Chart Moves: One Direction, Two Hits; P!nk Ties Katy’s Perry’s Radio Record; Imagine Dragons Dethrone Muse At Alternative

Gary Trust
·4 min read

As previously reported, the Billboard Hot 100 undergoes a major shakeup this week as YouTube streaming data joins the chart’s methodology. Fittingly, “Harlem Shake,” the viral smash from Brooklyn producer Baauer, roars onto the ranking at No. 1. Who else are the movers and — yes — shakers on the Hot 100 and other song charts?
 
— One Direction: The vocal group is scaling the Hot 100 with two titles, as its Comic Relief charity single “One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)” — a cover of Blondie’s 1979 classic song (which, in retrospect, seems much bigger than its No. 24 peak that year) — debuts at No. 45 and “Kiss You” bounds 72-51. “Way” enters hot Digital Songs at No. 16 with 107,000 in first-week sales, according to Nielsen SoundScan. “Kiss You,” meanwhile, re-enters the sales list at No. 63 (37,000, up 35%). A main difference between the songs? Only “Kiss” is being promoted to radio. It rises 26-21 on the Mainstream Top 40 airplay chart and enters Hot 100 Airplay at No. 73 with 16 million in all-format audience (up 26%), according to Nielsen BDS.
 
Industry sources suggest that “Way” could sell 150,000 by the end of the current SoundScan tracking week (ending Feb. 24). As of this posting, it ranks in the iTunes Store’s top 10.
 
— P!nk: “Try” dips 13-18 on the Hot 100 after peaking at No. 9, but it rises 2-1 on the Adult Top 40 airplay chart. With the coronation, P!nk ties Katy Perry for the most No. 1s (seven) in the chart’s 17-year history. Maroon 5 and Nickelback follow with five leaders apiece.
 
P!nk additionally becomes the first artist to link four consecutive Adult Top 40 No. 1s. Prior to “Try,” she reigned for five weeks with “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)” (2012), the lead single from her first Billboard 200 No. 1 album, The Truth About Love. Her 2011 collection Greatest Hits… So Far!!! generated the twin seven-week leaders “Raise Your Glass” and “F**kin’ Perfect.” P!nk first dominated Adult Top 40 with “Who Knew” in 2007, followed by “So What” (2008) and “Sober” (2009).
 
P!nk concurrently enters the Hot 100 with her next single, “Just Give Me a Reason,” featuring fun.’s Nate Ruess. The song registered 904,000 streams last week, according to BDS.
 
— Imagine Dragons: The group fires up its first Alternative No. 1 with “Radioactive” (2-1). The band reached No. 4 on the ranking with its prior, and debut, chart entry, “It’s Time.” With its advance, “Radioactive” halts the record 19-week reign of Muse’s “Madness” (1- 2).
 
On Top Rock Albums, Imagine Dragons debut at No. 35 with their EP The Archive (4,000 copies sold), while their debut studio album Night Visions (No. 9) spikes by 69% to 29,000 following its deluxe reissue. Both sets were made available on Feb. 13, with the five songs on the EP doubling as the reissue’s new material.
 
— Fall Out Boy: Despite a 66% decline to 56,000 second-week downloads sold for “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up),” the song’s radio life is looking strong early on. It bounds 29-21 on Alternative and enters Mainstream Top 40 at No. 34. The track introduces the group’s first album in four years, Save Rock and Roll, due May 7.
 
— Hunter Hayes: Atop Hot Country Songs for a second week, “Wanted” benefits from Hayes’ performance of it on the Grammy Awards (Feb. 10). The ballad tops Country Digital Songs for the first time (5-1) with a 31% spike to 84,000 in its 47th frame on the chart, marking the longest No. 1 climb since the list launched three years ago. (The ballad led Country Airplay for a week in September.)
 
Assisting the song’s lengthy chart run (it bullets 30-29 in its 43rd week on the Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 16) is its radio crossover success. “Wanted” bullets at No. 13 on Adult Top 40, No. 19 on Adult Contemporary and No. 24 on Mainstream Top 40.

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