Chart Beat
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21 Savage scores his fourth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart as American Dream debuts atop the tally (dated Jan. 27). The set bows with 133,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Jan. 18, according to Luminate, nearly completely powered by streaming activity.
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All four of the rapper’s leaders have come consecutively, starting with I Am > I Was in 2019, and followed by Savage Mode II (with Metro Boomin in 2020), Her Loss (with Drake in 2022) and American Dream.
American Dream launches with 21 Savage’s best week, by units earned, for any of his non-collaborative projects (surpassing his previous high of 131,000 in the debut frame of I Am > I Was). The set also boasts his biggest streaming week for any of his non-collaborative sets, as its collected songs generated 169.53 million on-demand official streams in its first week (again, beating the opening stanza of I Am > I Was, with 151.87 million).
American Dream was released with little warning, as the set was announced on Jan. 9 and premiered on Jan. 12. The 15-song album boasts guest turns from the likes of Metro Boomin, Doja Cat, Lil Durk, Travis Scott, Young Thug and Summer Walker.
Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, Kali Uchis logs her highest-charting album ever, as her second Spanish-language full-length set, Orquideas, starts at No. 2 — and with her biggest week ever by units earned (69,000).
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 Jan. 27, 2024-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Jan. 23. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Of American Dream’s 133,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Jan. 18, SEA units comprise 128,500 (equaling 169.53 million on-demand official streams of the 15 songs on the album), album sales comprise 4,000 and TEA units comprise 500.
Kali Uchis achieves her highest-charting album ever on the Billboard 200, as Orquideas starts at No. 2 with 69,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum — her best week ever — SEA units comprise 38,000 (equaling 51.01 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 14 songs; her biggest streaming week ever for an album), album sales comprise 31,000 (her largest sales week, and the top-selling album of the week) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.
Orquideas is Uchis’ second top 10-charting effort on the Billboard 200, following the mostly-English-language Red Moon in Venus, which debuted and peaked at No. 4 in March 2023.
Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time falls 1-3 on the Billboard 200 with 61,000 equivalent album units earned (down 1%). Drake’s chart-topping For All the Dogs dips 2-4 (52,000; down 10%) and Taylor Swift’s former leader 1989 (Taylor’s Version) descends 3-5 (50,000; down 11%).
Noah Kahan’s Stick Season slips 5-6 with 45,000 equivalent album units (down 1%), while the rest of the top 10 comprises former No. 1s: Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday 2 falls 4-7 (44,000; down 16%), Swift’s Folklore rises 10-8 (43,000; up 24%), SZA’s SOS drops 6-9 (41,000; down 6%) and Swift’s Lover falls 8-10 (38,000; down 8%).
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
DNCE’s “Cake By the Ocean” rules Billboard’s Top TV Songs chart, powered by Tunefind (a Songtradr company), after it was heard in an episode of the premiere season of Netflix’s My Life With the Walter Boys.
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Rankings for the Top TV Songs chart are based on song and show data provided by Tunefind and ranked using a formula blending that data with sales and streaming information tracked by Luminate during the corresponding period of December 2023.
“Cake By the Ocean” appears in the third episode of teen drama series My Life With the Walter Boys, whose first season premiered Dec. 7, 2023. Its synch comes a little over eight years after the song’s initial release; the track is the Joe Jonas-fronted DNCE’s highest charting song to date, peaking at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 2016.
In December 2023, “Cake By the Ocean” earned 8.7 million official on-demand U.S. streams and 1,000 downloads, according to Luminate.
It reigns over Funkadelic’s “Maggot Brain,” which bows at No. 2 after an appearance in fellow newcomer series Fellow Travelers. The Showtime historical miniseries initially premiered in October 2023, and the episode featuring “Maggot Brain,” episode seven, first aired Dec. 10 as the penultimate edition of the show.
“Maggot Brain,” featured on Funkadelic’s 1971 album of the same name, racked up 296,000 streams in December 2023.
The most featured series on the December 2023 Top TV Songs chart is The Crown, which sports three appearances from its sixth season, episodes five through 10 of which premiered Dec. 14. Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn” leads the group at No. 5 (3.3 million streams, 1,000 downloads), followed by Stardust’s “Music Sounds Better With You” at No. 7 (3.2 million streams, 1,000 downloads) and Portishead’s “Glory Box” at No. 9 (2 million streams, 1,000 downloads).
See the full top 10, also featuring music from Lawmen: Bass Reeves, For All Mankind, Reacher and A Murder at the End of the World, below.
Rank, Song, Artist, Show (Network)
“Cake By the Ocean,” DNCE, My Life With the Walter Boys (Netflix)
“Maggot Brain,” Funkadelic, Fellow Travelers (Showtime)
“Unholy War,” Jacob Banks, Lawmen: Bass Reeves (Paramount+)
“That’s Life,” Frank Sinatra, For All Mankind (Apple TV+)
“Torn,” Natalie Imbruglia, The Crown (Netflix)
“Possum Kingdom,” Toadies, Reacher (Amazon Prime Video)
“Music Sounds Better With You,” Stardust, The Crown (Netflix)
“Showdown,” Electric Light Orchestra, Reacher (Amazon Prime Video)
“Glory Box,” Portishead, The Crown (Netflix)
“Texas Sun,” Khruangbin & Leon Bridges, A Murder at the End of the World (FX)
Cody Johnson rolls up his third top 10 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart as “The Painter” climbs from No. 11 to No. 8 on the ranking dated Jan. 27.
In the Jan. 12-18 tracking week, the song increased by 10% to 20.7 million audience impressions, according to Luminate.
Benjy Davis, Kat Higgins and Ryan Larkins co-wrote the song, which Trent Willmon produced. It’s the lead single from Johnson’s LP Leather, which arrived on Top Country Albums at its No. 5 peak in November, becoming his fifth top 10. On the Jan. 20-dated list, Leather placed at No. 20 (10,000 equivalent album units, up 2%).
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Johnson, from Sebastopol, Texas, scores his third Country Airplay top 10 in succession. “The Painter” follows “Human,” which hit No. 8 last June, and “‘Til You Can’t,” which ruled for two frames starting in March 2022. He charted his first of 11 entries with “With You I Am,” which reached No. 40 in May 2017.
Johnson has two additional tracks on Country Airplay. His duet with Ian Munsick, “Long Live Cowgirls,” ranks at No. 56 and “Dirt Cheap” enters at No. 58 (600,000, up 42%).
Six-Alarm ‘Fire’
Nate Smith’s “World on Fire” leads Country Airplay for a sixth total and consecutive week (35.5 million, down 1%). It became his second straight career-opening No. 1, following “Whiskey on You,” which dominated for two weeks last February.
“World on Fire” marks the first title to top Country Airplay for at least six weeks since Morgan Wallen’s crossover smash “Last Night” reigned for eight weeks beginning last May. The latter went on to lead the 2023 Country Airplay Songs recap, as well as the year-end all-genre, multimetric Billboard Hot 100 Songs survey.
Surely continuing to spark warm thoughts amid winter, Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” climbs to No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart, dated Jan. 27.
The song, released on Republic Records, becomes Swift’s ninth AC leader, extending her mark for the most among all acts over the 2000s, ‘10s and ‘20s. In that span, Adele, Michel Bublé and Josh Groban rank second with six No. 1s each.
Meanwhile, “Cruel Summer” halts the record 37-week No. 1 run on Adult Contemporary of Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers.”
Here’s a recap of Swift’s nine Adult Contemporary No. 1s:
“Cruel Summer,” one week to date at No. 1, Jan. 27, 2024
“Anti-Hero,” three weeks, beginning March 25, 2023
“Delicate,” 10, Sept. 15, 2018
“Style,” two, July 11, 2015
“Blank Space,” four, Feb. 21, 2015
“Shake It Off,” nine, Nov. 22, 2014
“Mine,” one week, Dec. 11, 2010
“You Belong With Me,” 14, Oct. 31, 2009
“Love Story,” six, June 6, 2009
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“Cruel Summer” was originally released on Swift’s 2019 album Lover. Republic began promoting the song as a single last June, after Swift began performing it on her The Eras Tour, her first in which she’s been able to spotlight songs from Lover, which was released shortly before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The song also adds a new milestone atop the Adult Pop Airplay chart, where it logs a 20th week at No. 1, becoming just the fourth hit to have reigned for at least that long since the survey began in Billboard’s pages in March 1996. “Cruel Summer” trails only the commands of Santana’s “Smooth,” featuring Rob Thomas (25 weeks, 1999-2000), and The Calling’s “Wherever You Will Go” (23 weeks, 2001-02) and ties the rule of The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” in 2020.
Among other chart honors for “Cruel Summer,” it became the landmark 10th of Swift’s 11 career No. 1s on the all-genre, multimetric Billboard Hot 100, reigning for four weeks, and her record-breaking 12th No. 1, and her longest-leading (10 weeks), on Pop Airplay.
Plus, “Cruel Summer” is Swift’s sixth song to triple up with No. 1 ranks on Adult Contemporary, Adult Pop Airplay and Pop Airplay, joining “Anti-Hero,” “Delicate,” “Style,” “Blank Space” and “Shake It Off.” She now solely boasts the most such leaders, one-upping Adele’s five at each of the three formats (“Rolling in the Deep,” “Set Fire to the Rain,” “Hello,” “Send My Love [To Your Lover]” and “Easy on Me,” in 2011-22).
As for yet one more Swift chart feat this week, her “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) [From the Vault]” jumps 11-8 on Adult Pop Airplay. It becomes her record-extending 30th top 10 on the tally, further distancing herself from Maroon 5, second with 27, and P!nk (20).
All charts dated Jan. 27 will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, Jan. 23.
Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas One and All! tour grossed $29.6 million and sold 214,000 tickets according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore. On a per-show basis, the tour’s 15 dates sold more tickets than any Carey tour in 25 years, dating back to the Butterfly World Tour in 1998.
Carey released Merry Christmas in 1994, featuring the iconic and evergreen smash single, “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” That would be enough to cement her status as the Queen of Christmas, but Carey has put in the work each year and assumed her throne on stage as well. For every year since 2014 (except for the 2020-21 COVID years), she has toured and/or held mini residencies honoring her holiday material.
For four years, Carey played a stint at New York’s Beacon Theatre, building from 16,200 tickets in 2014, to 20,700 in 2015, and to 23,400 in 2016. She cut down to just three shows at the Beacon in 2017, before rebuilding at Madison Square Garden in 2019, 2022 and 2023. Her two shows there in December sold a combined 28,700 tickets and grossed $4.5 million, both of which are bigger than ever.
Not only has Carey increased her efficiency in New York, she’s built out across the country and into Europe. What began as a NYC-only event in 2014, expanded to Europe in 2017 and 2018, plus more North American cities in 2019. After last year’s post-pandemic return focused on just New York and Toronto, the 2023 tour boasts Carey’s biggest holiday routing yet, never playing to fewer than 12,500 fans across the U.S. and Canada. Holiday classics or not, it’s her first such major arena tour since 2006.
Considering “All I Want for Christmas Is You” re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 based on the tracking week of Nov. 10-16, and stayed at No. 2 through the first week of 2024, it’s possible she could expand beyond the Nov. 17-Dec. 17 window of this year’s run.
The Merry Christmas One and All! tour averaged $2 million and 14,200 tickets per show. Those revenue figures are Carey’s biggest ever, dating back more than 30 years since she crashed the Billboard charts.
But while a bustling concert economy and decades of inflation can explain some of her recent success, Carey’s reach – the sheer number of tickets she sold – is also sky high. That 14,200 average is the best per-show attendance for any of her tours since 1998, when she was supporting the previous year’s Butterfly.
Leading up to that 1998 tour, Carey amassed four No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and 12 No. 1 songs on the Hot 100. Since then, there have been another two No. 1 albums and seven No. 1 songs, including 14 weeks on top, spread across the last five holiday seasons, for “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” In 2019, one month before that track reached the summit, Carey ranked No. 4 on Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Artists chart, leading among women and Black artists.
Still, Carey has never toured with the same intensity as many of the acts that surrounded her on that list, such as Elton John, Madonna or Taylor Swift. Her first three concert tours, in the midst of her ‘90s chart-topping spree, each lasted for no more than 11 shows, almost one eighth of Swift’s calendar for 2024.
It’s encouraging that Carey has arguably been busier than ever on the road in the last decade, including her annual holiday series, two Las Vegas residencies and three international tours. Far removed from releasing her last chart-topper, her 2023 upswing in concert attendance, not to mention the all-time-high grosses, tells a positive story about Carey’s legacy as the Queen of Christmas, using her unique niche (and 19 No. 1 hits – a record among soloists – expanding their presence in the holiday show setlist) to fill arenas.
Taylor Swift’s long reign over Australia’s albums chart has come to an end, toppled by 21 Savage’s American Dream (via Epic/Sony).
The London-born, Atlanta-based rapper’s sixth studio album starts at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart, published Friday, Jan. 19, for his first solo leader.
Previously, ARIA reports, Savage’s highest charting solo album was I Am > I Was, which reached No. 30 in 2018, though his collaborative albums flew into the top 10. His top chart position came with 2022’s Her Loss featuring Drake (at No. 2) and 2020’s Savage Mode II with Metro Boomin (No. 4). A handful of tracks from American Dream impact the ARIA Chart, including “Redrum” at No. 23 and “Née-Nah” (with Travis Scott and Metro Boomin) at No. 34.
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With Savage claiming the throne, Swift’s reign with 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (via Universal) ends at 11 successive weeks. The fourth in Swift’s re-recording projects, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) was the best-seller for 2023, according to year-end data published by ARIA earlier this month. 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is one of five Swift titles in the ARIA top 10, a position of power that is unlikely to change anytime soon; Swifties will crank-up the listening frenzy when her The Eras Tour bounces into the market next month for seven stadium shows across Sydney and Melbourne.
Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, Jack Harlow logs a ninth non-consecutive week at No. 1 with “Lovin On Me” (Atlantic/Warner). That’s the longest run at the top by a solo male artist — excluding collaborations and featured artists — since The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” stayed at the summit for 11 weeks in 2020. It’s worth noting, “Blinding Lights” is now recognized as the most-streamed song ever on Spotify, clocking up more than 4 billion plays across the DSP’s global network.
Ariana Grande returns to the chart with “Yes, And?” (Universal), her first solo top 40 hit in Australia in almost three years. It’s new at No. 2, her 19th top 10 single — a tally that includes four No. 1s (“No Tears Left To Cry” and “Thank U, Next” in 2018, “7 Rings” in 2019, and “Positions” in 2020).
Lifted from Grande’s forthcoming seventh studio album Eternal Sunshine (due out March 8), “Yes, And?” is Grande’s first new solo hit since “POV” peaked at No. 29 in 2021.
Two early noughts pop hits from the U.K. are rocketing up the ARIA Singles Chart, thanks to the magic of movies. Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s 2001 hit “Murder On The Dancefloor” (Universal), blasts 25-12, following its sync to Emerald Fennell’s dark flick Saltburn. Also, Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten” (Sony), which this year celebrates its 20th anniversary, is back in the top 20 following its inclusion in the rom-com Anyone But You. “Unwritten” reenters at No. 18, just five places below its peak position of No. 13 set back 2004.
Finally, Morgan Wallen has another notch on his chart belt as “Thinkin’ Bout Me” (Mercury/Universal) appears at No. 48 on the ARIA Chart. “Thinkin’ Bout Me” is the sixth single lifted from the country star’s chart-leading LP One Thing at a Time.
Green Day didn’t want to be a bunch of American idiots, so they became Billboard chart titans instead. The iconic rockers are currently prepping the release of Saviors — their 14th studio album — and in anticipation of their latest LP, Billboard is reflecting on the band’s biggest chart achievements across their decades-long career.
The Cali-bred band made its first entry on a Billboard chart back in 1994 with “Longview,” their debut single. The track soared to No. 1 on Alternative Airplay, becoming the first of 12 for the Grammy-winning rock icons. Since “Longview,” Green Day has gone on to become the act with the second-most chart-toppers in Alternative Airplay history, alongside fellow rock bands Foo Fighters and Linkin Park (12).
Alternative Airplay has proven to be an area of dominance for Green Day. The band is tied with Red Hot Chili Peppers for the fourth-most Alternative Airplay entries of all time (37), and they also boast the third-most top 10 hits on the ranking (25). Over on Rock & Alternative Airplay, Green Day stands as the act with the second-most No. 1 hits (7).
Of course, Green Day wouldn’t be Green Day without its era-defining crossover success. The band has notched a pair of top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 — both in 2006 — thanks to the beloved American Idiot singles “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” (No. 2) and “Wake Me Up When September Ends” (No. 6). On the Billboard 200, the band has sent 11 titles to the top 10, including the chart-toppers American Idiot (2004, three weeks), 21st Century Breakdown (2009, one week) and Revolution Radio (2016, one week).
Although Saviors doesn’t hit DSPs until Jan. 19, the album has already helped the band increase some of its Billboard chart tallies. “The American Dream Is Killing Me,” the set’s lead single, peaked atop Rock Airplay and reached No. 22 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs.
Check out the full Billboard Explains video on Green Day’s chart success above.
After that video, catch up on more Billboard Explains videos and learn about Peso Pluma and the Mexican music boom, the role record labels play, origins of hip-hop, how Beyoncé arrived at Renaissance, the evolution of girl groups, BBMAs, NFTs, SXSW, the magic of boy bands, American Music Awards, the Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Hot 100 chart, how R&B/hip-hop became the biggest genre in the U.S., how festivals book their lineups, Billie Eilish’s formula for success, the history of rap battles, nonbinary awareness in music, the Billboard Music Awards, the Free Britney movement, rise of K-pop in the U.S., why Taylor Swift is re-recording her first six albums, the boom of hit all-female collaborations, how Grammy nominees and winners are chosen, why songwriters are selling their publishing catalogs, how the Super Bowl halftime show is booked and more.
Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up column, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. This week: YG Marley becomes the latest artist in his legendary family with a breakout single (with an assist from Mom), Rich Gang’s signature smash makes the viral rounds yet again, social media’s Jacob Elordi obsession results in another revived hit and more.
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“Praise Jah!”: YG Marley Adds Yet Another Hit to the Marley Family Legacy
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Just one month out from the theatrical release of Bob Marley: One Love (Feb. 14), the forthcoming Reinaldo Marcus Green-helmed biopic of the late reggae legend, the Marley family is adding yet another hit to their already sprawling cross-generational collection. “Praise Jah in the Moonlight,” the debut single from YG Marley, is currently exploding at streaming, garnering 1.28 million official on-demand streams during the period of Jan. 12-16, according to Luminate. That marks a whopping 176.4% increase in streams from the previous period (Jan. 5-9).
Marley’s debut track is experiencing a perfect storm of pre-release promotion and viral facts related to the song’s credits. Last winter, Marley performed “Praise Jah” at several of his mother’s tour stops. His mother? None other than Ms. Lauryn Hill. Naturally, footage from those shows gained lots of traction on socials, with fans kickstarting a grassroots campaign for an official release of the song. “Praise Jah in the Moonlight” eventually hit DSPs shortly after Christmas (Dec. 27, 2023), and once fans perused the credits, another viral element was added to the song’s run.
“Praise Jah” is co-written by Marley and Hill and includes elements of Bob Marely & The Wailers’ “Crisis,” earning the music icon composer and lyricist credits. This information has quickly made the rounds on socials, with fans praising the musical lineage of YG Marley and embracing the song’s focus on traditional reggae stylings. Having already hit No. 1 on Spotify’s Global and U.S. Viral 50 charts, “Praise Jah in the Moonlight” is looking to grow into a true breakout hit for YG Marley. – KYLE DENIS
Back to the Top for Rich Gang’s “Lifestyle,” Thanks to Very Different Viral Videos
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Rich Gang’s 2010s anthem “Lifestyle,” a No. 16 Hot 100 hit in 2014, has been gaining on streaming this week thanks to a few viral videos. The song first re-entered the cultural zeitgeist when model Alex Consani posted a video of herself dancing to the track at brunch. Since its posting, the video has been liked 4.6 million times with one commenter calling it the “video of the year” (that comment has been liked 110.4K times).
The ”Lifestyle” hype grew even further last week when it was played in the court room during Young Thug’s trial and later clips of the moment went viral on social media. All this has led to a 307% jump in streams in the last week, according to Luminate — with the song rising from 723,000 U.S. on-demand streams for the four-day period of Jan. 5-8 to over 2.2 million for the same period the following week. – KRISTIN ROBINSON
Jacob Elordi’s Sex Appeal Revives Near-Decade-Old Flume Hit
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Between his starring turns in Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla and Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn, Jacob Elordi has become the Internet’s latest obsession. Of course, the 6’5” Australian actor has long been a star for younger audiences thanks to The Kissing Booth trilogy and Euphoria, but he’s hit a new level in the past few months.
Case in point: A fan-created montage gawking over Elordi’s good looks has sparked a streaming revival for the nearly decade-old song that plays in the background. The fan-cam, which is comprised entirely of shots of Elordi’s Saltburn character, is set to Flume and Kai’s “Never Be Like You,” an era-defining dance track that reached No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 back in 2016. During the week of Jan. 5-11, the Grammy-nominated track pulled in 2.12 million official on-demand U.S. streams, marking a 75% increase from the previous week.
The Jan. 3 TikTok that kickstarted the “Never Be Like You” surge has since collected a jaw-dropping 42.1 million views and 6.5 million likes on the platform in just two weeks. The sound attached to the post – which is logged as separate from the official “Never Be Like You” sound – has already been used in over 18,000 posts – nearly all of which are about Elordi or Saltburn in some way. Between Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s “Murder on the Dancefloor” and now “Never Be Like You,” it looks like Saltburn has the Midas Touch when it comes to minting new-old hits. – KD
Let the Man Go Through: ‘Reacher’ Surrender Spurs Soul Coughing Bump
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Amazon’s action-crime series Reacher, based on the popular Jack Reacher book series, has become one of the streaming service’s biggest serial hits. With episodes of its second season now being released weekly, individual episodes are proving to have a pronounced streaming impact with some of their higher-profile synchs.
Most recently, Soul Coughing’s late-’90s left-field alt-rock hit “Super Bon Bon” was used extensively in the climax to the season’s Jan. 12-debuting penultimate episode, where the title character (played by Alan Ritchson) gives himself up to antagonist Shane Langston (Robert Patrick) as part of a thusfar-unseen plan to rescue his team members from capture. The song’s warped bass line and sung-spoken “Move a-siiiiide and let the man go through” commands perfectly matched the tension of the scene, and captured the interest of viewers – many of whom were likely unfamiliar with the song previously, as evidenced by the song ranking in the top 10 of Shazam’s U.S. Top 200 this week.
That interest also extended to DSPs, as “Super Bon Bon” notched over 118,000 official on-demand U.S. streams for the first four days of this tracking week (Jan. 12-15), according to Luminate – a 342% gain from the 27,000 streams it posted over a similar period in the previous week. If that’s what a second-to-last episode synch can do, you can bet music supervisors will be paying attention to the performance of any synchs in the upcoming season finale, airing tomorrow (Jan. 19). – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Muni Long’s “Made for Me” Turns Viral ‘Blue Pajama’ Trend Into Big Streaming Gains
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Soul singer-songwriter Muni Long’s “Made for Me” already had radio on its side – the track has reached No. 2 on Adult R&B Airplay and No. 14 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay – and now it’s turning into a sizable streaming hit thanks, in part, to a hilarious TikTok trend.
TikTok creator @peezyp – better known as “girl with the blue pajamas” — jump-started a simple trend that has captivated the app’s users and sparked new interest in Long’s latest single. The trend is simple: Decked out in blue pajamas, users walk toward the camera (lots of head-bobbing and playing to the camera as if you’re in a ‘90s R&B music video are highly encouraged) while lip-syncing the chorus of the song. The trend’s specifics draw some inspiration from Muni Long’s performance of the track at the 2023 Soul Train Music Awards.
“Made for Me” has been logging over 500,000 official on-demand streams per week for the past month and a half, but the song has shown remarkable growth over the past two weeks. During the week of Dec. 29-Jan. 4, “Made for Me” earned 1.22 million streams, increasing by 25% the following week to 1.53 million streams. Long herself has got in on the fun; On Wednesday (Jan. 17), she posted a TikTok of her jumping on the trend with the caption, “Lemme go buy some blue pajamas rq.” The official “Made for Me” sound currently plays in over 44,500 TikTok posts, while its official music video – which stars fellow R&B fixture Luke James – has garnered over 200,000 views in less than 24 hours.
Should streams continue to rise alongside its airplay numbers, “Made for Me” could very well become Muni Long’s third career entry on the Hot 100. – KD
Season’s Gainings: MLK Day Bumps for ‘60s Protest Anthems
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We don’t typically see huge streaming spikes related to the January commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day – it’s not really the kind of holiday most folks feel needs a soundtrack, for obvious reasons. That said, there were a few period anthems that understandably saw bumps in streaming on Monday (Jan. 15) for their topical relevance – including James Brown’s “Say It Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud)” (up 117% in official on-demand U.S. streams from the previous Monday to nearly 7,000, according to Luminate), Dion’s “Abraham, Martin & John” (up 46%, also to nearly 7,000) and Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” (up 14% to over 89,000). And of course, there were also gains for U2’s hit MLK tribute, the classic rock staple “Pride (In the Name of Love),” which rose 12% to over 46,000. – AU
Bring Me the Horizon notches its record-breaking fifth No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Hard Rock Songs chart, as “Kool-Aid” bows atop the Jan. 20-dated survey. The song debuts with 2.4 million official U.S. streams and 2,000 downloads sold Jan. 5-11, according to Luminate. The track is the Oli Sykes-fronted rockers’ first release since the departure […]
Taylor Swift claims her ninth album to reach 2 million in U.S. sales, as 1989 (Taylor’s Version) surpassed the threshold in the week ending Jan. 11. According to data tracking firm Luminate, the album sold 17,000 copies that week, uppping its total sales figure since its release in October to 2.014 million. (Sales are traditional album purchases – inclusive of all physical configurations [CD, vinyl, cassette] and digital album downloads.)
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1989 (Taylor’s Version) is the only album released in 2023 to have sold 2 million copies in the U.S. — it’s also the only album to have surpassed 1 million copies in 2023 (It cleared the million-mark in its debut week, ending Nov. 2.) The last-released album to cross both marks was Swift’s own Midnights, which was released in October of 2022. Midnights sold more than a million copies in its first week, and then reached the 2 million-mark in February of 2023.
Here’s a recap of Swift’s nine albums that have sold at least 2 million copies each, ranked by largest total sales: Fearless (7.285 million), 1989 (6.472 million), her self-titled album (5.871 million), Speak Now (4.817 million), Red (4.582 million), Midnights (2.814 million), Reputation (2.478 million), Folklore (2.289 million) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (2.014 million).
Swift has four more albums that have sold at least 1 million each, lifting her sum of million-selling albums to a lucky 13.
Swift’s continued strong sales should come as no surprise, as she was the year’s top-selling act in the U.S., by album sales, in each of the last five years (2019-23). And, she’s done so while an increasing number of music fans have adopted streaming as a primary means of music consumption. Swift, like many acts, has leaned in to creating additional versions of an album for purchase by superfans, which helps increase sales figures. Her albums sold spectacularly on vinyl as well, and was the configuration’s top-seller in 2023 when she accounted for one of every 15 vinyl albums sold.
On Billboard’s latest Top Album Sales chart (dated Jan. 20), 1989 (Taylor’s Version) spends a sixth non-consecutive week at No. 1, with its 17,000 copies sold (down 28%). Swift has a total of seven albums in the top 10, as 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is joined by six other former Swift leaders in the region. She ties her own record for the most concurrent titles in the top 10 by a single act.
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.
Swift’s other six titles in the Jan. 20-dated top 10 on Top Album Sales are: Midnights (rising 3-2 with 11,000; down 14%), Folklore (4-3 with 10,000; down 21%), Lover (6-5 with 9,000; down 25%), Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (8-6 with 7,000; down 30%), Evermore (5-7 with nearly 7,000; down 47%) and Red (Taylor’s Version) (14-10 with nearly 6,000; down 18%).
As for the non-Swift titles in the top 10, they are: Stray Kids’ former No. 1 ROCK-STAR (falling 2-4 with a little over 9,000; down 39%), Olivia Rodrigo’s chart-topping Guts (7-8 with 6,000; down 41%) and ATEEZ’s The World EP.Fin: Will (holding at No. 9 with nearly 6,000; down 34%).
In the week ending Jan. 11, there were 1.195 million albums sold in the U.S. (down 15.6% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 936,000 (down 17.7%) and digital albums comprised 259,000 (down 6.8%).
There were 439,000 CD albums sold in the week ending Jan. 11 (down 13.6 week-over-week) and 492,000 vinyl albums sold (down 21.1%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 946,000 (down 25.5% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 1.117 million (down 44%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 2.611 million (down 34.1% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 2.073 million (down 36.9%) and digital album sales total 538,000 (down 20.4%).