XL Recordings

For all their critical and online popularity, it's easy to forget that Radiohead aren't exactly Alicia Keys/John Mayer/T-Pain in terms of pure sales figures. So when their newest single, "Nude", debuted at number 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week-- becoming, on paper anyway, the band's biggest hit since "Creep"-- it came as an interesting surprise.

That surprise is especially interesting because the song probably would not have made the Hot 100 if it weren't for its non-traditional release format. Recall that the band not only released the In Rainbows version of "Nude" last week; they also released five of its component parts via iTunes as "stems" for use in the creation of fan-made remixes. The complete song sold just under 13,000 copies in its first week, but since Billboard counted the cumulative sales of the song and all five stems (totalling just under 60,000), Radiohead = Top 40 stars, at least for the week [via Idolator].

Maybe this means the band will finally live up to its name and fight Usher comeback singles all summer for ultimate car stereo ubiquity. Not that Radiohead will have time to pay attention to the battle, as they hit the road running in early May and more or less don't stop until August is through. [MORE...]