Mariah ties Elvis with 17th No. 1 single
From Jonathan Cohen

NEW YORK—Mariah Carey moved a step closer to the Beatles’ record of 20 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 Thursday as “Don’t Forget About Us” ascended one rung to the top of the singles chart in its 11th week. With 17 chart-toppers, she now ties Elvis Presley at No. 2 on the all-time list, and becomes the only artist to post two No. 1 songs on the Hot 100 in 2005.
“Don’t Forget About Us” is also Carey’s 16th No. 1 as a songwriter, tying with Barry Gibb for third place. Only Paul McCartney with 32 and John Lennon with 26 have more. (Many Elvis fans claim the King had 18 No. 1 hits, citing Joel Whitburn’s indispensable tome “Top Pop Singles.” But he differs from Billboard in some key respects, and counts the double-sided single “Don’t Be Cruel”/”Hound Dog” as two No. 1 hits, while Billboard counts it as one.)
Chris Brown’s “Run It!” fell to No. 2 on the Hot 100 after five weeks at the top. Nelly’s “Grillz” featuring Paul Wall, Ali and Gipp rose one place to No. 3, flip-flopping with D4L’s “Laffy Taffy.” The Pussycat Dolls’ “Stickwitu” jumped two places to No. 5.
Nickelback’s “Photograph” slipped one to No. 6. Kanye West’s former chart-topper “Gold Digger” featuring Jamie Foxx was also down one, to No. 7, while Beyonce Knowles’ “Check on It” featuring Slim Thug surged 10 places to No. 8, giving the former Destiny’s Child member her sixth top 10 solo hit.
Kelly Clarkson’s “Because of You” rebounded one place to No. 9, having previously peaked at No. 7, and Juelz Santana’s “There It Go! (The Whistle Song)” climbed two places to No. 10.
The chart’s top debut was Ludacris and Field Mob’s “Georgia” featuring Jamie Foxx at No. 48, which features a sample of Ray Charles’ classic “George on My Mind.” It marks the sixth time that the Hoagy Carmichael/Stuart Gorrell-penned chestnut has cracked the Hot 100. Charles took it to No. 1 in 1960. It charted again for the Righteous Brothers (No. 62 in 1966), Wes Montgomery (No. 91 in 1968), Willie Nelson (No. 84 in 1978) and Michael Bolton (No. 36 in 1990).
The Nelly track takes over the top slot on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart, replacing Dem Franchize Boyz’ “I Think They Like Me” featuring Jermaine Dupri, Da Brat and Bow Wow. On the Hot Country Songs roundup, Billy Currington’s “Must Be Doin’ Something Right” leaped four places to No. 1 to end the one-week reign of Dierks Bentley’s “Come a Little Closer,” which fell to No. 4.
Reggaeton star Daddy Yankee’s “Rompe” was the new leader on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs, sending Christian Castro’s “Amor Eterno” down to No. 5. Elsewhere, the Foo Fighters’ “DOA” retained the throne on the Modern Rock chart, while Shinedown’s “Save Me” remained No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock tally.
Madonna’s “Hung Up” topped the Hot Dance Singles Sales chart for the fifth week, matching the five-week run of her most recent No. 1 hit, “Love Profusion,” in 2004. “Hung Up” is Madonna’s 10th consecutive No. 1 song on this chart, her longest string of No. 1 hits in this tally’s history.