Pitchfork

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].

UPDATE: A Billboard.com report posted today notes that "Nude" did not in fact chart on a "technicality", but that the five "Nude" stems were technically considered "remixes" of the track, and thus included in the Hot 100 tally under standard chart policy regarding remixes.

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.

'Head out:

05-05 West Palm Beach, FL - Cruzan Amphitheatre *
05-06 Tampa, FL - Ford Amphitheatre *
05-08 Atlanta, GA - Lakewood Amphitheatre *
05-09 Charlotte, NC - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre *
05-11 Bristow, VA - Nissan Pavilion at Stone Ridge *
05-14 St. Louis, MO - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre *
05-17 Houston, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion *
05-18 Dallas, TX - Superpages.com Center *
06-06 Dublin, Ireland - Malahide #
06-07 Dublin, Ireland - Malahide #
06-09 Paris, France - Bercy #
06-10 Paris, France - Bercy #
06-12 Barcelona, Spain - Parc del Fòrum (Daydream Festival) *#^$
06-14 Nimes, France - Arenes #
06-15 Nimes, France - Arenes #
06-17 Milan, Italy - Civica Arena #
06-18 Milan, Italy - Civica Arena #
06-20 Neuhausen ob Eck, Germany - Southside Festival
06-22 Scheeßel, Germany - Hurricane Festival
06-24 London, England - Victoria Park #
06-25 London, England - Victoria Park #
06-27 Glasgow, Scotland - Glasgow Green #
06-29 Manchester, England - Lancashire County Cricket Club #
07-01 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Westerpark #
07-03 Roskilde, Denmark - Roskilde Festival
07-05 Werchter, Belgium - Rock Werchter Festival
07-06 Arras, France - Main Square Festival
07-08 Berlin, Germany - Wuhlheide
08-01 Chicago, IL - Grant Park (Lollapalooza)
08-03 Indianapolis, IN - Verizon Wireless Music Center %
08-04 Cleveland, OH - Blossom Music Center %
08-06 Montreal, Quebec - Parc Jean-Drapeau %
08-08 Jersey City, NJ - Liberty State Park (All Points West Festival)
08-09 Jersey City, NJ - Liberty State Park (All Points West Festival)
08-12 Camden, NJ - Susquehanna Bank Center %
08-13 Mansfield, MA - Tweeter Center %
08-15 Toronto, Ontario - Molson Amphitheatre %
08-19 Vancouver, British Columbia - Thunderbird Stadium *
08-20 Auburn, WA - White River Amphitheatre *
08-22 San Francisco, CA - Golden Gate Park (Outside Lands Festival)
08-24 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl *
08-25 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl *
08-27 Chula Vista, CA - Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre *
08-28 Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl *
10-04 Tokyo, Japan - Saitama Super Arena
10-05 Tokyo, Japan - Saitama Super Arena

* with Liars
# with Bat for Lashes
^ with Low, Clinic, Modeselektor
$ with Ensemble Nacional de España de Música Contemporánea, performing pieces by Jonny Greenwood and Radiohead
% with Grizzly Bear