Lady Gaga, ‘Glee’ Songs Dominate Hot 100 (2024)

Lady Gaga maintains her lock atop the Billboard Hot 100 to be released tomorrow (Mar. 24), while the cast of Fox’s musical sitcom “Glee” roars in with seven debuting titles.

Gaga’s “Born This Way” spends a sixth consecutive week — its entire chart life — at the Hot 100’s summit. The lead single and title track from her third studio album, due May 23, becomes her second No. 1 on Radio Songs (3-1), following “Paparazzi” in 2009, and gains by 3% to 182,000 downloads sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

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What clinches its sustained residence in the Hot 100’s penthouse this week, however, is a now-rarely-influential chart component: physical singles sales.

A four-song CD single, featuring the original version of “Born” and three remixes, registered sales of 24,000 in its first full week at retail.

That sales sum is enough to keep “Born” at the Hot 100’s apex in a close race with the runner-up, Katy Perry’s “E.T.,” featuring Kanye West, which pushes 3-2. “E.T.” spends a second frame at No. 1 on Digital Songs (261,000 downloads sold, up 21%) and flies 24-13 on Radio Songs (55 million audience impressions, up 24%, according to Nielsen BDS).

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Meanwhile, the “Glee” cast registers the second-best digital sales week for any of its singles, as “Loser Like Me” soars onto the Hot 100 at No. 6, and Digital Songs at No. 2, with 210,000 downloads. Its cover of Perry’s “Teenage Dream” represents its best weekly sum (214,000, the week of Nov. 27, 2010).

The Fox TV troupe also starts at No. 16 on the Hot 100 with “Get It Right” (151,000 downloads). The tracks mark the ensemble’s first recordings of songs written specifically for the series. With five other debuts, the “Glee” cast’s seven new Hot 100 entries sold a combined 712,000 downloads in the chart’s tracking week.

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Two other original “Glee” songs — the wry “Big Ass Heart” (10,000 downloads) and “Trouty Mouth” (7,000) — registered notable sales but fall short of denting this week’s Hot 100 and Digital Songs surveys.

Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Rihanna’s “S&M” (4-3) claims Airplay Gainer honors for a second consecutive week. The track jumps 8-5 on Radio Songs (93 million in audience, up 20%).

Cee-Lo Green’s “F**k You (Forget You)” dips to No. 4 after four weeks at No. 2 and the Black Eyed Peas benefit from their appearance Thursday (March 17) on “American Idol,” as the song they performed, “Just Can’t Get Enough,” blasts 22-5 as the Hot 100’s Digital Gainer. The cut bounds 18-3 on Digital Songs (198,000, up 143%).

P!nk’s “F**kin’ Perfect” descends 6-7 and Chris Brown’s “Look at Me Now,” featuring Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes, leaps 12-8 to become Brown’s first Hot 100 top 10 since “Forever,” which peaked at No. 2 in August 2008 – six months prior to his assault on then-girlfriend Rihanna. “Look” is Brown’s 10th Hot 100 top 10; he logged his prior nine between 2005 and 2008.

Bruno Mars’ “Grenade” diffuses 7-9 on the Hot 100 and Jeremih’s “Down on Me,” featuring 50 Cent, enters the top 10 (13-10). Jeremih previously ranked in the top tier with his debut smash “Birthday Sex” (No. 4 peak in June 2009).

“Down” is 50 Cent’s lucky 13th Hot 100 top 10 and first since the No. 1 “Crack a Bottle” with Eminem and Dr. Dre in 2009.

Also notably, teen internet sensation Rebecca Black enters the Hot 100 at No. 72 with “Friday.” The song bows on Digital Songs at No. 57 with 37,000 downloads sold.

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Radio, however, is so far largely avoiding playing Black’s widely-panned track. While morning drive programs are discussing (and, thus, adding to) the song’s buzz, it garnered just 12 plays in its entirety in the March 16-22 tracking week among the more than 1,200 stations monitored by BDS for the Radio Songs ranking.