Katy Perry debuts at No. 2, Lady Gaga comes in at No. 6, and Robin Thicke & Co. remain at No. 1.
'Blurred Lines,' featuring T.I. and Pharrell, leads for an 11th week, fending off Katy Perry's 'Roar,' which rockets 85-2. Plus, Lady Gaga's 'Applause' debuts at No. 6
'Blurred Lines,' featuring T.I. and Pharrell, leads for an 11th week, fending off Katy Perry's 'Roar,' which rockets 85-2. Plus, Lady Gaga's 'Applause' debuts at No. 6
BillboardIn an extremely close race, Robin Thicke tops the Billboard Hot 100 for an 11th week with "Blurred Lines" (featuring T.I. and Pharrell). The song narrowly holds off Katy Perry's "Roar," which blasts 85-2 following its first full week of sales. Lady Gaga's "Applause" adds to the top 10's shakeup, debuting at No. 6, also after its first week of sales.
Despite "Roar" arriving as the top-selling song in the U.S., Thicke's lead in streaming and airplay is just enough for "Lines" to fend off Perry's challenge.
"Lines" leads Radio Songs for a seventh week, gaining by 1% to a record-extending 228.9 million all-format audience impressions, according to Nielsen BDS. It posts a seventh week atop the subscription services-based On-Demand Songs chart (1.8 million U.S. streams, down 13%, according to BDS), while holding at No. 2 on Streaming Songs (6.6 million, down 13%). On Digital Songs, "Lines" dips 1-2 after 10 frames on top with 291,000 downloads sold (down 16%), according to Nielsen SoundScan.
The song also logs an 11th week at No. 1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and a 14th week atop R&B Songs, while becoming just the 18th title to dominate the Hot 100 for at least 11 weeks.
Despite its declines in sales and streaming, "Lines" manages to maintain its spot atop the Hot 100 over "Roar," which makes the chart's greatest positional jump since Drake's "Make Me Proud" (featuring Nicki Minaj) flew 97-9 the week of Nov. 5, 2011; it's the largest leap for a song by a lead female since Carrie Underwood's "Cowboy Casanova" galloped 96-11 the week of Oct. 10, 2009.
"Lines" and "Roar," in fact, are separated by just a 3.3% difference in overall chart points (with "Lines" down by 9% and "Roar" up by 1,262%).
"Roar" does just that, skyrocketing 85-2 in its second week on the Hot 100. Last week, the song dented the chart via its No. 29 start on Radio Songs (40 million) due solely to its first four days of airplay. The song vaults with top Airplay Gainer honors, lifting 29-13 on Radio Songs (63 million, up 56%). Still, it's the track's first week of sales that largely powers its Hot 100 move, as "Roar" debuts atop Digital Songs with 557,000. As previously reported, the bow marks the sixth-largest sales week for a digital song, Perry's best sum and the biggest total for Capitol Records.
"Roar" also charges onto Streaming Songs at No. 4 (3.8 million) and No. 12 on On-Demand Songs (910,000). On the former chart, the track marks the highest debut by a solo female dating to the list's launch the week of Jan. 26.
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Does Perry's runner-up start on the Hot 100 mean that "Roar" won't reach No. 1? Not necessarily. Airplay for "Lines," while still gaining, appears to be cresting, while its sales and streaming continue to decline. As airplay for "Roar" rises, along with expected streaming gains, sustained strong sales could still push it to the Hot 100's apex. For instance, "California Gurls" (featuring Snoop Dogg), the lead single from "Teenage Dream," also entered the Hot 100 at No. 2 (May 29, 2010). It dipped to No. 3 and then rebounded to No. 2 before spending six weeks at No. 1. Similar to how "Roar" trails an established smash in "Lines," "Gurls" waited out Usher's "OMG" (featuring will.i.am), which topped the Hot 100 in each of the first three chart weeks for "Gurls" before the latter took over at the top.
As Perry powers to No. 2 on the Hot 100, Miley Cyrus' "We Can't Stop" drops 2-3 after three nonconsecutive weeks at its No. 2 peak. Still, "Stop" scores a ninth week atop Streaming Songs (6.9 million, down 11%). It slides 3-6 on Digital Songs (148,000, down 6%) but advances 22-18 on Radio Songs (51 million, up 8%).