 ranking. Just ask Justin Bieber, whose โ€œBoyfriendโ€ sold 521K in its first week; Maroon 5 featuring Wiz Khalifa, whose โ€œPayphoneโ€ sold 493K in its first week; or Taylor Swift, whose โ€œI 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 โ€œRoarโ€ and Sara Bareillesโ€™ โ€œBrave.โ€ The comparisons have drawn attention to โ€œBrave.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 Reddyโ€™s โ€œI Am Womanโ€ (โ€œhear me roarโ€) and Survivorโ€™s โ€œEye Of The Tiger,โ€ as well as Queenโ€™s top five hit โ€œWe Are The Champions.โ€)

โ€œBlurred Linesโ€ is also #1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for the 11th week. This equals the mark set by Thickeโ€™s 2007 hit โ€œLost Without U.โ€ But of course โ€œBlurred Linesโ€ is a vastly bigger crossover hit. โ€œLost Without Uโ€ peaked at #14 on the Hot 100.

For the third week in a row, โ€œBlurred Linesโ€ set a new record for the most โ€œall-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 โ€œApplauseโ€ 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 โ€œApplauseโ€ 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, Iโ€™m a nerd.)

โ€œApplauseโ€ zooms from #16 to #1 on the Dance/Electronic Songs chart, displacing โ€œGet Luckyโ€ by Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams.

โ€œApplauseโ€ enters the U.K.โ€™s Official Singles Chart at #5. Gaga got more good news from the U.K. this week. โ€œBad Romanceโ€ became her second million-seller in the U.K., following โ€œPoker Face.โ€ Gaga is the first American-born female artist ever to land two million-selling singles in the U.K. Sheโ€™s 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 SoundScanโ€™s running list of the 200 best-selling songs in digital history. โ€œPoker Faceโ€ ranks #6. โ€œJust Danceโ€ ranks #8. The Black Eyed Peas had two of the all-time top 10 digital hits from December 2009 through June 2013, but โ€œBoom Boom Powโ€ was nudged out at the end of June (by โ€œThrift Shopโ€).

Miley Cyrusโ€™

โ€œWe Canโ€™t 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 โ€œParty 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. โ€œWe Canโ€™t Stopโ€ is #1 on the Streaming Songs chart for the ninth week.

Imagine Dragonsโ€™ โ€œRadioactiveโ€ 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.

โ€œHoly 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€™

โ€œCups (Pitch Perfectโ€™s When Itโ€™s Gone)โ€ drops from #6 to #8. This is its sixth week in the top 10. โ€œSixโ€ 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: โ€œBlurred 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)โ€ฆKaty Perryโ€™s โ€œRoarโ€ vaults from #85 to #2 in its second week. Itโ€™s her 12th top 10 hit. Digital sales rank: #1 (557K)โ€ฆMiley Cyrusโ€™ โ€œWe Canโ€™t 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)โ€ฆImagine Dragonsโ€™ โ€œRadioactiveโ€ 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)โ€ฆโ€œHoly 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 Gagaโ€™s โ€œApplauseโ€ debuts at #6. Itโ€™s her 12th top 10 hit. Digital sales rank: #3 (218K)โ€ฆ โ€œGet 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)โ€ฆ Bruno Marsโ€™ โ€œTreasureโ€ 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)โ€ฆAnna Kendrickโ€™s โ€œCups (Pitch Perfectโ€™s When Iโ€™m 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)โ€ฆCapital Citiesโ€™ โ€œSafe 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. โ€œClarityโ€ by Zedd featuring Foxes drops from #8 to #12. Maroon 5โ€™s โ€œLove Somebodyโ€ drops from #10 to #13.

Aviciiโ€™s

โ€œWake 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.โ€™s Official Singles Chart.

โ€œSummertime 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 Bryanโ€™s

โ€œThatโ€™s My Kind Of Nightโ€ is the weekโ€™s second-highest new entry at #16. Digital sales rank: #5 (164K). The song is from Bryanโ€™s Crash My Party, which enters The Billboard 200 with sales of 528K. By reaching #16, the song ties โ€œDrunk On Youโ€ from 2012 as Bryanโ€™s highest-charting hit to date on the Hot 100. Also, it vaults from #35 to #1 on Hot Country Songs, bumping Florida Georgia Lineโ€™s โ€œCruiseโ€ out of the top spot after a record-setting 24-week run on top. Itโ€™s Bryanโ€™s fifth #1 country hit.

Bryanโ€™s previous single, โ€œCrash My Party,โ€ jumps from #27 to #22 in its 19th week. The song has climbed as high as #18. The songโ€™s sales this week were held back because many fans who had previously purchased the song opted to take advantage of iTunesโ€™ โ€œComplete My Albumโ€ feature. Those transactions, when fans โ€œtrade upโ€ and buy the digital album, are deducted from the songโ€™s sales for the week.

โ€œCruiseโ€ has sold 5,638,000 copies. This week, it moves up to second place on Nielsen SoundScanโ€™s running list of the best-selling country songs in its history. Lady Antebellumโ€™s โ€œNeed You Nowโ€ is #1 (6,198,000). Taylor Swiftโ€™s โ€œLove Storyโ€ dips to third place (5,609,000). โ€œCruiseโ€ 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.)

Lordeโ€™s โ€œRoyalsโ€ jumps from #24 to #17 in its seventh week. Digital sales rank: #10 (107K).

โ€œJust 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. Itโ€™s the third biggest seller for both acts. For P!nk, it trails โ€œSo Whatโ€ (4,624,000) and โ€œRaise Your Glassโ€ (4,162,000). For Ruess, it trails fun.โ€™s โ€œWe Are Youngโ€ (featuring Janelle Monae, 6,735,000) and โ€œSome Nightsโ€ (4,826,000). (P!nkโ€™s follow-up, โ€œTrue Loveโ€ (featuring Lily Allen), jumps from #69 to #60 in its third week.)

Selena Gomezโ€™s โ€œCome & Get It,โ€ which drops from #23 to #31 in its 19th week, tops the 2 million mark in digital sales. Itโ€™s her second song to reach this level, following โ€œLove 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 โ€œLittle Bit Of Everythingโ€ jumps from #43 to #33 in its 13th week. Itโ€™s already Urbanโ€™s highest-charting hit since โ€œKiss A Girlโ€ reached #16 in June 2009, which suggests that his exposure on American Idol did him some good. Heโ€™s good on the show. Heโ€™ll be back next seasonโ€ฆCarrie Underwoodโ€™s โ€œSee 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 2008โ€ฆThomas Rhettโ€™s โ€œIt Goes Like Thisโ€ jumps from #49 to #40 in its 10th weekโ€ฆParamoreโ€™s โ€œStill Into Youโ€ jumps from #57 to #45 in its sixth week.

โ€œBewareโ€ by Big Sean featuring Lil Wayne & Jhene Aiko jumps from #79 to #59 in its fourth weekโ€ฆTim McGrawโ€™s โ€œSouthern Girlโ€ jumps from #72 to #64 in its fourth weekโ€ฆBlake Sheltonโ€™s โ€œMine Would Be Youโ€ jumps from #75 to #65 in its third weekโ€ฆ โ€œLove Moreโ€ by Chris Brown featuring Nicki Minaj jumps from #90 to #73 in its fourth week. The song has climbed as high as #56โ€ฆPassengerโ€™s โ€œLet Her Goโ€ jumps from #86 to #74 in its third weekโ€ฆSheryl Crowโ€™s โ€œEasyโ€ jumps from #97 to #84 in its fourth weekโ€ฆTaylor Swiftโ€™s โ€œRedโ€ jumps from #100 to #85 in its seventh week. The song has climbed as high as #6.

Panic! At The Discoโ€™s

โ€œThis Is Gospelโ€ debuts at #87. Itโ€™s from the groupโ€™s fourth studio album, Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die!, which is due Oct. 8โ€ฆThe Wantedโ€™s โ€œWe Own The Nightโ€ debuts at #94...Bastilleโ€™s โ€œPompeiiโ€ debuts at #95. Itโ€™s from the British bandโ€™s first U.K. album, Bad Blood. This song reached #2 on the U.K.โ€™s Official Singles Chartโ€ฆ Little Big Townโ€™s โ€œYour Side Of The Bedโ€ debuts at #96. Itโ€™s from the groupโ€™s fifth album, Tornado, which reached #2 in September 2012โ€ฆโ€œBruisesโ€ by Train featuring Ashley Monroe debuts at #97. Itโ€™s from the groupโ€™s sixth studio album, California 37, which was released in April 2012.

John Mayerโ€™s

โ€œWildfireโ€ re-enters the chart at #98. The song has climbed as high as #91. Itโ€™s from Mayerโ€™s sixth studio album, Paradise Valley, which is expected to challenge Luke Bryanโ€™s album for #1 next weekโ€ฆ โ€œWithout Meโ€ by Fantasia featuring Kelly Rowland and Missy Elliott re-enters the chart at #100. The song has climbed as high as #74.

Ellie Gouldingโ€™s โ€œBurnโ€ debuts at #1 on the U.K.s Official Singles Chart. Itโ€™s her first #1 in her home country. Her version of Elton Johnโ€™s โ€œYour Songโ€ reached #2 in 2010. โ€œBurnโ€ has climbed as high as #53 on the Hot 100.

M.I.A.โ€™s โ€œPaper 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.