Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger” Nears #1

Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger” single climbs from No. 8 to No. 2, nearing the top spot, currently held by Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain.”

On the Digital Songs survey, “Fire” remains at No. 2 after topping the chart two weeks ago. The song sold 167,000 downloads (down 10%) in the list’s tracking week, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

As announced yesterday, Adele will perform at the 54th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles Feb. 12, marking her first live performance since undergoing vocal surgery late last year.

Clarkson’s “Stronger” is aptly titled, as the second single from her album “Stronger” vaults 8-2 with top Digital Gainer honors. The song surges by 29% to 225,000 downloads sold and ascends 3-1 on Digital Songs, marking Clarkson’s second leader on the sales ranking. Her “My Life Would Suck Without You” spent two weeks at No. 1 on Digital Songs three years ago this month.

Adele’s 21 Stays at Top – Biggest Album Since “Bodyguard”

Adele’s “21″ album hits its 17th week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart (95,000; down 9%). “21″ has been No. 1 longer than any other album since “The Bodyguard” soundtrack wrapped a 20-week run at No. 1 on the chart dated May 29, 1993.

The second-highest debut arrives at No. 7 by James Fortune & FIYA, who sees its “Identity” land with 18,000. It’s the best sales week and highest charting album for the gospel singer — who also debuts at No. 1 on the Gospel Albums chart. On the latter tally, it’s his first leader after reaching No. 2 twice previously.

As for the rest of the top 10 this week, the Black Keys’ “El Camino” holds at No. 3 (29,000; down 20%) while Drake’s “Take Care” is also stationary at No. 4 (29,000; down 8%). (Only a couple hundred sales separate the two titles this week.)

Rihanna and Chris Brown Rumored to Be Hooking Up

Rumor has it that Rihanna and Chris Brown are keeping a secret relationship. A new report suggests that the pop star and singer/rapper, who ended their relationship after Brown assaulted Rihanna in early 2009, have been privately hooking up for nearly a year.

According to Us Weekly, multiple sources have confirmed that the pair have been casually meeting up, even though Brown is currently dating model Karrueche Tran. “They can’t get enough of each other. I don’t see it ending well,” says one industry source quoted for the piece.

However, a rep for Brown tells Us, “He and Rihanna are just friends… He’s not cheating.” A rep for Rihanna did not comment for the story.

A court order that forbid Brown from coming within 50 yards of Rihanna was lifted last February, and in May, the pair began following each other on Twitter. “Its f—in twitter, not the alter [sic]! calm down,” Rihanna told upset fans at the time.

Earlier this month, Brown’s manager told Billboard that the singer would not be doing interviews in the near future, instead opting “to concentrate on performing and recording” after scoring his first No. 1 album, “F.A.M.E.,” last year.

Digital Sales Beatout Physical Sales for First Time

Digital music purchases accounted for 50.3 percent of all music sales in 2011, marking the first time digital sales have outpaced physical album sales, according to data released by Nielsen SoundScan. Digital sales were up by 8.4 percent from 2010, while physical album sales declined by 5 percent.

Adele, the top-selling artist overall for 2011, was also the best-selling digital artist, with her album 21 moving 1,801,000 digital copies (out of a cross-format 5,824,000 total) and her singles “Rolling in the Deep” and “Someone Like You” selling 5,813,000 and 3,750,000 downloads, respectively.

Other big sellers in the digital album format include Lady Gaga, Mumford & Sons, Jay-Z and Kanye West’s Watch the Throne, Lil Wayne and Coldplay.

Adele Has Top Album and Single of 2011

Although it was predicted months ago, Adele’s album “21″ and her “Rolling in the Deep” single finish 2011 as the United States’ top-selling album and song, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Her hit album sold 5.82 million copies all of 2011, while “Rolling” moved 5.81 million downloads.

TOP FIVE SELLERS IN 2011
Albums:
1. Adele, “21″ (5.82 million)
2. Michael Buble, “Christmas” (2.45 million)
3. Lady Gaga, “Born This Way” (2.1 million)
4. Lil Wayne, “Tha Carter IV” (1.92 million)
5. Jason Aldean, “My Kinda Party” (1.58 million)

Digital Songs:
1. Adele, “Rolling in the Deep” (5.81 million)
2. LMFAO, “Party Rock Anthem” (5.47 million)
3. Katy Perry, “E.T.” (4.83 million)
4. Maroon 5, “Moves Like Jagger” (4.11 million)
5. Pitbull, “Give Me Everything” (3.87 million)

“21″ is the biggest-selling set of any year since 2004, when Usher’s “Confessions” sold 7.98 million. “21″ also sells more than twice the amount of 2011′s second-largest album — Michael Buble’s “Christmas,” with 2.45 million. 2004 was the last year where the top selling set sold at least two times as much as the runner-up. “Confessions” was way ahead of Norah Jones’ “Feels Like Home,” which was the No. 2 seller of 2004 with 3.84 million.

Overall digital song sales grew 8.5% in 2011 as sales increased to a record 1.27 billion downloads last year, compared with 2010′s then-record 1.17 billion.

Rihanna Finds Milestone with “We Found Love”

Rihanna’s single “We Found Love” stayed on top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on Thursday for the 8th straight week, making it the singer’s longest-running No. 1 single of her career.

The singer’s single overtook Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” which stayed at No. 1 for seven weeks earlier this year, and beat her previous top-selling singles, 2007′s “Umbrella” and 2010′s “Love The Way You Lie” featuring Eminem.

“We Found Love” is the lead single from Rihanna’s sixth studio album “Talk That Talk,” and the singer will wrap her last concert on her “Loud” tour in London on Thursday.

Britney Spears Engaged to Boyfriend

It seems that the princess of pop, Britney Spears, has gotten engaged to her longtime beau Jason Trawick.

Trawick reportedly popped the question on Thursday night (Dec. 15) during a romantic dinner with Spears. Although Spears has not officially announced the engagement, she posted on Twitter Friday morning, “OMG. Last night Jason surprised me with the one gift I’ve been waiting for. Can’t wait to show you! SO SO SO excited!!!! Xxo.”

Spears first met Trawick in 2006 when he acted as her agent at William Morris Endeavor Entertainment. Spears and Trawick officially became a couple in mid-2010.

Thursday also doubled as Trawick’s 40th birthday, and Spears posted on Twitter that she bought him a new “Confederate Bike” for the occasion. “He looked so cool in the video, that I had to get him a new motorcycle,” Spears wrote, referencing Trawick’s cameo in her “Criminal” video.

Adele Makes Billboard History, Top 2011 Artist

British singer Adele made Billboard history on Friday when she became the first female singer to be named top artist, have the top album, “21,” and score the top single, “Rolling in the Deep,” all in one year.

Adele said, “I think one of the things that sets me apart from other artists who have had the same kind of success is that my life isn’t speculated about by the media.”

“I’m incredibly private but I’m also incredibly honest, and I think that creates a kind of ‘meet in the middle’ respectable ground,” said the singer.

Adele, who earned six Grammy nominations last week, was also named top female,.

Michael Buble Holds #1 Spot

Michael Bublé’s holiday album, Christmas, will easily hold on to the #1 slot on the Billboard 200 thanks to sales of just under 480,000, coming to a total of more than 1.5 million.

Black Keys came at #2 and sales of 206,000 for El Camino. Late British R&B singer Amy Winehouse was back in the top 10 thanks to her first posthumous collection, Lioness: Hidden Treasures, which hit #5 on sales of 114,000.

Other top 10 debuts include the latest “Glee” cast album (#9, 58,000) and nü-metal veterans Korn’s dip into the dubstep sound, Path of Totality (#10, 55,000). The rest of the top 10: Adele, 21 (#3, 187,000), Justin Bieber, Under the Mistletoe (#4, 158,000), Andrea Bocelli, Concerto: One Night in Central Park (#6, 79,000), Drake, Take Care (#7, 73,000) and Nickelback’s Here and Now (#8, 66,000).

Katy Perry Ties Billboard Record

Katy Perry joins Janet Jackson and George Michael to tie for the record for having six top-five hits from a single album on the Hot 100 chart in Billboard history.

Thanks to Katy’s latest Teenage Dream single, “The One That Got Away,” jumping five spots from #9 to #4, she tied the two pop stars.

It’s been a while since anyone matched George and Janet. Michael did it in the mid-’80s with his album Faith, which included hits like the title track, “I Want Your Sex” and “Father Figure.” Jackson followed him several years later with Rhythm Nation 1814, which launched hits like “Love Will Never Do (Without You),” “Escapade” and “Black Cat.”

This is hardly Perry’s first Billboard record. She previously tied with Michael Jackson and his Bad album when she notched five #1 singles from her 2010 album. Those five chart-toppers are “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” “California Gurls,” “Teenage Dream,” “Firework” and “E.T.” And now, she’s set her latest record with “The One That Got Away.”

“This song shows a very different side of me that I haven’t shown with my past singles on this record,” Perry has previously said about the Teenage Dream midtempo track. “I think that everyone can relate to this song. I wrote this song about when you promise someone forever, but you end up not being able to follow through. It’s a bittersweet story — hopefully, the listener learns from hearing it and never has to say they had ‘The One’ get away.”

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