Chart Watch: Black Eyed Peas Topple Ke$ha With Third No. 1

    In an ironic twist of fate, 2009's unstoppable Black Eyed Peas are the ones to end the nine week run at the top by Ke$ha's "Tik Tok" as "Imma Be" moves 3-1.  It makes me wonder if we'll be begging for Ke$ha to free us from the Pea's Hot 100 stranglehold in a few months time.

    "Imma Be" becomes the Peas third chart topper following last year's "Boom Boom Pow" which was No. 1 for 12 weeks and "I've Gotta Feeling" which was No. 1 for 14 weeks.  With three No. 1 hits from one album, The E.N.D., the Peas are now the ninth act in chart history to pull off such a hat trick.  The last act to do so was Wilson Phillips all the way back in 1990-1991.

    What makes B.E.P.'s feat all the more remarkable is the fact that "Boom Boom Pow" is nearly a year old.  The single was released in March 2009.  In today's a la carte iTunes marketplace, a major act can count on its first one or two singles selling well and charting high, but the rest of the singles beyond that will probably tank.

    Take Britney Spears for example.  Her first two singles from Circus album did well.  "Womanizer" was a No. 1 hit and the follow-up "Circus" hit No. 3.  All the remaining singles peaked lower and lower on the Hot 100.  There are notable exceptions to this trend though such as Lady Gaga and Beyonce.  Beyonce had No. 3 and No. 1 hits with "If I Were A Boy" and "Single Ladies" respectively, but she proved her album had legs when both "Halo" and "Sweet Dreams" reached the top ten months after her album was released.

   The Black Eyed Peas aren't just getting top ten hits months after their album dropped - they're getting No. 1s.  The Peas owe their success to digital sales where they were last week's second best selling song in the country, trailing only "We Are The World 25".  The charity single didn't get much help from radio, but "Imma Be" is wanting for more spins as well.  "Imma Be" only ranked ninth on the radio tally.

   Expect the Peas to hold on to No. 1 for a few solid weeks, but competition might come from the superstar line up of Gaga and Beyonce in "Telephone".  The track has only reached as high as No. 14, but expect it to get a major boost when the video is released.  Consumers will download the track even more and radio will start to swap it in as "Bad Romance" gets old.

1. "Imma Be" - Black Eyed Peas
2. "Tik Tok" - Ke$ha
3. "BedRock" - Young Money feat. Lloyd
4. "Bad Romance" - Lady Gaga
5. "Need You Now" - Lady Antebellum
6. "We Are The World 25" - Artists for Haiti
7. "Hey Soul Sister" - Train
8. "How Low" - Ludacris
9. "In My Head" - Jason DeRulo
10. "Say Aah" - Trey Songz feat. Fabolous