Stefani, Mario capture sound of 2005

Downloads were Gwen’s world, while a super Mario hit dominated radio in the first half of 2005.

Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” outsold all competition as the top downloaded track so far this year. Stefani also scored the No. 8 track with “Rich Girl.” Total download sales hit 159 million, triple last year at this time.

Teen R&B crooner Mario’s “Let Me Love You” easily topped the radio airplay list with an audience of 2.6 billion (determined by total plays and listeners at radio nationwide) over the past 26 weeks. But his reign is not likely to last out the year.

The download top 10 continues to strongly reflect radio’s hits. But radio leans more toward R&B and hip-hop: 51 percent of the top 100 first-half hits, compared with 20 percent for pop, 19 percent for country and 10 percent for rock.

Radio’s strong R&B/hip-hop orientation may be waning: At the end of 2004, 61 percent of the hits were R&B/hip-hop records.

Meanwhile, the top 100 downloads are more balanced: 33 percent R&B/hip-hop, 32 percent pop, 31 percent rock (and 4 percent for country).