Bruce Springsteen’s Wrecking Ball Knocks Adele Out of No. 1 Spot

After 23 consecutive weeks in the number 1 spot, Adele’s celebrated “21″ is bumped down to number 2 by Bruce Springsteen, who debuts at number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with his latest album “Wrecking Ball.” Having sold 196,000 sold in its first week (according to Nielsen SoundScan), this marks his tenth number 1 album.

Among all acts, Springsteen ties Elvis Presley for the third-most No. 1s in history. Only the Beatles (with 19) and Jay-Z (12) have more.

Adele’s “21″ slipped to No. 2 with a respectable 195,000 (down 21%) after 23 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1.

Fun.’s Debut Track “We Are Young” Hits Number 1 Spot

Rock band fun. has hit the number 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with their smash debut hit, “We Are Young, featuring Janelle Monae. This marks the first time in over a decade that a rock band has gotten a debut song to move to number 1.

The song is in it’s third week atop the Digital Songs chart with 302,000 downloads sold (up 19%), according to Nielsen SoundScan. The track claims the Hot 100′s top Airplay Gainer award, as it bounds 61-41 in its second week on Radio Songs (30 million, up 60%, according to Nielsen BDS). “Young” rises 3-2 on the Alternative Songs radio airplay chart and roars in as the top debut on Pop Songs (No. 24) and Adult Pop Songs (No. 33).

Until this week, no rock group had led at all since Coldplay topped the June 28, 2008, Hot 100 with “Viva La Vida.”

Katy Perry’s New Single “Part of Me” Debuts at #1

Katy Perry is back on top with her new single, “Part of Me.”

After performing “Part of Me” at the Grammys, the song shot up the Billboard charts to the number one spot, making it just the 20th track in the chart’s 53-year history to bow in the top slot.

According to Billboard, Perry joins a list of stars that includes Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Britney Spears and Eminem (not to mention a host of former “American Idol” champions) who have all accomplished the feat — the last was Lady Gaga, whose “Born This Way” opened at #1 nearly one year ago. In the process, Perry has notched her seventh career Hot 100 #1.

“Part of Me” also rocketed to #1 on the Digital Songs chart, racking up more than 411,000 downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That’s a career-best week for Perry, and is the highest opening number for any artist since Gaga sold more than 448,000 downloads of “Born This Way” last year.

Whitney Houston Reenters the Billboard 200 Charts

After the death of Whitney Houston on Saturday, Feb. 11, the diva’s “Whitney: The Greatest Hits” album re-enters the Billboard 200 chart at No. 6. It sold 64,000 copies in the U.S. (according to Nielsen SoundScan) in the tracking week that ended on Feb. 12 — reflecting only one full day of sales after her passing.

Houston also returns to the list with her 1986 debut “Whitney Houston” (No. 72 with 8,000; up 3,901%), “The Bodyguard” soundtrack (No. 80 with 8,000; up 5,213%), her last studio album “I Look To You” (No. 118 with 5,000; up 3,901%), 1987′s “Whitney” (No. 122 with 5,000; up 2,274%) and “The Preacher’s Wife” soundtrack (No. 183 with 4,000; up 3,913%).

There were more Houston albums purchased in the last week (101,000 – up 5,994% from 2,000 the week previous) than had been sold in all of 2011 and 2012 combined until her death (97,000).

Houston also arrives on the 75-position chart with seven more songs: “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” at No. 25 (74,000; up 8,769%), “Greatest Love Of All” at No. 32 (60,000; up 7,270%), “How Will I Know” at No. 46 (43,000; up 5,767%), “I Have Nothing” at No. 53 (38,000; up 5,179%), “Saving All My Love For You” at No. 65 (33,000; up 6,423%), “One Moment In Time” at No. 74 (30,000; up 6,206%) and “The Star Spangled Banner” at No. 75 (29,000; up 8,278%).

Katy Perry to Release Deluxe “Teenage Dream” Edition in March

Teenage Dream,” Katy Perry’s sophomore album which spawned a record-tying five No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, will be rereleased as a special edition on March 27. “Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection” will feature three new songs, as well as four re-workings of her “Dream” hits, along with the entirety of the original album.

“Confection” will include the Kanye West-assisted version of Perry’s single “E.T.,” the remix of “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” featuring Missy Elliott, a Jon Brion-produced acoustic version of “The One That Got Away,” and a 7-minute Tommie Sunshine mega-mix of the album’s six singles. The three new songs do not yet have announced titles, although two Perry tracks, “Dressing Up” and “Part of Me,” surfaced online last month before being hastily removed.

“This is the complete story of ‘Teenage Dream,’” says Perry. “This is the complete special edition of my album for my fans.”

(Perry and Jackson will remain tied for the most Hot 100 toppers from any album regardless of the performance of any singles from “Confection.” Should any song released from “Confection” reach No. 1, it would count as a Hot 100 No. 1 from “Confection” and not “Dream”).

Adele’s “21″ Matches Titanic’s #1 Billboard Run

As expected, Adele’s “21″ spends its 16th week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (104,000 sold according to Nielsen SoundScan; down 16%). Its reign is the longest since the “Titanic” soundtrack also earned 16 weeks at No. 1 in 1998.

“21″ is one of only five sets to notch at least 16 weeks atop the list. Aside from “21″ and “Titanic,” the other three are: the Whitney Houston-driven soundtrack to “The Bodyguard” (20 weeks in 1992-1993), Garth Brooks’ “Ropin’ the Wind” (18 in 1991-1992) and Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Some Gave All” had 17 in 1992.

In the Billboard 200 chart’s nearly 56-year history, “21″ becomes only the 20th album to score at least 16 weeks at No. 1.

And with 104,000 sold last week, “21″ notches its 33rd week of 100,000-plus sales. The last album to do so was Usher’s “Confessions,” which also racked 33 stanzas of 100,000 sales in 2004-2005.

Bruno Mars Has #1 UK Album After 1 Year on the Chart

Bruno Mars’ “Doo-Wops & Hooligans” celebrated a year on the U.K. album chart on January 15th by going back to where it started, at No. 1.

Mars’ album debuted at the album chart summit a year ago, falling to No. 2 in its second week, but has never dropped lower than No. 14 in its entire sales year. It now has total U.K. sales of 1.28 million copies, according to the Official Charts Company, but sold a mere 24,000 new units last week to go back to the top.

Billboard Names Nicki Minaj as “Rising Star”

Billboard named Singing and rapping sensation Nicki Minaj as the 2011 Rising Star this past Wednesday after the incredible international success this year with her album, “Pink Friday.”

28 year old Minaj took the opportunity of Billboard’s announcement to confirm her next album on Twitter which is set to release on February 14, Valentine’s day next year, and will be called, “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded,” after the rapper’s alter ego, Roman Zolanski.

The New York native stormed the Billboard charts this year, becoming the first artist to have seven songs in the Hot 100 singles chart at the same time, including hits such as “Your Love,” “Super Bass” and “Fly” featuring Rihanna, while “Pink Friday” reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

“Nicki Minaj has established herself as a force in hip-hop and pop music, and we’re thrilled to recognize her accomplishments over the past year,” said Billboard’s editorial director Bill Werde on Billboard.com.

Minaj is the fourth recipient of the award, following Jazmine Sullivan in 2010, Lady Gaga in 2009 and Colbie Caillat in 2008, and will join country music star Taylor Swift, who was named Woman of the Year, to collect the award at the annual Billboard Women in Music event in New York on December 2.