Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.
Having already reached No. 1 on The Billboard 200 with his third Def Jam album, "Graduation," Kanye West scores a double chart whammy as his single "Stronger" jumps 2-1 to overtake the Billboard Hot 100. The track sold a whopping 205,000 digital downloads, giving it a slight edge over last week's Hot 100 leader, Soulja Boy's "Crank That (Soulja Boy)," which drops to No. 2.
Adding to West's good fortune, "Good Life" featuring T-Pain is the chart's top debut at No. 14. Oddly, "Crank That" is still the fastest growing track at radio, making it the first song with that distinction to also lose the No. 1 slot on the Hot 100 since Destiny's Child's "Bills, Bills, Bills" in 1999. However, the song climbs 2-1 on the Hot Rap Songs and Rhythmic Airplay charts.
Timbaland's "The Way I Are" featuring Keri Hilson rebounds 4-3 on the Hot 100, trading places with Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry." 50 Cent's "Ayo Technology" featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland" soars 19-5 and is the fastest growing digital track.
It's the top-performing single so far from 50's "Curtis" album, which lost handily to "Graduation" in the battle of Sept. 11 releases. Fellow "Curtis" track "I Get Money" enjoys a big digital spike and rockets 45-20.
J. Holiday's "Bed" jumps 11-6 on the Hot 100, while Keyshia Cole's "Let It Go" featuring Missy Elliott and Lil' Kim climbs 10-7. Nickelback's "Rockstar" is down 6-8, while Pink's "Who Knew," which was first worked to radio in the summer of 2006, increases 14-9. The top 10 is rounded out by Plies "Shawty" featuring T-Pain, which is down 9-10.
New to the chart this week is Feist's "1,2,3,4," currently in use in an iPod commercial, at No. 61. It's the first Hot 100 appearance for the Canadian singer. The Backstreet Boys enjoy their first Hot 100 ink in two years with "Inconsolable" at No. 86, while Nelly Furtado's "Do It" starts at No. 88.
J. Holiday's "Bed" is No. 1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for a second week, while a 12-10 move for "Ayo Technology" gives 50 Cent his 13th top 10 hit on the chart. On Hot Country Songs, Rascal Flatts' "Take Me There" begins a second frame at No. 1. Dolly Parton's "Better Get To Livin'" is new at No. 57, extending her chart record to 110 appearances.
Juanes' "Me Anamora" explodes to a No. 1 debut on Hot Latin Songs, the artist's fifth career chart-topper there. There's again no change on Billboard's rock charts, with Foo Fighters' "The Pretender" leading Modern Rock for a fifth week and Three Days Grace's "Never Too Late" No. 1 on Mainstream Rock for a seventh.