Alan Jackson (news) tops Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the 22nd time, as "Remember When" dams a seven-week flood atop the chart by Kenny Chesney (news)'s "There Goes My Life," which is pushed to No. 2.
Meanwhile, the country pond ripples with patriotism, as Toby Keith (news)'s "American Soldier" advances 4-3 in its 12th chart week, adding a distinction as the youngest title in the top five. Keith's quick ascent and John Michael Montgomery (news)'s 48-36 leap with "Letters From Home" demonstrate an enduring heartland appetite for flag-waving fare. Montgomery's hop is the chart's biggest, and his gain of 400 detections is the chart's second-largest.
The greatest-gaining song is Chesney's duet with Uncle Kracker, "When the Sun Goes Down," which opens at No. 40 with a 421-spin gain. "Down" is Chesney's highest-debuting non-seasonal track of his career, following his No. 46 debut with the just-displaced No. 1, "There Goes My Life."
YEAH! YA!
OutKast is having a difficult time dislodging itself from No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, as "Hey Ya!" maintains its lead on the chart for a ninth week by a slim, 196-point margin over "The Way You Move." This is the eighth consecutive week that "Move" has waited in the runner-up position behind "Ya!"
Both tracks take an audience dip this week, with "Ya!" dropping by 6.5 million listener impressions to 128 million, while "Move" is down 5 million to 124 million impressions.
The last time the battle for No. 1 was so close was a year ago this week, when Jennifer Lopez (news) Featuring LL Cool J's "All I Have" had a 127-point advantage over No. 2 "Bump, Bump, Bump" by B2K & P. Diddy the week of Feb. 8, 2003.
HE GOT GAME
As folks ready themselves for the Feb. 1 Super Bowl in Houston, hometown artist Lil Flip gets competitive with "Game Over," which earns the Hot Shot Debut on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart at No. 71.
"Game" is the seventh appearance for Flip on the Singles & Tracks list although only his second as a lead artist. Having contributed songs to such videogames as "NFL Street" and "NBA Live," this track was a natural progression for the artist.
BABY BACK MIX
The ubiquitous Jennifer Lopez charts for a ninth time on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, bowing at No. 71, with "Baby I Love U." Originally from her "This Is Me ... Then" album, the track first charted on the Mainstream Top 40 Airplay chart in August, peaking at No. 26.
The song has received new life thanks to airplay of an R. Kelly remix that was included on her December release "The Reel Me." Kelly's hometown station WGCI Chicago is leading the way in airplay, as "Baby" is the station's No. 7-ranked track.
EXPLICIT DETAILS
Eamon's "F**k It (I Don't Want You Back)," which climbs 26-22 on the Billboard Hot 100, is tagged as the Greatest Gainer/Sales title for the seventh consecutive week that the honor has been awarded. No award was given three weeks ago because of the steep decline of all sales titles in the post-holiday week.
This is the longest such streak for a sales gainer on the chart, outdoing the five consecutive weeks that "Heaven" by DJ Sammy & Yanou Featuring Do earned the designation in summer 2002.
