Spears' "Womanizer" Catapults Atop Hot 100, Breaks Records

It only took one week for Britney Spears' "Womanizer" to charm its way into chart history after a record-breaking rise from number 96 last week to number one this week on the Billboard Hot 100. The 96 spot leap bests T.I.'s previous record for long distance jump, which he accomplished after his "Live Your Life" went from 80 to the top spot last week. Amazingly, "Womanizer" is Spears' first number one since the beginning of her career when "...Baby One More Time" topped the chart back in January 1999. More record-breaking: "Womanizer" was downloaded 286,000 times last week, beating out Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body" as the biggest opening week tally by a female artist. Spears will hope for similar chart-topping success when her Circus comes to town on December 2nd.

Related Stories:
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• Cover Story: The Tragedy of Britney Spears

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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