Beyonce, Lady Gaga lead U.S. singles chart

By Jonathan Cohen

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Beyonce logged a fourth week atop the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart Friday, while near-record digital sales drove dance-pop singer Lady GaGa to the No. 2 slot.

Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," a track from her chart-topping album "I Am ... Sasha Fierce," sold a massive 382,000 downloads last week according to Nielsen SoundScan, a 157% increase.

But Lady GaGa's Grammy-nominated "Just Dance" featuring Colby O'Donis sold 419,000 downloads, the second biggest single-week sum of all time behind Flo Rida's 467,000 from the same week last year. It rose one spot from the previous week, swapping places with T.I.'s "Live Your Life" featuring Rihanna.

Kanye West's "Heartless" held at No. 4, and Taylor Swift's "Love Story" rose two to No. 5. Katy Perry's "Hot N Cold" remained at No. 6, and Britney Spears' "Womanizer" fell two to No. 7.

Rounding out the top portion of the Hot 100, West's "Love Lockdown," T.I.'s "Whatever You Like" and Beyonce's "If I Were a Boy" were are unchanged at Nos. 8-10.

Nickelodeon star Miranda Cosgrove's cover of Sugababes' "About You Now" was the top debut at No. 51. The song was released last June on the "iCarly" soundtrack but is now doing strong digital business after a performance on Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade; it sold 74,000 copies last week.

Reuters/Billboard