Travis Scott’s ‘Meltdown’ No. 1 as ‘Utopia’ Floods Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart
Written by djfrosty on August 9, 2023
Travis Scott storms to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart as “Meltdown,” featuring Drake, launches atop the list dated Aug. 12. The track leads a parade of all 19 songs the streaming edition of Scott’s new Utopia album on the chart. The long-awaited parent set, first teased in 2020, debuts at No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart with the biggest week for any rap album in 2023, and gives Scott his third champ.
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“Meltdown,” released on Cactus Jack/Epic Records, traces its chart-topping start to 32.2 million official U.S. streams in the week ending Aug. 3, according to Luminate, more than enough to secure its No. 1 entrance on the R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs chart. The tune also sold 2,000 copies in its debut week, prompting a No. 5 bow on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales list. For the third and final metric that informs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – radio airplay – the collaboration registered 8,000 audience impressions – well below the threshold of any R&B/hip-hop radio chart, though the song is not being promoted as a single for radio airplay. (“K-POP,” the pre-release track with Bad Bunny and The Weeknd, is the current radio focus.)
Thanks to “Meltdown,” Travis Scott achieves his sixth No. 1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Here’s a recap of his now half-dozen leaders:
Song Title, Artist (if other than Travis Scott), Weeks at No. 1, Date Reached No. 1
- “ZEZE,” Kodak Black featuring Travis Scott & Offset, one, Oct. 27, 2018
- “Sicko Mode,” 10, Nov. 3, 2018
- “Highest in the Room,” one, Oct. 19, 2019
- “The Scotts,” with The Scotts & Kid Cudi, one, May 9, 2020
- “Franchise,” featuring Young Thug & M.I.A., one, Oct. 10, 2020
Featured artist Drake, meanwhile, adds a record-extending 28th Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs No. 1 to his account. It’s his second visit to the summit in 2023, after his one-week champ “Search & Rescue,” likewise debuted at No. 1 in April. As Drake further distances himself from the competition, here’s a review of the acts with the most No. 1s on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs since the chart became an all-encompassing genre survey in 1958:
- 28, Drake
- 20, Aretha Franklin
- 20, Stevie Wonder
- 17, James Brown
- 16, Janet Jackson
- 15, The Temptations
- 13, Marvin Gaye
- 13, Michael Jackson
- 13, Usher
- 11, Lil Wayne
- 11, R. Kelly
Behind “Meltdown,” Scott floods Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart as the entire 19-track Utopia album lands on the list, including five additional tracks in the top 10. Seventeen of the ranks go to debuts, with the lone exception being “K-POP,” which debuted at No. 2 last week.
Here’s the full Utopia recap on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs this week:
- No. 1, “Meltdown,” featuring Drake
- No. 2, “FE!N,” featuring Playboi Carti
- No. 5, “I Know ?”
- No. 7, “Hyaena”
- No. 9, “Thank God”
- No. 10, “Topia Twins,” featuring Rob49 & 21 Savage
- No. 11, “K-POP,” with Bad Bunny & The Weeknd
- No. 12, “My Eyes”
- No. 13, “Modern Jam,” featuring Teezo Touchdown
- No. 14, “Delresto (Echoes),” with Beyoncé
- No. 15, “Telekenesis,” featuring SZA & Future
- No. 16, “Sirens”
- No. 17, “God’s Country”
- No. 18, “Skitzo,” featuring Young Thug
- No. 19, “Circus Maximus,” featuring The Weeknd & Swae Lee
- No. 20, “Til Futher Notice,” featuring James Blake & 21 Savage
- No. 22, “Lost Forever,” featuring Westside Gunn
- No. 23, “Looove,” featuring Kid Cudi
- No. 24, “Parasail,” featuring Yung Lean & Dave Chappelle
The Scott show is much of the same on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, where “Meltdown” opens at No. 3 as the highest Utopia track of the week. All 19 Utopia songs are present on the list as well, pushing Scott into the rare triple-digits club as he becomes the 15th act to surpass 100 career hits on the chart.