Tyla’s ‘Water’ Springs to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart

A month after Tyla’s “Water” ran its course at No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, the hit reaches the top of the Adult R&B Airplay list dated Feb. 24. The track, released on FAX Records/Epic Records, jumps 4-1 following a 25% surge in plays that made it the most played song on U.S. monitored adult R&B radio stations in the tracking week of Feb. 9-15, according to Luminate. Thanks to the rapid rise, “Water” also takes the Greatest Gainer award, given weekly to the song with the largest increase in plays.

“Water” gives 22-year-old Tyla her first Adult R&B Airplay No. 1 with her first appearance. The breakthrough single is a crossover smash, having reigned on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart for eight non-consecutive weeks beginning in December, and for one week on Rhythmic Airplay the same month. Radio coronations continue a winning stretch for the South African singer, who took home the first-ever Grammy Award for best African music performance – for “Water” – earlier this month.

Elsewhere, “Water” takes its sixth, non-consecutive week at No. 2 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, which ranks songs by combined audience totals from adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop stations. The single remains essentially even in audience, compared with last week, but has been blocked from the top slot by a historic title: SZA’s “Snooze” adds an unprecedented 31st week at No. 1 to its dominating run, the longest command song in the chart’s 31-year history.

Cementing that crossover appeal, “Water” heads the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart for a third week and improves 8% in plays in the latest tracking week. It also holds at its No. 8 peak on Pop Airplay for a third consecutive frame, adding 3% more plays in the same period.

With “Water” opening the floodgates, Tyla’s second single has landed on radio rankings. “Truth or Dare” starts at No. 40 on Rhythmic Airplay (up 207% in plays) and at No. 44 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (173,000 in audience, a 185% gain). Both “Water” and “Truth or Dare” will appear on the singer’s self-titled debut album, which arrives March 22.