Chart Beat
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Rapper Nicki Minaj’s “Blessings,” featuring gospel star Tasha Cobbs Leonard, blasts in at No. 1 on Billboard’s streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Gospel Songs chart (dated Dec. 23). It becomes Minaj’s second No. 1 and Leonard’s fifth.
The pair previously teamed for “I’m Getting Ready,” which led Hot Gospel Songs in its debut week in September 2017.
In the Dec. 8-14 tracking week, “Blessings” garnered 3.1 million official U.S. streams, according to Luminate. It also sold 3,000 downloads and arrives atop both Gospel Streaming Songs (where it’s Leonard’s fifth No. 1 and Minaj’s first) and Gospel Digital Song Sales (marking Leonard’s 10th leader and Minaj’s second).
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The collaboration is from Minaj’s album Pink Friday 2. Released Dec. 8, it enters the all-genre Billboard 200 at No. 1 with 228,000 equivalent album units in its first week, including 92,000 in album sales. It marks Minaj’s third chart-topper.
Along with “Blessings” and “I’m Getting Ready,” Leonard has led Hot Gospel Songs with her initial entry, “Break Every Chain,” for 12 weeks beginning in June 2013; “For Your Glory,” for 14 weeks starting in January 2015; and “Put a Praise on It,” featuring Kierra Sheard, for five weeks beginning in August 2016.
Leonard extends her record for the most Hot Gospel Songs No. 1s among female soloists since the chart began in 2005. She ties Maverick City Music and Kanye West for the second-most among all acts, after Kirk Franklin with eight.
Meanwhile, “Blessings” marks the second Hot Gospel Songs No. 1 debut in three weeks. Bobbi Storm’s “We Can’t Forget Him” opened atop the Dec. 9-dated tally and reigned for two weeks.
‘One Night’ Is No. 1
Tye Tribbett scores his fifth Gospel Airplay leader as “Only One Night Tho” jumps 5-1. The song, which Tribbett solely penned, increased by 21% in plays during the tracking frame.
The song gives the New Jersey-based Tribbett his fourth straight Gospel Airplay No. 1, as it follows “New,” which led for a week in February; “Anyhow” (two weeks, June 2021); and “We Gon’ Be Alright” (one, September 2020). He banked his first leader when “Victory,” with backing group G.A., ruled for three weeks beginning in September 2006.
Billboard has been publishing weekly rankings in one form or another for over a century.
Early in the 1900s, Billboard published charts detailing the popularity of sheet music in the U.S. In July 1940, Billboard unveiled its first chart ranking the sales of recorded songs, the 10-position “National List of Best Selling Retail Records,” with Bing Crosby, Jimmy Dorsey and Glenn Miller among its ranks.
Billboard expanded its number of weekly charts over the next few years, starting recaps for R&B in 1942 and country in 1944. In March 1956, the weekly Billboard 200 albums chart premiered (at just 10 positions deep). Two years later, in August 1958, the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart began.
At the end of 1958, Billboard printed a recap of the year’s biggest songs for the first time (that year also encompassed songs’ performance on pre-Hot 100 charts leading up to the list’s August launch). Domenico Modugno’s “Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu)” finished as Billboard‘s first year-end No. 1 Hot 100 song. The track, which spent five total weeks at No. 1, became the second song to top the weekly Hot 100, after Ricky Nelson’s “Poor Little Fool.”
Also in the 1958 year-end issue, Billboard continued its tradition of surveying the music industry via “The Billboard Eleventh Annual Disc Jockey Poll,” which “Volare” also crowned. “[The song] was really a left-field hit … one of the few disks in recent years with a non-English lyric to reach the top,” Billboard wrote at the time. In 2023, such hits are plentiful, as seven non-English language songs reached the top 10 alone during the year — the most ever in a calendar year. Thus, this line from that 1958 issue proved prophetic, given the sonic, and geographic, scope of that year’s, and this year’s, biggest titles: “The preference in tunes indicates that no one type of song or artist reigns supreme among jockeys. The list also includes several types of songs with many extremes, ranging from an old folk song to European, Latin American and tunes by American cleffers.”
Jumping to the latest year-end Hot 100 Songs ranking — with the weekly chart now blending streaming, radio airplay and sales data — Morgan Wallen’s 16-week No. 1 “Last Night” finished as 2023’s top track. It’s the first single that topped the Hot Country Songs chart to wrap at No. 1 since Faith Hill’s “Breathe” in 2000, and the first by a male artist since Johnny Horton’s “The Battle of New Orleans” in 1959.
Today, Billboard not only has the year-end Hot 100 Songs ranking, but also annual recaps for all 200-plus weekly charts, reflecting chart performance of songs, albums, artists and more over a 12-month tracking period.
From “Volare” to “Last Night” and every top title in between, here’s a look at every year-end No. 1 Hot 100 single since 1958, as published in each year-end Billboard issue.
Additional research by Gary Trust, Paul Grein and Alex Vitoulis
2023
Taylor Swift spends a record-extending 90th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated Dec. 23), thanks to 10 albums on the Billboard 200 and three songs on the Billboard Hot 100.
1989 (Taylor’s Version) leads Swift’s titles on the Billboard 200, ranking at No. 2 with 109,000 equivalent album units earned in the Dec. 8-14 tracking week, according to Luminate, after spending three weeks at No. 1.
Here’s a recap of Swift’s 10 current Billboard 200-charting albums:
No. 2, 1989 (Taylor’s Version)
No. 7, Midnights
No. 9, Lover
No. 10, Folklore
No. 19, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
No. 25, Red (Taylor’s Version)
No. 32, Evermore
No. 34, Reputation
No. 52, Fearless (Taylor’s Version)
No. 82, 1989
Swift also places three songs on the Hot 100: “Cruel Summer” (No. 13, following four weeks at No. 1), “Is It Over Now (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)” (No. 36, after spending one week at No. 1) and “You’re Losing Me (From the Vault)” (No. 68, after reaching No. 27).
Just below Swift, Nicki Minaj re-enters the Artist 100 at No. 2, returning to her best rank thanks to her new album, Pink Friday 2. The set launches at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 228,000 equivalent album units earned, becoming her third leader. She also debuts 14 songs on the Hot 100, upping her total to 147 career entries, the sixth-most of all time after Drake (328), Swift (232), the Glee Cast (207), Lil Wayne (186) and Future (168).
Rounding out the Artist 100’s top five, Morgan Wallen holds at No. 3, Drake holds at No. 4 and Tate McRae jumps 33-5, marking her first week in the top 10 thanks to her new album, Think Later. The set debuts at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 (66,000 units), becoming her first top 10.
The Artist 100 measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay and streaming to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.
Tate Kobang and Lourdiz are officially Billboard Hot 100-charting artists. Both musicians earn their first career entries on the latest Dec. 23-dated chart, thanks to their featured appearances on Nicki Minaj’s new LP, Pink Friday 2. The set’s “RNB,” featuring Lil Wayne and Kobang, debuts at No. 80 on the Hot 100, led by 7.2 […]
Nicki Minaj has a big week on Billboard’s charts thanks to the arrival of her new LP, Pink Friday 2.
The set, released Dec. 8 via Young Money/Cash Money/Republic Records, debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (dated Dec. 23) with 228,000 equivalent album units earned in its opening week, according to Luminate. It’s the rapper’s third leader, after 2011’s Pink Friday and 2012’s Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded.
As the new album opens at No. 1, Minaj also debuts 14 songs from the set on the Billboard Hot 100. Here’s a recap:
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Hot 100 Rank, Title:
No. 26, “Everybody,” feat. Lil Uzi Vert
No. 34, “Needle,” feat. Drake
No. 42, “FTCU”
No. 58, “Barbie Dangerous”
No. 60, “Are You Gone Already”
No. 63, “Let Me Calm Down,” feat. J. Cole
No. 64, “Beep Beep”
No. 73, “Big Difference”
No. 74, “Fallin 4 U”
No. 80, “RNB,” feat. Lil Wayne & Tate Kobang
No. 82, “Pink Friday Girls”
No. 87, “Cowgirl,” feat. Lourdiz
No. 89, “Pink Birthday”
No. 95, “Bahm Bahm”
(Three other tracks on Pink Friday 2 previously charted on the Hot 100: “Super Freaky Girl,” which debuted atop the chart in August 2022, becoming Minaj’s third No. 1, and first in a lead role; “Red Ruby Da Sleeze,” which was No. 13, this March; and “Last Time I Saw You” at No. 23 in September.)
The 14 debuts bring Minaj’s total to 147 career Hot 100 entries — the most ever among female rappers. She passes Lil Baby and Kanye West for the sixth-most overall in the chart’s 65-year history, after Drake (up to 328, thanks to his feature on “Needle”), Taylor Swift (232), the Glee cast (207), Lil Wayne (186) and Future (168).
Minaj also lifts her career count to 73 top 40 Hot 100 hits, the fifth-most after Drake (202), Taylor Swift (138), Lil Wayne (88) and Elvis Presley (81).
Thanks to their featured appearances on the album, Tate Kobang and Lourdiz also score their first Hot 100 hits.
As Pink Friday 2 includes prominent samples on nine of its 22 tracks, several former Hot 100 hits are reintroduced to the chart in a new form, including Billie Eilish’s “When the Party’s Over,” a No. 29 hit in 2019, via “Are You Gone Already,” and Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” (No. 2, 1984; “Pink Friday Girls”). Other samples include Notorious B.I.G. and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s “Notorious Thugs” (on “Barbie Dangerous”), Junior Senior’s “Move Your Feet” (on “Everybody”) and Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” (on “My Life”).
Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” adds a record-breaking 16th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 chart (dated Dec. 16).
The modern holiday classic also tops the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart for an 11th frame.
Plus, Sia’s “Snowman” reaches the Global Excl. U.S. top five for the first time, rising to No. 5.
The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard 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.
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Carey’s ‘Christmas’ Rewrites Global 200 No. 1 Record
Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” leads the Global 200 for a third consecutive week with 102.5 million streams (up 1%) and 12,000 sold (up 32%) worldwide Dec. 8-14. The song, originally released in 1994, has now spent a record-breaking 16 weeks at No. 1, following four weeks in both the 2020 and 2021 holiday seasons and five frames over last year’s holidays. It surpasses the 15-week command of Harry Styles’ “As It Was” in 2022.
Wham!’s “Last Christmas” holds at its No. 2 high on the Global 200; Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” keeps at No. 3, after reaching No. 2 last holiday season; Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” again rings in at No. 4, its best rank; and Tate McRae’s “Greedy” rebounds 9-5, following two weeks at No. 1 beginning in November.
Carey’s ‘Christmas’ Tops Global Excl. U.S., Sia’s ‘Snowman’ Hits Top 5
Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” concurrently tops the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart for a third week in a row, with 64.8 million streams (down 4%) and 5,000 sold (down 2%) outside the U.S. Dec. 8-14. The song tallies an 11th total week at No. 1, following one in the 2020 holiday season, three weeks the next year and four last season.
Wham!’s “Last Christmas” repeats at its No. 2 Global Excl. U.S. high; Tate McRae’s “Greedy” rebounds 4-3, three weeks after it hit No. 1; and Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” dips to No. 4 from its No. 3 best.
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Rounding out the Global Excl. U.S. top five, Sia’s “Snowman” makes a festive 8-5 flight, marking its, and Sia’s, first week in the region. The song, from 2017, with its profile boosted by TikTok, drew 34 million streams (up 2%) and sold 2,000 (up 18%) outside the U.S. Dec. 8-14.
The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated Dec. 23, 2023) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Dec. 19). 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, formerly known as Twitter, 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.
Mariah Carey‘s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” returns to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, as it adds a 13th total week at the chart’s highest bough.
The carol reigns in a record-extending fifth holiday season. It was originally released on Carey’s album Merry Christmas in November 1994 and, as streaming has grown and holiday music has become more prominent on streaming services’ playlists, it hit the Hot 100’s top 10 for the first time in December 2017 and the top five for the first time in the 2018 holiday season. It led at last, prior to this week, over the holidays in 2019 (for three weeks), 2020 (two), 2021 (three) and 2022 (four).
“When I wrote [it], I had absolutely no idea the impact the song would eventually have worldwide,” Carey marveled of “Christmas” in 2021. “I’m so full of gratitude that so many people enjoy it with me every year.”
The song tops the Hot 100 after Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” spent the last two weeks at No. 1, having led for the first time 65 years after its release.
Plus, two fellow holiday classics return to the Hot 100’s top 10: The Ronettes’ “Sleigh Ride” (14-8) and Dean Martin’s “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!” (12-10).
The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data, the lattermost metric reflecting purchases of physical singles and digital tracks from full-service digital music retailers; digital singles sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites are excluded from chart calculations. All charts (dated Dec. 23, 2023) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Dec. 19). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
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Streams, airplay & sales: Carey’s “Christmas,” on Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings, rises 2-1 on the Hot 100. It drew 42.2 million streams (up 10%, boosted by the Dec. 8 premiere of its “Festive Lambs Edition” video, which features the song’s original audio) and 26.1 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 8%) and sold 8,000 downloads (up 68%, aided by the iTunes Store’s 69-cent sale-pricing, for multiple holiday titles) in the U.S. Dec. 8-14, according to Luminate.
Also during the tracking week, Carey continued her Merry Christmas One and All! tour, including her Dec. 9 show at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
The single holds at No. 2 on the Streaming Songs chart, following 18 weeks at No. 1; jumps 7-3 on Digital Song Sales, following four frames at the summit; and pushes 29-22 on Radio Songs, where it hit a No. 11 best last season.
Holiday hits atop the Hot 100: Now up to 13 weeks, Carey’s “Christmas” extends its mark as the holiday song with the most time tallied atop the Hot 100, among three such No. 1s. “The Chipmunk Song,” by The Chipmunks with David Seville, spent four weeks on top beginning in December 1958, followed by Lee’s two weeks on top with “Rockin’.”
Thanks to Carey’s and Lee’s No. 1s, two holiday songs have led the Hot 100 in the same holiday season for the first time.
No. 1 in a fifth season: Carey’s “Christmas” is the first song to top the Hot 100 in five distinct runs on the chart, its latest coronation following its commands in the 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 holiday seasons. (Just one other song has led in each of even two stays: Chubby Checker’s “The Twist,” in in 1960 and 1962.)
Plus, “Christmas” makes its record-breaking sixth nonconsecutive ascent to No. 1 on the Hot 100, having previously led for three straight weeks in the 2019 holiday season; two nonconsecutive weeks over the 2020 holidays; three weeks in a row during the 2021 holidays; and four straight weeks last season. With its sixth distinct rise to No. 1, it surpasses Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” and Harry Styles’ “As It Was,” both of which made five separate climbs to the top, this year and in 2022, respectively.
No. 1 in 63rd week: Carey’s “Christmas” rules the Hot 100 in its 63rd week on the chart. It ties Glass Animals’ seasonally-opposite “Heat Waves” for the latest, by total chart weeks, that a song has led the list. The latter completed a record 59-week trip to No. 1 in March 2022 and reigned for five consecutive weeks, through its 63rd frame; it went on to log a record 91 weeks on the chart.
Carey’s third No. 1 of 13 weeks or more: Carey ties Boyz II Men as the only artists with three songs that have topped the Hot 100 for 13 or more weeks each. Notably, Carey and the group teamed for one smash that contributes to the feat: “One Sweet Day.”
Mariah Carey:
16 weeks, “One Sweet Day,” with Boyz II Men, 1995-96
14 weeks, “We Belong Together,” 2005
13 weeks (to-date), “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” 2019-23
Boyz II Men:
16 weeks, “One Sweet Day,” with Carey, 1995-96
14 weeks, “I’ll Make Love to You,” 1994
13 weeks, “End of the Road,” 1992
Carey’s record 92nd week atop Hot 100: With “Christmas,” Carey adds her record-extending 92nd week at No. 1 on the Hot 100, dating to the chart’s Aug. 4, 1958, inception.
Most Weeks at No. 1 on Hot 100:
92, Mariah Carey
60, Rihanna
59, The Beatles
56, Drake
50, Boyz II Men
47, Usher
43, Beyoncé
37, Michael Jackson
34, Adele
34, Elton John
34, Bruno Mars
34, Taylor Swift
“Christmas” became Carey’s 19th Hot 100 No. 1, the most among soloists and one away from The Beatles’ overall record 20. It also made Carey the first artist to have ranked at No. 1 on the chart in four distinct decades, dating to her first week on top in August 1990 with her debut hit, “Vision of Love.”
No. 1 on Holiday 100: Carey’s “Christmas” concurrently rebounds to No. 1 on the multi-metric Holiday 100 chart, which uses the same methodology as the Hot 100, for a 59th week at the apex, of the chart’s 66 total weeks since the it originated in 2011. It also rules as the top title on the Greatest of All Time Holiday 100 Songs chart.
At No. 2 on the Hot 100, Lee’s “Rockin’ ” adds a fourth week atop Streaming Songs (42.4 million streams, up 3%).
Rounding out a fully festive top five on the Hot 100, Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock,” released in 1957, holds at its No. 3 high; Wham!’s “Last Christmas,” from 1984, keeps at its No. 4 best; and Burl Ives’ “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” from 1964, climbs 7-5, having hit No. 4.
Jack Harlow’s “Lovin On Me” dips 5-6 on the Hot 100, three weeks after it became his third No. 1. The chart’s top nonholiday title becomes Harlow’s fourth leader on Digital Song Sales (2-1; 8,000 sold) and notches a fifth week each atop the multi-metric Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts.
Andy Williams’ “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” from 1963, lifts 8-7 on the Hot 100, having reached No. 5. The late singer now sports a record span of 64 years, two months and two weeks from his first week in the top 10 with “Lonely Street” in October 1959 through his latest week in the region.
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The Ronettes’ “Sleigh Ride” dashes 14-8 on the Hot 100, hitting a new high, led by 23.7 million streams (up 16%). Originally released in 1963, the same year that the act posted its lone other top 10 – the iconic No. 2-peaking “Be My Baby” – “Sleigh Ride” previously ranked in the top 10, at No. 10, for a week over the 2021 holidays (shortly before the passing of group co-founder Ronnie Spector). The Ronettes now boast a span of 60 years and three months in the Hot 100’s top 10 – the longest among groups. (Excluding holiday fare, The Beatles broke the record for the longest top 10 span among all acts last month: 59 years, nine months and three weeks, from “I Want To Hold Your Hand” in 1964 to the debut of their newly-released single “Now and Then.”)
Tate McRae’s “Greedy” rebounds 16-9 on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 7, as her new album Think Later debuts at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, marking her first top 10 set.
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Wrapping the Hot 100’s top 10, Dean Martin’s “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!,” from 1959, rises 12-10 (22.3 million streams, up 5%). The song hit a No. 8 best in the 2020 holiday season, having become the fourth top 10 for the late legendary singer. He posted his first three top 10s in 1964-65: “Everybody Loves Somebody” (No. 1, one week), “The Door Is Still Open to My Heart” (No. 6) and “I Will” (No. 10).
Again, for all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on Billboard’s social accounts, and all charts (dated Dec. 23), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (Dec. 19).
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.
Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday 2 debuts atop the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Dec. 23), marking her third leader — and the most No. 1s among female rappers. She previously led the tally with Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded in 2012 and her debut studio set Pink Friday in 2011.
Pink Friday 2 launches with 228,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 14, according to Luminate. That sum marks the largest week for a rap album by a woman in the 2020s decade, and the biggest for an R&B/hip-hop album by a woman this year.
The set also sold 25,000 copies sold on vinyl — the largest week for a rap album by a woman since Luminate began electronically tracking sales in 1991.
Pink Friday 2 was preceded by a trio of charting songs on the Billboard Hot 100: “Super Freaky Girl” (No. 1 in 2022), “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” (No. 13, 2023) and “Last Time I Saw You” (No. 23, 2023).
In total, Pink Friday 2 marks Minaj’s seventh top 10 album, the entirety of her charting efforts, on the Billboard 200. She has also hit the region with The Pinkprint (No. 2, 2015), Queen (No. 2, 2018), Beam Me Up Scotty (No. 2, 2021) and the best-of compilation Queen Radio: Volume 1 (No. 10, 2022).
Also in the new top 10 of the Billboard 200, Tate McRae lands her first top 10-charting set with the No. 4 arrival of Think Later.
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 Dec. 23, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Dec. 19. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
With a third No. 1 on the Billboard 200, Minaj breaks out of a tie with Foxy Brown for the most leaders among female rap artists. Minaj is also the first female rapper with No. 1 albums in two different decades, as she logged her first two leaders in the 2010s, and her third came in the 2020s.
Of Pink Friday 2’s 228,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Dec. 14, SEA units comprise 129,000 (equaling 169.87 million on-demand official streams of the 22 songs on the streaming edition of the album), album sales comprise 92,000 and TEA units comprise 7,000.
With 169.87 million on-demand official streams generated by Pink Friday 2’s songs, the set garners Minaj’s largest streaming week ever, the 2020s decade’s biggest streaming week for a rap album by a woman, and 2023’s largest streaming week for any R&B/hip-hop album by a woman.
As Pink Friday 2 sold 92,000 copies, the album registers the biggest sales week for any rap album by a woman in the 2020s decade and the largest sales week for an R&B/hip-hop album by a woman in 2023.
Pink Friday 2‘s sales were bolstered by the album’s availability across a range of variants, in both digital download and physical configurations on its street date (Dec. 8). It was issued as a 10-track album in two CD editions (a standard version and a signed version sold through Minaj’s webstore) and four vinyl editions (including three retailer-exclusive versions, all with different covers and color vinyl).
Concurrently, an expanded 22-song version of Pink Friday 2 was issued via digital retailers, in both a clean and explicit edition. Four later iterations of the digital album were released through the tracking week through Minaj’s webstore, in both clean and explicit versions, all with alternative cover art, and sold for $5 each. On Monday (Dec. 11), a 23-track version added a remix of the album’s “Beep Beep” with 50 Cent. Tuesday brought a 23-track edition with the bonus track “Love Me Enough,” featuring Monica and Keyshia Cole. Wednesday saw the 22-track edition drop with a new alternate cover. Finally, on Thursday, a 24-track version dropped containing both the “Beep Beep” remix and “Love Me Enough.”
Pink Friday 2 sold 25,000 copies on vinyl in its first week, scoring the largest sales week for a rap album by a woman since Luminate began tracking sales in 1991.
At No. 2 on the Billboard, Taylor Swift’s chart-topping 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is a non-mover with 109,000 equivalent album units earned (up 7%). It’s the first time in nine months that the top two albums are by female artists. It last happened on the March 11-dated list, when Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito was No. 1 and SZA’s SOS was No. 2.
Interestingly, this week marks the fifth time Minaj and Swift have occupied the top two positions on the chart together. They first did so on the Jan. 22, 2011-dated chart, when Swift’s Speak Now was No. 1 and Minaj’s Pink Friday was No. 2. Then, for three weeks in a row in January of 2015 (Jan. 3-17), Swift’s 1989 was No. 1 while Minaj’s The Pinkprint was No. 2.
Minaj’s frequent collaborator Drake is No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with his former leader For All the Dogs, which is steady with 68,000 equivalent album units (down 10%). Drake is also a featured artist on Pink Friday 2, along with fellow Billboard 200 chart-toppers 50 Cent, J. Cole, Future, Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Wayne and Monica.
Tate McRae lands her first top 10-charting album on the Billboard 200 as Think Later bows at No. 4. The set starts with 66,000 equivalent album units — her biggest week yet. Of its starting sum, SEA units comprise 58,000 (equaling 75.99 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs), album sales comprise 8,000 and TEA units comprise less than 1,000.
Think Later was preceded by McRae’s first top 10-charting hit on the Billboard Hot 100, “Greedy,” which reached the top 10 in November and has so far climbed to No. 7 (as of the most recently published chart). The album also houses her latest Hot 100 entry, “Exes,” which has thus far peaked at No. 34.
The rest of the top 10 on the new Billboard 200 is comprised of former No. 1s, including three more Swift titles. Michael Bublé’s Christmas is a non-mover at No. 5 (64,000 equivalent album units; up 7%); Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time falls 4-6 (63,000; down 3%); Swift’s Midnights dips 6-7 (57,000; up 4%), SZA’s SOS descends 7-8 (53,000; up 2%); Swift’s Lover climbs 11-9 (49,000; up 13%) and Swift’s Folklore falls 9-10 (49,000; up 5%).
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.
Cher returns to Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart for the first time since 2002, as “DJ Play a Christmas Song” debuts at No. 40 on the survey dated Dec. 23.
The single gained by 10% in plays in the Dec. 8-14 tracking week, according to Luminate. Among top major-market supporters of the song are iHeartMedia’s WHTZ New York, KIIS Los Angeles and KYLD San Francisco.
The legendary singer last appeared on the chart, which began in 1992 and ranks weekly plays on over 150 mainstream top 40 radio stations, in March 2002 with “Song for the Lonely,” which reached No. 38. She tallied two prior entries, both in 1999: “Strong Enough” (No. 31) and her pop-culture juggernaut “Believe” (No. 2).
Cher ends a break of 21 years, nine months and three weeks between Pop Airplay hits. Two years ago, Elton John returned after an even longer wait between charted titles at the format: 23 years, seven months and one week, between “Something About the Way You Look Tonight” in 1998 and the debut of “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix),” with Dua Lipa.
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Meanwhile, “DJ Play a Christmas Song” spends a third week at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It became Cher’s first leader on the list since “If I Could Turn Back Time,” which led for a week in September 1989, as she ended the longest gap between No. 1s in the chart’s 62-year history: 34 years, two months and one week (surpassing John’s absence of 23 years, 11 months between “Something About the Way You Look Tonight” and his own modern holiday hit, “Merry Christmas,” with Ed Sheeran, two Yuletide seasons ago).
“DJ Play a Christmas Song” has also topped the Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales and Holiday Digital Song Sales charts, as Cher has now claimed visits to No. 1 on Billboard song surveys in every decade since the 1960s, including her run as half of Sonny & Cher.
The carol is from Cher’s first holiday LP, Christmas, which jingled in at No. 1 on the Nov. 4-dated Top Holiday Albums chart.
All charts dated Dec. 23 will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, Dec. 19.
Billie Eilish and Khalid’s 2018 collaboration “Lovely” launches at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top TV Songs chart, powered by Tunefind (a Songtradr company), for November 2023 after its inclusion in Disney+ and Hulu’s Goosebumps.
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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 November 2023.
“Lovely” appears in the Nov. 3 episode of Goosebumps, the first-year series that is an adaptation of RL Stine’s long-running children’s book series of the same name. After premiering Oct. 13 with its first five episodes, the series premiered one episode a week through its season finale on Nov. 17.
The song earned 17.5 million official on-demand U.S. streams and 1,000 downloads in November 2023, according to Luminate. The song peaked at No. 64 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 2019, Eilish’s first song to chart there.
It’s the second time “Lovely” has led Top TV Songs, following the May 2018 tally, when the track reigned after a synch in Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why.
“Lovely” and Goosebumps reign over a pair of songs from Netflix’s Virgin River, the second part of the fifth season of which premiered Nov. 30. Both are holiday-themed songs; Michael Bublé‘s “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” leads the group at No. 2 (30.5 million streams, 3,000 downloads), while Stevie Wonder’s “What Christmas Means to Me” (No. 5; 9.5 million streams, 2,000 downloads) also appears.
Both Fargo and A Murder at the End of the World also boast a pair of entries each.
See the full top 10, also featuring music from The Kardashians, Fargo and Invincible, below.
Rank, Song, Artist, Show (Network)1. “Lovely,” Billie Eilish & Khalid, Goosebumps (Apple TV+/Hulu)2. “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” Michael Buble, Virgin River (Netflix)3. “All the Small Things,” blink-182, The Kardashians (Hulu)4. “Hey Joe,” Charlotte Gainsbourg, Fargo (FX)5. “What Christmas Means to Me,” Stevie Wonder, Virgin River (Netflix)6. “Karma Police,” Radiohead, Invincible (Amazon Prime Video)7. “Clint Eastwood,” Gorillaz, For All Mankind (Apple TV+)8. “No More ‘I Love You’s,” Annie Lennox, A Murder at the End of the World (FX)9. “Working Man,” Rush, Fargo (FX)10. “Moon River,” Frank Ocean, A Murder at the End of the World (FX)