Bruno Mars’ single cover for “When I Was Your Man’”

While Justin Timberlake was away from the music scene, a pair of new artists provided substitutes for his often overrated music – Justin Bieber and Bruno Mars. Now the man is back and he is locked in a race for the top of the US charts with the arguably more talented latter act.

Following his performance of the tune at the 2013 Grammy Awards, Timberlake’s “Suit & Tie” has reentered the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 by skipping from #13 and #8. The song surged across all tallies with 65 million audience impressions at radio, 664K online streams and 120K downloads via digital retailers.

Mars’ “When I Was Your Man”, on the other hand, lands in the spot below “Suit & Tie” at #9. The tune vaulted all the way from #22 on the Hot 100, thus making him the first male lead performer to score a pair of top 10 singles on the chart since his own “Grenade ” and “Just the Way You Are” in January 2011. To date, Mars has placed 10 top 10 titles on the Hot 100.

See the other leading releases in the top 10 of both Billboard 200 and the Hot 100 below:

Billboard 200

1. Josh Groban – All That Echoes – 145K (debut)

2. Tim McGraw – Two Lanes of Freedom – 107K (debut)

3. Various Artists – Now 45 – 87K (debut)

4. Mumford & Sons - Babel - 54K (total: 1.74 M)

5. Andrea Bocelli – Passione – 51K (total: 145K)

6. Justin Bieber – Believe Acoustic – 243K (total: 254K)

7. Red – Release the Panic – 41K (debut)

8. Bruno Mars – Unorthodox Jukebox – 41K (total: 731K)

9. Coheed & Cambria - The Afterman: Descension – 41K (debut)

10. Lumineers - Lumineers - 39K (total: 940K)

Billboard Hot 100

1. Macklemore & Lewis – “Thrift Shop”

2. Bruno Mars – “Locked Out of Heaven”

3. will.i.am – “Scream & Shout (Ft. Britney Spears)”

4. Lumineers - “Ho Hey”

5. Taylor Swift – “I Knew You Were Trouble”

6. Swedish House Mafia - “Don’t You Worry Child (Ft. John Martin)”

7. Maroon 5 – “Daylight”

8. Justin Timberlake – “Suit & Tie (Ft. Jay-Z)”

9. Bruno Mars – “When I Was Your Man”

10. Justin Bieber – “Beauty & a Beat (Ft. Nicki Minaj)”

Watch the video for Mars’ “When I Was Your Man” below:

Thoughts?