Top 10 tracks

TOP 10 TRACKS: To be honest, we’d anticipated a drab, typical January chart beset by the post-holiday blues, but the results are relatively upbeat, at least for half of the entries on the leaderboard. For starters, Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” is a stone smash, coming within a false eyelash of 250k behind a 6% uptick. While the next five records, all long-standing occupants of the Top 10, are down, the dips aren’t precipitous, ranging from -27% for Eminem/Rihanna’s “Monster” to a mere -10% for A Great Big World’s “Say Something, which passed 2m in week 11. The primary point of interest is just below, as four new records hit the big time, led by Aloe Blacc’s “The Man,” up 191%, the bulk of it following a key turnover during the second half of Sunday’s NFC divisional playoff game, when Colin Kaepernick, leading the Niners on the field, was featured in a Beats spot with the track pumping away anthemically beneath the cinematic visuals, as expert cross-marketing combined with perfect timing to form a riveting moment. And speaking of perfect timing, Bastille’s “Pompeii” hit the Top 10 on the eve of the release of the Capitol band’s double album, All This Bad Blood.

1. Katy Perry f/Juicy J, “Dark Horse” – 229k
2. Pitbull f/Ke$ha, “Timber” – 227k
3. A Great Big World f/Xtina, “Say Something” – 218k
4. OneRepublic, “Counting Stars” – 185k
5. Eminem f/Rihanna, “Monster” – 162k
6. Passenger, “Let Her Go” – 146k
7. Aloe Blacc, “The Man” – 139k
8. Lorde, “Team” – 125k
9. Bastille, “Pompeii” – 157k
10. Idina Menzel, “Let It Go” – 141k

In a final feel-good note, two of the four tracks that vacated the Top 10—Lorde’s “Royals” and Perry’s “Roar”—were seamlessly replaced by the same artists’ follow-up singles. (1/16a)