Chart Beat
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In the first five weeks of 2024, Taylor Swift won two Grammy Awards (including a record-breaking fourth for album of the year, for Midnights), announced a new studio album (onstage at the Grammys!), got her ninth No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with the revived Lover hit “Cruel Summer,” topped Billboard’s annual Power 100 list for the first time, and saw two of her albums surpass the 2 million U.S. sales mark: 1989 (Taylor’s Version) and Lover.
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1989 (Taylor’s Version), released in 2023, jumped past the 2 million mark – counting only traditional album sales (purchases of CD, vinyl, cassette and digital download copies) – in the week ending Jan. 11, according to Luminate. Meanwhile, Lover, released in 2019, flew past the 2 million threshold in the week ending Jan. 18. They mark her ninth and 10th albums to sell at least 2 million in the U.S.
Swift’s top-selling album in the U.S. is Fearless, with 7.286 million copies sold.
Plus, on the latest Top Album Sales chart, the former No. 1 Lover locks up its 200th nonconsecutive week on the tally, as it rises 8-4 on the list dated Feb. 10. It sold 8,000 copies in the week ending Feb. 1 (the tracking week captured on the Feb. 10-dated chart) – up 21% compared to its sales in the previous week. Only two other Swift albums have spent at least 200 weeks on Top Album Sales: her self-titled album, with 286 weeks (and counting), and Fearless, with 224 weeks.
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.
Elsewhere on the new Top Album Sales chart, Grateful Dead score its first No. 1 as Dave’s Picks, Volume 49: Frost Amphitheatre, Stanford U., Palo Alto, CA (4/27/85 & 4/28/85) debuts atop the list. It sold 21,000 in its first week. Rock supergroup The Smile sees its new album Wall of Eyes starts at No. 2 (14,500) while Swift’s chart-topping 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is steady at No. 3 (10,000; down 9%). Green Day’s Saviors slips 1-5 in its second week with 7,000 (down 82%), while Alkaline Trio’s Blood, Hair and Eyeballs bows at No. 6 with just over 6,000. Stray Kids’ chart-topping ROCK-STAR is stationary at No. 7 with 6,000 (down 2%) and Swift’s former leader Midnights falls 5-9 with nearly 6,000 (down 13%).
Two debuts close out the top 10, as Static-X’s Project Regeneration, Volume 2 launches at No. 9 with nearly 5,000, and Future Islands’ People Who Aren’t There Anymore bows at No. 10 with 4,000.
In the week ending Feb. 1, there were 1.118 million albums sold in the U.S. (up 1.3% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 827,000 (up 0.5%) and digital albums comprised 291,000 (up 3.6%).
There were 404,000 CD albums sold in the week ending Feb. 1 (up 3.9% week-over-week) and 418,000 vinyl albums sold (down 2.4%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 2.108 million (down 31% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 2.413 million (down 46.4%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 5.915 million (down 36.1% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 4.545 million (down 40.2%) and digital album sales total 1.370 million (down 17.7%).
Mesita, Nicki Nicole, Emilia and Tiago PZK‘s “Una Foto” adds a fourth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 chart as the team-up rules the Feb. 10-dated list. It’s the longest reign for Nicki Nicole since “Entre Nosotros,” also with Tiago PZK, LIT Killah and Maria Becerra, ruled for 16 weeks between […]
Creepy Nuts’ “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” Holds at No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated Feb. 7.
Streaming for the MASHLE season 2 opener gained about 20% from the previous week to 17,675,013 streams, also holding at No. 1 for the metric. Downloads rose 4-2 with 12,981 units, up 37%. The track debuted on the radio airplay and karaoke lists this week, at No. 9 and No. 63, respectively. Overall points are up 22% and the song continues to gain momentum, dominating the Japan Hot 100 with a huge lead over the song at No. 2.
In its 18th week on the chart, tuki.’s “Bansanka” stays at No. 2 for the second week in a row. While down by about 0.4% to 10,486,916 streams, the track holds No. 2 behind “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” for the metric. Downloads are down about 12% to 5,887 units, slipping 6-7, but moves 4-3 for karaoke, indicating that the song is further expanding its reach to the general public.
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Ado’s “Show” returns to the top 3, still racking up points in downloads, streaming, and video views to chart for the 22nd week. The “New Genesis” singer’s latest track “Chocolat Cadabra,” released digitally Jan. 31, debuts at No. 31 this week, coming in at No. 4 for downloads, No. 14 for radio, and No. 14 for video.
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Boku ga Mitakatta Aozora’s “Sotsugyo made” (“Until Graduation”) debuts at No. 8, powered by sales. The second single by the girl group launched with 47,086 copies, about 66.9% more than its debut single (28,204 first-week copies). The new song comes in at No. 2 for radio and the group is off to a good start for the year.
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The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.
See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Jan. 29 to Feb. 4, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.
London-based duo Good Neighbours debuted on Billboard’s charts for the first time a week earlier, and now, the pair is officially a Billboard Hot 100-charting act, thanks to its debut single “Home.” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The song, released Jan. 17 via Some Action, reaches […]
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: Tracy Chapman’s Grammy performance spurs massive gains for her signature song, The Greatest Night in Pop revives a charity classic, and BossMan Dlow gets in the viral mix.
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“Fast Car” Keeps on Driving After Grammys Performance
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Though she hasn’t been nominated at the awards since 2010, Tracy Chapman was unquestionably one of the biggest winners from the Grammys on Sunday night (Feb. 4). She made a rare public appearance at the ceremonies to perform her signature 1988 smash “Fast Car” alongside country superstar Luke Combs, whose cover version brought the song back into the mainstream in 2023. The much-buzzed-about performance has led to days of celebration of Chapman’s at times under-recognized legacy — and, of course, a whole lot of “Fast Car” consumption.
“Fast Car” racked up 949,000 official on-demand U.S. streams on Monday (Feb. 5), the day following the Grammys — up 241% from the 278,000 it notched the prior Monday (Jan. 29). That’s a big gain, though it’s nothing compared to how the song exploded in digital song sales, soaring 38,400% from a negligible amount to nearly 14,000. The Combs version also saw some huge gains over the same period, rising 37% in streams to nearly 1.6 million and nearly 3,900% in sales to just over 6,000.
Could it be enough for Chapman’s “Fast Car,” which originally peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988 to return to the chart? It’s not impossible, though it will have to do well enough to make the top half of the chart to be eligible for a re-entrance, due to Billboard chart rules about catalog songs. If it keeps cruising through the week on its early momentum though, it may have a shot — and as of Wednesday, it was still No. 2 and No. 52 on the daily U.S. charts for iTunes and Spotify, respectively. — ANDREW UNTERBERGER
“We Are the World” Streams Expand Over 300% Thanks to Netflix Doc
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On Jan. 29, the documentary The Greatest Night in Pop, which chronicled the 1985 creation of the all-star charity single “We Are the World,” was released on Netflix, and became instant fodder for music-history nerds. The doc combines new interviews with artists like Lionel Richie, Bruce Springsteen and Cyndi Lauper with dazzling archival footage — including Michael Jackson warbling the hook to himself in the studio, and Huey Lewis trying to reach his upper register in the wee hours of the morning — that shows the chaotic, communal creation of the No. 1 Hot 100 hit for humanitarian aid in Africa.
Naturally, the extended behind-the-scenes look at “We Are the World” has resulted in older fans revisiting the sing-along and new listeners checking it out on streaming services. In the three days preceding the release of The Greatest Night in Pop (Jan. 26-28), “We Are the World” earned 106,000 official U.S. on-demand streams, according to Luminate; during the following Friday-to-Monday tracking period (Feb. 2-4), that number jumped to 472,000 streams, an uptick of 342%. Meanwhile, digital song sales during that same three-day period exceeded 2,300, after earning a negligible amount the previous week.
Although those bumps will likely die down as more time elapses from the documentary release, who knows — maybe the renewed interest will spawn an all-star charity single for a new generation? (The song’s 40th anniversary is coming up next year.) – JASON LIPSHUTZ
Rick Ross-Adjacent Drama Helps Bossman Dlow Score a Viral Hit
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Public drama between an artist’s family members can sometimes turn salacious enough to provoke new interest in that artist’s music — but in the case of Rick Ross and the warring factions of his inner circle, the squabbling has benefited another artist entirely.
Rick Ross’ ex-partner, Tia Kemp, has recently been going back and forth with the rapper’s 21-year-old daughter, Toie Roberts, about (among other things) the veracity of her education and high school diploma. During the social media showdown, “Get in With Me” by rising Florida rapper BossMan Dlow has turned into an unofficial anthem of the feud, after being used in a post by Kemp that has since been adopted as a TikTok meme at the end of January.
Now, “Get In With Me” is turning into a hit on his own — with some social media users suggesting that the rapper give Kemp a cut of his earnings from the crackling trap song. From Jan. 26-29, the track earned 1.93 million official U.S. on-demand streams; fast forward one week, and “Get In With Me” scored 4.26 million streams from Feb. 2-5, according to Luminate. Bossman Dlow may be on the verge of his first Hot 100 hit, and it’s largely thanks to some dirty laundry being aired online. – JL
Megan Thee Stallion has made major impact with “Hiss,” not only debuting atop the U.S.-based Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts, but crowning the Billboard Global 200 (dated Feb. 10).
According to Luminate, “Hiss” drew 39.6 million official streams worldwide in its first week, Jan. 26-Feb. 1.
While that’s a sizeable global figure, “Hiss” owes most of its worldwide success to Megan Thee Stallion’s American fanbase, with 73% of its streams, as well as an overwhelming 95% of its sales, from the U.S. The track does not appear on any of Billboard’s 40-plus international Hits of the World lists.
So while “Hiss” hits its mark atop Billboard’s flagship global ranking, it’s harder to find on its sister chart. On the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. ranking, which removes American consumption from the equation, the track arrives at No. 104. It’s just the fourth instance since the global charts began in September 2020 that the Global 200 No. 1 is outside of the top 10 of the Global Excl. U.S. – let alone the top 100. The previous biggest disparity? Just the top 15: Drake ranked at Nos. 11 (“What’s Next,” March 2021) and No. 12 (“IDGAF,” featuring Yeat, October 2023) on Global Excl. U.S. while leading the Global 200 and Encanto’s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” sat as low as No. 13 while atop the Global 200 in February 2022.
It’s rare for hip-hop tracks to lead the Global 200, but “Hiss” isn’t Megan Thee Stallion’s first. She topped the inaugural chart, as featured on Cardi B’s “WAP,” which was No. 1 for three of the chart’s first four editions. Doja Cat is the only other woman rapper to hit the top (“Paint the Town Red” for four weeks in September-October 2023), with Drake and Jack Harlow responsible for the genre’s other chart-toppers. That amounts to 13 weeks out of 178, or just 7%, that rap has crowned the Global 200.
Rap, particularly by North American artists, has struggled on both global charts, but especially on Global Excl. U.S., where “Paint the Town Red” remains the genre’s only No. 1. Inherently more focused on (rapid-fire) lyrics than melody makes the genre a tougher sell in non-English-language territories than hook-based pop music. To that end, Doja Cat and Harlow scored their chart-toppers with tracks that lean toward pop, particularly via familiar samples. For his part, Drake remains an elite star who can summon a No. 1 debut on command.
“Hiss” relies heavily on Megan Thee Stallion’s sharp wordplay and speedy delivery. That separates it from even her previous chart-topper, with “WAP” cruising along a repeated hook and a sample of its own, not to mention an instantly viral and meme-able music video, in addition to a bevy of quotable lyrics.
By the nature of its musical and lyrical structure, “Hiss” was primed to be a bigger domestic success story than international. But much of the hype that pushed the track to the top feels insular too. Following its release, listeners spotted one lyric as a reference – and not a polite one – to fellow American-born rap luminary Nicki Minaj. Minaj herself jumped in and released “Big Foot” three days later, a seething retort that generated its own Global 200 debut at No. 36.
The context around their beef spawned memes and social media back-and-forth, drawing in fans of each act, as well as those familiar with each artist’s personal lives and career history. But it didn’t do much to sell the song itself to international audiences that weren’t previously invested in the personal drama of two prominent U.S. stars that didn’t already have as strong a foothold in markets outside North America.
That’s not to say that there was no international interest in “Hiss.” The track generated 10.8 million streams outside the U.S. The fact that it debuted at all on Global Excl. U.S., albeit halfway down the chart, is more than can be said for Minaj’s own “Big Foot,” or ascendant rapper Ice Spice’s new “Think U The Shit (Fart)” (No. 78 on Global 200).
“Hiss” marks Megan Thee Stallion’s 23rd appearance on the Global 200 and 11th on Global Excl. U.S. On the latter, she’s gone as high as No. 3 with “WAP” and hit the top 40 on tracks with Dua Lipa, Maroon 5, and Ozuna. “Hiss” is her highest charting solo unaccompanied entry on Global Excl. U.S., of four overall.
The Contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week (for the upcoming Billboard Hot 100 dated Feb. 17), while Jack Harlow’s “Lovin on Me” is again the front-runner to return to No. 1, the biggest winners and performers on Music’s Biggest Night also get perhaps the final big bump of their chart runs.
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Luke Combs, “Fast Car” (River House/Columbia Nashville/Columbia): Perhaps the most buzzed-about performance of Grammy night featured Luke Combs dueting with Tracy Chapman (for the first time) on “Fast Car,” the song the two performers both had top 10 hits with, 35 years apart. It was a major moment for both artists, a long-overdue comeback appearance for a traditionally spotlight-reticent Chapman, and a full-circle one for Combs, who has called “Fast Car” his “first favorite song.”
Chapman’s version of “Fast Car” has seen the most pronounced gains since the duet aired, with her original zooming to No. 1 on the iTunes sales chart, and also reaching the top 100 of Spotify’s Daily Top Songs USA chart for the first time. But Combs’ cover has also seen a pronounced bump, climbing back into the iTunes top five and rebounding to Spotify’s U.S. top 40. Combs’ “Car” has been slowing on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 2 last July and most recently ranking in the top 10 in January, but still parks at No. 20 on the chart this week; with his added Grammy propulsion, he very well may pop a U-turn and head back towards the top 10.
Miley Cyrus, “Flowers” (Smiley Miley/Columbia): Miley Cyrus’ new signature hit was truly in full bloom on Grammy night. Not only did it take home two awards on the telecast (best pop solo performance and record of the year, her first-ever Grammy wins), but it also received a spotlight performance, in what Cyrus referred to as just her second time publicly singing the song. Her rendition was understandably triumphant — somewhat literally so, as she finished her final “started to cry, but then remembered…” pre-chorus with the ad-lib “I just won my first Grammy!”
The big Grammy moment has revived interest in the year-old song – which is still lingering in the Hot 100’s top 40, sliding from No. 27 to 32 this week – with it re-entering the top 40 on Spotify’s Daily Top Songs USA chart and the top five on the iTunes sales chart. With radio support for the song remaining steady (and recently record-breaking), if not quite as overwhelming as the song’s mid-2023 peak, it should stand a chance of jumping back into the Hot 100’s top 20 – and perhaps even higher if its newfound momentum keeps up throughout the week.
Billie Eilish, “What Was I Made For?” (Darkroom/WaterTower/Atlantic/Interscope): Award season has always been Billie Eilish and Finneas’ friend, and perhaps none more so than 2024’s. “What Was I Made For?” just won song of the year at the Grammys – their second win in the category, following “Bad Guy” in 2020 – and also received a heartfelt performance from the duo during the ceremony. That may just be the warmup for next month’s Oscars, where the song (from Barbie) is the prohibitive favorite to win in best original song (which would again be a second W for the duo, following Bond theme “No Time to Die” in 2022).
Will the momentum be enough to bump the song to the top 10? Unlike “Flowers” and “Fast Car,” which have already hit peaks of No. 1 and No. 2 on the Hot 100, respectively, “Made For” has yet to reach the chart’s top tier, having peaked at No. 14 last August amid Barbie buzz. The song is currently perched at No. 31, and is up in sales and streams since the Grammys – though not as much as the other two aforementioned Grammy gainers. If it’s going to make up serious ground, it’ll need help from radio – it’s the only one of the three songs mentioned that still has room and potential to grow on the airwaves; while it’s peaked at pop radio, it’s still rising on adult formats.
IN THE MIX
Billy Joel, “Turn the Lights Back On” (Columbia): While Columbia is certainly victory-lapping this week with its Miley Cyrus and Luke Combs Grammy night successes, the label also has reason to celebrate with one of its greatest legacy artists: Billy Joel made his return to recording with the new song “Turn the Lights Back On,” his first single since 2007. The song isn’t likely to threaten the top tier of the Hot 100, but it’s been selling well enough since its Thursday debut, and drawing enough adult radio airplay, to at least challenge for a spot on the chart – which would be his first appearance as a recording artist since his Bob Dylan-penned “To Make You Feel My Love” hit No. 50 in 1997.
Dua Lipa, “Houdini” (Warner): Grammy night’s opening performance came courtesy of returning pop star Dua Lipa, delivering her most recent single “Houdini” along with its yet-unreleased follow-up “Training Season.” Streaming gains for “Houdini,” which sits at No. 25 on the Hot 100 this week after debuting at its No. 11 high in November, have been modest following the performance — but it has seen a bigger spike in sales, which could help give it a boost back to the Hot 100’s top 20.
Multiple songs performed at the 2024 Grammy Awards reach Billboard’s LyricFind U.S. and Global charts dated Feb. 10, paced by Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” which reaches No. 1 on both rankings.
The LyricFind Global and LyricFind U.S. charts rank the fastest momentum-gaining tracks in lyric-search queries and usages globally and in the U.S., respectively, provided by LyricFind. The Global chart includes queries from all countries, including the U.S. The company is the world’s leader in licensed lyrics, with data provided by more than 5,000 publishers and utilized by more than 100 services, including Amazon, Pandora, Deezer, Microsoft, SoundHound and iHeartRadio.
“Fast Car” was performed on the Grammys telecast Feb. 4 as a duet between Chapman and Luke Combs; the latter covered the song in 2023. It was the first time the pair had performed the song together.
According to LyricFind, “Fast Car” earned a 6,171% increase in lyric searches and usages in the U.S. following the ceremony, plus a similarly sizable 6,084% bump globally.
More gains on the Billboard charts are in “Fast Car”’s future – both Chapman’s original and Combs’ rendition. The Billboard charts dated Feb. 17 will cover streaming, sales and airplay activity for Feb. 2-8.
Behind “Fast Car” comes Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now,” which appears on the LyricFind U.S. survey at No. 2. Like Chapman, who rarely performs publicly, Mitchell was a unique addition to the Grammys broadcast; she had never performed during the ceremony before 2024, and has performed sparingly in recent years due to health issues.
The performance of “Both Sides Now” found Mitchell joined by a bevy of musicians on backing vocals and instrumentation, including Brandi Carlile, Lucius, Allison Russell and more.
“Both Sides Now” scored a boost of 3,465% in lyric searches and usages in the U.S., according to LyricFind. The song also appears on the Global ranking at No. 3.
A third song performed during the ceremony, Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?,” rises 25-20 on the Global chart via a 153% increase. The tune from the Barbie soundtrack was also a big winner at the Grammys, scoring the nod for song of the year (plus best song written for visual media during the pre-telecast).
Other Grammy-related appearances on the latest LyricFind rankings include Paramore’s “This Is Why” at No. 8 on U.S. (and No. 18 on Global) and Dua Lipa’s “Houdini” at No. 9 on Global. “This Is Why” won the award for best alternative music performance, while Lipa performed “Houdini” during the broadcast.
As the dust settled on a whirlwind week for Nicki Minaj, Megan Thee Stallion and the rappers’ millions of fans, both acts can claim a new hit to their catalogs. Megan Thee Stallion’s “Hiss” launches at No. 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts for her third champ on each, […]
Singer-songwriter and Nashville native Conner Smith reaches the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time with his single “Creek Will Rise.”
Released in February 2023 on Valory Records, the track debuts at No. 89 on the Feb. 10-dated chart with 14.4 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 2%) and 3.3 million official U.S. streams (up 177%) Jan. 26-Feb. 1, according to Luminate.
The song’s profile was boosted by the Jan. 26 release of his debut full-length, Smoky Mountains. The 12-song set, which includes “Creek Will Rise,” debuts at No. 42 on Top Country Albums with 6,000 equivalent album units earned in its opening week.
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“Creek Will Rise” also holds at its No. 14 high on Country Airplay and jumps 31-23 for a new best on the multimetric Hot Country Songs chart.
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Previously, the 23-year-old charted two tracks on Country Airplay: “Learn From It” (No. 38 peak, 2021) and “Take It Slow” (No. 52, 2023). He scored his first overall chart appearance in October 2021, when “I Hate Alabama” debuted and peaked at No. 21 on Country Digital Song Sales after going viral on TikTok. The song surged after the third-ranked University of Georgia defeated top-seeded University of Alabama in the College Football Playoff National Championship on Jan. 10, 2022, giving Georgia its first trophy since the 1980 season. The timely lyrics, “I hate Alabama/ I hate crimson red/ I hate how they yell ‘Roll Tide’ when I got a Braves hat on my head” were particularly prescient.
That breakthrough helped Smith ink a deal with Big Machine’s Valory imprint. In January 2022, Billboard named him Country Rookie of the Month. “The Lord’s timing is perfect and that was true with [“I Hate Alabama”]. We put out this song on a Friday and the very next day, Alabama lost in football for the first time in two years,” Smith told Billboard at the time. “That is what made the song explode. So now anytime Alabama is playing, the song gets some love.”
Smith is the first Valory signee to debut on the Hot 100 in 2024. Three songs on the label entered in 2023: Justin Moore and Priscilla Block’s “You, Me, & Whiskey” (No. 37 peak), Thomas Rhett’s “Mamaw’s House” featuring Morgan Wallen (No. 55), and Rhett’s “Angels Don’t Always Have Wings” (No. 69).