Jay-Z and Alicia Keys - Bauer-Griffin

Jay-Z has seen the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart before as a featured guest with Mariah Carey, Beyonce, and Rihanna, but this time it has to be just a little bit sweeter.

The New York-born rapper earns his first No. 1 hit as a lead artist with his city’s new anthem “Empire State of Mind,” from his latest album The Blueprint 3. The track, which features Alicia Keys, is still performing strongly digitally and blowing up at radio, topping the Hot 100 Airplay chart this week.

“Empire State of Mind” also marks Keys’ fourth trek to the top of the chart, joining past singles “Fallin’,” “My Boo” with Usher, and “No One.”

This week’s top ten singles according to Billboard:

1. Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind
2. Owl City – Fireflies
3. Jason DeRulo – Whatcha Say
4. Iyaz – Replay
5. Lady Antebellum – Need You Now
6. Britney Spears – 3
7. Jay Sean – Down
8. Miley Cyrus – Party in the USA
9. Lady GaGa – Paparazzi
10. Ke$ha – Tik Tok

Owl City - Pamela Littky

Jason DeRulo played Kanye West last week when his debut hit “Whatcha Say” interrupted Owl City’s reign at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with his single “Fireflies,” but it didn’t last long.

Owl City, born Adam Young, enjoys a second non-consecutive week on top as “Fireflies” soars digitally, racking up an astonishing 200,000 digital downloads last week, making its total well over 1million copies sold.

Owl City might find himself facing more competition by another artist who is not unfamiliar with the No. 1 position: Rihanna. The Bajan pop star and chart princess leaps from 75-9 with her single “Russian Roulette” after selling 132,000 digital downloads in its first week of availability.

This week’s top ten singles according to Billboard:

1. Owl City – Fireflies
2. Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind
3. Jason DeRulo – Whatcha Say
4. Iyaz – Replay
5. Jay Sean – Down
6. Miley Cyrus – Party in the USA
7. Lady GaGa – Paparazzi
8. Britney Spears – 3
9. Rihanna – Russian Roulette
10. Beyonce – Sweet Dreams

Owl City - Pamela Littky

Electro-pop singer Owl City scores his first No. 1 record on the Billboard Hot 100 this week as his single “Fireflies” soars to the top of the chart on the strength of 196,000 digital downloads.

The song is taken from Owl City’s, born Adam Young, full length debut album Ocean Eyes.

He’s touring in support of the record across Asia, North America, and Australia with fellow electro-pop superstar LIGHTS and Deas Vail this winter. Many of the dates are already sold out. The full tour itinerary can be found on his Myspace page.

No other big news in the top ten this week. The closest is Beyonce’s “Sweet Dreams” finally making it into the upper tier after 14 weeks on the chart, coming in at No. 10.

This week’s top ten singles according to Billboard:

1. Owl City – Fireflies
2. Jason DeRulo – Whatcha Say
3. Jay Sean – Down
4. Miley Cyrus – Party in the USA
5. Jay-Z featuring Rihanna and Kanye West – Run This Town
6. Lady GaGa – Paparazzi
7. Black Eyed Peas – Meet Me Halfway
8. Britney Spears – 3
9. Black Eyed Peas – I Got A Feeling
10. Beyonce – Sweet Dreams

Jay Sean

Bye bye, Britney! Jay Sean’s “Down” featuring Lil Wayne bumps Britney Spears’s sexy new single “3″ out of the way to reclaim the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart this week, making it his second non-consecutive trip there.

After a record-breaking trek to the top in its debut week, “3″ falls all the way to No. 5.

The second big top then chart story this week comes from a group very, very familiar with this tier of the Hot 100: the Black Eyed Peas. Their third single from their album, The E.N.D., “Meet Me Halfway,” rockets 17-9. With radio play and digital downloads soaring, it’s not at all insane to wonder if the Peas will have another long run at No. 1 with the new track.

This week’s top ten singles according to Billboard:

1. Jay Sean featuring Lil Wayne – Down
2. Jason Derulo – Whatcha Say
3. Miley Cyrus – Party In The USA
4. Jay-Z featuring Rihanna and Kanye West – Run This Town
5. Britney Spears – 3
6. Lady GaGa – Paparazzi
7. Owl City – Fireflies
8. Black Eyed Peas – I Got A Feeling
9. Black Eyed Peas – Meet Me Halfway
10. Taylor Swift – You Belong With Me

Britney Spears - Jive Records

As previously reported, Britney Spears ends Jay Sean’s one week chart reign as she makes a big debut on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart this week.

The pop star’s new single, “3,” rushes in at No. 1 after selling a staggering 255,000 digital downloads in its debut week, becoming the first single in over three years to start out at the top of the summit. “3″ also becomes the first non-American Idol song to do so since 1998 when Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing)” opened on top.

Electro-pop outfit Owl City scores its first top ten single with “Fireflies” at No. 9. The single is taken from their latest offering Ocean Eyes.

Outside of the top ten, Canadian sensation and Usher’s protege Justin Bieber’s “One Less Lonely Girl” opens high at No. 16 after raking in 113,000 downloads.

This week’s top ten singles according to Billboard:

1. Britney Spears – 3
2. Jay Sean featuring Lil Wayne – Down
3. Miley Cyrus – Party In The USA
4. Jason DeRulo – Whatcha Say
5. Jay-Z featuring Rihanna and Kanye West – Run This Town
6. Black Eyed Peas – I Got A Feeling
7. Lady GaGa – Paparazzi
8. Taylor Swift – You Belong With Me
9. Owl City – Fireflies
10. Kings of Leon – Use Somebody

Britney Spears - 3

Everybody likes “3,” says Britney Spears, but she is probably liking “1″ a little bit more today.

The pop powerhouse’s saucy new single will debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, Billboard.com reports.

The cheeky song, which trumpets the awesomeness of sharing a bed with three people, sold a whopping 255,000 digital downloads in its debut week.

Coincidentally, “3″ is the first single to debut at No. 1 in three years. The last artist to accomplish the feat was Taylor Hicks with his American Idol crowning ballad “Do I Make You Proud” in 2006. “3″ is also the first non-Idol song to debut at the top of the summit since 1998.

“3″ is the lead single from Britney’s greatest hits album, The Singles Collection, in stores November 24.

Jay Sean - facebook.com/jaysean

British newcomer Jay Sean will definitely have a good, good night as he’s done the unthinkable: his US debut single “Down” featuring Lil Wayne topples the Black Eyed Peas‘ “I Got A Feeling” from the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart after its 14 week reign.

The Black Eyed Peas have held the No. 1 spot for over six months. Before “Feeling”’s 14 weeks on the throne, “Boom Boom Pow,” the first single from their latest album, The E.N.D., clinched the top for 12 weeks.

Their fall from the top wasn’t a soft one. This week “Feeling” drops all the way to No. 5, making room for every other song in the top 5 the prior week to move up one place.

This week’s top ten singles according to Billboard:

1. Jay Sean – Down
2. Miley Cyrus – Party In The USA
3. Jay-Z featuring Rihanna and Kanye West – Run This Town
4. Jason Derulo – Whatcha Say
5. Black Eyed Peas – I Got A Feeling
6. Lady GaGa – Paparazzi
7. Taylor Swift – You Belong With Me
8. Mariah Carey – Obsessed
9. Kings of Leon – Use Somebody
10. Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind

Barbra Streisand, Paramore's Hayley Williams, Mariah Carey - Wireimage/Getty Images

There was a battle brewing last week for the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 album chart between Tennessee pop-rockers Paramore and the diva to end all divas Mariah Carey.

With their respective albums, Brand New Eyes and Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, being closely watched in the chart clash, many counted out another new release by a not-so-new artist, the legendary Barbra Streisand. It was probably that focus that made it all the more upsetting when the final numbers came in and Babs took her rightful place on the top of the chart.

Streisand’s album, Love is the Answer, pulled in 180,000 units according to Nielsen SoundScan. It’s her ninth No. 1 album on the chart, giving her the title as the only female artist in the history of the Billboard 200 to accomplish such a feat.

Paramore’s second place debut isn’t too shabby. Brand New Eyes raked in 175,000 units, their best showing in terms of sales and chart placement yet.

Carey’s debut, on the other hand, is a bit disappointing. At 168,000 copies sold in its first week out, “Memoirs” sold less than half the amount of its predecessor, E=MC², which sold 463,000 in its debut week.

Jay-Z and Whitney Houston - Wireimage/Getty Images

Who said television was bad for you? That’s quite the contrary for Jay-Z and Whitney Houston as their high-profile TV appearances last week helped their recent releases stay on the the Billboard 200 album chart.

Jay-Z remains at No. 1 for a second week after selling 298,000 units of his album, The Blueprint 3. The second week drop off is only around 37% according to Nielsen Soundscan. The total shows the album fairs much better than the more commonplace 50%+ drop off.

Jay might want to send a thank you card to Jay Leno for helping with that. He, Kanye West, and Rihanna performed their hit “Run This Town” on the debut episode of Leno’s new late night variety-style show last Monday. The show was viewed by an estimated 18.4 million people wanting to see Leno’s new gig, the performance, and West’s live apology to Taylor Swift for his MTV Video Music Awards snafu.

Jay had two other big TV nights with his sold out concert at Madison Square Garden airing on Fuse on September 11, and a performance with Alicia Keys on the VMAs on September 13.

Whitney Houston got a huge boost for her album, I Look To You, with her highly-publicized two-day sit down interview and performance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Sales of the set are up a whopping 77% over the previous week, selling 156,000 copies, placing the album at No. 2 this week.

The Peas’ second single, “I Got A Feeling,” from their new album, The E.N.D., rises 2-1 on the Billboard Hot 100 to end Pow’s 11-week run at No. 1.

Feeling is Billboard’s top airplay gainer at radio and also sold a whopping 203,000 digital downloads.

Elsewhere in the top ten, Linkin Park rockets 30-9 with their new single “New Divide” from the Transformers 2 soundtrack, and Katy Perry scores her third Hot 100 top ten hit with “Waking Up In Vegas” at No. 10.

This week’s top ten singles according to Billboard:

1. Black Eyed Peas – I Got A Feeling
2. Black Eyed Peas – Boom Boom Pow
3. Drake – Best I Ever Had
4. Keri Hilson featuring Ne-Yo and Kanye West – Knock You Down
5. Lady GaGa – LoveGame
6. Pitbull – I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)
7. Sean Kingston – Fire Burning
8. Jeremih – Birthday Sex
9. Linkin Park – New Divide
10. Katy Perry – Waking Up In Vegas