Katy Perry's 'Roar' Knocks 'Blurred Lines' Out Of No. 1 Spot

http://music-mix.ew.com/2013/09/04/katy-perry-roar-number-one-hot-100/

Katy Perry said she was a champion, and she meant it.

Though the raven-haired diva’s new single “Roar” spent two weeks stuck in second place — today she scored her eighth No. 1 hit on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart with her empowerment anthem “Roar,” which ended Robin Thicke’s twelve-week reign atop the chart with “Blurred Lines.”

“Roar” has topped the Digital Songs chart for three straight weeks, and its sales figures are truly jaw dropping. In week one, the song sold 557,000 copies. In week two, it moved another 392,000 units. This week, “Roar” pummeled past the one million mark with a 14 percent increase (likely due to increased radio airplay and VMAs exposure) to 448,000 downloads.

Only two other songs by female artists have ever surpassed 400,000 downloads in two weeks: Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” and Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble.” Here’s another fun stat (via Yahoo!’s Paul Grein): “Roar” is Perry’s seventh No. 1 of this decade, making her one of just two artists to notch seven chart toppers since January 2010. Who’s the other pop powerhouse? Perry’s sometime-bestie, Rihanna.

Even better news for Perry? The jungle-vision video for “Roar” debuts tomorrow, which should boost the song’s prospects even more — especially on the streaming songs chart.

And there’s so much more to discuss! While “Blurred Lines” dropped down to No. 2 on the Hot 100, Eminem’s “Berzerk” soared into third place in its first week. The throwback rap single, which was produced by rock auteur Rick Rubin, sold 362,000 digital copies and became Eminem’s 15th top ten single.

Following the VMA performance seen — and then debated — around the world, Miley Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop” dipped from No. 3 to No. 4 (due to Eminem’s arrival), but the song actually increased on almost every front. “We Can’t Stop” moved up 27 percent on Streaming Songs (its 11th week on top of that chart), 4 percent on Radio Songs, and 10 percent on Digital Songs. Her new single “Wrecking Ball” also shifted 201,000 downloads. Who knows how Cyrus’ divisive persona will affect her long-term career prospects (or whether it will help her “make history”), but in the short term, “just being Miley” is only helping.

Further down the chart, New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde earned her first Top 10 single with her debut song, “Royals,” which jumped from No. 12 to No. 8 this week. Earlier this summer, the 16-year-old became the first woman to top the Alternative Songs chart since 1996, and it seems her magic is working for pop listeners as well.

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How long do you think Katy Perry can maintain her lead? And is her disc Prism (due Oct. 22) on track to be the biggest album of the fall?

I think she can keep it for awhile. Her new disc will probably be one of the biggest next to a couple of others.

Yeah her new CD should get # 1 for sure.

Congrats to her.

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