Readers of That Grape Juice know what avid music lovers we are – especially of hits past.

So, as our retrospective features ‘From the Vault’ and ‘TGJ Replay’  allow us the chance to re-spin the gems and jams of yesterday of one artist, our newest feature Chart Rewind – a variation of our current Retro Rewind assay – accedes salutes to an entire era of music history.

This week we’ll ode Britney Spears’ comeback single and second Hot 100 #1 hit, ‘Womanizer.’

Despite offering the most critically acclaimed effort of her career with 2007’s ‘Blackout,’ fans feared the project’s commercial nonperformance (compared to its predecessors) – coupled with an inundation of negative press for her professional and personal life at the time – would ultimately spell the undoing of Britney Spears.  To quell that worry, the diva and team quickly took to the studio to cook up a follow-up album,  ‘Circus.’

Kicked off by the high octane ‘Womanizer,’ the song – penned and produced by The Outsyders – contained elements of the progressive, dark Pop that lined the track list of ‘Blackout,’ but managed to do so while conveying radio-friendliness.  The qualities proved a potent mixture for Spears as the song, just one week after making its Hot 100 debut at #96, hopped to the tally’s summit (where it was found this week in 2008).

Setting a record at the time for the largest leap to #1, ‘Womanizer’ went down in history books as one of the singer’s most successful numbers.  Granted, it may not have been certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (despite reportedly selling nearly 3.5 million in the United States alone), but its value in her catalog certainly defies measure.  Not only did it signal a comeback for the once-embattled Pop star, but it also ushered her into the digital era and led its parent project – ‘Circus’ – to enjoy a similar run on the Billboard 200.

While we salute the hit, look below to see who joined her in the top 25 on this week’s ‘Chart Rewind’:

Hot 100 This Week in 2008

Hot 100 This Week

Click here to read this week’s full ‘Chart Check.’

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