For anyone who hoped that Britney Spears might be quietly slinking off into the pop-culture sunset — no need to stand up, you know who you are — you’re going to have to wait a few years longer. Her new song, “Womanizer,” is a promiscuously beloved smash, at least on Nielsen SoundScan’s digital songs chart. It debuted with downloads of 285,800 — the best first week for a female artist on that chart since it began in 2003. The previous record holder was Mariah Carey’s “Touch My Body,” which entered the digital songs chart with just 200 fewer units back in April. “Womanizer” also hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, which aggregates digital sales with airplay.
But you know who might be having an even better week? T.I. Even though Britney displaced him from the top spot, he holds down the second and third spots on the digital songs chart (“Live Your Life” sold 226,000, followed by “Whatever You Like,” which was downloaded 162,000 times). T.I. also held onto the top spot on the album sales chart, selling 177,000 copies, a second week decline of 69 percent from last week’s towering 568,000-unit debut.
Other album debuts of note this week: Rise Against, in at No. 3 with 65,000 sales; Oasis, debuting at No. 5 with 53,000; Bob Dylan, one spot behind at No. 6 with 50,000 in sales for the two-CD version of his latest Bootleg Series collection; Tim McGraw, bowing at No. 9 and 44K with his Greatest Hits 3 set, which he’s publicly disavowed (the label put it out without his approval); and Sarah McLachlan, in at No. 11 on sales of 40K for her (presumably authorized) hits collection.
Britney is the biggest pimp in the music industry:-)
I’d like to have sex with her
I’m so proud of Britney. Regardless of her previous less than stellar reputation, Britney has been re-born. It seems she is finally getting her life on a positive health road. If Britney happens to read this….Congratulations…we wish you the best…God Bless!!
please mariah music is timeless why spears music is about making softporn video that the only way she sells. mariah been around for decades and spears 2#1 in 10 yrs and the song is horrible and will be off the charts in few weeks.She on the charts because fans like chris crocker are the onces buying her crappy music . her songs are not play on the radio in me hometown.
Mariah vs. Britney is not a fair comparison. It’s like comparing apple with oranges. ‘Touch My Body’ is a better song than ‘Womanizer’, and soon Mariah has a new fantastic hit ‘I Stay In Love’ which might help Mariah reclaim her title of the most digital downloads by a female artist.
I love reading comments on EW walls. You guys are hilarious. I like Womanizer (the vid is a bit pornographic for my taste) and I wish her well. It seems like she’s suffered enough and she is just as talented as the likes of Katy Perry, Rihanna, etc.
Good for her, for now. I still jam to her great CD ‘BlackOUT! Just love it. I bet ‘Circus’ will be a commerical success for her too. She deserves it.
I hate riling up obnoxious Mariah super-fans, but for once I wish you would get your facts straight before opening your mouth. Mariah does indeed have many more #1′s than Britney could ever hope to achieve, but the reason being, is that before iTunes came about, Brit’s record label didn’t always release actual cd singles for her songs, even some of her bigger ones like, “Oops!”, whereas Mariah’s old label, Columbia continued to not only release the ballad versions of her singles, but the cd maxis with all of her remixes, so Mariah not only had the airplay on various formats such as Pop, Urban, Rhythmic and in some cases, Adult Contemporary but also weighted album and single sales where Britney did not. Yes, I won’t argue that mariah has a much better voice than Britney, but Britney debuted at a time when single sales were down, and in some cases began to become non-existant. If Britney’s label continued to release singles in the format as Mariah’s did, than you’d have room to argue.
WOOHOOO!!!
Go Britney! We love you and we are glad you are back. I can’t wait for Circus and to see you on tour!!
“For anyone who hoped that Britney Spears might be quietly slinking off into the pop-culture sunset — no need to stand up, you know who you are — you’re going to have to wait a few years longer.”
EW, stop writing about yourself.
Quin and Phil..ur comments ring true..keep rockin
Seriously EW I love you guys, but stop belittling Britney every time she accomplishes something in her career. You guys seem to thrive on dismissing every achievement as a fluke and without merit, but jump & I mean Jump at any chance to report her setbacks. (ok so drama sells, yea I know) Her downward sprial and recent career resurgance only proves that shes human and has flaws. For a long time, people (fans,critics,etc.) have dismissed her as a puppet performer incapable of expressing nothing but robotic, sexual groans and moans, so when she finally started taking control of her career and having a family, it was labeled as out of control and bizare for America’s Teen Star to be doing this when in reality she was close to her mid Twenties. I’m not saying theres an excuse for some of her more erratic behavior in 2007, but I am saying to give credit when credit is due. Its unnecessary EW and you’re not winning over any new fans.
Brit looks amazing! As a mother of two myself,I don’t even want to try to imagine the dieting and exercising it took to give her back her little teen body,but God, she’s never looked as beautiful and fit!Unbelievable!The song also rocks.I haven’t liked too many Britney songs (they just seem to play on her “jailbait” image too much),but this one is actually catchy and the video is great. Great going, Brit! Now all you have to do is marry some nonscumbag and all will be forgiven.
“Touch My Body” better than “Womanizer”? No way! The first is the same, classic R&B stuff that made Mariah famous in the 90s, while the second is a fresh, retro, very contemporary and edgy track that only proves that Britney is a trend-setter in pop music. She’s always the first to make the kind of new sound that is then copied by hundreds of singers.
Mariah’s music timeless? Please… Ask anybody to name 10 Mariah songs and they’ll come up with just a couple, while anybody knows at least 10 Britney songs that have already become classics. And that’s because the people around Mariah as well as her fans have stressed too much her vocal ability, which is her only good point, while her music has always been quite unimpressive.
After all, everybody knows that when Mariah tried to stray a little bit from her usual fare, she started selling much less and had to go back to her traditional style.
And stop comparing Britney’s voice to anybody else’s. It’s unique and great.
People can name 10 classics of britney? i know i can name 10 musics of britney i don’t call it classics to all of them. I like Britney, she is a great preformer and i like her music. I’m very happy for womanizer being number one. I don’t see the reason to compare britney with mariah, they are different singers. Also, i don’t see why to praise someone, people have to diminuish or say bad things of other people. Sorry for my english. Britney and Mariah are great.
Mariah vs Britney! lmao
Mariah *beep* all over S!hitney!