MADONNA'S CONFESSIONS
TOUR SETS NEW RECORD

TOKYO, JAPAN — Madonna will wrap up her Confessions tour tomorrow at the Tokyo Dome as the top-grossing tour ever by a female artist.  Although final numbers are not all in, tour producer Arthur Fogel puts the tally at $193.7 million from 60 shows that drew nearly 1.2 million in paid attendance.



That gross narrowly puts Madonna over Cher's benchmark of $192.5 million. However, it took Cher an endurance-testing 273 shows between June 2002 and April 2005 to reach that mark on her marathon Farewell tour.

"Madonna has yet again delivered an incredible show for her fans, and the success of the tour is the ultimate statement," Fogel tells Billboard.com. "She absolutely belongs at number one."

Madonna's Confessions tour followed the same model of the $125 million-grossing Re-Invention tour in 2004 and the $75 million-grossing Drowned World tour in 2001.

Rather than visit 100 global markets a la mega acts like the Rolling Stones and U2, Madonna opted to play multiple nights in a limited number of major international locales. The strategy has led to a staggering $400 million in ticket sales in just six years.

DAFT PUNK TO HEADLINE
BANG FESTIVAL IN MIAMI

MIAMI, FLORIDA — Leading up to ticket pre-sale on August 26, BANG! MUSIC FESTIVAL, the Southeast’s music gala set for Saturday, November 11 at Bicentennial Park in Miami, is pleased to announce the confirmation of headliners DAFT PUNK (ONLY 2nd Live US appearance this year) and DURAN DURAN.



  The U.K. mega-group and France’s favorite robots will top the bill with other major acts Tiësto, Modest Mouse, Gnarls Barkley and Los Amigos Invisibles for the day-long fete.

DURAN DURAN’s appearance at BANG! is a special live-performance engagement they are making in the midst of recording a new album.  Duran Duran is one of the most successful British bands with a career celebrating 25 years of continuous chart success and more than 70 million records sold.

MADONNA SHUNNED BY
MOST US RADIO STATIONS

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA — Madonna is in the midst of a sold-out North American trek that may end up being the top-grossing tour ever by a female artist. But this on-the-road success is not carrying over to American radio airwaves. In the United States, the three singles from Madonna's latest Warner Bros. album, "Confessions on a Dance Floor," have not been embraced by mainstream top 40 radio.

"Hung Up" got middling airplay, "Sorry" was barely played, and "Get Together" has been all but ignored by pop stations. Naturally, this state of affairs has left executives at her Warner Bros. label -- and more than a few fans -- wondering, what gives?



More than 3,300 fans have signed an appeal at www.petitiononline.com. The "End the Madonna on U.S. Radio Boycott" petition is addressed to Clear Channel Communications CEO Mark P. Mays. Message boards at Entertainment Weekly and VH1, among others, are rife with everything from support for Madonna to conspiracy theories about why she can't crack the radio dial.

Warner Bros. was aware that the songs on "Confessions" could present challenges at mainstream top 40 radio, acknowledges Tom Biery, senior VP of promotions at Warner Bros. "Top 40 radio is so hip-hop-driven," he says. "We were coming in with a global pop star who made a dance record."

Guy Zapoleon, president of radio consulting firm Zapoleon Media Strategies, calls it an "interesting dilemma for the woman who certainly held the 'Queen of Pop' title for almost 15 years." Madonna's ability to redefine herself is well-documented, and Zapoleon says that this has helped her keep a "leading edge" to the new group of pop music fans that comes along every three to five years.

But this time, Madonna may have turned left while the pop climate was turning right. Other pop chameleons such as Nelly Furtado and Mariah Carey reinvented themselves with recent rhythmic/hip-hop-leaning singles. Madonna opted instead to return to her dance-pop roots.

According to Dom Theodore, regional VP of programming for Clear Channel and PD of top 40 WKQI Detroit, today's programmers consider each Madonna song on a case-by-case basis to determine if it fits mainstream top 40, adult top 40 or both. Or neither.

For Theodore, the sound of "Confessions on a Dance Floor" skews more retro-adult top 40 than mainstream top 40, while recent club tracks like Rihanna's "SOS" have "more hip-hop credibility." The Rihanna track may reference an early-'80s dance hit (Soft Cell's "Tainted Love") but Theodore believes it does not have the same "retro '70s feel" as the Madonna tracks.

Madonna has had no such airplay problems internationally. Since its release last November, "Confessions on a Dance Floor" has topped the charts in 29 countries and sold more than 8 million copies worldwide, according to Warner Bros. For the week ending July 15, the album's third single, "Get Together," had a radio audience of fewer than 1 million listeners in the United States (aggregate, based on market size and station share). Conversely, in the United Kingdom, where all three singles have been A-listed by BBC Radio 1, the single had 38.4 million listeners.

Except for dance radio outlets like KNGY San Francisco, KXRG Honolulu and KNHC Seattle, Madonna is missing from the terrestrial radio landscape in the United States. John Peake, PD at KNGY, believes that mainstream top 40 radio programmers have completely missed the boat on this project. "When 'Hung Up' didn't get instant callout, the stations gave up on it," he says. "If they had given it more time, the callout would've come home."

"Confessions" has been healthy at retail: It has moved 1.5 million copies, already double that of its predecessor, 2003's "American Life," which has sold 666,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan. File-sharing stats from BigChampagne and support from MTV's "TRL" are also solid. But, Biery says, "Radio still looks at callout research."

As Warner Bros. gears up for the release of the album's fourth single, "Jump," Biery remains optimistic, especially since the song was heard in TV and radio spots for the film "The Devil Wears Prada." The label will take a different strategy with this single, Biery says. "We'll begin with AC and hot AC formats," he notes. "Our goal is to have a true hit record with callout and then bring it back to the mainstream top 40 world."

MARIAH CAREY ANNOUNCES
UPCOMING TOUR

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA — Mariah Carey will hit the road for the first time in more than three years this summer on the "Adventures of Mimi: The Voice, The Hits, The Tour" arena outing. Dates get underway Aug. 5 in Miami and are on tap through Oct. 10 in Phoenix. Sean Paul will open the majority of the tour's first portion, with other openers to be announced.

Tickets begin going on sale June 2. The tour comes in support of Carey's smash hit album "The Emancipation of Mimi," which has sold nine million copies worldwide, according to Island Def Jam. Carey promises to also perform several tunes from her back catalog live for the first time.



The artist hasn't been on the road since the summer of 2003, when a planned arena tour was downsized to theaters.

Here are Mariah Carey's tour dates: 

Aug. 5: Miami (American Airlines Arena)
Aug. 7: Tampa, Fla. (St. Pete Times Forum)
Aug. 9: Atlanta (Philips Arena)
Aug. 11: Philadelphia (Wachovia Center)
Aug. 13: Toronto (Air Canada Centre)
Aug. 15: Montreal (Bell Centre)
Aug. 17: Atlantic City, N.J. (Trump Taj Mahal)
Aug. 21: Boston (TD Banknorth Garden)
Aug. 23: New York (Madison Square Garden)
Aug. 25: Uncasville, Conn. (Mohegan Sun)
Aug. 27: East Rutherford, N.J. (Continental Airlines Arena)
Aug. 29: New York (Madison Square Garden)
Sept. 1: Albany, N.Y. (Pepsi Arena)
Sept. 3: Hershey, Pa. (Giant Center)
Sept. 5: Verona, N.Y. (Turning Stone Event Center) 
Sept. 7: Washington, D.C. (Verizon Center
Sept. 9: Auburn Hills, Mich. (Palace of Auburn Hills)
Sept. 11: Chicago (United Center)
Sept. 14: Houston (Toyota Center)
Sept. 16: Dallas (American Airlines Arena)
Sept. 18: Denver (Pepsi Center)
Sept. 21: Edmonton, Alberta (Rexall Place)
Sept. 23: Vancouver (GM Place)
Sept. 24: Seattle (Key Arena)
Sept. 27: Sacramento, Calif. (Arco Arena)
Sept. 30: Las Vegas (MGM Grand)
Oct. 2: Oakland, Calif. (Oakland Arena)
Oct. 4: San Diego (Sports Arena)
Oct. 6: Los Angeles (Staples Center)
Oct. 8: Anaheim, Calif. (Arrowhead Pond)
Oct. 10: Phoenix (US Airways Center)

ASHLEE SIMPSON HITTING THE ROAD THIS SUMMER

LOS ANGELES — Ashlee Simpson will visit arenas, amphitheatres and clubs on her summer North American tour, which begins June 5 in Santa Barbara, Calif., and will feature support from Sire rock act the Veronicas.

Simpson will also play shows in West Palm Beach, Fla. (May 6), Orlando, Fla. (May 7), Dixon, Calif. (May 13) and Kelseyville, Calif. (May 26) before the trek gets underway.



The artist will be touring in support of her 2005 sophomore Geffen album, "I Am Me," which has sold 884,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Here are Ashlee Simpson's tour dates: 

May 6: West Palm Beach, Fla. (SunFest)
May 7: Orlando, Fla. (Hard Rock Live)
May 13: Dixon, Calif. (Fairground
May 26: Kelseyville, Calif. (Konocti Harbor)
June 5: Santa Barbara, Calif. (Santa Barbara Bowl)
June 7: Los Angeles (Greek Theatre)
June 8: Alpine, Calif. (Concerts in the Park)
June 10: Las Vegas (House of Blues)
June 11: Phoenix (Dodge Theatre)
June 13: Englewood, Colo. (Coors Amphitheatre)
June 16: Woodlands, Texas (Mitchell Pavilion)
June 17: Dallas (Smirnoff Centre)
June 18: North Little Rock, Ark. (Alltel Arena)
June 20: Oklahoma City (Ford Center)
June 22: Baton Rouge, La. (River Center)
June 23: Memphis (Mud Island Amphitheatre)
June 25: Portsmouth, Va. (Harbor Center)
June 27: Myrtle Beach, S.C. (House of Blues)
June 29: Richmond, Va. (Innsbrook Pavilion)
June 30: Bristow, Va. (Nissan Pavilion)
July 2: Atlantic City, N.J. (Borgata)
July 7: Hampton Beach, N.H. (Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom) 
July 6: Hyannis, Mass. (Cape Cod Melody Tent) 
July 9: Wallingford, Conn. (Chevrolet Theatre) 
July 11: Boston (Bank Of America Pavilion) 
July 12: Philadelphia (Electric Factory) 
July 14: Hershey, Penn. (Hersheypark Stadium) 
July 15: Pittsburgh (Chevrolet Amphitheatre) 
July 17: Toronto (Molson Amphitheatre) 
July 18: Darien Center, N.Y. (Darien Lake Six Flags P.A.C.) 
July 20: Holmdel, N.J. (P.N.C. Bank Arts Center) 
July 21: Bethel, N.Y. (Bethel Woods P.A.C.) 
July 23: Wantagh, N.Y. (Nikon @ Jones Beach Theatre) 
July 25: Toledo, Ohio (Zoo Amphitheatre )
July 26: Wheaton, Ill. (DuPage County Fair)
July 29: Clarkston, Mich. (DTE Energy Music Theatre)

MARY J BLIGE IN THE SPOTLIGHT

NEW YORK — It doesn't take much to get Mary J. Blige to shift into full confession mode.   In less than an hour, Blige freely talks about her personal battles with issues that would take most people years of therapy to divulge. Substance abuse. Childhood abuse. Relationship woes. Even feelings of self-doubt and self-hate.

Blige's frankness in revealing her hurt, anguish and eventual triumph over troubles has been one of the main reasons she has maintained strong success over her 14-year-career. Through song, Blige has taken fans through her personal transformation, from a petulant, drug-abusing starlet to a mature, well-adjusted, sober inspirational figure. But the transformation is not over — and Blige makes that clear on her latest work, the best-selling album The Breakthrough. Though she's clearly in a much happier place than where she started, she's not afraid to reveal that she's still trying to stay on the right path — and it's not an easy task.

"I'm trying to walk the walk but this is hard," says Blige, her tinted sunglasses unable to hide the emotion in her eyes. "I don't want to be falling flat on my face in front of you guys, but I might fall flat on my face in front of you because the process of healing has started.

"And when the healing starts, the correct healing, it all hurts, because you're running straight into pain," she adds, punching her hand to add an exclamation point to her thought.

The Breakthrough is far from a tear-jerker, with effervescent love ballads and upbeat grooves. But the album also contains plenty of sore subjects, from relationship dramas to abandonment issues to abusive relationships.

"Mary's music is based on her state of mind at that period in time," says Sean Garrett, who co-wrote Blige's next single, Enough Cryin. "She represents the struggle and she's made it through, and that's just like the biggest triumph. It's like she won the race."

Blige is certainly winning the race in terms of sales: When The Breakthrough was released in December, it shot to No. 1 with the best sales of her career, and so far has sold about 2 million copies, her most successful record in years.  Ironically, it was when she decided to not address the pain in her life on a record that fans tuned her out.

Her last album, 2003's Love & Life, was expected to be a top-seller. It reunited her with Diddy, her mentor and the producer of her breakout debut, 1992's What's the 411? and was billed as the return of vintage Mary J, with the hip-hop heavy grooves that made her the queen of hip-hop soul.  But Blige wanted the album to deal more with the struggles going on within her own mind. Though she was newly married to her manager, Kendu Isaacs, and was publicly proclaiming a rejuvenated, confident self, inside she was filled with self-doubt.

"I was never in something like a marriage before and I was dependent on my husband to make me feel good about myself, and I was still going through insecurities — I still deal with it now, but I was really going through it then, and I wanted to unleash that," says Blige.  But Blige, not wanting to be seen as the difficult diva, acquiesced to Diddy's direction. In the end, the dance beats won out over the drama. But when it was released, it was clear fans were searching for something more; the album only achieved mediocre sales.

Blige calls the experience a hard but valuable lesson.   So when she began work on The Breakthrough, Blige made sure she included songs like Good Woman Down, urging women to break free of abusive relationships and Father in You, in which she reveals how even as a grown woman she suffers from the lack of having a father in her life.

The result is an album that serves as a complex portrait of Blige — snapshots of her at her most passionate, weakest and vulnerable moments.

OAKENFOLD RECRUITS BRITTANY MURPHY FOR SINGING CAREER

  HOLLYWOOD — Dance music king Paul Oakenfold sought out Sin City star Brittany Murphy to perform a song on his new album, after friends raved about her voice.

Oakenfold was sold on her talent the minute he heard her voice and convinced her to record Faster Kill Pussycat for his forthcoming album, A Lively Mind.

The song is already at the top of the dance music charts in the US and could mark a whole new career for the actress.

Oakenfold explains, "Because I've been working a lot in film, I was looking to do something in a different way - with an actress who had never sung publicly."

"She has a very sexy sound. Her delivery, the tone of her voice and the power of the vocals from someone who is more of a petite girl is just amazing."

There was this rumor floating around a while ago about Brittany Murphy. Story goes: In an effort to convince producers to cast her in a Janis Joplin biopic, she made a demo of herself singing some Big Brother and the Holding Company hits. Though that film never materialized, the tapes were incredible.

A few bootlegs were passed around, but then suddenly vanished, around the time that Paramount announced that Renée Zellweger would star in Piece of My Heart, another Joplin biopic. To complicate things further, Penelope Spheeris went forward with a competing Joplin biopic called The Gospel According to Janis starring Pink. It's unclear how Murphy fit into this picture.

PUSSYCAT DOLLS TO TOUR
WITH CHRISTINA AGUILERA

  LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA — As expected, Christina Aguilera will spend more than two months on the road in North America next spring, beginning Feb. 20 in Houston, Texas. The arena trek will sport opening acts the Pussycat Dolls and Danity Kane and will wrap up May 5 in Sunrise, Fla. Tickets for some shows go on sale Saturday (Oct. 14).



On board to steer the look and feel of the show are choreographer Jamie King and costume designer Roberto Cavalli. Aguilera is touring in support of her recent double-disc RCA set "Back to Basics," which has sold 790,000 copies in the United States since its August release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The artist will tune up for the North American tour with a month's worth of shows in Europe, beginning Nov. 17 in Sheffield, England.

Here are Christine Aguilera's 2007 North American tour dates:

Feb. 20: Houston (Toyota Center)
Feb. 21: Dallas (American Airlines Center)
Feb. 23: Omaha, Neb. (Qwest Center)
Feb. 24: Kansas City, Mo. (Kemper Arena)
Feb. 26: Denver (Pepsi Center)
Feb. 28: Glendale, Ariz. (Glendale Arena)
March 2: San Diego (ipayOne Center @ The Sports Arena)
March 3: Las Vegas (Mandalay Bay Events Center)
March 5: Anaheim, Calif. (Honda Center)
March 6: Los Angeles (Staples Center)
March 9: Sacramento, Calif. (ARCO Arena)
March 10: San Jose, Calif. (HP Pavilion At San Jose)
March 12: Vancouver (General Motors Place)
March 14: Edmonton, Alberta (Rexall Place)
March 15: Calgary (Pengrowth Saddledome)
March 17: Winnipeg, Manitoba (MTS Centre)
March 19: Saint Paul, Minn. (Xcel Energy Center)
March 23: New York (Madison Square Garden)
March 25: Toronto (Air Canada Centre)
March 26: Ottawa (Scotiabank Place)
March 28: Montreal (Bell Centre)
March 30: Boston (TD Banknorth Garden)
March 31: Atlantic City, N.J. (Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall)
April 2: Washington, D.C. (Verizon Center)
April 3: Philadelphia (Wachovia Center)
April 5: East Rutherford, N.J. (Continental Airlines Arena)
April 7: Uniondale, N.Y. (Nassau Coliseum)
April 9: Auburn Hills, Mich. (Palace Of Auburn Hills)
April 11: Columbus, Ohio (Nationwide Arena)
April 13: Cleveland (Quicken Loans Arena)
April 14: Pittsburgh (Mellon Arena)
April 20: Milwaukee (Bradley Center)

PLUMB PLANS NEW
LULLABY PROJECT

  NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE — In May, Plumb announced a new project on the horizon... a new baby!  Also, just recently, the artist and mother-to-be for the second time had announced a new album in the works.  The follow up to Chaotic Resolve is set to be an all-lullaby project.



Tiffany wrote in a recent blog on MySpace, "I started today back in the studio writing for a lullaby record I'm releasing.  I plan on... recording it in August and September... The lullaby album doesn't have a release date... but I'm stoked about it.  It'll be me, but more along the lines, since it's a lullaby record, of my song 'Phobic' or 'Jekyll and Hyde' ...very mellow.  So even if you aren't a Mom or Dad with kids, I'm hoping the record turns out mature and creative and artistic and a great novel record to own for adults that their babies and kids can enjoy.  I'm not familiar with anything like that out there... so I'm hoping for its success.  If its out by Xmas, it might be a great gift for anyone you know with children... hint hint."

Plumb is finished touring for 2006, with her last date being cancelled yesterday due to torrential rains in New Jersey.  For the latest from the pop/rock artist and a few amusing stories about her experiences with her first baby Solomon, visit her spot on MySpace.com or her official site, www.Plumbinfo.com.

NEW DONNA SUMMER
ALBUM COMING SOON

  NEW YORK, NEW YORK — For the first time in her illustrious career, Donna Summer says she is without direction -- and that's a good thing. "There is lots of room for discovery," she tells Billboard.com with a chuckle.

However, the singer/songwriter is not without a label, having just signed with Sony BMG imprint Burgundy Records. Summer will work closely with Burgundy executive VP/GM Joe DiMuro and his team. "They will help me to define who I am now," she says. "We must find this out, as I am a lot of things. These days, I am much more socially and politically aware. The world has changed over the past several years. There are levels of the human psyche I'd like to address."



Summer says a new album will be released in 2007, with original songs and, perhaps, a couple of remakes -- possibly including something from Marvin Gaye. In the early '80s, prior to Gaye's untimely death, Summer was preparing to record some duets with him.

"I have always loved his work," Summer notes. "I was listening to his music the other day. His songs are relevant, touching and gripping. A couple of them would make for very timely covers."

Summer is the latest addition to a Burgundy stable that includes America, Chaka Khan and Aaron Neville.

MARY J BLIGE HAS LITTLE OF EVERYTHING ON NEW TOUR

  NEW YORK, NEW YORK — Mary J. Blige may be the best source for what the shows on her The Breakthrough Experience tour will be like. But don't expect to break through her desire to keep things secret until the tour opens in Maryland Heights, Missouri.

"I hate giving everything away, because then everybody knows what's going to happen and I don't like that," says Blige, who's touring to promote her seventh studio album, "The Breakthrough." The set debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 with first-week sales of more than 727,000 -- the biggest opening week by a solo R&B female artist in Nielsen SoundScan history.



The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul will say, however, that fans can expect "just me, my band. We're coming live. I think when you think of me, you just think of Mary coming with what she is and whatever I've evolved into as far as my talent is concerned. I don't have a lot of gags and whistles and dancers and stuff like that. It's just me."

As far as repertoire, Blige assures us that "people are definitely going to get a lot of songs from 'The Breakthrough,'" as well as "a lot of songs from the 'Share My World' album, a lot of songs from the 'My Life' album, the 'What's the 411?' album. Songs like 'Real Love,' you could do that every tour, every show. There's so many, [but] you can't do every last one of them, so we just give them a little of everything."

Blige has 29 shows scheduled for the summer outing, which wraps up Sept. 8 in Concord, California.  Another leg of the tour may follow.

RIHANNA'S SOS ON TOP OF HOT 100 FOR THIRD WEEK

  NEW YORK, NEW YORK — Rihanna's "SOS" notches a third week atop the Billboard Hot 100 this week. The cut also remains No. 1 on the Pop 100 and Hot Digital Songs charts for the same span. Daniel Powter's former Hot 100 chart-topper "Bad Day" sticks to No. 2 there and leads the Adult Contemporary chart for a fourth week.

Elsewhere on the Hot 100, Chamillionaire's "Ridin'" featuring Krayzie Bone and Sean Paul's "Temperature" swap positions, landing at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. Fort Minor's "Where'd You Go" featuring Holly Brook holds steady at No. 5.



Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Dani California" ascends 8-6 on and leads the Modern Rock chart for a fifth week. The cut also remains atop the Mainstream Rock tally for a third week. As reported yesterday, the Peppers score their career first No. 1 album this week as "Stadium Arcadium" (Warner Bros.) bows on top of The Billboard 200 with first week U.S. sales of 442,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Lil Jon's "Snap Yo Fingers" featuring E-40 & Sean Paul of the YoungBloodZ climbs 13-7 on the Hot 100. Although T.I.'s "What You Know" descends 6-8 on the big chart, the track remains in the lead on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for a sixth week. 

Nick Lachey's "What's Left of Me" drops 7-9 and the Fray's "Over My Head (Cable Car)" falls 9-10 to round out the Hot 100's top tier. The Pussycat Dolls' "Buttons" featuring Big Snoop Dogg is the Hot 100's top debut at No. 71. Also new to the chart are the Raconteurs' "Steady, As She Goes" (No. 92), Rascal Flatts' "Me and My Gang" (No. 93) and E-40's "U and Dat" featuring T-Pain & Kandi Girl (No. 100)

On the Hot Country Songs chart, Jason Aldean's "Why" rises 2-1, as Jack Ingram's "Wherever You Are" slips to No. 4 after one week in the lead. Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" featuring Wyclef Jean rises one rung to seize the top spot on the Hot Latin Songs chart, ending the six-week run of Anais' "Lo Que Son Las Cosas," which falls to No. 4.

Bubba Sparxxx' "Ms. New Booty" featuring Ying Yang Twins and Mr. ColliPark holds atop the Hot Ringtones chart for a seventh frame.

RIHANNA STAYS STRONG ON HOT 100 FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE WEEK

  NEW YORK, NEW YORK — Rihanna's "SOS" maintains the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for a second week. The cut also holds atop the Pop 100 and Hot Digital Songs charts for a second frame. Meanwhile, Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" remains No. 2 on the Hot 100 and leads the Adult Contemporary chart for a third week.

On the Hot 100, Sean Paul's "Temperature" and Chamillionaire's "Ridin'" featuring Krayzie Bone hold at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. Fort Minor's "Where'd You Go" featuring Holly Brook ascends 12-5 and is the chart's greatest sales gainer. T.I.'s "What You Know" falls 5-6 and Nick Lachey's "What's Left of Me" drops 6-7. The T.I. track also remains atop the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for a fifth week.



Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Dani California" rises 9-8 on the Hot 100 and leads the Modern Rock chart for a fourth week. The cut also holds at No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock tally for a second.

Elsewhere on the Hot 100, the Fray's "Over My Head (Cable Car)" climbs from No. 15 to a new peak of No. 9 and Bubba Sparxxx' "Ms. New Booty" featuring Ying Yang Twins and Mr. ColliPark descends 9-10 to round out the top tier. The Sparxxx track stays put at No. 1 on the Hot Ringtones chart for a sixth week.

Mary J. Blige's "Enough Cryin'" featuring Brook-lyn is the Hot 100's greatest airplay gainer, rising 60-39, and Nelly Furtado's "Promiscuous" featuring Timbaland is the chart's top debut at No. 64.

RIHANNA'S S.O.S. ROCKETS TO NUMBER ONE ON HOT 100

  NEW YORK, NEW YORK — Rihanna's "SOS" leaps 33 rungs to seize the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 this week. The cut ends the five-week run of Daniel Powter's "Bad Day," which falls to No. 2. "SOS" also rises 7-1 on the Pop 100 and debuts atop the Hot Digital Songs chart, consigning the Powter track to No. 2 on both tallies.

Rihanna's giant Hot 100 leap was fueled by Def Jam finally making "SOS" available for purchase at digital download retailers. Much like labelmate Ne-Yo's chart-topping "So Sick," the song was withheld until its accompanying album hit stores.



Rihanna also has the Hot 100's top debut this week, as "Unfaithful" lands at No. 51. Elsewhere, "Bad Day" replaces James Blunt's "You're Beautiful" atop the Adult Contemporary chart, where Blunt falls to No. 2 after three weeks. 

On the Hot 100, Sean Paul's "Temperature" drops 2-3, Chamillionaire's "Ridin'" featuring Krayzie Bone holds at No. 4 and T.I.'s "What You Know" descends 3-5. Nick Lachey's "What's Left of Me" rockets 33-6 and is the chart's greatest sales gainer. His album of the same name arrives Tuesday (May 9) via Jive.

Bubba Sparxxx' "Ms. New Booty" featuring Ying Yang Twins and Mr. ColliPark ascends 9-7, as Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten" falls 5-8. The Sparxxx track also holds atop the Hot Ringtones chart for a fifth week. 

Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Dani California" jumps 10-9 on the Hot 100 and leads the Modern Rock tally for a fourth week. The cut also reclaims the top spot on the Mainstream Rock chart, sending Godsmack's "Speak" to No. 2. "You're Beautiful" falls 8-10 to round out the Hot 100's top tier. 

Chris Brown's "Gimme That" featuring Lil' Wayne is the Hot 100's greatest airplay gainer for a second week and enjoys a 42-25 bump. Tracks new to the Hot 100 are Phil Vassar's "Last Day of My Life" (No. 94) and AFI's "Miss Murder" (No. 97). 

Bon Jovi's duet with Jennifer Nettles, "Who Says You Can't Go Home," remains atop the Hot Country Songs chart for a second week, while Anais' "Lo Que Son Las Cosas" leads the Hot Latin Songs chart for a fifth.

MADONNA SHOWS UP LATE FOR FESTIVAL DEBUT

  INDIO, CALIFORNIA — Madonna made her festival debut last night (April 30) at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., performing six songs in front of one of the largest crowds ever to witness an artist at the event. Day two of Coachella was also highlighted by performances from Massive Attack, Scissor Sisters, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Tool and Gnarls Barkley.



Madonna was more than 20 minutes late starting, and her delayed set drew several rounds of booing from the sea of humanity packed into and around the Sahara Tent. But she oozed personality once taking the stage, at one point shouting at a fan who had thrown water onto the stage and then wiping it up herself, and later asking the audience, "Everybody, does my a** look okay?"

The set featured her latest hit single "Hung Up," "Get Together," "I Love New York," "Ray of Light," "Let It Will Be" and the vintage "Everybody." The show served as a warm-up for the May 21 kick-off of her Confessions tour in Los Angeles.

Playing their first U.S. show in eight years, Massive Attack did not disappoint with a powerful set led by material from its 1998 album, "Mezzanine." Cocteau Twins vocalist Liz Fraser made a rare appearance to sing such tracks as "Teardrop" and "Black Milk," while Horace Andy took the mic for "Man Next Door" and "Angel." The set also featured "Inertia Creeps," "Safe From Harm" and "Future Proof."

The Scissor Sisters kept the party going on the second outdoor stage with unabashed dance pop tunes like "Take Your Mama," "T*** on the Radio," "Laura," "Mary" and their hit cover of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb." Vocalist Ana Matronic also led the crowd in a collecting howling at the moon early in the set.

Gnarls Barkley shared Scissor Sisters' flair for the dramatic, choosing to take the stage decked out as characters from "The Wizard of Oz." Vocalist Cee-Lo eventually stripped down to his undershirt to belt out "Transformer," "Smiley Face," "Necromancing" and "Crazy," which is now in its fourth week at No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart.

Not to be outdone, Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontman Karen O trotted out one of her trademark sparkling stage outfits for the band's early evening set on the main stage. The group opened with "Cheated Hearts" from its new album "Show Your Bones" and also played new single "Gold Lion," "Phenomena," "Art Star," "Turn Into" and its breakthrough hit, "Maps."

MADONNA TOUR TICKETS SELLING QUICKLY

  LOS ANGELES — Initial ticket sales for Madonnna's upcoming Confessions Tour have been predictably huge, with shows added in several cities and virtually all dates selling out.  The tour, which begins May 21 in Los Angeles, has sold out four shows in Paris at Bercy Stadium beginning Aug. 27, seven shows at London's Wembley Arena beginning Aug. 1, two shows at the 40,000-capacity Amsterdam Arena beginning Sept. 3, and four shows in New York's Madison Square Garden beginning June 28, as well as doubles in Los Angeles, Montreal, Miami and Chicago.

Also sold out are Las Vegas (May 27), Philadelphia (July 12), Hartford , Conn. (June 25), Phoenix (June 8) and San Jose (May 30).

Tour producer Arthur Fogel, president of TNA International, tells Billboard.com there has clearly been no resistance to ticket prices that range from $50 to $350. "What you have is a recognition that she creates and delivers a spectacular show every time she goes on the road," says Fogel. "And this tour will be no different."

With a gross potential in the $200 million range, Confessions could be the top-grossing tour ever for a female artist. In 2004, Madonna's Re-Invention tour grossed $125 million and drew more than 900,000 fans to 56 shows.