Coldplay single takes top spot

Coldplay has become the first British act in more than a decade to reach the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart with “Viva La Vida,” the first single from the group’s new album. The single logged 246,000 digital copies sold, which pushed it into the No. 1 slot, according to Billboard.

The album, “Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends,” was released Tuesday and is also expected to top the national album chart when those figures are finalized next week. The Spice Girls’ “Wannabe” was the last single from a British group to hit No. 1, in early 1997.

Coldplay’s single unseated Lil Wayne’s hit “Lollipop” just as the New Orleans rapper’s latest album, “Tha Carter III” shot to No. 1 on the album chart with first-week sales of just more than 1 million copies, the first time that figure has been surpassed in more than three years.

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-- Randy Lewis