he rap triumvirate of Eminem, Dr. Dre and 50 Cent will soar 78-1 on The Billboard Hot 100 to be posted tomorrow morning (Feb. 12) with "Crack a Bottle, which sets a Nielsen SoundScan record for opening week download sales (418,000).

The first-week sum outpaces the prior mark of 335,000 downloads shifted by T.I. featuring Rihanna in the Oct. 18, 2008, issue. Among all weekly totals, "Bottle" ranks third behind Flo Rida's "Low" (467,000 on Jan, 12, 2008) and Lady GaGa's "Just Dance" (419,000 on Jan, 10, 2009).

"Bottle" is the second Hot 100 No. 1 for both Eminem and Dr. Dre. Slim Shady's only leader was 2002's "Lose Yourself," which spent 12 weeks at the summit, while Dre last led in 1996 as a featured artist on Blackstreet's "No Diggity." 50 Cent ups his No. 1 take to four, having last topped the list with "Candy Shop" (9 weeks in 2005).

The trio, each with highly anticipated albums on the way, previously collaborated on "Encore," which peaked at No. 25 on the Hot 100 in January 2005.



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