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Beyoncé’s Renaissance returns to the top 10 of Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated Feb. 18) for the first time in three months, rising 56-10, following the diva’s multiple wins at the Grammy Awards (Feb. 5). The set sold 5,500 copies in the U.S. in the week ending Feb. 9 (up 138%), according to Luminate.
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The album was last in the top 10 on the Oct. 29, 2022-dated list, when it ranked at No. 7.
Renaissance won the Grammy Award for best dance/electronic album (an award presented on-air during the CBS-TV broadcast of the main ceremony) while three of its songs won individual awards. “Break My Soul” won best dance/electronic recording, “Plastic Off the Sofa” took home best traditional R&B performance and “Cuff It” won best R&B song.
Beyoncé won four Grammys on Feb. 5, bringing her total of awards to 32 – breaking the record for the most wins in the Awards’ history (a feat that was promoted extensively during the CBS show).
In total, Beyoncé was nominated for nine Grammys at the ceremony, winning four. She was also up for album of the year (Renaissance), record of the year, song of the year (both for “Break My Soul”), best R&B performance (“Virgo’s Groove”) and best song written for visual media (“Be Alive”).
Elsewhere on Billboard’s album charts, Renaissance runs 30-8 on Top Current Album Sales, 24-11 on the Billboard 200 (its highest rank since the Nov. 12 chart, when it placed at No. 10), 10-5 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, 4-3 on Top R&B Albums and holds at No. 1 for an 11th week on Top Dance/Electronic Albums.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Top Current Album Sales lists the week’s best-selling current (not catalog, or older albums) albums by traditional album sales. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Top R&B Albums and Top Dance/Electronic Albums rank the week’s most popular R&B/hip-hop, R&B and dance/electronic albums, respectively, by units.
Back on Top Album Sales, TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION, which debuted atop the list a week ago, spends a second week at No. 1, with 43,000 copies sold (down 72%). The set has shifted 195,000 copies in its first two weeks of release – with 98% of that sum from CD sales.
Shania Twain’s new studio album Queen of Me debuts at No. 2 on Top Album Sales with 34,000 sold. It’s the country/pop superstar’s sixth top 10-charting effort on the list.
Taylor Swift’s former leader Midnights is a non-mover at No. 3 on Top Album Sales with 15,500 sold (down 12%).
Harry Styles’ Harry’s House zooms 21-4 with 10,000 sold (up 119%), following its two wins at the Grammy Awards (best pop vocal album and album of the year). Styles also performed the album’s hit single “As It Was” on the CBS broadcast. Meanwhile, best new artist winner Samara Joy reaches the top 10 for the first time as her album Linger Awhile vaults 87-5 with 6,500 sold (up 317%). The set also won the Grammy best jazz vocal album.
The charity compilation A Philly Special Christmas rises 7-6 on Top Album Sales despite a decline in sales (down 31% to 6,000 for the week). It’s the highest charting non-soundtrack compilation since 2020, when the all-star Now 74 set also hit No. 6 (May 16, 2020 chart). (Speaking of the Now That’s What I Call Music! franchise, the new Now 85 compilation debuts on the new chart at No. 13.)
The Philly album continues to perform well thanks to vinyl sales. 65% of its cumulative sales (20,500 of 31,500) are vinyl, with the remainder digital album purchases.
Michael Jackson’s Thriller rises 10-7 on Top Album Sales with nearly 6,000 sold (down less than 1%), Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours rebounds 13-8 with 5,500 (up 4%) and Stray Kids’ former No. 1 MAXIDENT climbs 22-9 with nearly 5,500 (up 21%).
In the week ending Feb. 9, there were 1.778 million albums sold in the U.S. (down 5.6% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.414 million (down 8.9%) and digital albums comprised 364,000 (up 9.9%).
There were 606,000 CD albums sold in the week ending Feb. 9 (down 16.2% week-over-week) and 801,000 vinyl albums sold (down 2.4%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 3.659 million (up 0.2% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 5.299 million (up 25.6%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 11.037 million (up 6.4% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 9.009 million (up 13.8%) and digital album sales total 2.029 million (down 17.4%).
Rihanna’s catalog of songs surged 140% in official U.S. on-demand streams after her Super Bowl LVII halftime performance (Feb. 12), according to initial reports to data tracking firm Luminate (which provides data for Billboard’s charts). On Sunday and Monday (Feb. 12-13), her collected songs (on which she is the primary artist, according to Luminate) tallied 62.2 million on-demand official streams – up 140% from 25.8 million on the two days prior (Feb. 10-11).
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Plus, Rihanna’s on-demand official streams have increased weekly since the top of the year, as anticipation built towards the big game.
In the week ending Dec. 29, 2022, her songs generated 42.3 million on-demand official streams, and in the six subsequent weeks they grew each frame, to: 48.9 million (week ending Jan. 5), 51.5 million (week ending Jan. 12), 53.4 million (week ending Jan. 19), 55.1 million (week ending Jan. 26), 57.1 million (week ending Feb. 2) and 65 million (week ending Feb. 9).
In the first four days of the current tracking week (ending Feb. 16), Rihanna’s songs have generated 88 million clicks, so the full seven days is bound to be robust once the final numbers are available on Feb. 20.
Sales Story: Rihanna’s catalog of songs (again, those where she’s the primary artist, per Luminate) also gained. They sold 42,000 downloads in the U.S. on Sunday and Monday (Feb. 12-13) – up 473% compared to what they sold on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 10-11): 7,500.
Halftime Tunes: The dozen songs (see below) that Rihanna performed during the halftime show (excluding snippets heard briefly) collectively garnered 27.7 million on-demand official streams in the U.S. on Sunday and Monday – up 219.6% compared to the two days prior, when they collected 8.7 million.
The most-streamed halftime-performed song following the Super Bowl was “Umbrella,” with 3.8 million official on-demand streams on Sunday and Monday (up 177% compared to the 1.4 million it snared on Friday and Saturday). “Diamonds” was the second-most streamed halftime tune after the show, with 3.2 million on Sunday and Monday (up 231% compared to 954,000 on Friday and Saturday). “Umbrella” (from 2007) and “Diamonds” (2012) were the final two songs, respectively, that Rihanna performed during the halftime show.
The 12 halftime-performed songs sold 27,000 downloads on Sunday and Monday – up 976% compared to the 2,500 they sold on Friday and Saturday.
Rihanna’s catalog of songs and albums could post sizable gains on Billboard’s weekly charts dated Feb. 25, reflecting the sales and streaming tracking week ending Feb. 16. News of such impact will be reported on Billboard.com in the coming days.
Here are the songs that Rihanna performed (excluding snippets) during the Super Bowl halftime show (with original artist chart credits noted if other than Rihanna): “Bitch Better Have My Money;” “Where Have You Been;” “Only Girl in the World;” “We Found Love,” featuring Calvin Harris; “Rude Boy;” “Work,” featuring Drake; DJ Khaled’s “Wild Thoughts,” featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller; “Pour It Up;” Kanye West’s “All of the Lights,” featuring Rihanna and Kid Cudi; Jay-Z, Rihanna and West’s “Run This Town;” “Umbrella,” featuring Jay-Z; and “Diamonds.”
Mexican superstar Alejandro Fernández announced Tuesday (Feb. 14) his 21-date Amor Y Patria Tour, which is set to kick off Sept. 8 in Sacramento, Calif. The 2023 stint will follow the prolific touring act’s 2021 Hecho En México trek, which marked his grand return to live shows after the pandemic.
Fernández will be joined by his son Alex Fernández and the Live Nation-produced tour will be an “all new show celebrating” Fernández’s love of music, family and Mexico. “I feel a real sense of pride to see how people are receiving [my son],” Fernández tells Billboard during a phone interview. “It makes me excited because it brings back a lot of memories and brings me a lot of nostalgia.” Fernández also reveals that he will dedicate his shows to God and his father, the legendary Vicente Fernández, who died in December 2021.
For Amor Y Patria, the “Inexperto en Olvidarte” singer will visit major cities such as Chicago, Las Vegas, New York and Atlanta before wrapping up the tour in Miami on Oct. 22. Fernández is also set to perform at Chile’s Viña del Mar Festival on Feb. 21.
“Each show is different, each audience is different, and the reactions are different,” Fernández says about his love for touring. “I always do my job and homework whenever I visit a new city or country. I want to know which songs they are listening to the most in that specific area. I also really like to know the culture and the food. Normally, if I have time and if I go with my girlfriend, I give myself time to get to see the country, to go out to eat at different places,” he adds.
The ranchera singer is also set to release new music and will focus more on releasing singles instead of albums. “We’re going to work a little differently,” he explains. “Physical albums are challenging to sell, and more and more people consume digital. Everyone is adjusting to do more of that format.”
Fernández shares in his own words the five essential romantic songs that are a must on his set list, including his shows for Amor Y Patria. “In other words, none of these songs can be missing from the list because [the crowd] would hang me or throw rocks at me if I don’t sing them,” he explains. “My fans enjoy love [songs] more, but the songs they feel the most are those of heartbreak. The love songs I sing must be excellent songs because some can sound very cheesy.”
“Como Quien Pierde Una Estrella”
In ranchera music, this song was my first hit that I had internationally and proudly, it was with Mexican music.
“Caballero”
This is the song we were opening with for our “Hecho En Mexico” tour and still, it is one of the most popular songs on streaming platforms.
“Me Dediqué a Perderte”
This song is one that fans always sing along to at the top of their lungs at my concerts.
“Inexperto en Olvidarte”
This is my most recent single and it’s had an incredible response so it’ll be a must on the set list.
“Te Olvidé”
This one is not a love song, but it is very good. It’s a heartbreak song, and well, those who are not in love can also have something to listen to.
See the complete list of dates for Amor Y Patria below. Tickets go on sale Friday, Feb. 17 at 10am on Ticketmaster.com.
When Lele Pons posts on Instagram, she does it with a mix of glamour, self-deprecating humor and simplicity that has charmed some 50 million fans into following her. And over the past two years, many of her buzziest posts have showcased the Venezuelan influencer’s love for her fiancé, Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Guaynaa, who counts 6.2 million followers of his own. But Pons, 26, and Guaynaa, 30, are much more than just a captivating couple, and their recent engagement isn’t limited to marriage: They’ll now be also making music together.
Check out the exclusive photos below, and read the full Billboard cover story by Sigal Ratner-Arias here.
On the Billboard 200 chart (dated Feb. 18), 35 albums post unit gains thanks to either performances, presentations or on-air wins during the CBS-TV broadcast of the 2023 Grammy Awards (Feb. 5).
Leading the way at the top of the chart is presenter SZA, whose SOS album reclaims the No. 1 slot with 100,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Feb. 9 (up less than 1%), according to Luminate. SZA presented the best música urbana album category during the ceremony, which was won by Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti (8-7 with 45,000 units; up 16%). Bad Bunny also opened the show with a medley of two songs from the album.
Also in the top 10 is Harry Styles’ Harry’s House, which took home a pair of awards on the CBS broadcast (pop vocal album, album of the year). It jumps 13-9 with 38,000 equivalent album units (up 51%). Styles also performed the album’s lead single “As It Was” on the show.
Other notables among the 35 Grammy-boosted titles on the Billboard 200 include: Beyoncé’s Renaissance (climbing 24-11 with 37,000 equivalent album units; up 109%), Steve Lacy’s Gemini Rights (70-46 with 14,000; up 16%), Lizzo’s Special (194-89 with 11,000; up 52%), Adele’s 30 (134-93 with 11,000; up 25%) and Samara Joy’s Linger Awhile (a debut at No. 158 with 8,000; up 319%). On the CBS broadcast, Renaissance won best dance/electronic album, Lacy performed the Gemini Rights hit (and nominated track) “Bad Habit,” Lizzo won record of the year for the Special single “About Damn Time” and performed a medley of “About” and the album’s title track, Adele won best pop solo performance for the 30 single “Easy On Me” and Samara Joy won best new artist.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Feb. 18, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Feb. 14. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Here are the rest of the Grammy gainers on the Billboard 200:
Performer Lil Baby’s It’s Only Me (12-13 with 27,000 equivalent album units; up 1%) and My Turn (22-21 with 19,000; up 6%); performer Luke Combs’ Growin’ Up (19-19 with 20,000; up 6%), This One’s for You (36-34 with 16,000; up 5%) and What You See Is What You Get (44-38 with 15,000; up 4%); SZA’s Ctrl (20-22 with 19,000; up 1%), presenter Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour (23-23 with 18,000; up 2%), winner Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city (27-24 with 18,000; up 6%), DAMN. (42-30 with 16,000; up 11%), Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers (59-39 with 15,000; up 20%) and To Pimp a Butterfly (a re-entry at No. 168 with 8,000; up 26%). Mr. Morale won best rap album during the CBS broadcast, and Lamar was on-hand to accept the trophy.
Mick Fleetwood took part in the CBS broadcast, performing Fleetwood Mac’s “Songbird” in tribute to its late songwriter, his former Fleetwood Mac bandmate Christine McVie. (He joined Sheryl Crow and Bonnie Raitt in the performance.) Fleetwood Mac sees its Rumours album (which includes the original version of “Songbird”) rise 29-26 (17,000 equivalent album units earned; up 4%) and Greatest Hits climb 198-189 (8,000; up 5%).
Performer Chris Stapleton’s Traveller (66-61 with 12,000; up 4%) and Starting Over (113-100 with 11,000; up 7%); Styles’ Fine Line (68-48 with 14,000; up 15%) and his self-titled debut (190-161 with 8,000; up 11%); Bad Bunny’s YHLQMDLG (98-73 with 12,000; up 11%) and El Ultimo Tour del Mundo (a re-entry at No. 187 with 8,000; up 8%); performer Lil Uzi Vert’s Luv Is Rage 2 (94-87 with 11,000; up 4%) and Eternal Atake (126-124 with 10,000; up 2%) and Quavo and Takeoff’s Only Built for Infinity Links (103-109 with 10,000; up less than 1%). Quavo performed during the In Memoriam segment in tribute to the late Takeoff.
Rounding out the Grammy gainers on the Billboard 200 are winner Adele’s 21 (162-141 with 9,000 equivalent album units; up 10%) and 25 (192-156 with 8,000; up 14%), winner Dr. Dre’s Dr. Dre – 2001 (149-142 with 9,000; up 4%), performer Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III (163-151 with 9,000; up 8%) and performer and winner Sam Smith’s In the Lonely Hour (164-157 with 8,000; up 5%).
Samara Joy shakes up Billboard’s charts, as the Grammy Award winner for best new artist hits No. 1 on Jazz Albums, Traditional Jazz Albums and Heatseekers Albums for the first time (all on the lists dated Feb. 18) with Linger Awhile. The set, which was released last September, also reaches the top 10 of the Top Album Sales and Top Current Album Sales charts, while additionally debuting on the Billboard 200.
All charts dated Feb. 18 will be posted to Billboard.com on Tuesday, Feb. 14.
The 23-year-old Joy was presented the best new artist trophy during the CBS-TV broadcast of the main ceremony of the Grammy Awards on Feb. 5, while she also won another Grammy that day, for best jazz vocal album for Linger Awhile. (That award was presented during the non-televised Premiere Ceremony that streamed live on the Grammy.com website.)
Linger Awhile earned 8,500 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Feb. 9 (up 319%), according to Luminate. Of that sum, traditional album sales comprise 6,500 (up 316%). Linger Awhile tallies the largest week, by both units and album sales, for any non-holiday non-reissue jazz album in over a year – since Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga’s Love for Sale earned 12,000 units (of which nearly all were album sales) on the chart dated Jan. 1, 2022.
Linger Awhile jumps 3-1 on Jazz Albums, 2-1 on Traditional Jazz Albums and 35-1 on Heatseekers Albums. On the Billboard 200, the title debuts at No. 158. On Top Album Sales, Linger Awhile vaults 87-5, while on Top Current Album Sales it bolts 42-5.
Meanwhile, Joy’s self-titled debut effort, released in 2021, debuts on Jazz Albums and Traditional Jazz Albums at No. 7 (1,500 equivalent album units earned; up 362%). With Linger Awhile and the self-titled album concurrently in the top 10 on both charts, Joy is the first woman with two concurrent top 10 albums on both lists since the Jan. 8, 2022-dated list, when Ella Fitzgerald held a pair in each top 10.
Jazz Albums, Traditional Jazz Albums and Heatseekers Albums rank the week’s most popular jazz albums, traditional jazz albums and new and developing artists’ albums by equivalent album units, respectively. The Billboard 200 is an all-genre chart, ranking the week’s most popular albums by units. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. Top Album Sales and Top Current Album Sales rank the week’s top-selling overall albums (both current and older, catalog titles) and current albums, by traditional album sales.
Daughtry frontman Chris Daughtry wanted to release an amped-up cover of an ’80s rock song before writing the follow-up to his band’s 2021 album, Dearly Beloved. He just wasn’t sure which track would best fit. Keyboardist Elvio Fernandes had long suggested Journey’s “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart),” but the vocalist was leaning more toward Europe’s “The Final Countdown.”
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Then, when Daughtry watched the final episode of the fourth season of Stranger Things, everything changed. During a tension-filled scene, he heard the haunting Bryce Miller/Alloy Tracks remix of Journey’s 1983 single, and he was sold. “The way they used it in the show reminded me of how incredible that song is,” Daughtry says from his home office in Nashville. “And it has this darkness to it that really lends itself to being a heavier, more aggressive rock song.” (The Journey classic, a Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit in ’83, also charted anew on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Rock Songs lists after being featured in the blockbuster Netflix series.)
In July 2022, Daughtry asked his producers, Scott Stevens and Marti Frederiksen, if they thought it would be a good song for the band to cover. They agreed, but suggested Daughtry perform it as a duet with a female vocalist to give it a different vibe. “I didn’t hesitate,” he says. “I was like, ‘Yes, with Lzzy Hale, and I will text her right now.’”
Hale, frontwoman of hard rock hitmakers Halestorm, wasted no time replying: “That’s my go-to karaoke song!” she texted. “I’m in.”
Daughtry and Hale’s cover of “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart”) debuted on Jan. 5 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Journey hit single. So far, the song has garnered nearly 900,000 YouTube views and holds at No. 24 on the Mainstream Rock Airplay chart (dated Feb. 11) after four weeks.
“We never could have imagined it would take off the way it has,” Daughtry says. “Any time you touch a classic such as [this one by] Journey, there’s always a chance you’re going to get raked over the coals. I’m very grateful that hasn’t happened.”
Still, there was some minor drama. When Hale committed to collaborating, the band hadn’t yet learned the song. By the time the vocalists coordinated their schedules and planned to enter Nashville’s Sienna Studios together in October 2022, Daughtry had to fast-track the process and work on a version of “Separate Ways” that was faithful to, but more aggressive, than the original. Then they had to record the music and guide vocals. They structured the song so Hale would trade off lead vocals and harmonize on the pre-chorus and chorus.
“I was really excited to finally do it, because I’ve been singing that song in one way or another since I was 12,” Hale says before a show in Brisbane, Australia. “My mother is a huge Steve Perry fan. She had a huge crush on him when I was growing up, so there was always a Journey album playing in the house.”
For their version of “Separate Ways,” Daughtry created a greater contrast between the ethereal keyboards and the main rhythm, and planned for the vocals to match the bite of the guitars. He was going to explain his idea to Hale, then realized there was no point: “Once she opened her mouth, I’m like, ‘OK, I’m just going to shut up and let her do what she does, because she’s clearly got this. Lzzy has no shortage of bite.”
Ironically, when the collaboration began, no one involved knew that Jan. 5 marked four decades of the original song’s release. By the time Daughtry’s team realized the marketing advantage that gave them, they had just two weeks to mix, master, and submit the track to streaming services. “We didn’t plan for that at all, but it couldn’t have worked out better,” Daughtry says, before adding, “Thank God no one in Journey told us we couldn’t release it.”
Hale, who once included “Separate Ways” in an onstage piano medley with Halestorm, hopes the cover helps more young music fans develop the kind of a passion for Journey that she still cherishes. “They’re such a great band, and it’s such a cool song that lends itself to so many feelings,” she says, adding that the reverence she and Daughtry hold for the song might have contributed to the success of their cover. “Maybe people who hear it can tell how much we loved doing it and how much fun we had working together.”
Daughtry and Halestorm met in 2008 in Los Angeles at a barbecue their mutual producer, Howard Benson, threw for his birthday. They kept in touch, but became much closer when they toured together in 2013. “We still don’t see each other all that often,” admits Daughtry. “But when we do meet up, we take over right where we left off.”
Five days after “Separate Ways” hit streaming services, Daughtry and Hale connected at Nashville club The Basement East on Grunge Night. There, they joined the house band to sing an impromptu version of Alice in Chains’ “Man in the Box.”
“It’s funny, because we were both confirmed to do Grunge Night separately, and then we just decided to do the song and it looked like we had planned the whole thing,” Hale says. “It was a total coincidence, and I can’t tell you how many people came up to me afterward and said, ‘Why didn’t you do “Separate Ways?”’ I was like, ‘It’s Grunge Night!’ But I very much look forward to the day we get to perform this together live, whenever that is.”
When she hasn’t been touring with Halestorm, Hale has been busy writing songs for other artists she won’t name and contributing guest vocals for two acts she can’t yet reveal. “All I can say is one is a legendary rock group that has asked me to do amazing things on top of a track,” she says. “I’m very grateful to be a wanted lady, but people are probably going to sick of me before the year’s out. ‘Lzzy again? Seriously?’”
Daughtry will play shows in Orlando, Fla., on March 5-6 before heading to the United Kingdom for the rest of the month. When the band returns to Nashville, it will start writing the follow-up to Dearly Beloved. Not only will “Separate Ways” be on the tracklist, Daughtry says it likely will set the tone for the album.
“I feel like this cover was a catalyst for the next phase of this band,” he says. “It gives me an idea of where we want to go sonically with this next record, and I’m really excited about that.”
