Wonderwall

Bruno Mars Makes 'Heaven'-ly Ascent To No. 1 On Hot 100

The Associated Press, Wednesday, December 12, 2012, 10:00am (PST)

Billboard -- Bruno Mars bounds to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, as "Locked Out of Heaven" rises 2-1 in its 10th week on the chart. The song displaces Rihanna's "Diamonds" after three weeks on top.

"Heaven" marks Mars' fourth Hot 100 topper since his arrival in 2010. His first entry, B.o.B's "Nothin' on You," on which Mars guested, began a two-week reign the week of May 1, 2010. His debut album, "Doo-Wops & Hooligans," which reached No. 3 in a 112-week (and counting) run on the Billboard 200, yielded Mars two Hot 100 No. 1s as a lead artist: "Just the Way You Are" (four weeks, beginning Oct. 2, 2010) and follow-up "Grenade" (four weeks, starting Jan. 8, 2011).

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How historic is Mars' accumulation of four Hot 100 No. 1s in a span of just two years, 10 months and one week, dating to the Feb. 13, 2010, arrival of "Nothin'"? It's the fastest collection of a male artist's first four No. 1s in exactly 48 years. Bobby Vinton first entered the Hot 100 with "Roses Are Red (My Love)" the week of June 9, 1962. It became his first No. 1 five weeks later. Vinton then added leaders with "Blue Velvet" (1963), "There! I've Said it Again" and "Mr. Lonely" (both in 1964). When "Lonely" lifted 2-1 on the Hot 100 dated Dec. 12, 1964 - 48 years ago today - Vinton had rung up four No. 1s in a stretch of just two years and six months from his first chart appearance.

"Heaven" ascends to No. 1 on the Hot 100 with top Digital Gainer honors, as the song jumps 5-1 on the Digital Songs chart with 197,000 downloads sold (up 46%), according to Nielsen SoundScan (marking Mars' fifth Digital Songs No. 1). It bullets again at No. 2 on Radio Songs with 129 million audience impressions (up 4%) and holds at No. 5 on On-Demand Songs with 890,000 on-demand streams (up 19%), according to BDS.

"Heaven," the lead single from Mars' sophomore album "Unorthodox Jukebox," released Tuesday (Dec. 11) and due high atop next week's Billboard 200, claims a fairly narrow victory over "Diamonds" on the Hot 100, pushing the latter song to No. 2 by less than 2,000 chart points. Both songs gain from last week, but "Heaven" increases by 21% and "Diamonds," 7%, enough to spur a change at the chart's summit.

"Diamonds," atop R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Songs for a 10th week, leads Radio Songs for a second week (134 million, down 1%) and On-Demand Songs for a fifth frame (1.2 million, up 15%). It rebounds 8-2 on Digital Songs (143,000, up 17%) after leading the list the week of Dec. 1.

After reaching a highpoint of No. 2 two weeks ago, Ke$ha's "Die Young" holds at No. 3 on the Hot 100. The song surges 4-2 on On-Demand Songs (1.05 million, up 31%) as parent album "Warrior" enters the Billboard 200 at No. 6.

The Lumineers' "Ho Hey" continues climbing the Hot 100 in its 27th week. The top title on the Rock Songs chart for a second consecutive week pushes 5-4 on the Hot 100, bulleting at No. 3 on On-Demand Songs (971,000, up 13%) and breaking 6-4 on Digital Songs (132,000, up 3%) and 8-6 on Radio Songs (89 million, up 15%).

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Maroon 5's former nine-week Hot 100 No. 1 "One More Night" drops 4-5 and Flo Rida's "I Cry" rises 8-6, powered by gains on Radio Songs (7-7; 85 million, up 5%) and On-Demand Songs (14-14; 674,000, up 19%). With its two-notch Hot 100 lift, "Cry" matches the peak of the song on which its chorus is based, Brenda Russell's "Piano in the Dark," a No. 6 hit on the survey in 1988.

Phillip Phillips' "Home" spends a second week at its No. 7 Hot 100 peak to date and makes a notable move on Radio Songs: by elevating 11-10, the reigning "American Idol" champion is the Fox TV competition's first winner to send a debut single to the Radio Songs top 10 since maiden "Idol" queen Kelly Clarkson sent "A Moment Like This" to No. 8 on the airplay list 10 years ago.

fun.'s No. 3-peaking "Some Nights" dips 6-8 on the Hot 100, ahead of the week's sole new top 10 entry, Justin Bieber's "Beauty and a Beat," featuring Nicki Minaj. "Beat" becomes Bieber's fifth Hot 100 top 10 and third from his album "Believe," following "Boyfriend," which reached No. 2 in April, and "As Long as You Love Me," featuring Big Sean (No. 6, September). Minaj, meanwhile, banks her ninth Hot 100 top 10, tying her with Missy Elliott for the most among female rappers.

"Beat" is Bieber's 14th top 10 on Digital Songs, where it jumps 13-8 (107,000, up 40%). It rises 13-12 on Radio Songs (57 million, up 10%) and 21-17 on On-Demand Songs (610,000, up 31%).

Ne-Yo's "Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself)" rounds out the Hot 100's top 10 (10-10), with PSY's former seven-week No. 2 hit "Gangnam Style" departing the tier (10-11). "Style" ranks ahead of Alicia Keys' "Girl on Fire" (featuring Minaj), which drops to No. 12 after reaching a No. 11 peak last week, and will.i.am's "Scream & Shout," featuring Britney Spears, which retreats to No. 13 after launching at No. 12 last week.

Check Billboard.com tomorrow (Dec. 13), when all rankings, including the Hot 100 and On-Demand Songs in their entirety and Digital Songs and Radio Songs, will be refreshed, as they are each Thursday.