Bruno Mars' "When I Was Your Man" advances 2-1 on the Billboard Hot 100, granting the pop singer/songwriter his fifth leading title. It also marks just the second No. 1 in the chart's more than five-decade history for a song featuring piano and vocals exclusively.
With five No. 1s, Mars ranks behind only Michael Jackson (13); Stevie Wonder (10); Elton John, Paul McCartney, Usher (nine each); George Michael (eight); Phil Collins, Elvis Presley (seven each; Presley's career predates the Hot 100's Aug. 4, 1958, launch) for the most toppers among male soloists. Diddy, Ludacris, Prince and Lionel Richie also boast five No. 1s apiece.
Incredibly, Mars has racked his first five Hot 100 No. 1s faster than any male since Elvis Presley. Mars' span since first arriving on the chart the week of Feb. 13, 2010, is just three years, two months and one week. Only the late Presley reached five leaders more quickly, over just two years, seven months and three weeks, from the chart's inception through March 25, 1961.
As if company with the King isn't enough, Mars also notches just the second No. 1 in the Hot 100's archives featuring only piano and vocals. Adele first scored such a hit with "Someone Like You," which reigned for five weeks in late 2011. That ballad showcases Adele on vocals and Dan Wilson on piano. Mars sings and plays piano on "Man," which is the first ballad since "Someone" to command the Hot 100.
"Man" moves to No. 1 on the Hot 100 with top Digital Gainer honors, jumping to the top of the Nielsen SoundScan-powered Digital Songs survey (4-1). It soars by 45% to 340,000 downloads sold to become his sixth No. 1 on Digital Songs (and passes 2 million sold to date). The song was sale priced in both the iTunes and Amazon MP3 stores last week for $0.69, down from the standard $1.29 price of most current hits.
"Man" posts a third week atop the Nielsen BDS-based Radio Songs airplay chart (149 million in all-format audience, up 5%) and climbs 5-3 on Streaming Songs with a 7% increase to 4.9 million streams, according to BDS. (As previously reported, "Man" marks Mars' sixth No. 1 on the mainstream top 40-based Pop Songs airplay chart, the highest total among solo males.)
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