Britney takes #1 spot and breaks world record!

Britney Spears makes a 96-1 jump with “Womanizer,” returning to the top of the list for the first time since her debut single “. . . Baby One More Time” hit No. 1 in January 1999 . . . This is the third time in the past two months that the record for the biggest jump to No. 1 has been shattered. On the Hot 100 dated Sept. 6, T.I. soared 71-1 with “Whatever You Like” and last week he broke his own record when he sprinted 80-1 with “Live Your Life.” . . . Spears’ massive leap to No. 1 is spurred by first-week digital download sales of 286,000, the biggest opening-week tally by a female artist since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking digital downloads in 2003, besting Mariah Carey’s take for “Touch My Body” by just over 200 units . . . In between her nearly 10-year gap between No. 1s, Spears has placed four other top 10s on the Hot 100, the last being “Gimme More,” the first single from her last album, “Blackout.” That song jumped 68-3 last October with first-week download sales of 179,000. “Womanizer” previews Spears’ sixth studio set “Circus,” due Dec. 2.
- Billboard