Chart Beat
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Billboard revealed its year-end Boxscore charts, ranking the top tours, venues, and promoters of 2023. That coverage included analysis of the new wave of genre diverse artists crashing stadium stages, and in turn, our charts. This week, we are breaking down the year’s biggest tours, genre by genre. Today, we continue with country. Country music […]
Taylor Swift spends a record-extending 89th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated Dec. 16), thanks to 10 albums on the Billboard 200 and four songs on the Billboard Hot 100.
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Fittingly for Swift’s latest frame atop the Artist 100, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) leads her titles on the Billboard 200 at No. 2 with 101,000 equivalent album units earned Dec. 1-7, according to Luminate, after spending three weeks at No. 1.
Here’s a recap of Swift’s 10 current Billboard 200-charting albums:
No. 1, 1989 (Taylor’s Version)
No. 6, Midnights
No. 9, Folklore
No. 11, Lover
No. 17, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
No. 27, Red (Taylor’s Version)
No. 32, Reputation
No. 38, Evermore
No. 58, Fearless (Taylor’s Version)
No. 80, 1989
On the Hot 100, Swift charts four songs, led by “Cruel Summer” at No. 7, following four weeks on top. Next up, all from 1989 (Taylor’s Version): “You’re Losing Me (From the Vault),” which jumps 46-27, a new high, following its first full week of tracking; “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)” at No. 30, after a week at No. 1; and “Now That We Don’t Talk (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)” at No. 84, after it debuted at its No. 2 best. With its ascent, “You’re Losing Me (From the Vault)” becomes Swift’s 138th top 40 Hot 100 hit, extending her record for the most among women.
ATEEZ re-enters the Artist 100 at No. 2, a new peak thanks to the Korean pop group’s new release The World EP.Fin: Will. The set arrives at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 152,000 units, becoming the act’s first No. 1, and fourth top 10.
Rounding out the Artist 100’s top five, Morgan Wallen falls 2-3, Drake drops 3-4 and Zach Bryan holds at No. 5.
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.
12/12/2023
A look at chart highlights from January through December.
12/12/2023
The new charity holiday album A Philly Special Christmas Special scores big across Billboard’s charts (dated Dec. 16), as the star-studded set debuts in the top 10 on Top Album Sales, Independent Albums, Top Current Album Sales, Top Holiday Albums and Vinyl Albums.
The 11-track project, led by Philadelphia Eagles players Jason Kelce, Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson, features 10 covers and one new original song. Special guests on the project include Patti LaBelle, Travis Kelce (Jason’s Kansas City Chiefs star brother and Taylor Swift’s boyfriend), Amos Lee, Howie Roseman (Eagles’ executive vice president/general manager) and Waxahatchee. All profits from the album will be donated to Philadelphia-area charities, including Children’s Crisis Treatment Center and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
A Philly Special Christmas Special sold 28,000 copies in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 7, according to Luminate, and was available as either a digital download album or a $75 red-colored vinyl LP. It launches at No. 3 on Top Album Sales and Top Current Album Sales and No. 3 on Vinyl Albums (nearly 17,500 sold on vinyl). The set also bows at No. 4 on Independent Albums and No. 8 on Top Holiday Albums, as well as at No. 25 on the Billboard 200
A Philly Special Christmas Special is the sequel to 2022’s seven-track A Philly Special Christmas. A new $125 double-vinyl-only release that combined both albums also makes a notable debut, as A Philly Special Christmas Special (The Deluxe Album 2022 & 2023) sold nearly 20,000 copies and bows at No. 6 on Top Album Sales and Top Current Album Sales, and No. 2 on Vinyl Albums. It also starts at No. 8 on Independent Albums, No. 17 on Top Holiday Albums and No. 55 on the Billboard 200.
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. The new Dec. 16, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Dec. 12. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Top Current Album Sales and Vinyl Albums ranks the week’s top selling current albums (excluding older titled, referred to as catalog) and vinyl albums, respectively. Independent Albums and Top Holiday Albums rank the week’s most popular independently released albums and holiday albums, respectively, by equivalent album units.
As the Philly Special team debuts at Nos. 3 and 6 on Top Album Sales, ATEEZ notches its second chart-topper as THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL bows atop the tally. It sold 146,000 copies in the tracking week – the Korean pop ensemble’s biggest sales week. As is typical for major K-pop releases, THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL was issued in multiple collectible physical configurations, 33 in total. All have the same 12-song tracklist but have alternative packaging and contain different branded paper merchandise (some randomized, including photocards). Of the 33 editions, 26 are CDs and seven are vinyl. Among the variants are retail exclusives sold through the likes of Barnes & Noble, Target and Walmart.
Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) falls to No. 2 on Top Album Sales (54,000; down 38%), while Stray Kids’ ROCK-STAR descends 2-4 (21,000; down 43%) and Swift’s chart-topping Folklore falls 3-5 (21,000; down 41%).
Swift’s former No. 1s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and Midnights move 5-7 and 4-8, respectively, selling about 19,000 each (down 33% and 39%, respectively). Cher’s Christmas returns to the top 10, bounding 12-9 with 19,000 sold (up 5%), and Dolly Parton’s former leader Rockstar falls 6-10 with 18,000 (down 26%).
In the week ending Dec. 7, there were 2.708 million albums sold in the U.S. (down 9.7% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 2.342 million (down 13%) and digital albums comprised 366,000 (up 18.9%).
There were 1.010 million CD albums sold in the week ending Dec. 7 (up 8.4% week-over-week) and 1.320 million vinyl albums sold (down 24.5%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 33.863 million (up 3.2% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 44.508 million (up 16.7%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 96.182 million (up 6.2% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 78.891 million (up 10.4%) and digital album sales total 17.290 million (down 9.3%).
Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” continues at No. 1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated Dec. 16). The modern holiday classic leads the former for a record-tying 15th total week and the latter for a 10th frame, all logged over the past four holiday seasons.
More merry music newly infuses the charts’ top 10, as Michael Bublé’s “It’s Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas” (18-7), Kelly Clarkson’s “Underneath the Tree” (16-8) and Andy Williams’ “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” (15-10) all return to the Global 200’s top 10, while Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” (22-3), Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me” (21-5), Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” (26-6), Sia’s “Snowman” (20-8) and Bublé’s carol (25-9) revisit the Global Excl. U.S. top 10.
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’ Ties for Longest Global 200 Rule
Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” leads the Global 200 for a second consecutive week with 101.7 million streams (up 38%) and 9,000 sold (up 46%) worldwide Dec. 1-7. The song, originally released in 1994, has now spent a record-tying 15 weeks at No. 1, following four weeks in both the 2020 and 2021 holiday seasons and five frames over last year’s holidays. It matches the 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” rises 4-3, after reaching No. 2 last holiday season; Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” rolls 6-4, returning to its best rank; and Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me” dashes 8-5, likewise revisiting its highpoint.
Plus, three holiday hits return to the Global 200’s top 10: Michael Bublé’s “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” (18-7, after reaching No. 6; 45 million worldwide streams, up 50%); Kelly Clarkson’s “Underneath the Tree” (16-8, revisiting its peak to date; 43.8 million, up 46%) and Andy Williams’ “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” (15-10, after hitting No. 7; 41.9 million, up 47%).
Carey’s ‘Christmas’ Notches 10th Week at No. 1 on Global Excl. U.S.
Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” concurrently tops the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart for second week in a row, with 67.3 million streams (up 53%) and 5,000 sold (up 71%) outside the U.S. Dec. 1-7. The song adds a 10th total week at No. 1, following one in the 2020 holiday season, three weeks the next year and four last season. It’s just the third song to have dominated Global Excl. U.S. for double-digit weeks, joining two 13-week No. 1s: Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” this year and Harry Styles’ “As It Was” in 2022.
Wham!’s “Last Christmas” returns to its No. 2 Global Excl. U.S. high, from No. 3; Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” bounds back to its No. 3 best, from No. 22 (34.2 million streams outside the U.S., up 70%); Tate McRae’s “Greedy” dips 2-4, two weeks after it hit No. 1; and Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me” claws 21-5 (33.1 million, up 65%).
Also in the Global Excl. U.S. top 10, three more seasonal songs return to the region: Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” (26-6, after reaching No. 5); Sia’s “Snowman” (20-8, a new high); and Michael Bublé’s “It’s Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas” (25-9, after climbing to No. 4).
The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated Dec. 16, 2023) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Dec. 12). 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.
As Christmas classics decorate the upper reaches of the Billboard Hot 100, Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” remains hot on radio – and becomes her sole longest-leading No. 1 on Billboard’s all-format Radio Songs chart. “Cruel Summer” rules the Radio Songs ranking (dated Dec. 16) for a seventh week – one-upping Swift’s six-week command with “Blank […]
Brenda Lee spends a second week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart with her holiday standard “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” A week earlier, the song led the list for the first time – 65 years after its release – and became Lee’s third Hot 100 No. 1, and her first since 1960.
Lee – who celebrates a birthday today (Dec. 11), as she turns 79 years young – reminisced to Billboard on Dec. 4 about recording the carol, when she was 13, after learning of its ascent to No. 1 at last from Universal Music Group Nashville chair/CEO Cindy Mabe. “The producer cut the air way down in the studio,” Lee recalled. “He had a big Christmas tree and everyone was there – the Anita Kerr Singers and the ‘A-team’ [of Nashville studio musicians], as we called them. It was like a little touch of magic kind of sprinkled in, and it turned out to be magic. It really did.”
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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. 16, 2023) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Dec. 12). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
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Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” on Decca/MCA Nashville/UMe, drew 41.3 million streams (up 18%) and 20.5 million radio airplay audience impressions (down 1%) and sold 6,000 downloads (up 109%) in the Dec. 1-7 tracking week, according to Luminate.
The single holds at No. 1 for a third total week atop the Streaming Songs chart, after it first ruled the last frame of the 2022 holiday season; rebounds to its No. 4 high, from No. 12, on Digital Song Sales; and keeps at No. 33 on Radio Songs, where it has hit a No. 17 best.
The song was originally recorded and released in 1958. Written by Johnny Marks and produced by Owen Bradley, it first hit the Hot 100 in December 1960 and reached an original No. 14 peak two weeks later. It went on to spend nine weeks at No. 2 on the Hot 100 between December 2019 and last holiday season.
For its 65th anniversary this year, Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” received its first official video, featuring cameos from country stars Tanya Tucker and Trisha Yearwood, Nov. 3. Plus, Lee performed it on NBC’s Christmas at the Opry, which aired Dec. 7. She has also joined TikTok, where she’s been sharing posts about the song and her career.
The song is just the third holiday No. 1 ever on the Hot 100, with all three now having led for multiple weeks. “The Chipmunk Song,” by The Chipmunks with David Seville, also from 1958, spent four weeks on top beginning that December, and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” released in 1994, has notched 12 weeks at No. 1, from its first scaling of the summit in December 2019 through last holiday season.
With another week at No. 1, Lee extends her record for the longest span of an artist topping the Hot 100: 63 years and five months, from her first week at No. 1 with “I’m Sorry” (July 18, 1960) through the latest list.
Plus, Lee, at 79 years of age as of today, expands by another week her mark as the senior-most artist to have ruled the Hot 100.
Meanwhile, Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” leads the multi-metric Holiday 100 chart, which uses the same methodology as the Hot 100, for a second week.
Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” repeats at No. 2 on the Hot 100, with across-the-board gains in streams (38.5 million, up 19%), airplay (24.1 million, up 12%) and sales (5,000, up 29%). With its 2019 triumph, Carey claimed her 19th Hot 100 No. 1, extending her record for the most among soloists and moving to within one of The Beatles’ overall record 20. The single also reigns as the No. 1 hit on Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Holiday 100 Songs retrospective.
Next up among holiday songs on the Hot 100, two carols return to their best ranks: Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” (4-3), from 1957, and Wham!’s “Last Christmas” (5-4), from 1984.
Jack Harlow’s “Lovin on Me” slips 3-5 on the Hot 100, two weeks after it became his third No. 1. Still, the chart’s top nonholiday song wins the list’s top Airplay Gainer award for a second consecutive week (37.7 million, up 26%, as it becomes his third top 10 on Radio Songs, surging 17-10), while also increasing in streams (27.6 million, up 10%). It concurrently tops the multi-metric Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts for a fourth week each.
Burl Ives’ “A Holly Jolly Christmas” is steady at No. 6 on the Hot 100, with the 1964 nugget having hit a No. 4 high.
Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” holds at No. 7 on the Hot 100, following four nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 beginning in October. It also rebounds for a seventh week atop Radio Songs (63.6 million, down 3%) – surpassing the six-week reign of “Blank Space” in 2014-15 as the sole longest-leading No. 1 of Swift’s eight career leaders on the airplay chart.
Andy Williams’ “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” originally released in 1963, lifts 10-8 on the Hot 100. The late singer now sports a record span of 64 years, two months and one week from his first week in the top 10 with “Lonely Street” in October 1959 through his latest frame. (Excluding holiday fare, The Beatles broke the record for the longest top 10 span 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.”)
SZA’s “Snooze” keeps at No. 9 on the Hot 100’s top 10, after reaching No. 2, as it leads the multi-metric Hot R&B Songs chart for a 19th week. As noted Dec. 9, upon the one-year anniversary of the release of parent album SOS, “Snooze” is the only song to have appeared on the Hot 100 each week in 2023 to date.
Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red” descends 8-10, after it led for three nonconsecutive weeks beginning in September.
Again, for all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on Billboard’s social accounts, and all charts (dated Dec. 16), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (Dec. 12).
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.
Last week, Billboard revealed its year-end Boxscore charts, ranking the top tours, venues and promoters of 2023. That coverage included analysis of the new wave of genre diverse artists crashing stadium stages, and in turn, our charts. This week, we are breaking down the year’s biggest tours, genre by genre. Today, we begin with K-pop, […]
ATEEZ’s THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL bows at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Dec. 16), marking the first chart-topper for the Korean pop group. The set earned 152,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 7, according to Luminate, nearly entirely from traditional album sales. Its album sales were bolstered by its availability across more than 30 collectible editions.
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THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL is the fourth top 10-charting effort from the act, all posted consecutively. The group previously charted as high as No. 2 with its last entry, THE WORLD EP.2: OUTLAW, in July.
While ATEEZ has logged six charting efforts on the Billboard 200 in total (four top 10s, plus two more that charted outside the region), the act has yet to notch a charting song on any U.S. Billboard airplay or streaming chart, the Billboard Hot 100, or the Billboard Global 200 or Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts. (The latter two 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.)
Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, Nat King Cole’s The Christmas Song returns to the region for a sixth consecutive holiday season, as the set rises 16-10.
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. 16, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Dec. 12. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Of THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL’s 152,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Dec. 7, album sales comprise 146,000 (with 99% of that sum driven by physical album sales and 1% via digital album downloads), SEA units comprise 5,500 (equaling 7.59 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 12 tracks) and TEA units comprise 500 units.
As is typical for major K-pop releases, THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL was issued in multiple collectible physical configurations, 33 in total. All have the same 12-song tracklist, but have alternative packaging and contain different branded paper merchandise (some randomized, including photocards). Of the 33 editions, 26 are CDs and seven are vinyl. Among the variants are retail-exclusives sold through the likes of Barnes & Noble, Target and Walmart.
Each variant of the physical album in the U.S. was sold with a minimum of two random photocards, but could contain up to five depending on where the customer bought the album. K-pop photocards are similar to sports trading cards, in that each card typically has a photo of a member of the group. Each random photocard is from a set of eight total cards (one for each member). In total, there were a dozen sets of eight photocards, with assorted sets assigned to the retail-exclusive versions of the album.
As THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL album is mostly in the Korean language, it is the 23rd mostly non-English language album to hit No. 1, and the seventh of 2023 (and of those seven, the fifth in mostly Korean). The other six are: Stray Kids’ ROCK-STAR, Bad Bunny’s Spanish-language Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, NewJeans’ 2nd EP ‘Get Up,’ Stray Kids’ 5-STAR, Karol G’s Spanish Mañana Será Bonito and TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s The Name Chapter: Temptation.
THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL is the only debut in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200. The rest of the top seven comprises former No. 1s, with Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) falling 1-2 (101,000 equivalent album units; down 28%), Drake’s For All the Dogs dipping 2-3 (76,000; down 10%), Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time stationary at No. 4 (65,000; up 3%), Michael Bublé’s Christmas jingling 9-5 (60,000; up 28%), Swift’s Midnights dropping 3-6 (55,000; down 15%) and SZA’s SOS steady at No. 7 (51,000; up 7%).
Noah Kahan’s Stick Season rises 13-8 for its highest rank since its deluxe reissue pushed it 100-3 (its peak) on the June 24-dated chart. The album earned 48,000 equivalent album units in the tracking week – up 26%. The set’s gain follows Kahan’s performances on NBC’s Saturday Night Live on Dec. 2.
Taylor Swift’s former No. 1 Folklore descends 5-9 with 46,000 equivalent album units earned (down 22%).
Rounding out the top 10 is Nat King Cole’s holiday album The Christmas Song, climbing 16-10. It visits the top 10 for a sixth consecutive holiday season (having reached a high of No. 5 in January). It earned 44,000 equivalent album units in the tracking week – up 21%. The album boasts Cole’s classic title track, along with Billboard Holiday 100-charting favorites including “Deck the Halls,” “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “Joy to the World” and “Caroling, Caroling.”
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.
In the year since SZA’s SOS set sail on Dec. 9, 2022, the album has swelled into a blockbuster success that has dominated the R&B game. With a string of hit singles that preceded the release, exploded alongside it, or kept the momentum alive months after the drop date, SOS pushed SZA’s career into the stratosphere, while gliding from milestone to milestone on Billboard’s charts.
Before the first inklings of a title, release date or single, SZA’s second studio album was already among the industry’s most-anticipated albums. The singer-songwriter’s full-length debut, 2017’s Ctrl, proved a phenomenon, debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and, as of December 2023, remaining on the chart every week since its arrival. Ctrl singles “Love Galore,” featuring Travis Scott, and “The Weekend” scored SZA a pair of top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, while collaborations “All the Stars,” with Kendrick Lamar, and a supporting turn on Maroon 5’s “What Lovers Do” not only added to SZA’s success in the Ctrl era, but also produced top 10 Hot 100 results.
As anticipation mounted, SZA’s sophomore era began with a cycle of hope and disappointment for fans, as a series of single releases warmed up the speculation machine each time. “Hit Different,” featuring Ty Dolla $ign, landed in September 2020, followed by “Good Days” in December 2020 and “I Hate U” in December 2021, but each came and went without any further announcements regarding S2.
And suddenly, the five-year wait had an expiration date. In a November 2022 Billboard cover story, SZA revealed the second album’s title, SOS, and promised its release the following month. If there was any doubt that the gap cooled the fervor for SOS, its initial success answered with authority. SOS debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and broke the record for the biggest streaming week for an R&B album, while its new singles expanded the hitmaking legacy of its predecessors, with “Kill Bill,” in particular, reaching historic heights.
That explosion, however, was just the beginning of a historic year for SOS, both in terms of all-time records on Billboard’s storied R&B/hip-hop charts and personal milestones for SZA’s career. As we hit the one-year anniversary of SOS, here’s a rundown of what the juggernaut album has achieved in its time.
SOS Debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200
Image Credit: Courtesy of RCA Records