NEW YORK (Billboard) – Eminem scored his third No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart on Thursday as “Not Afraid” became just the 16th song to debut at the top in the tally’s 52-year history.
“Not Afraid,” the lead single from the rapper’s upcoming June release ‘Recovery’, sold 379,000 downloads last week, according to Nielsen SoundScan, the fourth-highest first-week total since download tracking began in 2003. (The record of 636,000 was set last year by Flo Rida’s “Right Round.”)
Usher’s “OMG,” featuring will.i.am, slipped to No. 2, but should return to the No. 1 slot next week amid both increasing radio airplay and a likely drop in download sales for “Not Afraid.”
Also opening strongly, at No. 9, was 3OH!3 with “My First Kiss,” featuring Ke$ha. Ke$ha’s own “Your Love Is My Drug” remained at No. 8.
B.o.B’s “Nothin’ On You” fell one to No. 3. The Atlanta rapper’s “Airplanes,” which features Eminem & Hayley Williams, rose two to No. 5, making B.o.B the first artist since Beyonce in 2003 to place his initial two top five singles as a lead vocalist simultaneously in that region of the Hot 100.
Taio Cruz held “Break Your Heart” at No. 4, Rihanna’s “Rude Boy” fell three to No. 6, Train’s “Hey, Soul Sister” slipped one to No. 7, and Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now” dropped five to No. 10.
The Glee Cast placed five more entries onto the list, led by “Total Eclipse of the Heart” at No. 16, the third version of that tune to reach the Hot 100. Bonnie Tyler’s original spent four weeks at No. 1 in 1983 and Nicki French’s up-tempo cover peaked at No. 2 in 1995.
Drake and Young Jeezy claimed the remaining top 40 debuts, opening in back-to-back slots, with the former’s “Find Your Love” starting at No. 34 and the latter’s “Lose My Mind,” featuring Plies debuting at No. 35.
