Aks Billboard: Britney's Latest Greatest Hit

The following italicized article is from www.billboard.com:

BEST OF THE BEST

Hi Gary,

With much talk about Britney Spears' debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with "3" this week, let's not miss an interesting record that may have been set.

This may be a bit tricky to confirm, but is "3" the first song originally released as new material on a greatest hits album to reach No. 1? Here, I am talking about albums containing mostly previously-released material, so I'd be hesitant to count "HIStory" by Michael Jackson (containing the 1995 Hot 100 No. 1 "You Are Not Alone"), because half that collection's tracks were new.

I recall that "Slip Slidin' Away" by Paul Simon, one of two new songs on his 1977 album "Greatest Hits, Etc." reached No. 5 on the Hot 100. I'd be interested in seeing if your readers can find any other examples of new tracks from hits sets performing better.

Thanks,

Patrick Kelly
Brampton, Ontario, Canada

Hi Patrick,

What an interesting take on Spears' new Hot 100 leader. By their very nature, greatest hits albums in many cases do not contain any new music. So when they do, and a new song becomes a hit, it can only give consumers more reason to purchase a set containing numerous tracks they may already own.

It's also rare for a greatest hits set to yield a smash single in the sense that, generally, an act releasing such an album has collected so many hits that they may have graduated from receiving major airplay on popular, hit-driven radio formats. For an act to release a new song and send it to the Hot 100's summit illustrates that even well into a career, that artist remains extremely relevant, which is no small feat.

With such a wide scope to research - namely, only every greatest hits album that has ever been released - I sure wouldn't turn down any assistance from any willing Chart Beat readers. But, I can cite at least two songs from all-out greatest hits albums that crowned the Hot 100 prior to Spears' "3."

The first was by an artist who once duetted with Spears, not to mention shared the stage with her in one of the most famous moments ever on the MTV Video Music Awards: Madonna.

While Michael Jackson's 1995 retrospective contained one disc of hits and one of new songs, Madonna had released a clear-cut hits package more than four years earlier that contained 15 smashes and two new tracks, "The Immaculate Collection." The old- and new-material girl ushered in the set with "Justify My Love," and the hypnotic track topped the Hot 100 for two weeks in January 1991.

In November 2005, Destiny's Child topped the Billboard 200 with "#1's." The album included among its three new tracks a solo Beyonce cut, "Check On It." The song, also subsequently included in the film (but not the soundtrack to) "The Pink Panther," in which Beyonce starred, topped the Hot 100 for five weeks beginning in February 2006. (Thanks to Billboard 200 chart manager Keith Caulfield for noting this feat).

Again, readers are welcome to note any other such song, but here are five hits first made available on best-of sets that reached the Hot 100's top five, joining the Paul Simon track that you reference:

No. 3, "Runaway," Janet Jackson, 1995
No. 4, "Always," Bon Jovi, 1994
No. 4, "I Still Believe," Mariah Carey, 1999
No. 4, "Again," Lenny Kravitz, 2001
No. 5, "What Kind of Man Would I Be?," Chicago, 1990

Spears releases the standard version her second hits compilation, "The Singles Collection," Nov. 10. The album will contain 17 previously-released songs and "3."

The "Ultimate Fan Box Set" version of "The Singles Collection," out Nov. 24, will contain all her singles, including "3." Each disc will be packaged in its own slip sleeve case with original artwork, and will include an additional b-side or remix of the track. The collection will also sport a DVD featuring all of Spears' videos in chronological order and a booklet with images and trivia about each track.

Spears' first retrospective, "Greatest Hits: My Prerogative," reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 in 2004. It has sold 1,363,000 copies to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Source: Billboard