Rihanna's "Disturbia" finally boots Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" from the No. 1 spot on the Billboard charts to No. 3 after seven long weeks.
Now, it's no secret that we've been rooting for Perry's removal for weeks, but it's kind of a surprise that it's Rihanna and not Chris Brown's "Forever" (which holds at No. 2) pushing her out. Did the outing of Brown's hit as an undercover reworking of Wrigley's Doublemint commercial hurt its popularity? Did the exposure "Disturbia" gets throughout the new Circuit City ad campaign (which seems to run on NBC whenever Michael Phelps wins a gold medal) give Rihanna, whose "Take a Bow" is still at No. 4, the added boost? Either way, it's becoming clear that outside forces -- and not radio or traditional promotion -- is what is launching many of the biggest hits. Look at M.I.A.'s massive leap to No. 5 this week for "Paper Planes" thanks to its use in the "Pineapple Express" movie.
Does this explain the success of Perry's "I Kissed a Girl"? No, but that song is inexplicable.
Over on the album charts, the soundtrack to "Mamma Mia!" climbs to No. 1 on sales of 130,000 copies, passing Miley Cyrus' "Breakout," which holds at No. 2 and Sugarland's "Love on the Inside," which slips to No. 3. Kid Rock's "Rock and Roll Jesus" holds at No. 4 and Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III" sticks at No. 5.
They will all be demolished by The Jonas Brothers, whose "A Little Bit Longer" is on pace to sell 700,000 copies this week according to Billboard estimates. Given the slow release schedule for the next few weeks, Team Jonas should have an easy time at the top until at least Sept. 2, when they will battle the New Kids on the Block (no, really) and Levittown's own Donnie Klang, who will go for the hat trick of No. 1 debuts this year from MTV's "Making the Band 4" acts.
PHOTO: Rihanna from Def Jam Records.