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Britney Spears Sets New Record with Hit Single: 'Womanizer' Makes Meteoric Jump From #96* to #1* on Pop Singles Chart

Last update: 3:30 p.m. EDT Oct. 15, 2008
NEW YORK, Oct 15, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Highly Anticipated Album "Circus" Set For Worldwide Release On December 2nd
Britney Spears is making history with her new single, "Womanizer." This week, "Womanizer" makes an unprecedented leap from No. 96* to claim the No. 1* spot on Billboard's "Hot 100 Singles" chart. This is the first time a song has ever made a leap of this magnitude on the singles chart. Further attesting to the multi-platinum singer's worldwide appeal, "Womanizer" is the No. 1 song on iTunes charts in Canada, France, Spain and Sweden.
The song's astonishing climb up the charts comes despite a major glitch that occurred yesterday when the "Womanizer" digital track was inadvertently removed and unavailable for sale at iTunes in the U.S. and in other countries for over a twelve hour period. The track first became available on iTunes on October 7th, and prior to the technical error, the digital track ranked No.1 there, selling over 275K units within the first six days of its release. However, the brief lapse did not slow down the momentum of the super-star's project; currently the digital track is back up on iTunes and digital sales are expected to quickly recover.
Rounding out a record-setting week, Spears debuted her "Womanizer" video on ABC's 20/20 news program this past Friday night; this is the first time a music video in its entirety has ever premiered during primetime on ABC. Additionally, the news program won the ratings race during its time slot, coming in No.1 in the coveted 18-35 demographic. The captivating video was directed by Joseph Kahn, who also directed Spears' riveting "Toxic" video.
"Womanizer" is the first single from her forthcoming album, Circus and was produced by the up-and-coming Atlanta production team The Outsyders. For her latest album, Britney has enlisted a stellar group of established producers/writers that include Dr. Luke (who wrote and produced the album's title track, "Circus"), Danja, Max Martin, Bloodshy & Avant and Guy Sigsworth (Madonna, Alanis Morissette, Bjork). Her sixth studio album, Circus, is set for release December 2nd, which coincides with Spears' 27th birthday.
Britney Spears is one of the top-selling artists of the last decade and to date; she has sold in excess of 62 million albums worldwide, that include "...Baby One More Time"(1999), "Oops!...I Did It Again" (2000), "Britney" (2001), "In The Zone" (2003), and "Blackout" (2007), nine #1 worldwide singles and four consecutive #1 albums.
SOURCE Jive Records