Mark Ronson, Bruno Mars Jump to #1 on Hot 100

"Uptown Funk!" by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars jumps from #2 to #1 in its eighth week on the Hot 100. This ends a record-tying 19-week streak in which the #1 spot was held by female artists, namely Taylor Swift and Meghan Trainor.

(Coincidentally, another frisky, lighthearted male collabo, “Gold Digger” by Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx, ended the only previous streak in which female artists locked up the #1 spot for 19 consecutive weeks. “Gold Digger” hit #1 in September 2005, ending a streak in which hits by Gwen Stefani, Mariah Carey and Carrie Underwood were on top for 19 weeks in a row.)

"Uptown Funk!" is Mars’ sixth #1 hit. Only two other artists have had as many as six #1 hits so far in this decade (that is, since January 2010). They are Rihanna and Katy Perry, who have each had eight. Among male artists, Eminem is runner-up, with three #1 hits in this decade.

This is Mars’ second #1 as a featured artist. He was in the featured spot on his very first chart hit, B.o.B.'s “Nothin' on You,” which reached #1 in May 2010. He was in the lead on his next four #1 hits: “Just the Way You Are,” “Grenade,” “Locked Out of Heaven” and “When I Was Your Man.”

This is Ronson’s first Hot 100 hit as an artist, though he has long had success behind-the-scenes. He co-wrote Christina Aguilera's “Hurt” (#19 in December 2006), produced Amy Winehouse's “Rehab” (#9 in June 2007) and co-produced “Locked Out of Heaven” (#1 in December 2012).

"Uptown Funk!" returns to #1 on Hot Digital Songs. It sold 382K copies this week, bringing its eight-week sales total to 1,757,000.

"Uptown Funk!" also returns to #1 on the U.K.’s Official Singles Chart. It’s Mars’ fifth #1 hit in the U.K. It’s his fourth song to reach #1 in both the U.S. and the U.K. He also achieved this feat with "Nothin’ on You," "Just The Way You Are" and "Grenade."

Only one male solo artist has had more than four transatlantic #1 hits. That’s Elvis Presley, who had six. Michael Jackson and George Michael also had four. (Michael’s tally includes Wham!'s “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” on which he didn't have featured billing, as well as “Careless Whisper,” on which he did.)

"Uptown Funk!" is the first transatlantic #1 since Meghan Trainor's “All About That Bass.” It's the first collaboration to reach #1 in both countries since “Timber” by Pitbull featuring Ke$ha a year ago.

Finally, here’s some pure trivia for you. “Uptown Funk!” is the first song with a title that ends in an exclamation point to top the Hot 100 since Chris Brown's “Run It!” in 2005. Four previous songs that meet that description reached #1: “Yeah!” by Usher featuring Lil Jon & Ludacris, OutKast's “Hey Ya!” the Beatles' “Help!” and Louis Armstrong's “Hello, Dolly!”

(The Byrds' “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)” would have qualified, but the subtitle knocked it out of contention.)

Taylor Swift's “Blank Space” dips from #1 to #2 in its 10th week. It holds at #1 for the fourth week on the Radio Songs chart (which measures radio airplay across all genres). “I Knew You Were Trouble.” and “Shake It Off” also headed this chart for four weeks.

Hozier's “Take Me to Church,” which peaked at #2, holds at #3 for the second week in its 21st week. It's #1 on Hot Rock Songs for the 10th week.

Ed Sheeran's “Thinking Out Loud” rebounds from #7 to #4 in its 13th week, matching its highest ranking to date. It tops the 1 million mark in digital sales this week. It's the third million-seller from Sheeran's sophomore album, x. “Sing” is up to 1,323,000. “Don’t” is up to 1,464,000.

Meghan Trainor has two songs in the top 10 again this week. “Lips Are Movin” dips from #4 to #5 in its 11th week. “All About that Bass,” which logged eight weeks at #1, dips from #5 to #6 in its 26th week.

Taylor Swift also has two songs in the top 10 again this week. “Shake It Off,” which logged four weeks at #1, rebounds from #9 to #7 in its 20th week.

Sam Smith's “I'm Not the Only One,” which peaked at #5, drops from #6 to #8 in its 18th week.

Nick Jonas's “Jealous” inches up from #10 to #9 in its 17th week. It has climbed as high as #8. This is its sixth week in the top 10, which is twice as long as Jonas Brothers's longest-running top 10 hit. “Burnin' Up” spent three weeks in the top 10 in 2008.

Maroon 5's “Animals,” which peaked at #3, drops from #8 to #10 in its 20th week.

"Fancy" by Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX tops the 4 million mark in digital sales this week. The song spent seven weeks at #1 on the Hot 100 and received a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year.

MAGIC!'s “Rude” tops the 3 million mark in digital sales this week. The song spent six weeks at #1, but got no Grammy love.

"Fireball" by Pitbull featuring John Ryan tops the 1 million mark in digital sales this week. The song reached #23.

To My Readers: I’ll have another blog drawn from the Hot 100 that will focus on the week’s top debuts and key movers.

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