US Chart Roundup: The Results Of The Britney Vs. Avril Lavigne Vs. Kanye & Jay-Z Battle

We've already gone through this twice this week, so no need to ramble on about Britney Spears debuting at #1 with "Hold It Against Me," thereby giving her a fourth chart-topping single and producer/God Max Martin his 10th, etc. So let's move ahead...

Avril Lavigne's "What The Hell" enters the Billboard Hot 100 at #13, which shows the power of radio airplay—something Britney's single was aided by, but Avril clearly was not. For a few days after being released, "What The Hell" was just beneath Britney at #2 on iTunes. But then she flip-flopped with Kanye West and Jay-Z's "H.A.M." (which enters at #23). In the end, both of those singles got barreled over at radio in lieu of Britney and slid down the digital store's song chart.

Now that the holiday craziness has settled for good, Edward Maya's "Stereo Love" is able to jump back up to its previous peak position of #16. Another climber: Pink's "Fuckin' Perfect," which moves up 27 positions to #30 and is the Hot 100's "airplay gainer" this week. If we're to include the collaborative 2001 cover of "Lady Marmalade," this now gives Pink a total of 17 Top 40 singles in the U.S.

One of my guilty pleasure jams from last year, Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson's "Don't You Wanna Stay," is at #43 this week. That's just a good old-fashioned duet, like something you'd expect Peter Cetera to have cranked out with some broad in the '80s.

On a final note, album sales really appear to be in the dumpster (more so than usual) in 2011. Cake's Showroom Of Compassion debuts at #1, but has posted the worst returns (44,000 copies) for a top album in Nielsen SoundScan history. It seems like only yesterday when the Dreamgirls soundtrack set the record low, with 60,000 copies. Alas, folks, that was exactly four years ago this month.

Meanwhile, Cake...

The U.S. Top 10:

1. "Hold It Against Me" - Britney Spears *new* *1 week*
2. "Grenade" - Bruno Mars  
3. "Firework" - Katy Perry
4. "What's My Name" - Rihanna feat. Drake
5. "Black And Yellow" - Wiz Khalifa
6. "Tonight (I'm Lovin' You)" - Enrique Iglesias ft. Ludacris & DJ Frank E 
7. "We R Who We R" - Ke$ha 
8. "Raise Your Glass" - Pink  
9. "The Time (Dirty Bit)" - The Black Eyed Peas
10. "Just The Way You Are" - Bruno Mars