Katy Perry’s “Roar” single cover

Let the games begin! With fans eagerly anticipating the biggest chart rumble of the year to date, courtesy of Katy Perry and Lady Gaga, they received a preview of the action this week as the former cracked the Billboard Hot 100 while her peer shockingly missed the mark completely.

Perry’s “Roar” entered the Hot 100 at #85 this week on the back of 40 million audience impressions. As a result of a Clear Channel deal with all participating affiliated radio stations, the song also rocketed onto the Billboard Radio Songs chart at #29, therefore earning Perry her highest ever debut on that lineup.

Gaga, on the other hand, wasn’t as fortunate. Despite inking her own arrangement with Clear Channel, her new single, “Applause”, entered the Radio Songs tally at a lowly #75 with only 16 million audience impressions. The song also failed to pierce the Hot 100.

Expect both “Roar” and “Applause” to vault to the upper regions of the Hot 100 when online streams and digital sales date are included. See the leading releases in the top 10 of both Billboard 200 and the Billboard Hot 100 below:

Billboard 200

1. The Civil Wars – The Civil Wars – 116,000 (debut)

2. Various Artists – Now 47 – 82,000 (debut)

3. Robin Thicke – Blurred Lines – 65,000 (total: 242,000)

4. Jay-Z – Magna Carta Holy Grail – 48,000 (total: 845,000)

5. Various Artists – Teen Beach Movie (soundtrack) – 38K (total: 167,000)

6. Asking Alexandria – From Death to Destiny – 38,000 (debut)

7. Imagine Dragons – Night Visions – 37,000 (total: 1.29 million)

8. Five Finger Death Punch - The Wrong Side of Heaven & the Righteous Side of Hell: Volume 1 – 35,000 (total: 147,000)

9. Tye Tribbett – Greater Than – 30,000 (debut)

10. Florida Georgia Line – Here’s to the Good Times – 26,000 (total: 971,000)

Billboard Hot 100

1. Robin Thicke – “Blurred Lines (Ft. T.I. & Pharrell)”

2. Miley Cyrus – “We Can’t Stop”

3. Imagine Dragons – “Radioactive”

4. Daft Punk – “Get Lucky (Ft. Pharrell Williams)”

5. Jay-Z – “Holy Grail (Ft. Justin Timberlake)”

6. Anna Kendrick – “Cups (Pitch Perfect’s When I’m Gone)”

7. Bruno Mars – “Treasure”

8. Zedd – “Clarity (Ft. Foxes)”

9. Capital Cities – “Safe And Sound”

10. Maroon 5 – “Love Somebody”

Listen to Perry’s “Roar” below:

Thoughts?