LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 13: Singer Katy Perry arrives at The 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards held at Staples Center on February 13, 2011 in Los Angeles, California.
Jason Merritt/Getty ImagesKaty Perry is on the verge of tying an incredible Billboard Hot 100 chart record — held by Michael Jackson — thanks to some help from Missy Elliott.
Jackson owns the record for the most Hot 100 No. 1 singles from one album — with five from his 1987 album Bad. Presently, Perry has four No. 1s from her Teenage Dream set. Its fifth single, “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F),” rests at No. 2 on the chart this week.
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However, on Monday, Aug. 8, a new remix of “Friday” (featuring Missy Elliott) will hit radio airwaves, the web and digital retailers.
If the sales, airplay and streams of the track are strong enough, it could push the song to No. 1 in the coming weeks. (All versions of a song and its remixes are generally merged together for charting purposes.) Last week, it trailed the current Hot 100 No. 1, LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem,” by about 50,000 digital downloads on the Digital Songs chart. Over on the Hot 100 Airplay tally, “Friday” was behind “Party” by 2 million in audience points and had been the greatest gainer for the past three weeks.
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This late-in-the-game remix-release strategy has become a popular concept in recent months. In April, Rihanna enlisted Britney Spears for a remix of the former’s “S&M” that prompted its jump to No. 1. Shortly after that, Spears turned to Nicki Minaj and Ke$ha to help out with a remix of her “Till the World Ends.” Its release helped push the single 11-3 on the Hot 100.
But let’s get back to Perry versus Jackson. Perry has so far claimed four No. 1s from Teenage Dream — “California Gurls,” the title track, “Firework” and “E.T.” (featuring Kanye West). “Last Friday Night” is in its second week at No. 2 and its seventh frame in the top 10.
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Jackson’s five No. 1s from Bad are “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” the title track, “The Way You Make Me Feel,” “Man in the Mirror” and “Dirty Diana.” Some fans might have immediately thought Thriller held the record for the most No. 1s, since it was such a monster album. While it did spawn seven top 10 hits, only two of them — “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” — hit No. 1.
