Britney Spears' 'Hold It Against Me' Debuts Atop Hot 100

by Gary Trust  |   January 19, 2011 12:13 EST @ www.billboard.com

Britney Spears becomes just the second artist in the Billboard Hot 100's 52-year history to debut multiple songs at No. 1, as "Hold It Against Me" blasts in at the summit.

Spears previously launched at the apex with "3" the week of Oct. 24, 2009. She joins Mariah Carey as the only acts to arrive at No. 1 more than once. Carey made such grand entrances with "Fantasy" and "One Sweet Day" in 1995 and "Honey" in 1997. (All charts will be refreshed tomorrow (Jan. 20) on Billboard.com).

"Hold It Against Me" is the 18th song to debut at No. 1 and the first sinceKe$ha's "We R Who We R" the week of Nov. 13, 2010.

The track is Spears' fourth No. 1 on the Hot 100. Prior to "3," she reigned with her debut single "...Baby One More Time" (two weeks, 1999) and "Womanizer" (one week, 2008).

"Hold It Against Me" starts atop Digital Songs with 411,000 downloads sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. As previously reported, the sum marks the highest debut frame by a lead female artist, besting the 325,000 shifted by Taylor Swift's "Today Was a Fairytale" the week of Feb. 6, 2010.

On Radio Songs, "Hold It Against Me" begins at No. 23 with 45 million first-week audience impressions, according to Nielsen BDS. The song's No. 23 entrance is the chart's best since Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body" began at the same rank the week of March 1, 2008.

Two other tracks storm the upper reaches of the Hot 100. "What the Hell," the first single from Avril Lavigne's fourth album, "Goodbye Lullaby," due March 8, opens at No. 13. The song starts at No. 6 on Digital Songs with sales of 163,000.

At No. 23 on the Hot 100, Kanye West and Jay-Z debut with "H*A*M." The first single from the superstar pair's upcoming collaborative album, "Watch the Throne," enters Digital Songs at No. 10 (125,000).

Directly below "Hold It Against Me" on the Hot 100, three titles dip one notch each: Bruno Mars' "Grenade" (1-2), Katy Perry's "Firework" (2-3) and Rihanna's "What's My Name?," featuring Drake (3-4).

Wiz Khalifa's "Black and Yellow" lifts 7-5, jumping Enrique Iglesias'"Tonight (I'm Lovin' You)," featuring Ludacris & DJ Frank E (6-6), while "We R Who We R" slides 4-7.

P!nk descends 5-8 with "Raise Your Glass" but claims dual Greatest Gainer/Digital and Airplay honors with "F**kin' Perfect" (57-30). The second new track from her "Greatest Hits... So Far!!!" retrospective bounds 66-25 on Digital Songs (70,000, up 95%) and 68-44 (27.5 million, up 54%) on Radio Songs.

The Black Eyed Peas' "The Time (Dirty Bit)" and Mars' "Just the Way You Are" round out the Hot 100 top 10, each dropping a rung to Nos. 9 and 10, respectively.