Bruno Mars will become the third male artist this year to take his first charting single as a lead artist to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, as "Just the Way You Are" will top the list to be released in full on Billboard.com tomorrow morning (Sept. 23).
Also hitting No. 1 in 2010 with their debut solo releases were Taio Cruz with "Break Your Heart" (March) and B.o.B's "Nothin' On You" (May), with Mars providing featured vocals on the latter title.
Mars holds off a strong charge by Rihanna's "Only Girl (In the World)," which shoots 75-3 while debuting at No. 1 on Digital Songs with 249,000 first-week downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Mars' "Just the Way You Are" drops 1-2 on Digital Songs with 194,000 (down 7%).
"Only Girl" is Rihanna's eighth No. 1 on Digital Songs and her sixth to debut at the top, the most in each category by any artist since the chart launched in 2005. Recent recording partner Eminem ranks second for most overall No. 1s on Digital Songs in that span with six. The pair's "Love the Way You Lie," meanwhile, holds at No. 2 on the Hot 100.
On the Radio Songs tally, Mars moves 6-5 and has the chart's largest airplay gain with a jump of 18.9 million listener impressions to 110.2 million, according to Nielsen BDS. Rihanna also posts a significant increase of 12.6 million impressions, jumping 42-18 on Radio Songs.
Mars' track supplants Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" (1-4) on the Hot 100, ending the title's two-week reign. "DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love," by Usher featuring Pitbull, returns to its peak ranking (6-5), while Taio Cruz slips 4-6 with "Dynamite." Also falling two slots is "I Like It," by Enrique Iglesias featuring Pitbull.
Nelly's "Just A Dream" falls 7-8, and "Club Can't Handle Me," by Flo Rida featuring David Guetta, remains stationary at No. 9. Far*East Movement takes its first charting single into the top 10, as "Like A G6," featuring Cataracs & Dev, soars 16-10. The title also enters the top 10 on Digital Songs (12-7), selling 137,000 downloads (up 48%). On Radio Songs, "G6" posts the chart's second largest gain (12.9 million impressions, up 45%) as it moves 45-20.
A performance of "Dog Days Are Over" on MTV's Music Video Awards results in Florence and the Machine's track claiming the Digital Gainer award (96,000, up 257%). The title jumps 52-12 on Digital Songs and 93-21 on the Hot 100, with the latter rise matching Rihanna's 72-spot jump for the list's best climb.
Linkin park reaps the benefit of both an MTV VMA performance and the release of its No. 1-debuting album "A Thousand Suns" for a significant Hot 100 jump with leadoff single "The Catalyst." The track moves 73,000 downloads (up 195%) and reaches a new Hot 100 peak (73-27), surpassing the No. 35 ranking it achieved in its debut week last month.
Rock band Kings of Leon previews its upcoming "Come Around Sundown" album, due Oct. 19, with "Radioactive," which is the Hot 100's Hot Shot Debut at No 37. The song, which soars into the top 10 on Alternative Songs (16-8) and Rock Songs (19-10) shifts 59,000 downloads in its first week at retail.
