Chart Beat
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Roberta Flack, the chart-topping, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter whose string of hits bridged sophisticated pop and vintage soul, died Monday (Feb. 24) at age 88. A product of piano-based classical training and the gospel stylings of the AME Church, Flack signed with Atlantic Records in 1968 after years as an educator and club performer around Washington, D.C.
In January 1970, Flack’s debut album, First Take, arrived on Billboard’s charts, including a No. 195 start on the Billboard 200. Among its eight tracks was a cover of a popular folk song, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” which emerged as a mainstream hit after Clint Eastwood borrowed it for his film directorial debut, Play Misty for Me, in late 1971. The track became Flack’s fourth career hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1972, and by mid-April, became the singer’s first No. 1. Six weeks at the summit fueled “Face” to the year-end No. 1 Hot 100 honor, and it won Grammy Awards for record and song of the year in 1973. First Take, too, enjoyed spoils, pushing to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for a five-week reign.
The following year repeated many of the same triumphs, with another No. 1 Hot 100 single, “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” and the record of the year Grammy Award. Flack nearly landed both victories for a third consecutive year, as her third and final Hot 100 leader, 1974’s “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” was also nominated for record of the year.
In all, Flack achieved 18 Hot 100 hits in her career, including six duets with her most frequent collaborator, Donny Hathaway, with classics “The Closer I Get to You” (No. 2) and “Where Is The Love” (No. 5) finding the strongest success. Her last appearance came in 1991, with the Maxi Priest collaboration “Set the Night to Music,” which peaked at No. 6.
Her material touched a new generation, too, through the Fugees’ rendition of “Killing Me Softly” from their seminal album, The Score. The hip-hop trio’s version soared to No. 2 on the Radio Songs chart from chart-topping results across multiple formats, including Pop Airplay and R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, and won a Grammy Award for best R&B vocal performance by a duo/group.
To review the legend’s impact across popular music, here’s the official recap of Roberta Flack’s biggest hits on the Billboard Hot 100.
Roberta Flack’s Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits ranking is based on weekly performance on the Hot 100 from its Aug. 4, 1958, start through Feb. 22, 2025. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at lower spots earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted differently to account for chart turnover rates during various periods.
“If Ever I See You Again”
Calibre 50 adds a record-extending 27th No. 1 on Billboard’s Regional Mexican Airplay chart with “El Sueño Americano.” The Sinaloans achieve the feat on the March 1-dated tally, as the song advances 2-1 for its first week on top. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “El Sueño […]
Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” repeats at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 chart. A week earlier, the song rebounded to the top, from No. 15, fueled by his performance of it during the Super Bowl LIX halftime show on Feb. 9.
Meanwhile, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile” adds a 10th week atop the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart.
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The Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts, which began in September 2020, rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the United States.
Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.
“Not Like Us” drew 111.7 million streams (down 1%) and sold 21,000 (down 46%) worldwide Feb. 14-20. The Drake diss track — which on Feb. 2 won the Grammy Awards for record and song of the year, among its five victories – logs a fourth week atop the Global 200.
Lamar also ranks in the Global 200’s top 10 with “Luther,” with SZA (up 4-3 for a new high); 2018’s “All the Stars,” also with SZA (10-6 for a new best); and “TV Off,” featuring Lefty Gunplay (8-7, after hitting No. 5). All four songs were part of his Super Bowl halftime performance.
“Die With a Smile” holds at No. 2 after nine weeks at No. 1 on the Global 200 starting last September; ROSÉ and Mars’ “APT.” slips 3-4 following 12 weeks on top beginning in October; and Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” lifts 6-5 after three weeks at No. 1 last August.
“Die With a Smile” claims a 10th week atop Global Excl. U.S., with 103.3 million streams (down 4%) and 4,000 sold (down 17%) outside the U.S. Feb. 14-20. The song is the fifth to run up double-digit weeks at No. 1 since the chart began.
“APT.” holds at No. 2 after a record 15 weeks at No. 1 on Global Excl. U.S. beginning in November.
Lamar charts three songs in the Global Excl. U.S. top 10: “Not Like Us” is steady at its No. 3 best; “Luther” bounds 7-4, surpassing its prior No. 6 peak; and “All the Stars” shoots 17-8, becoming Lamar’s fifth top 10 and SZA’s fourth.
Plus, “Birds of a Feather” remains at No. 5, after three weeks on top last August.
The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated March 1, 2025) will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, Feb. 25. For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard’s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X and Instagram.
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.
As PARTYNEXTDOOR and Drake’s first collaborative album, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, debuts atop the Billboard 200 chart (dated March 1), it marks PARTYNEXTDOOR’s first leader, and the 14th chart-topper for Drake. In turn, Drake now ties JAY-Z and Taylor Swift for the most No. 1s among soloists in the nearly-69-year history of the chart. […]
PARTYNEXTDOOR and Drake’s first collaborative album, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, debuts atop the Billboard 200 chart (dated March 1), earning 246,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Feb. 20, according to Luminate. It’s the first leader for PARTYNEXTDOOR and fourth top 10 charting set. It’s 14th No. 1 for Drake among 17 top 10s. Drake now ties JAY-Z and Taylor Swift for the most No. 1s among soloists in the nearly-69-year history of the chart. Overall, only The Beatles, with 19 No. 1s, have more.
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A collaborative project from PARTYNEXTDOOR and Drake had been teased for months, but was only officially announced on Feb. 3, in advance of its release on Feb. 14.
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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 March 1, 2025-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Feb. 25. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Of $ome $exy $ongs 4 U’s 246,000 first-week equivalent album units, SEA units comprise 219,000 (equaling 287.04 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs; it debuts at No. 1 on Top Streaming Albums), album sales comprise 25,000 (it debuts at No. 3 on Top Album Sales) and TEA units comprise 2,000.
With 287.04 million on-demand official streams generated of its songs, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U nets the largest streaming week for an album in 2025. It’s the largest streaming week for any album since Kendrick Lamar’s GNX debuted at No. 1 on the Dec. 7, 2024, chart with 379.72 million.
Speaking of Lamar, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U is Drake’s first album since the feud between him and Lamar escalated in March 2024 with the release of “Like That” by Future, Metro Boomin and Lamar. A flurry of diss tracks followed from each artist, with Lamar’s “Not Like Us” finding the most commercial success, spending three nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (including a return to the top a week ago after he performed the track during his Super Bowl LIX halftime show on Feb. 9).
$ome $exy $ongs 4 U replaces Lamar’s GNX atop the Billboard 200, as the latter falls to No. 3 after returning to No. 1 a week ago in the wake of the halftime show. It’s the first time Lamar and Drake have swapped the No. 1 slot on the Billboard 200. This is also only the third time Lamar and Drake have been in the top three at the same time on the Billboard 200. They previously shared space in the top three on the May 13, 2017, chart, when Lamar’s DAMN. was in its second week at No. 1 and Drake’s former leader More Life was No. 2, and on the May 6, 2017, chart, when DAMN. debuted at No. 1 and More Life was No. 3. (DAMN. spent four nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 in May-August 2017 and More Life had three weeks at No. 1, consecutively, in April 2017.)
$ome $exy $ongs 4 U is the first collaborative No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2025. There were three collab No. 1s in 2024, none in 2023, one in 2022, one in 2021 and one in 2020. Of Drake’s 14 leaders, three are collaborative sets. He previously led with the collab projects Her Loss (with 21 Savage in 2022) and What a Time to Be Alive (with Future in 2015).
On the new Billboard 200 chart, Sabrina Carpenter’s former leader Short n’ Sweet surges 7-2 with 156,000 equivalent album units earned (up 208%) following its reissue with five additional tracks on Feb. 14. The set was reissued on streamers, as well as at retail as a digital download, CD, cassette and two vinyl variants. One of the additional cuts on the reissue is a reworked version of Carpenter’s solo No. 1 Hot 100 hit “Please Please Please,” now rerecorded as a collaboration featuring Dolly Parton.
With 156,000 equivalent album units earned in the latest tracking week, Short n’ Sweet snags its biggest week since it debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated Sept. 7, 2024, with 362,000. Of the album’s 156,000 units earned, SEA units comprise 83,000 (up 108%, equaling 111.95 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs; it climbs 7-4 on Top Streaming Albums), album sales comprise 71,000 (up 616%; it rises 6-1 on Top Album Sales) and TEA units comprise 2,000 (up 198%).
SZA’s chart-topping SOS falls 2-4 on the Billboard 200 with 93,000 equivalent album units earned (down 14%); Bad Bunny’s former No. 1 Debí Tirar Más Fotos dips 4-5 with 67,000 units (down 14%); and The Weeknd’s chart-topping Hurry Up Tomorrow descends 3-6 with 58,000 units (down 42%).
Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess slips 5-7 on the Billboard 200 (49,000 equivalent album units earned; down 17%); Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft drops 6-8 (46,000; down 18%); Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping One Thing at a Time dips 8-9 (39,000; down 5%); and Lamar’s DAMN. falls 9-10 (33,000; down 14%).
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.
SZA isn’t the only artist topping charts with an “SOS” release.
Victoria Monét’s “SOS (Sex on Sight),” featuring Usher, wins the crown on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart, leaping 4-1 to lead the list dated March 1. The pair’s sultry duet gives Monét her second leader on Adult R&B Airplay, while Usher collects his 10th champ and ties for the most among male artists in the chart’s 31-year history.
“SOS,” released on Lovett/RCA Records, tops Adult R&B Airplay as the most played song on U.S. panel-contributing adult R&B radio stations in the tracking week of Feb. 14-20, according to Luminate. The single improved 14% in plays for the week compared with the previous frame.
Monét previously topped Adult R&B Airplay with her breakout hit, “On My Mama,” for three weeks in March 2024.
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In addition to entering the double-digit No. 1s club on Adult R&B Airplay, Usher ties Charlie Wilson for the most leaders by a male artist since the chart launched in September 1993. Here’s a look at the overall leaderboard:
14, Alicia Keys
11, Toni Braxton
10, Mary J. Blige
10, Usher
10, Charlie Wilson
9, Maxwell
9, Tank
8, H.E.R.
8, Kem
8, Bruno Mars
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To review Usher’s milestone moment, here are the superstar’s 10 No. 1 titles on the Adult R&B Airplay chart:
“Here I Stand,” seven weeks at No. 1, beginning Dec. 6, 2008
“Papers,” three, Jan. 2, 2010
“There Goes My Baby,” one, July 31, 2010
“Climax,” one, July 7, 2012
“Don’t Waste My Time,” featuring Ella Mai; two, June 13, 2020
“Bad Habits,” one, Dec. 5, 2020
“Glu,” two, June 24, 2023
“Good Good,” with Summer Walker & 21 Savage; six, Nov. 18, 2023
“Risk It All,” with H.E.R., two; April 27, 2024
“SOS (Sex on Sight),” Victoria Monét featuring Usher; one (to date), Feb. 28, 2025
“SOS” is on the deluxe edition of Monét’s debut album, Jaguar II, which was reissued in October 2024. The original version, released in August 2023, won two Grammy Awards in 2024: best R&B album and best engineered album, non-classical.
Elsewhere, “SOS” pushes 25-21 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 radio stations. There, the single improved to 4.6 million audience impressions, an 18% climb from the prior tracking week.
All charts dated March 1 will update on Billboard.com on Tuesday, Feb. 25.
The stratospheric success of Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet continues. The pop star’s sixth LP, which came out last August, has returned to the summit of the Official U.K. Albums Chart following the recent release of a deluxe version (Feb. 21).
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The new edition includes a remix of “Please Please Please” featuring Dolly Parton, plus bonus tracks “15 Minutes,” “Couldn’t Make It Any Harder,” “Busy Woman” and “Bad Reviews.”
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Upon arrival, the Short n’ Sweet saw Carpenter become the first female in history to score both the U.K.’s No. 1 album and single (“Taste”) simultaneously. It landed the second-biggest opening week of 2024 – only Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department outperformed it. The LP has now racked up three non-consecutive weeks at the top.
Earlier this week, meanwhile, the 25-year-old shared details of another huge outdoor London gig for the summer. On July 6, she’ll headline BST Hyde Park for the second time, following her previously sold-out show on July 5.
Tickets for Carpenter’s new date will go on sale at 10 a.m. GMT on Feb. 24 from the festival’s official website. She will be supported by Clairo and British star Olivia Dean on the day, with a full lineup expected to arrive soon.
Manic Street Preachers follow at No. 2 with their Critical Thinking, the Welsh rockers’ 15th LP. Over the course of four decades, the band has stacked up a further 14 top 10 U.K. albums, including two chart-toppers: 1998’s This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours and The Ultra Vivid Lament, released three years ago.
PartyNextDoor and Drake’s collaborative effort $ome $exy $ongs 4 U finishes at No. 3, while indie outfit The Wombats come in at No. 4 with Oh! The Ocean, their fifth U.K. top 10 album to date. Central Cee rounds out the top five with Can’t Rush Greatness, a chart mainstay since its release last month.North London singer-songwriter Louis Dunford, meanwhile, is celebrating his first top 10 appearance with Be Lucky finishing at No. 8.
Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” has soared to the top of the U.K.’s Official Singles Chart (Feb. 21).
The Drake diss track track, first released in May 2024, marks the Compton rapper’s maiden No. 1 hit in the U.K., thanks to exposure from his Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show earlier this month. His explosive performance has already become the most-watched halftime show in history, according to the NFL and Apple Music, surpassing 130 million viewers.
A recent U.K tour announcement with SZA has also continued to bolster Lamar’s current chart success. Two of the pair’s collabs, “Luther” and “All The Stars,” appear at No. 4 and No. 5 this week. He is also leading the pack in the U.S., too, as “Not Like Us” has returned to the summit of the BillboardHot 100 this week for the first time since last July.
Across an illustrious career, Lamar has notched up 11 top 10 singles in the U.K., from Taylor Swift team-up “Bad Blood” through to “Humble,” the lead single from his 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning LP Damn.
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Following acclaimed performances on late-night chat programs including The Graham Norton Show and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Lola Young’s “Messy” comes in at No. 2, breaking her four-week run atop the charts. The track appears on her studio album This Wasn’t Meant for You Anyway, which was released in May 2024 via Island Records.
After taking to the stage at The BRIT Awards on March 1, Young will kick off her U.K. headlining tour the following week on March 3 at London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town. In April, she will perform at Coachella, ahead of a stacked festival season including major events such as Manchester’s Parklife and Reading & Leeds.
There’s also further chart dominance incoming from Sabrina Carpenter. Having recently released a deluxe edition of last year’s Short n’ Sweet LP, its focus track “Busy Woman” comes in at 10, while “Please Please Please” re-enters the top 10 for the first time in four months thanks to a remix with Dolly Parton (No. 9).
Elsewhere, Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” shimmies on up to No. 3. Further down the chart, AJ Tracey and Jorja Smith’s buzzy new collab “Crush” debuts at No. 23, while Sam Fender’s “People Watching” hops up five places to No. 26, coinciding with the release of his album of the same name.
Cole Swindell adds his 13th top 10 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart as “Forever to Me” pushes a spot to No. 10 on the March 1-dated tally. The song increased by 6% to 17 million audience impressions Feb. 14-20, according to Luminate. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news […]
Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, 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.
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This week: Drake’s new album with PartyNextDoor has a mid-week breakout hit, Charli XCX has a pre-Brat viral bump, Riley Green’s song (and video) for the lovers sees seasonal gains, and more.
Drake’s “Nokia” Is Buzzing, Aaron Hall Embraced on Streaming After “Gimme a Hug” Sample
In its first couple days of release, the early leader on streaming from PartyNextDoor & Drake’s new R&B collaborative album $ome $exy $ongs 4 U was Drake’s more rap-driven solo number “Gimme a Hug,” with the song topping the Apple Music real-time chart and reaching the top 10 on Spotify’s Daily Top Songs USA listing. But over the week, another song from even deeper in the 21-track album has taken over as its top performer: the pop hook-driven, two-part banger “Nokia.”
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With backing vocals and a beat helmed by U.K. producer Elkan, “Nokia” – also credited solely to Drake – had the usual big streaming drop following its first day of release, but has been climbing throughout the week. On Tuesday, it posted 2.9 million official on-demand U.S. streams, according to initial data provided by Luminate – its best streaming performance since that Friday of release, and its first time passing “Hug” as the set’s most-streamed song. Meanwhile, the song has also been one of the week’s best sellers, topping the iTunes real-time chart and moving a combined 13,000 copies over its first five days of availability.
Meanwhile, “Hug” continues to offer warmth on streaming to its original sample source. Aaron Hall’s “I Miss You,” which Drake heavily lifts from towards the end of his $exy $ongs ¢enterpiece, garnered over 700,000 streams during the first five days of this tracking week (Feb. 14-18), after combining for under 100,000 streams the equivalent period the prior week, a gain of 694% for the 1993 Billboard Hot 100 top 20 hit. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
‘How I’m Feeling Now’ Winter? An Old Charli XCX Track Is Going Viral
Charli XCX’s enormous 2024 — which included the critical and commercial success of her Brat album and its accompanying Sweat tour alongside Troye Sivan — has already pushed into 2025, thanks to a fruitful Grammys night and more arena headlining dates. Now, a song that’s years older than her comeback album is going viral: the tender, ethereal “Party 4 U,” from her 2020 lockdown album How I’m Feeling Now, has been exploding on TikTok in recent weeks, with a series of lip synch performances from longtime Charli fans ready to prove their pre-Brat bona fides.
A month ago, “Party 4 U” was earning 278,000 official on-demand U.S. streams (for the chart week ending Jan. 23), according to Luminate; that number more than doubled to 573,000 streams for the week ending Feb. 13, and will once again surpass that high-water mark after earning 830,000 streams from Feb. 14-18, according to initial Luminate reports. Charli herself acknowledged the viral explosion on Wednesday (Feb. 19): “it’s p crazy that this song is suddenly getting love in this kinda way,” she wrote. “I know this song means so much to so many angels. she’s a cutie