Britney Spears News

Brit's Back: "Womanizer" Tops Charts, Record Books

E! Online, Oct 15, 2008 6:00 pm PDT
Britney Spears' Circus is coming to town, and "Womanizer" looks to be the main attraction.

The lead single from Spears' birthday-targeting album, opened at No. 96 based on airplay alone last week. This week, digital sales and expanded radio rotation helped "Womanizer" rewrite the record books with a historic jump to the top of the charts.

The song's 95-spot jump to No. 1 is the biggest in Billboard history and marks the third time the record's been broken in the past seven weeks. T.I.'s "Live Your Life" made a 79-spot jump to the top last week and his "Whatever You Like" made a 70-spot jump in late August. Before that, Maroon 5's "Makes Me Wonder" held the record for 15 months after leaping 63 spots to No. 1 in May 2007.

"Womanizer" also set a record by selling 286,000 digital copies. That not only tops the singer's 179,000-copy debut for 2007's "Gimme More," it's also the biggest digital debut for any female artist since Nielsen SoundScan started tracking digital sales five years ago. Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body" previously held the record.

For all her success, Spears had topped the Hot 100 just once before, with her debut single, "…Baby One More Time," in January 1999. Her albums, on the other hand, have consistently topped the charts with 2007's Blackout being the lone exception. Blackout bowed in at No. 2 behind the Eagles' Long Road Out of Eden.

Spears will drop Circus on Dec. 2, her 27th birthday. She's also set to hit the road again in spring, marking her first tour in over four years.

··· THEY SAID WHAT? Get today's most commented stories now at www.eonline.com

More Artist News

Britney Spears "upset" over Australian tour complaints

Nov 8, 2009 7:00 pm PST

Britney Spears has done it again, hitting the headlines during her first Australian tour over a row about lip-synching and a lacklustre performance that her tour promoter said had left her "extremely upset." Australian media reported that...

Britney Spears: Behind the Pop Star's New Tour, Success

Oct 15, 2009 4:00 pm PDT

TIME By BRYAN ALEXANDER / LOS ANGELES What was the craziest thing to happen to Britney Spears last week? She went to Target. Twice. She bought a CD. That was it. Sounds pretty boring for an international pop icon, but it's a great relie...

Probation for woman caught at Spears' home

Aug 21, 2009 2:00 am PDT

A court official says a woman found guilty of snooping at Britney Spears' house has been sentenced to three years of probation and 240 hours of community service. Los Angeles Superior Court spokeswoman Patricia Kelly says a judge in Malib...

Britney Spears shows her new figure on Letterman

Aug 19, 2009 7:00 am PDT

What would a President Spears administration be like? Apparently, very tasty. Britney Spears appeared on David Letterman's "Late Show" on Tuesday to deliver a Top Ten list of ways the country would be different if she were president. "Fr...

Britney's Warsaw stop on European tour canceled

Jul 15, 2009 8:00 am PDT

Britney Spears' "Circus" won't be coming to Warsaw following a dispute between her international and Polish organizers. The singer, whose hits include "...Baby One More Time" and "I'm a Slave 4 U," has been playing a series of shows this ...

1-6 of 32 videos