Spears single vaults to top spot

Britney Spears is hot, hot, hot once again, scoring the biggest leap to No. 1 in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. Her new “Womanizer” rocketed from No. 96 to No. 1.

The track registered 286,000 downloads last week, according to Billboard, the highest figure for a female artist since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking downloads in 2003.

“Womanizer” edged out Mariah Carey’s “Touch My Body,” the previous record holder, by just 200 downloads, Billboard noted. It’s the first single from Spears’ forthcoming “Circus” album, due Dec. 2.

On the album chart, T.I.’s “Paper Trail” is on top again, selling 177,000 copies during its second week. Rise Against’s “Appeal to Reason” entered at No. 3 with first-week sales of 65,000 copies. Oasis’ “Dig Out Your Soul” bows at No. 5, selling 53,000 copies out of the gate. It’s the British group’s first Top 10 album since “Be Here Now” came out in 1997.

-- Randy Lewis