Posted by Andrew Unterberger on 03/29/2012 at 9:15 AM News

The Popdust Files: Billboard, charts, fun, hunger games, we are young

How many other bands are thinking right now, “Man, that could have been us?” Alternatively, how many record label execs are thinking “Man, who’s that gonna be next?” Fun.’s reign on top the Hot 100 is starting to threaten the historic, as the song enters its fourth street week at #1—far from unprecedented in itself, but as we talked about last week, the numbers for “We Are Young” just keep going up. The song gains in all three chart-relevant categories this week, up 7% in streams (1.18 million), a whopping 36% in radio play (88 mil impressions), and another 11% in digital sales (387,000). The 387k in downloads makes “We Are Young” the year’s best seller thusfar, and gives it the best sales week for a non-debut since LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It” the week after last Christmas.

So the question now on everyone’s (our) mind: Will Justin Bieber be able to put an end to all the Fun. on next week’s charts? The answer seems to be most likely not—though Billboard reports that Bieber is in for a big debut and one of the greatest debut sales weeks of all-time for “Boyfriend,” the sales week shouldn’t be so much greater than Fun.’s to make up for the advantages in radio play and streaming that “We Are Young” has built over its run of success. If and when “Boyfriend” starts to catch up in those categories, The Bieb might have a chance to dethrone Ruess and company, but for the next week or two, the Fun. should continue at pole position of the Hot 100.

Elsewhere, the top ten is mostly stagnant, with the only movers in the top five being Gotye and Kimbra’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” and Nicki Minaj’s “Starships” both climbing one spot (5-4, 6-5, respectively). Outside the top ten, the biggest impact comes courtesy of The Hunger Games, whose soundtrack sees debuts from Taylor Swift (“Eyes Open,” #19) and Maroon 5 (the Rozzi Crane-featuring “Come Away to the Water,” #83), as well as a nice rebound from Taylor and the Civil Wars’ “Safe & Sound” (71-35). Fun. and Hunger Games—two things they’re sure to be talking about on VH1′s I Love 2012 some years from now.

[Billboard]