Bruno Mars circles back to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, as "Grenade" once again replaces Katy Perry's "Firework" at No. 1 (1-2).
"Grenade" supplanted "Firework" two weeks ago, only to have Perry's track reclaim the chart's lead spot for a fourth cumulative frame on last week's ranking. It is the first time two songs have alternated holds at No. 1 over four weeks since "Live Your Life" by T.I. featuring Rihanna traded spots with Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" in December 2008. Mars' track sits atop Digital Songs for a fourth straight week with 275,000 downloads (down 35%), according to Nielsen SoundScan, as the post-holiday glow has finally worn off the digital download market with total sales dipping by 29% this week.
Threatening the reign of Mars' "Grenade" or the return of Perry's "Firework" to No. 1 next week will be the arrival of Britney Spears' "Hold It Against Me," which was released near-simultaneously at radio (Jan. 10) and exclusively at iTunes (Jan. 11). With airplay off to a blazing start and track sales set to exceed 400,000 according to industry sources, a second No. 1 debut for the pop starlet is likely. She previously started at the summit with "3" on the chart dated October 24, 2009.
Back to this week's top 10, "What's My Name" by Rihanna featuring Drake, which topped the chart for a week in November, is on the upswing (4-3) while grabbing the Airplay Gainer trophy for a seventh time in the past 11 weeks. The title has now topped Radio Songs for four straight weeks. Rihanna's prior single, "Only Girl (In the World)," meanwhile, returns to the top 10 (12-10) after two weeks outside the upper tier. The song has spent 15 of its 18 chart weeks in the top 10.
Ke$ha's "We R Who We R" slides 3-4 while P!nk's "Raise Your Glass" stays still at No. 5. P!nk's new single "F**kin' Perfect" sprints back onto the chart at No. 57 as top 40 radio play for the track (No. 29 debut on Pop Songs) prompts an 85% digital spike to 36,000, 42% of which are of the radio-friendly edited version.
Enrique Iglesias holds at No. 6 with "Tonight (I'm Lovin' You)," featuring Ludacris & DJ Frank E. Wiz Khalifa and the Black Eyed Peas swap spots as the former's "Black and Yellow" improves 8-7 and the latter's "The Time (Dirty Bit)" is bumped 7-8, one placement above Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Are" (9-9).
Flo Rida's "Who Dat Girl," featuring Akon, is the top Digital Gainer, rising 53-39. The track is the only title that was on the 75-position Digital Songs chart a week ago to post a sales increase this frame (up 6% to 63,000). The only other actual increases on Digital Songs come from debuts and re-entries.
Gwyneth Paltrow charts a third title on the Hot 100 with "Country Strong," the title track from the motion picture in which she stars, which is the top debut at No. 81. She previously placed two tracks on the list in December from her guest starring turn on "Glee." Paltrow is now not too far behind hubby Chris Martin, who's appeared 10 times on the Hot 100 (nine with Coldplay) since 2001.
The only other new titles on this week's list belong to country newcomer Sunny Sweeney, who opens at No. 96 with "From a Table Away," a current top 20 title on Country Songs (No. 16), and Travis Porter who enters at No. 100 with "Make It Rain."
http://www.billboard.com/news/bruno-...04138707.story
