The latest news in the world of Billboard's definitive sales and airplay charts.
SPINNING THE 'RIGHT' STUFF: If it had happened less than two years ago, this week's 58-1 leap for Flo Rida's "Right Round" (Poe Boy/Atlantic) would have set the record for the biggest jump to No. 1 on The Billboard Hot 100.
But in this era of digital sales-infused rocket rides to pole position, that 57-point bound is only good enough for seventh place. The record was set three weeks ago when Kelly Clarkson traveled at warp speed from 97-1 with "My Life Would Suck without You" (RCA).
"Right Round" is the third song to enjoy such a quick ride to the top this month. Just last week, "Crack a Bottle" (Shady/Aftermath) by Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent zoomed 78-1, good enough for fourth place among the biggest leaps to No. 1 in this chart's 50-year history.
Even though the list ran in last week's Chart Beat, here is an updated summary of the songs that have climbed to No. 1 from outside of the top 30. There are now 15 members of this still-elite club:
97-1: "My Life Would Suck Without You," Kelly Clarkson (Feb. 7, 2009)
96-1: "Womanizer," Britney Spears (Oct. 25, 2008)
80-1: "Live Your Life," T.I. featuring Rihanna (Oct. 18, 2008)
78-1: "Crack a Bottle," Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent (Feb. 21, 2009)
71-1: "Whatever You Like," T.I. (Sept. 6, 2008)
64-1: "Makes Me Wonder," Maroon 5 (Sept. 12, 2007)
58-1: "Right Round," Flo Rida (Feb. 28, 2009)
53-1: "Take a Bow," Rihanna (May 24, 2008)
52-1: "A Moment Like This," Kelly Clarkson (Oct. 5, 2002)
51-1: "Love in This Club," Usher featuring Young Jeezy (March 15, 2008)
42-1: "Give It to Me," Timbaland featuring Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado (April 21, 2007)
41-1: "Umbrella," Rihanna featuring Jay-Z (June 9, 2007)
34-1: "SOS," Rihanna (May 13, 2006)
32-1: "This Is Why I'm Hot," Mims (March 10, 2007)
31-1: "SexyBack," Justin Timberlake (Sept. 9, 2006)
"Right Round" is the second No. 1 for Flo Rida on the Hot 100. He had the longest-running chart-topper of 2008 with "Low," which spent 10 weeks at the summit.
The success of "Right Round" gives Dead or Alive's Pete Burns his first No. 1 in the United States, almost 24 years after his first hit, "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)," No. 11 in August 1985. "Right Round" samples that Stock-Aiken-Waterman produced hit, which topped the U.K. singles chart in March 1985.
THE ATLANTIC TWINS: The 58-1 rush of Flo Rida's "Right Round" on Poe Boy/Atlantic coincides with a 9-2 climb for "Dead and Gone" by T.I. featuring Justin Timberlake on Grand Hustle/Atlantic.
That gives the historic Atlantic label the top two songs on the Hot 100 for the fourth time in the company's history. It happened most recently in October-November 2008, when T.I. held down first and second place with "Whatever You Like" and "Live Your Life."
The "Right Round"/"Dead and Gone" combination marks the third time that Atlantic has occupied Nos. 1 and 2 with two different artists. It first happened the week of May 27, 1967, when the Young Rascals led the list with "Groovin'" for the second week and Aretha Franklin's "Respect" moved 5-2. "Groovin'" then fell to No. 2 for two weeks while "Respect" took the lead. Next, "Groovin'" returned to No. 1 for two additional weeks, while "Respect" maintained at No. 2, giving Atlantic the top two slots for five consecutive weeks.
It took almost 22 years for Atlantic to repeat this feat. Debbie Gibson's "Lost in Your Eyes" advanced to No. 1 the week of March 11, 1989, while Mike + the Mechanics' "The Living Years" ranked No. 2. The two singles held those same positions for one additional week.
"Dead and Gone" gives Timberlake his highest placing on the Hot 100 since April 2007, when he spent two weeks at No. 1 with "Give It to Me," credited to Timbaland featuring Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake. If "Dead and Gone" doesn't move up one spot, it will be the first time Timberlake has had a single peak at No. 2. If it does achieve pole position, it will be his fifth No. 1 hit under his own name, following "Sexyback," "My Love," "What Goes Around…Comes Around" and "Give It to Me."
BIG MAC: Nineteen years is a long time to wait for your first No. 1 single, so this must be a sweet week for Mac McAnally. The singer/songwriter made his debut on Hot Country Songs the week of Feb. 3, 1990, with "Back Where I Come From," which peaked at No. 14 and has been McAnally's highest-charting title until now. The follow-up was "Down the Road," which stopped at No. 70. A remake of that song by Kenny Chesney with McAnally as featured artist marches to No. 1 this week on that chart, giving Chesney his 16th chart-topper and McAnally his first.
Mac had an even longer wait for his first Billboard No. 1 on a current singles chart if you start counting from his Hot 100 debut, "It's a Crazy World," which entered the survey the week of July 9, 1977.
The 19-year wait for McAnally is not a record on Hot Country Songs. It took Jimmy Buffet 30 years to reach the top, from his debut in 1973 to 2004 when he spent eight weeks at No. 1 with Alan Jackson on "It's Five O'clock Somewhere."
LILY IS HERE: Her first album was my favorite record of 2006, so I was disappointed that Lily Allen's "Alright, Still…" didn't rise any higher than its No. 20 debut on The Billboard 200, achieved the week of Feb. 17, 2007.
But vindication has come at last. Allen's second album, "It's Not Me, It's You" (Capitol), enters at No. 5, making her the latest British female vocalist to score a top five album in recent months, following Leona Lewis and Duffy.
Allen's first single, the U.K. No. 1 "Smile," also had a disappointing run in America, rising no higher than No. 49 in February 2007. She has two potential hits from "It's Not Me" and both tracks enter the Hot 100. Despite its title, "F*** You" will remind you of a Motown-ish, "Where Did Our Love Go"-type song. That explicit recording debuts at No. 68, while the current U.K. No. 1 hit "The Fear" bows at No. 91.
LET'S 'FACE' THE MUSIC AND 'DANCE': Lady GaGa's first Hot 100 single, "Just Dance" (Streamline/KonLive/Cherrytree), slips 3-5 while the follow-up, "Poker Face," raises 12-10. That makes Lady GaGa the first solo female lead artist to have her first two chart entries appear in the top 10 simultaneously since Ciara did it with "Goodies" and "1, 2 Step" the week of Dec. 4, 2004.
A LITTLE 'NIGHT' MUSIC: One of the most memorable dance hits of the early '80s was Indeep's "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life," a No. 2 hit on Hot Dance Club Play in 1983. The song has made some notable returns thanks to a series of cover versions. Club Idol took "Last Night" to No. 20 in January 1991, the Milk spent two weeks at No. 50 in September 1996 and Sylk 130's remake peaked at No. 26 in March 1998.
Now the song is back for a fifth go-round. "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life (While a DJ Gave Me Trouble)" (Kult) by Lula featuring Papa Joe waltzes 12-8, making this update the second-biggest version of the disco evergreen.
NINE FOR SWIFT: A rebound to No. 1 on The Billboard 200 boosts Taylor Swift's "Fearless" (Big Machine) into the all-time top 10 among No. 1 albums by solo female artists. Wearing the crown for a ninth week ties "Fearless" with Janis Joplin's "Pearl" as the anchor albums of the top 10.
"Fearless" is the longest-running No. 1 album by a solo female artist since Alanis Morissette had a 12-week reign with "Jagged Little Pill" in 1995. "Fearless" is tied with Usher's 2004 release "Confessions" as the longest-running No. 1 album by any artist since Santana ruled for 12 weeks with "Supernatural" in 1999-2000.
Here are the top 10 chart-topping albums by solo female artists, ranked in order of weeks spent in the penthouse:
15 weeks: "Tapestry," Carole King (1971)
14 weeks: "Whitney Houston," Whitney Houston (1986)
13 weeks: "Judy at Carnegie Hall," Judy Garland (1961)
12 weeks: "Jagged Little Pill," Alanis Morissette (1995)
11 weeks: "Whitney," Whitney Houston (1987)
11 weeks: "Mariah Carey," Mariah Carey (1991) 10 weeks: "The Singing Nun," The Singing Nun (1963) 10 weeks: "Forever Your Girl," Paula Abdul (1989)
9 weeks: "Pearl," Janis Joplin (1971)
9 weeks: "Fearless," Taylor Swift (2008)
'LOVE' JOINS THE CLUB: As if you needed further proof that Taylor Swift is a bona fide crossover artist, her "Love Story" (Big Machine) is the first country song to top the Mainstream Top 40 chart in that tally's history.
This is Swift's third song to appear on this survey. "Teardrops on My Guitar" peaked at No. 7 in February 2008 and "Our Song" went to No. 18 in May 2008.
Shania Twain had a No. 3 hit on the Mainstream Top 40 chart in 1998 with "You're Still the One" and LeAnn Rimes reached No. 4 in October 1997 with "How Do I Live."
