Eminem’s Not Afraid is the 16th song to debut at number one

In the 52-year history of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, rapper Eminem not only earns his third chart topping single with Not Afraid, but he joins an elite club.

Not Afraid debuts at the number one spot on the Hot 100, making it the 16th time that a song has achieved this feat. The first time this happened was in 1995 when Michael Jackson slam dunked straight into the penthouse with You Are Not Alone.

The other titles which have debuted at number one on the chart were Fantasy by Mariah Carey; Exhale (Shoop Shoop) by Whitney Houston; One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men; I’ll Be Missing You by Puff Daddy, Faith Evans and 112; Honey by Mariah Carey; Candle in the Wind/The Way You Look Tonight by Elton John; My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion; I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith; Doo Wop (That Thing) by Lauryn Hill; This is the Night by Clay Aiken; I Believe by Fantasia; Inside Your Heaven by Carrie Underwood; Do I Make You Proud by Taylor Hicks; and 3 by Britney Spears.

Eminem’s ride to number one was fuelled by first week digital downloads of more than 380,000 copies. The track is the lead single from the rapper’s forthcoming album Recovery which is earmarked for a June 22 release.

Iyaz and Charice score big with Pyramid

Virgin Islands native Iyaz who earlier this year scored a number two Billboard Hot 100 hit with Replay, and whose current solo single Solo is marching its way up the chart, has taken over the top of the dance chart.

Iyaz is on top with the collaborative single Pyramid which features Filipina pop and R&B singer Charice. The song was written by Swedish songwriters David Jassy, Niclas Molinder, Johan Alkenäs and R&B singer Lyrica Anderson.

Incidentally, Pyramid removed another Caribbean native from the top of the dance chart. Bajan pop superstar Rihanna had spent a single week in the number one spot with her global smash Rude Boy.

Another recording artiste with Caribbean connections, Canada born Kreesha Turner is number three on the dance chart as a featured artiste on the single Dust in Gravity by Delerium. Turner’s mother is Jamaican.

Alicia Keys tops the R&B chart with Unthinkable (I’m Ready)

Alicia Keys’ list of number one titles on Billboard’s R&B Hip Hop Singles & Tracks chart continues to mount. Her latest chart topper Unthinkable (I’m Ready), the fourth single off her latest album, Element of Freedom, has taken over the top spot.

It is also her seventh number one R&B single, and 14th top 10 R&B hit following closely on the heels of last year’s Empire State of Mind which featured rapper Jay Z on lead.

Keys’ previous number one R&B singles include Fallin, If I Ain’t Got You, My Boo (featuring Usher), You Don’t Know My Name and No One.

Incidentally, rapper Drake performed the background vocals on Unthinkable.

Assassin featured on remix of Richie Stephens’ Heart of Love

Singer Richie Stephens recently completed a remix of the single Heart of Love which features Assassin aka Agent Sasco. A video for the remix was recently directed by Asha McHail at the Pot of Gold studio.

Aside from the remix collaboration, Assassin says he’s been busy working on a number of projects. These include the Rude Gal rhythm from his Board House imprint; a collaboration with I Wayne called Fire Song; and an upcoming project with VP Records.

BITS AND PIECES

* The song, Total Eclipse of the Heart, which was originally recorded by Bonnie Tyler, spent four weeks at number one in America in 1983. In 1995, Nicki French took her uptempo version to number two. Now 15 years later, the Cast of Glee debut on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 16 with their remake of the single.

* Gyptian is still on the move. His stateside hit, Hold Yuh, has moved from 39 to 33 on the latest Billboard R&B chart survey. Over on the Heatseekers chart, the track bounces back to number ten.

* An official remix of Usher’s recent Billboard charting single OMG, features Serani and Patra. And speaking of Patra, our usually reliable sources have confirmed that she is set to head into the recording studios with P Diddy.

* Toni Braxton’s new album, Pulse, debuts at number nine on the Billboard 200 with 54,000 copies sold in its first week of release. The latest single from the album, Hands Tied slips from 34 to 39 on the R&B singles chart.

DID YOU KNOW?

We noticed that the compilation Legend: The Very Best of Bob Marley & the Wailers has jumped back onto the Billboard Reggae album chart in the number three spot. But did you know that Legend has been the biggest selling album by a reggae artiste to date? According to Wikipedia, Legend has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide.

The album was first released by Island Records in 1984.