Lorde 'Royals' continues No. 1 streak on Billboard Hot 100 as Eminem and Rihanna's 'The Monster' gains traction; Pitbull and Ke$ha 'Timber' enters top 10 [VIDEOS]

Lorde's reign at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 seems unstoppable, but one major musical force is coming up quickly on the 17-year-old newcomer: Eminem. Yes, Lorde's "Royals" remains at No. 1 for the eighth week in a row, but Eminem's new MMLP2 single "The Monster" (feat. Rihanna) is quickly gaining chart points and may surpass the unstoppable track next week.

According to Billboard, the gap between "Royals" and "The Monster" is ever lessening, with Eminem's song gaining radio play, digital downloads and streams on services like Spotify, the veteran rapper and his always-reliable collaborator seem to be aiming for the No. 1 spot next week.

Of course, that is not to lessen Lorde's astonishing accomplishment this week. She continues to lead the Hot Rock Songs chart for a 12th week and still holds strong in digital sales and streams two months after first reaching the Hot 100 summit. Lorde's eight-week rule comes in the wake of Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines," which topped the Hot 100 for 12 weeks over the summer.

Besides the chart race between Lorde and Eminem, much remains the same on the Hot 100 this week. Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" holds at No. 3, making the top three spots identical to last week's chart. Avicii's "Wake Me Up!" and Katy Perry's "Roar" have swapped positions and now hold at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively.

Meanwhile, rock makes a strong showing on the Hot 100 this week. OneRepublic's newest single "Counting Stars" raised to No. 6 on the chart with Imagine Dragons' "Demons" moving up two spots to No. 7.

Meanwhile, Drake hangs in the top 10 with "Hold On, We're Going Home" at No. 8, and Lady Gaga similarly hangs in there with "Applause" at No. 9.

The lone debut in the top 10 this week comes courtesy of none other than Pitbull and Ke$ha. Their kind of country, kind of EDM track "Timer" rounds things out at No. 10.