Posted by Andrew Unterberger on 02/01/2012 at 4:48 PM News

The Popdust Files: adele, Billboard, charts, kelly clarkson, set fire to the rain, What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)

18 weeks on top the albums chart, and now 14 weeks on top the singles chart for Ms. Adkins—seven for “Rolling in the Deep,” five for “Someone Like You,” and with this week, two for “Set Fire to the Rain.” For the record, even with her five chart-toppers, Katy Perry only spent 16 weeks total on top the Hot 100 with her Teenage Dream singles—and Adele still has miles and miles to go before she sleeps. With a performance on the Grammys upcoming (and we all remember how her performance of “Someone Like You” at the VMAs sent that single through the roof), it’s likely that we might be seeing “Set Fire” at pole position for some time to come.

However, “Set Fire” does have a newcomer nipping at its heels. Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” (a.k.a. “What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)”—not her best number off her album of the same name by any means, though ultimately a better choice of single than the plodding “Mr. Know It All”—jumps from eight to two this week, thanks to a moderate gain in radio play and a huge uptick in digital sales. The rest of the top ten is relatively staid, though next week we could see a bit of a push from David Guetta and Nicki Minaj’s “Turn Me On” thanks to the video’s debut earlier this week.

Who will win the heavyweight bout between Adele and Kelly on next week’s pop charts? Let’s hope for Adele’s sake it’s Kelly—she’s got enough on her mind these days without having to worry about having to deal with Kells and her mad judo skills as well.

[Billboard]