The #1 Hot 100 Song and other #1’s on Billboard for the week of October 18, 2008
Wow…this is T.I.’s week! He is at #1 again on the Billboard Hot 100…but not for the song “Whatever You Like.” His song, “Live Your Life” featuring Rihanna, makes an amazing leap from #80 to #1, making it the highest leap to #1 in Hot 100 history (”Whatever” slips to #2.) Who held that honor previously? None other than T.I. with “Whatever You Like”… when the song jumped from #71 to #1 six weeks ago. He is also the first artist to replace himself at the top of the chart since Usher did it in July of 2004, when his single “Confessions Part II” replaced his single “Burn” at #1. The honors keep rolling though… the song broke the record for highest first week digital sales ever, shifting 335,000 digital downloads to debut at #1 on the Hot Digital Songs chart, according to Nielsen SoundScan, beating Mariah Carey’s prior digital debut week high-water mark of 286,000 with “Touch My Body.” Rihanna gets some props too, because the song officially makes her the female with the most #1 songs this decade (with five), beating Beyoncé Knowles and Carey. Predictions for next week? I’m almost positive that “Live Your Life” will be #1 for a second week, because it has a bullet and it is the Airplay Gainer for the week. Their are only two possible contenders. Kevin Rudolf featuring Lil Wayne with their song “Let it Rock,” which jumps from #15 to #5 with a bullet and is the Digital Sales Gainer this week, and Christina Aguilera’s “Keeps Gettin’ Better,” which debuts on the chart at #7 (her first time debuting in the top 10) with a bullet based on digital sales of 144,000. M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” run on the chart appears to have finally petered out, because it sinks from #5 to #9 and has lost its bullet.
As I accurately predicted, T.I.’s Paper Trail is the #1 album on the Top 200 Albums chart with 568,000 copies sold in the U.S., making it the third largest sales frame of the year so far. I looked at the albums being released this week, and none of them appears to be a contender for T.I., so I’m going to predict that he stays at #1 on that chart for a second week. He is also #1 for a second week on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with “Whatever You Like.” Kenny Chesney takes over the Hot Country Songs chart with “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven,” the fifteenth chart-topper of his career. Rockers aren’t changing this week, with The Offspring’s “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid” at #1 on the Modern Rock chart for a third week and Metallica’s “The Day That Never Comes” at the top of the Mainstream Rock chart for a fourth non-consecutive week. All chart information was found on Billboard.com.
I actually like “Live Your Life” (which includes a rendition of the “Numa Numa Song”) better than “Whatever You Like,” so I don’t mind it staying at the top of the chart. What do you think?