The Black Eyed Peas become the first act to score multiple weeks at No. 1 on the recently launched Social 50 chart, which ranks the most active artists on the world's leading social networking sites -- MySpace, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and iLike -- using a formula blending weekly additions of friends/fans/followers along with weekly artist page views and weekly song plays. The final ranking also includes a unique metric measuring the ratio of page views to fans.
The Peas were a part of the inaugural MySpace "hijack" promotion on Dec. 9, where artists curate programming on the site, including interactive features and premiere exclusive music and video content. No surprise, then, that the group accumulates the most new MySpace friends for the week.
Rihanna shimmies 3-2 on this week's ranking, swapping spots with Justin Bieber, who drops 2-3. Eminem and Lady Gaga hold at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively. Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj also change places, with the former moving up to No. 6 and the latter dropping to No. 7. Linkin Park leaps 10-8, passing Shakira who holds at No. 9.
The sole new entry into the top 10 is Michael Jackson, who climbs from No. 18 to No. 10. Hype surrounding the December 14 release of his new posthumous album "Michael" stirs spikes for him on all three Social 50 metrics (fans, page views and plays).
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Avril Lavigne earns the largest positional jump on the list (34-21), showing increases in fans on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. She also has an increase in page views on the latter two sites, following the Dec. 7 announcement of her new single "What the Hell" and album "Goodbye Lullaby." The former will premiere as a performance on "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest," while the full-length set is due out in March.
Avril Lavigne to Release 'Goodbye Lullabye' Album in March
The Social 50's top debut goes to the Rolling Stones, who enter at No. 35. A heavy dose of new Facebook fans is the impetus for the charge onto the list, as the legendary rock act posts the second-largest week-to-week percentage increase (up 59%) among acts on the chart for that sector. It's possible the gain is related to the continuing press coverage of founding member Keith Richards' autobiography "Life." Or, could it be owed to Ke$ha fans turned on by her un-Auto-Tuned cover of the Stones' "Dead Flowers," which is making the viral video rounds.