Britney Spears Debuts Strong at #1 on Billboard

Britney Spears becomes just the second artist in the Billboard Hot 100's 52-year history to debut multiple songs at No. 1, as "Hold It Against Me" blasts in at the summit.

Spears previously launched at the apex with "3" the week of Oct. 24, 2009. She joins Mariah Carey as the only acts to arrive at No. 1 more than once. Carey made such grand entrances with "Fantasy" and "One Sweet Day" in 1995 and "Honey" in 1997.

"Hold It Against Me" is the 18th song to debut at No. 1 and the first since Ke$ha's "We R Who We R" the week of Nov. 13, 2010.

The track is Spears' fourth No. 1 on the Hot 100. Prior to "3," she reigned with her debut single "...Baby One More Time" (two weeks, 1999) and "Womanizer" (one week, 2008).

"Hold It Against Me" starts atop Digital Songs with 411,000 downloads sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. As previously reported, the sum marks the highest debut frame by a lead female artist, besting the 325,000 shifted by Taylor Swift's "Today Was a Fairytale" the week of Feb. 6, 2010.

On Radio Songs, "Hold It Against Me" begins at No. 23 with 45 million first-week audience impressions, according to Nielsen BDS. The song's No. 23 entrance is the chart's best since Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body" began at the same rank the week of March 1, 2008.