Lady Gaga has snagged a piece of pop music history in landing the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 this week with her new single “Born This Way.”

Even more significant than posting the highest first-week digital sales by a female artist, with 448,000 downloads of the song, according to Nielsen SoundScan, Gaga scored the 1,000th No. 1 single on the Billboard chart since its inception in 1958.

In recognition of the milestone among chart watchers, Billboard has posted a chronological listing of all 1,000 chart-topping songs.

The first? Ricky Nelson’s “Poor Little Fool,” which beat all comers on that first Hot 100 chart dated Aug. 4, 1958. With that in mind, some might consider it a shame that America’s latest teen idol, Justin Bieber, didn’t land the No. 1 slot this week to bookend the half-century-plus period that began with pop music’s original teen idol. (Life magazine is credited with coining the phrase in a feature story on Nelson’s rise to stardom.)

Pop & Hiss thought we’d take the opportunity to scan through the years for some of the chart’s other high- and lowlights.

 
Arcade Fire’s album-of-the-year Grammy award on Sunday night for “The Suburbs” was a victory for a lot of people, and not just because it seemed as if the Canadian rock collective brought half the population of its native Montreal onstage during its show-closing musical performances.

It also was a win for the grassroots community of independent musicians and record companies to which Arcade Fire and its label, Merge Records, belong. Combined with the win in another of the top four Grammy categories -- jazz bassist-singer Esperanza Spalding’s upset for best new artist -- indie labels and artists came away from Sunday night’s ceremony with two major boosts to their self-esteem.

“A lot of the jaws that hit the floor when those two categories were announced were those of independents,” said Jim Selby, chief executive of Naxos of America, the independent Nashville-based classical label that racked up 35 nominations and took home 10 awards for its artists and distributed labels Sunday. “Independent artists winning against Eminem? A lot of people were thinking, ‘This is insane!' "

 
A night of full of upsets and other surprises started early with Grammy voters’ verdict in the pop collaboration with vocals category. In a field featuring tracks that teamed superstar combinations of Eminem, B.o.B. and Hayley Williams; Elton John and Leon Russell; Lady Gaga and Beyoncé; and Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg, the Grammy went to … Herbie Hancock.

Now, we know how much the Grammys love Herbie, most illustriously when he took the 2008 album of the year award for "River: The Joni Mitchell Letters” album of the celebrated singer-songwriter's music. This time, he trumped the pop, rock, rap and R&B heavy hitters with his version of John Lennon's "Imagine,” from his "The Imagine Project" collection, for which he was joined on the Grammy-winning track by Pink, India.Arie and a group of international friends.

The award also delivered yet another example of the Grammy night adage: Never underestimate the power of a Beatle.

The music industry's love affair with the Beatles surfaced two other times Sunday, with awards to Paul McCartney for solo rock vocal for his rendition of the Beatles' "Helter Skelter" from his “Good Evening New York City” live album, and the award for historical album for "The Beatles in Stereo," the 16-disc box set that packaged stereo versions of all the Fab Four's original studio albums.

-- Randy Lewis

Photo of Herbie Hancock at the Grammy Awards on Sunday. Credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times.

In the days leading up to Sunday's Grammy Awards, which Pop & Hiss will be covering live, this blog will tackle various Grammy artists, personalities, categories and just plain oddities. For even more Grammy info, check Awards Tracker and The Envelope.

A rundown of the races to watch during Sunday’s 53rd Grammy Awards. The ceremony from Staples Center will be broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m.

Album of the year

It's not unusual for hip-hop artists to earn a nomination for album of the year. Actually winning, however, is still a rarity. The favorite for this year's top prize is Eminem, whose "Recovery" was 2010's top-selling album. Once a magnet for controversy, Eminem on "Recovery" is more thoughtful and serious, with a darker, less hook-filled tone. This is, however, Eminem's third album of the year nod, having been bested before by Steely Dan and Norah Jones.

Such has been the fate for many a hip-hop artist, because Kanye West couldn't garner the votes to top Herbie Hancock, and Lil Wayne never had a shot against Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Yet Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" is too frivolous, even by Grammy standards, and Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now" is pleasant but not the crossover force that was Taylor Swift's "Fearless." Forget Arcade Fire, whose adventurous concept album "The Suburbs" is significantly outgunned by the star power here. Lady Gaga's "The Fame Monster" spawned hit after hit, yet at only eight tracks was billed as an EP. That should clear the way for Eminem, who, seven albums into his career, is something of a seasoned old-timer, which is a trait Grammy voters love.

Record of the year (artist and producer)

Jay-Z has never won in one of the top Grammy categories; his pairing with Alicia Keys for "Empire State of Mind" is likely his best shot yet. The I-heart-N.Y. anthem has already been granted iconic status. Still, this award typically goes to something voters consider more serious, which likely spells doom for Cee Lo Green's "[Forget] You" and B.o.B.'s "Nothin' on You." Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now" is the type of slow-moving pop song right in the Grammy voters' wheelhouse, and Eminem and Rihanna's "Love the Way You Lie" found a way to turn themes of domestic abuse into a No. 1 single.

Amid an excellent performance by Aaron Rodgers and a noble failure by Troy Polamalu's hair, Madison Avenue and corporate America combined to spend $100,000 per second on Super Bowl ads. Because a love of Doritos and pugs can only take you so far, one of the more interesting commercials was Eminem's shill for Lipton's Brisk Iced Tea. After all, nothing says cool and refreshing like a man who once wrote a song called "Puke." That's brisk, baby.

Reports claimed that the firm forked over $1 million for Eminem's services -- and now he can afford that platinum-plated ivory hoodie that he's always craved. While the wedding of the controversial hip-hop star and the innocuous iced tea makes for unlikely bedfellows, hip-hop is no stranger to such bizarre pairings. In the interest of senseless entertainment (this is a Super Bowl-related post after all), Pop & Hiss takes a look at five of history's weirdest rap ads.

Grammy-nominated producers discuss their lives, careers and pop music in general at a roundtable event. 

In 2010, the songs were ubiquitous, even if the music producers who helped create them were less well-known: Lady Gaga's “Bad Romance,” Eminem's “Love the Way You Lie,” Cee Lo Green's “[Forget] You” and B.o.B.'s “Nothin' on You” and “Airplanes” blanketed airwaves and filled earbuds with indelible hooks and melodies. 

But those hooks and melodies took work. Though they may drift out of the car stereo effortlessly, much sweat equity was spent crafting them. No one understands that process better than the music producers, whose job it is to turn an idea into a song. If the timing's right, the song hits. 

In advance of the Grammy Awards, which will be held Feb. 13 in downtown Los Angeles, three of today's hottest hitmakers, RedOne (Lady Gaga, Enrique Iglesias), Alex Da Kid (Eminem, B.o.B.) and Ari Levine of the Smeezingtons (Cee Lo, Bruno Mars) sat down with Times pop music critic Ann Powers for the first Los Angeles Times Music Producers Roundtable, an intimate conversation with artists who helped shape 2010's pop-music landscape.

On Saturday evening in front of a sold-out crowd, Powers led a freewheeling conversation that sought to put into words the magic that turns a bunch of notes on paper (or, these days, a hard drive) into a hit song.

“I think the most important thing is having a vision. Being able to see things before other people can see it,” Alexander Grant — better known as Alex Da Kid — told the audience inside the Grammy Museum's Clive Davis Theater. “Most of the songs you're working on, they won't even come out for three or four months at least, maybe longer, so you have to be able to think what's going to be a hit record in six months.”

Nadir Khayat, the Moroccan-born producer known as RedOne, knows something about foresight. His best known collaborator, and muse, is Lady Gaga.

“I just saw the vision,” he said of Gaga. “I just saw this girl that could be this [huge] thing. We went to the studio and talked about Queen, Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen and I'm thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, she knows music,'” Khayat said. “She was inspired. I've always thought of music as one, it's a universal language. That's what we did with the sound of Lady Gaga.”

Alex Da Kid fast-tracked himself to one of hip-hop’s most-sought-after producer-songwriters after crafting two of last year’s biggest singles: B.o.B’s “Airplanes” and Eminem’s “Love The Way You Lie.” 

But the 27-year-old, born Alexander Grant, didn’t follow a typical path into music and was working toward a much different career goal. 

Born and raised in Wood Green, north London, he originally had his sights set on becoming a professional soccer player. Grant played for England’s Bristol City youth team before distractions — and an injury — sidelined his foray into the big leagues.

“To cut a long story short,” he jokes while lounging in a Beverly Hills office suite. “My friend gave me a program, Fruity Loops. I had just finished playing soccer, and I decided to start making tracks.

“I didn’t know anything about [making music], and I hadn’t had any experience with it before … but I just fell in love with it.”

For those tethered to their Twitters like umbilical cords, it was impossible to avoid this week's trending topic from Shady Records, announcing the signing of blog darlings Yelawolf and the  bludgeon-rap supergroup Slaughterhouse.

The union of Royce Da 5'9", Joell Ortiz, Joe Budden and Crooked I with Eminem’s long dormant label had been heavily rumored for months. But the news about Yelawolf sent the Internet echo chamber into a frenzy of self-congratulatory back slaps and high fives. (And these are very difficult gestures to do via the digital medium.)

But the sentiment seemed well-deserved concerning Yelawolf, who is one of the rare rappers capable of eliciting largely unanimous praise amid that famously fractious world. Those looking for a more substantial background on the Gadsden, Ala., rapper can turn to his Times interview from last year. But in brief, think a flock of seagull-haired and heavily tattoed redneck with a double-timed tornado flow, and an experimental streak reminiscent of early Def Jux (his collaboration with El-P is forthcoming).

Themes include: Mossberg rifles, Monte Carlos  and the backwoods battles endemic to the rural south. Or as his Twitter bio describes him: rapper, skater, drinker.

Thus far, the critical accolades have yet to turn into commercial returns. Late last year, the rapper born Michael Wayne Atha dropped the stellar “Trunk Muzik 0-60,” which debuted to a modest 5,000 in first week sales -- a far cry from Eminem’s multiplatinum reign. Yet the label appears to be taking an atypical tack in today’s singles-driven rap world: nurturing him as a career artist.

“Yelawolf and Slaughterhouse, it’s kinda phase two of Shady. It’s the new generation of Shady Records and as we’re trying to rebuild our label, it’s exciting for Hip Hop and with all of these forces coming together and with what everybody’s capable of on the mic, it’s gonna be fun,” Eminem said in a prepared statement.

 
Digital music sales, which over the years have provided optimism for the music industry in the face of crumbling CD sales, are starting to flatline as consumers turn to a growing number of free and legal ways of listening to hit songs whenever they want.

Sales of individual digital songs grew just 1% in 2010, down from 8% in 2009 and 27% in 2008, according to a report released Wednesday by market research firm Nielsen SoundScan.

The slowing digital numbers are a sign that the market for digital music is maturing, said Eric Garland, chief executive of Big Champagne, a digital music consulting firm. Garland believes the numbers point to another change in the market -- the emergence of free and legal alternative sources to music online, such as YouTube, Vevo and Pandora.

“What's changed is that people are listening to vastly more free music without breaking the rules,” Garland said. “That can have a cannibalization effect.”

The decline in the growth rate of digital song sales occurred as record labels pushed for iTunes to raise the price of top-selling songs 30%, to $1.29 from 99 cents, on the company's iTunes store, which accounts for the majority of digital music sales. That's preventing a corresponding slowdown in revenue growth.

“The vast majority of the top 200 digital tracks are now $1.29,” said David Bakula, a Nielsen music analyst. “So while sales of singles are flat, their revenue is absolutely going up.” Nielsen does not report dollar sales.

The increase in the price of singles has made the cost of $9.99 albums look more attractive, boosting digital album sales 13% last year compared with 16% in 2009 and 32% in 2008.

Apple continues to account for most music sales online, commanding a more than 60% market share, according to industry research firm NPD Group. Amazon.com, which generated numerous headlines in 2010 for deep-discounting albums by the likes of Taylor Swift, Kanye West and the Arcade Fire to $3.99, is a distant second. Fire-sale pricing aside, albums are still about one-third of overall digital music sales.

The Grammy Awards went young -- and pop -- in 2010, awarding crossover teen star Taylor Swift the show's top crown -- album of the year. For such a seemingly wholesome and beloved artist, it was seen as a somewhat controversial pick.

The Grammys have typically skewed older -- Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Herbie Hancock, U2, etc. -- and rarely award an artist without a lengthy body of work. Unlike Norah Jones and Lauryn Hill, Swift's detailed tales of teenage life seemed aimed at a direct audience, and when she gave a wobbly vocal performance with Stevie Nicks, Team Swift was on the defensive. 

The Grammys can't win. Even when they gift its top prize to America's pop sweetheart, complaints pour in. But the Swift win did hint that Grammy voters are willing to go more mainstream than ever, and she competed in a field that also included the Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga, the Dave Matthews Band and Beyoncé.

One could argue that such a field represented the genre-hopping tastes of the iPod generation, or one could note that the choices were almost stubbornly old school. Voters went with all major label artists, all major stars and carefully spread the picks amid pop, rock, country and R&B fields. A year for the unexpected it was not.

Whether the trend continues, or voters throw in a Radiohead, Hancock or White Stripes-like surprise, will be answered soon enough. Grammy ballots are due Nov. 3, and nominations will be revealed in early December. Before voters put down their pencils, here's a look at some of the likely nominations -- and perhaps some deserving ones. 

(This is Part 1. Stay tuned to Pop & Hiss for a continued look at album of the year front-runners.)

Eminem, "Recovery" (Aftermath/Interscope)

Grammy potential: Despite his sometimes penchant for shock-and-awe rap, Eminem has been one of the rare hip-hop artists to graphically explore violence and sex and still earn Grammy recognition in the major categories. Twice Eminem has been nominated for Grammy's top prize. Sales, of course, have helped his cause, and Eminem has a trail of critical accolades behind him. "Recovery" is seen as a more a serious turn than 2009's "Relapse," and little makes an artist more appealing to Grammy voters than getting older.

Grammy deserving: When Eminem released "Relapse," it was his first album of new material in five years, and it captured an artist who had become a cartoon. As rapid and clever as his rhymes were, the drugged-up serial killer shtick was just that, and its appeal was based on whether or not one could see it as humor or some sort of metaphor. "Recovery" is full of anger, but it's largely directed at Eminem himself. It's a moody, lacerating examination, and one that has sold close to 3 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The fact that it's perceived as a more thoughtful album than "Relapse" should make it Grammy bait. 

As hard-hitting as its investigative reports can often be, “60 Minutes” hasn’t exactly been cutting edge in the pop music department. Pop watchers may remember, for instance, how earlier this year Andy Rooney went off on a “never heard of 'em” tirade after reading the Billboard 200. “The singers I know have been replaced by Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga and Usher. I mean, who?!” Rooney sputtered.

But the news magazine delivered a revealing interview with Eminem on Sunday night that even longtime fans and Eminem completists may find illuminating.

Accompanied by “60 Minutes” correspondent Anderson Cooper, the reclusive rhyme-spitter returned to the rough and tumble Detroit neighborhood where he grew up for a literal trip down memory lane -- one that included recalling a drug overdose in a bathroom at his home that nearly killed him. Also in the segment, Eminem provided new details about his creative process and addressed issues of race and other controversies that have dogged him throughout his career.

Right in the middle of Eminem’s first official West Coast performance since 2005, the rapper paused to ask: “Did you miss me?”

Eminem has a knack for tapping into the drama or comedy of a moment, and the huge cheers he got in response at the Epicenter festival in Fontana on Saturday were a measure of how uncharacteristically quiet he’s been during those years, until the release of 2009’s “Relapse” and this summer’s “Recovery.”

As he paced the stage in a sweat-soaked T-shirt, it was near the end of a blazing-hot day on the blacktop at Auto Club Speedway. He was sharing a diverse bill with the rock acts Kiss, Bush and Papa Roach and with fellow hip-hop artists Big Boi and House of Pain. (Day 2 of the fest Sunday was more focused on straight ahead punk-pop, headlined by Blink-182.)

With stacks of crushed cars as décor to evoke the wreckage of Detroit, Eminem crept across the stage during a chilling “3 a.m.,” as gore splashed on the big video screen behind him, followed by “Kill You,” another song of playful bloodshed. His new album is a step away from rhymes of violence and the more cartoonish side of his persona, but during Saturday’s set he toyed with the range of his multiple selves.