Chart Beat
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Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense surges into the top 10 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated Sept. 2) for the first time, debuting at No. 9 following the soundtrack’s expanded 40th anniversary reissue on Aug. 18. The album is the companion piece to the concert film of the same name directed by Jonathan Demme. Both the album and film were released in 1984, and the concert itself was filmed over three shows in December 1983 at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles. Among the songs performed on the album and in the film are such Billboard Hot 100 hits as “Psycho Killer,” the band’s cover “Take Me to the River” and Talking Heads’ only top 10 Hot 100 hit, “Burning Down the House.”
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The reissue of Stop Making Sense includes the complete concert for the first time, including two previously unreleased songs from the Pantages’ shows.
The expanded album was issued via digital download and vinyl LP. All versions of the album, old and new, are combined for tracking and charting purposes. In total in the week ending Aug. 24, Stop Making Sense sold 12,000 copies (up from a negligible sum the previous week) in the U.S. – the act’s best sales week for an album since Luminate began tracking music sales in 1991.
Of the album’s sales for the week, 95% came from vinyl sales – about 11,000 copies. That, too, is the band’s best sales week on vinyl in the Luminate era. On the Vinyl Albums chart, Stop Making Sense debuts at No. 4.
The album reissue is timed to the concert film’s return to movie theaters beginning on Sept. 11 with a TIFF World Premiere and Global IMAX Live event. Then, beginning on Sept. 22, the movie will play a one-week exclusive engagement in IMAX theaters, and then goes into wide release on Sept. 29.
Stop Making Sense is Talking Heads’ longest-charting album on the Billboard 200 — of a dozen charting titles — having now spent a total 119 weeks on the list. (It re-enters the latest chart at No. 73, its first week on the tally since 1986. The album peaked at No. 41 in 1984.)
Elsewhere in the top 10 of the new the Top Album Sales chart, the latest albums from Hozier, JIHYO, Russ, NCT Dream and Renee Rapp all debut in the region, while J-Hope’s 2022 release Jack In the Box returns to the top 10 (re-entering at No. 2) after its arrival on the CD format.
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.
At No. 1 on Top Album Sales is Travis Scott’s Utopia, which spends a fourth consecutive week in the lead (92,000 sold; down 7%).
J-Hope’s Jack In the Box re-enters at No. 2 with 47,000 (up from a few hundred sold the previous week) after its release on CD. The album was originally released on July 15, 2022, and debuted and first peaked at No. 5 on the July 30, 2022, chart. It was reissued with additional bonus tracks — and on CD for the first time — on Aug. 19, 2023. The set initially was released only as a digital download album and through streaming services. The CD edition of the album was available in four collectible editions, including exclusive versions for Target and Walmart, all containing assorted branded merchandise (some of which was randomized).
Hozier’s new studio set Unreal Unearth starts at No. 3 on Top Album Sales with 39,000 copies sold — with 23,000 of that sum from vinyl LP sales. The album was released in five different vinyl iterations, including exclusive color variants for Amazon, independent record stores and Hozier’s official webstore.
TWICE’s JIHYO bows at No. 4 on Top Album Sales with her debut solo album Zone, selling 37,000 copies sold. Of that sum 36,000 were from CD sales. Similar to Jack In the Box, there are multiple collectible CD iterations of Zone – 13 in all – including exclusive editions sold via Target and Walmart.
Russ’ new studio release Santiago starts at No. 5 with 32,000 copies sold — with 17,000 of that sum from vinyl LP sales. NCT Dream’s ISTJ: The 3rd Album, launches at No. 6 with 25,000 sold. Like JIHYO’s album, the NCT Dream set was also issued in 13 collectible CD packages. NewJeans’ former No. 1 2nd EP ‘Get Up’ falls 3-7 with 16,000 sold (down 21%) and Taylor’s Swift’s chart-topping Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) tumbles 2-8 with 16,000 (down 31%).
Rounding out the top 10 is Renee Rapp’s new album Snow Angel, which debuts at No. 10 with 12,000 sold.
In the week ending Aug. 24, there were 1.907 million albums sold in the U.S. (up 7.7% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.573 million (up 9.1%) and digital albums comprised 333,000 (up 1.3%).
There were 680,000 CD albums sold in the week ending Aug. 24 (up 16% week-over-week) and 885,000 vinyl albums sold (up 4.5%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 22.728 million (up 2.4% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 30.365 million (up 20.7%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 65.522 million (up 7.2% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 53.442 million (up 12%) and digital album sales total 12.080 million (down 10%).
Twenty years after its release, Powderfinger’s Vulture Street is perched at No. 1 on the national albums chart.
The Aussie rock favorites’ fifth studio album initially logged three weeks atop the ARIA Albums Chart in 2003, and went on to win album of the year at ARIA Awards, one of 18 total ARIAs collected in a glittering career.
Thanks to a reissue campaign, and a host of special fan events, including a Q&A and a screening of the long out-of-print These Days Live concert from 2004, the LP returns to the summit.
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With their latest feat, Powderfinger now holds the ARIA Chart record for the longest stretch of time for an Australian album to return to No. 1, according to Universal Music Australia.
The ‘Finger, as they’re affectionately known in these parts, has the distinction of ruling the national albums chart with five successive titles. The band went out on a high with 2009’s Golden Rule, the last of those leaders, and a major farewell tour which sold more than 200,000 tickets.
The five former bandmates remain good friends — and residents of their hometown, Brisbane — to this day. During the pandemic, Powderfinger briefly reunited for One Night Lonely, a special virtual concert which raised more than A$500,000 for music industry charity Support Act and mental wellbeing support service Beyond Blue. Unreleased, the band’s compilation of studio tracks unearthed from sessions recorded between 1998 and 2010, peaked at No. 2 on the ARIA Chart in 2020.
Zach Bryan continues the hot streak for U.S. country artists in Australia as his self-titled fourth studio album arrives No. 2, a new career high. That’s well advanced on its predecessor, American Heartbreak (Warner), which reached No. 65. Meanwhile, the U.S. country star’s track “I Remember Everything,” featuring Kacey Musgraves, is new at No. 19 on the singles survey. That’s Musgraves’ first appearance on the Australian chart. Also, Bryan’s “Something In The Orange” holds at No. 12 on the chart, published Sept. 1, in its 59th week.
As the Weeknd’s forthcoming tour of Australia expands to seven stadium shows, the Canadian R&B star’s catalog enjoys spikes on the national chart. Career retrospective The Highlights holds at No. 3; former leaders Starboy lifts 18-4, After Hours is up 27-17, Dawn FM climbs 65-25 and Beauty Behind The Madness bounces 93-38 (all via Universal).
Several of his hits power on up the singles survey, including “Popular,” featuring Playboi Carti and Madonna, lifting 11-9. “Popular” becomes Madonna’s 41st top 10 single in the land Down Under, dating back to “Holiday” in 1983, and her first in 15 years; the Queen of Pop’s last top 10 appearance on the ARIA Singles Chart was 2008’s “4 Minutes” with Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, which hit No. 1. Additionally, the Weeknd’s “Die For You” climbs 18-10.
At the top of the singles survey is Doja Cat’s “Paint The Town Red” (RCA/Sony) which extends its reign into a second week.
Miley Cyrus scores the top debut with “Used To Be Young” (Columbia/Sony), new at No. 13. It’s the fourth single from Endless Summer Vacation, which led the albums tally in March, and included the lead single, “Flowers,” a smash that logged 12 weeks at No. 1 earlier in the year.
Finally, Selena Gomez enjoys a top 40 debut with “Single Soon” (Interscope/Universal). It’s new at No. 26. The pop star has had six top 10 singles in Australia, with a best of No. 2 for 2019’s “Lose You To Love Me.”
Myke Towers claims a fourth week atop Billboard Argentina Hot 100 as “Lala” crowns the Sept. 2-dated chart. The song ties with “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” by Bizarrap and Shakira, for the fourth-most weeks at No. 1 in 2023.
Here’s a recap of the longest-leading songs on the chart in 2023:
Title, Artists, Peak Date, Weeks at No. 1“Los del Espacio,” LIT killah, Maria Becerra, FMK, Rusherking, Duki, Emilia, Tiago PZK & Big One, June 10, seven“En La Intimidad,” Emilia, Big One, Callejero Fino, Feb. 25, sevenUn Finde: Big One CROSSOVER #2,” Ke personajes, Big One & FMK,“ April 22, five“LaLa,” Myke Towers, Aug. 5, four“Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53,” Bizarrap & Shakira, Jan. 21, four
LIT Killah, FMK, Rusherking, Maria Becerra, Duki, Emilia, Tiago Pzk and Big One’s “Los Del Espacio” rebounds to No. 2 after its seven-week domination. The song trades places with Becerra’s “Corazón Vacío,” which drops 2-3. Plus, Quevedo’s “Columbia” returns to its No. 4 high, while BM’s “Ni Una Ni Dos” dips 4-5.
Elsewhere, Luck Ra and BM add a new career top 10 as “La Morocha” climbs 15-10.
The Hot Shot Debut of the week goes to Los Ángeles Azules and Becerra’s first collab, “El Amor De Mi Vida,” which starts at No. 21.
Further, Trueno takes the week’s Greatest Gainer trophy, as “Tranky Funky” climbs 41 places, from No. 76 to No. 35.
Other debuts of the week include Jhayco’s “Holanda” at No. 34, Alan Gomez and BM’s “BM | MISSION 18” at No. 72, and Karol G and Peso Pluma’s “Qlona” at No. 74.
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Beéle checks off a career milestone this week as he bags his first No. 1 on a Billboard chart with “Vagabundo,” a co-billed song with Sebastian Yatra and Manuel Turizo. The song rises 7-1 to crown the Latin Airplay chart dated Sept. 2. “Vagabundo” climbs with 34% gain in audience impressions, to 9.2 million, earned in the U.S. in […]
Billboard looks back and counts down the top five songs that ruled the summer of 2022. Rania Aniftos:We’ve made it to the last week before our big reveal. What were the big songs of the summer last year? Let’s dive right into our top five. Coming in at No. 5: a song that had a […]
Foo Fighters extend their record for the most top 10s in the history of Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart, as “Under You” jumps into the top 10 of the Sept. 2-dated list.
The song leaps from No. 12 to No. 8 to become the Dave Grohl-led band’s milestone 30th top 10.
That’s the most accumulated on the chart dating to the list’s September 1988 inception, by two over the next closest act, Red Hot Chili Peppers, with 28.
Most Top 10s, Alternative Airplay
30, Foo Fighters
28, Red Hot Chili Peppers
24, Green Day
23, U2
21, Weezer
19, Pearl Jam
18, Linkin Park
18, The Offspring
17, Muse
17, The Smashing Pumpkins
Foo Fighters first hit the Alternative Airplay top 10 with their first entry, “This Is a Call,” which hit No. 2 in August 1995. The band is currently riding a streak of six top 10s in a row, dating to the No. 10-peaking “Shame Shame” in December 2020.
“Under You” predecessor single “Rescued” reigned for 10 weeks beginning in May, marking Foo Fighters’ 11th No. 1.
Concurrently, “Under You” rises 17-11 on Mainstream Rock Airplay, where the band will break out of a tie with Shinedown for the most top 10s in that chart’s history should it rise at least one spot higher; each group currently has 30. The song also debuts at No. 29 on Adult Alternative Airplay.
On the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart, “Under You” shoots 6-2 with 4.9 million audience impressions Aug. 18-24, up 28%, according to Luminate. Upon its ascent into the top 10, it gave Foo Fighters sole possession of the most top 10s in that survey’s archives, with 16.
“Under You” also lifts 12-11 on the multimetric Hot Hard Rock Songs tally. In addition to its radio airplay, the song earned 378,000 official U.S. streams in the tracking week.
The song is the second single from But Here We Are, Foo Fighters’ 11th studio set, which debuted at No. 1 on the Top Alternative Albums chart in June and has earned 125,000 equivalent album units to date.
Rod Wave captures his second top 10 this year on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart as “Call Your Friends” debuts at No. 7 on the list dated Sept. 2. The track, released on Alamo Records, will appear on the rapper’s forthcoming album, Nostalgia, due Sept. 15.
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In its debut tracking week of Aug. 18-24, “Call Your Friends” registered 13.9 million official U.S. streams, according to Luminate, prompting a No. 4 start on the R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs chart. Streams virtually power the entire debut on the multimetric chart, with a negligible amount of track sales and 2,000 radio audience impressions also in the mix. (For scale, the cutoff of this week’s 50-position R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay is 142,000 impressions, though, “Call Your Friends” is not being actively worked and promoted to radio stations as a single. The rapper’s prior release, “Fight the Feeling,” is the radio focus.)
With “Call Your Friends,” Rod Wave adds his eighth career top 10 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and maintains his consistency, having hit the region each year since 2020. Here’s a recap of his top-10 collection:
Song Title, Artist (if other than Rod Wave), Peak Position, Peak Date
“Rags2Riches,” featuring ATR Son Son, No. 7, Aug. 22, 2020
“Tombstone,” No. 5, April 10, 2021
“Street Runner,” No. 9, April 10, 2021
“By Your Side,” No. 10, Dec. 11, 2021
“Cold December,” No. 9, Feb. 5, 2022
“Alone,” No. 7, Aug. 27, 2022
“Fight the Feeling,” No. 7, April 15, 2023
“Call Your Friends,” No. 7, Sept. 2, 2023
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Elsewhere, “Call Your Friends” launches at No. 6 on the Hot Rap Songs chart and is the week’s highest debut on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, at No. 26.
Nostalgia looks to extend Rod Wave’s top-10 streak on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, now at five consecutive projects. The run began with Ghetto Gospel (No. 10 in 2018) and followed with Pray 4 Love (No. 2, 2019); SoulFly (No. 1, 2021); Beautiful Mind (No. 1, 2022) and Jupiter’s Diary: 7 Day Theory (No. 9, 2022).
Billboard Boxscore has been tracking touring data and ranking the top live acts around the world across various musical genres since the mid-1980s. Classic rock bands, country troubadours and pop icons have long dominated these lists, but in recent years, Latin artists have increasingly become contenders. Just last year, Billboard celebrated the year in Bad […]
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.
This week: Zach Bryan puts up undeniable star numbers with his new album release, Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus square off with their simultaneous single releases, G-Eazy helps fans flash back to a different time in social media and more.
Zach Bryan Scores a Self-Titled Streaming Takeover
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It’s fitting that, on the Billboard charts, the summer will end with a male country artist once again reaching new commercial heights. Capping off a season of such success stories for Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, Jason Aldean and Oliver Anthony, Zach Bryan is poised to debut big with his self-titled new album following its release last Friday (Aug. 25), if early streaming numbers — particularly those for the Kacey Musgraves duet “I Remember Everything” — are any indication.The 16-song Zach Bryan earned a whopping 54.4 million U.S. on-demand streams on its release date, according to Luminate – and while its daily streams dropped a bit over the next few days, the follow-up to last year’s American Heartbreak had cleared nine-digit total streams by the end of Sunday, and had earned nearly 147 million streams by the end of Monday. Meanwhile, “I Remember Everything,” in which Bryan and Musgraves narrate a romance that has slipped away long ago, has been the album’s breakout track on streaming services, earning 18.1 million on-demand plays over its first four days of release.How high can “I Remember Everything” climb? On the Hot 100, Bryan has made it to No. 10 with “Something in the Orange,” and Musgraves has peaked at No. 60 with “Follow Your Arrow,” so both artists could earn new career highs with the same song. And after American Heartbreak peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 last year, Bryan, who announced a slew of stadium and arena dates for 2024 earlier this week, has his sights set on a potential first No. 1 on that chart. – JASON LIPSHUTZ
Miley Leading Selena in Disney Star Single Showdown
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When pop heads noticed that pop stars Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus – once known for their respective starring roles on the ‘00s Disney teen shows Wizards of Waverly Place and Hannah Montana – were both releasing new singles on Friday (Aug. 25), it naturally brought out the spirit of competition between the longtime fans. The artists leaned into themselves on social media, with Cyrus reposting a video shared by one fan of her and Gomez trading barbs in an old episode of Hannah Montana where the latter guest starred, along with the message “@selenagomez and I are both dropping our new SINGLEs SOON…. I SAY WE #USEDTOBEYOUNG.” (“Single Soon” and “Used to Be Young” being the names of Gomez’s and Cyrus’ new releases, respectively.)Well, the early returns are in, and so far it appears that Cyrus’ “Young” has the lead on Gomez’s “Single” in both sales and streams. Through its first four days of release, “Young” has racked up over 10.4 million official on-demand U.S. streams and over 15,000 digital song sales, according to Luminate, while “Single” has amassed over 8.1 million streams and nearly 6,400 in sales – leads of 28% and 144%, respectively. (Both should be due for debuts in the top half of the Hot 100 next week, though they will probably be overshadowed somewhat by Bryan and Musgraves’ even more resounding bow.)And they’re not the only two kids-TV-to-adult-pop crossover stars with likely chart triumphs for next week. Ariana Grande, former Nickelodeon Victorious and Sam & Cat actress, has also seen huge spikes for her 2013 debut album Yours Truly upon its 10th anniversary, which she commemorated with a deluxe reissue and a series of commemorative festivities. The album skyrocketed to nearly 3.4 million official on-demand U.S. streams on Friday, up a resounding 946% from the previous Friday (323,000). – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
G-Eazy’s “Tumblr Girls” Rides the TikTok Nostalgia Wave
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“pov: it’s 2014, ur 8 years old and see all the teenage girls with their Starbucks, PINK and striped crop tops and u wish u were a teenager!” Two weeks ago, a TikTok user posted this caption to a clip of themselves grooving out in their bedroom and earned 770,000 likes and 5,000 comments; the soundtrack to that adolescent memory was G-Eazy’s 2014 track “Tumblr Girls,” featuring Christoph Andersson, which has become a sort of nostalgia anthem in recent weeks as TikTok users look back on their mid-2010s memories.
G-Eazy actually isn’t featured in the trending part of the song; instead, it’s the song’s outro – crooned by the rapper’s frequent studio collaborator Andersson, with the lines “Never knew her name, they’re looking all the same to me/ They only chase the fame, there’s no one left to blame but me” – being highlighted in TikTok clips. As more videos of 2014 flashbacks accumulate, “Tumblr Girls” has shot up in overall listens, with weekly streams basically quadrupling from 552,000 the week ending Aug. 10 to 2.25 million two weeks later, according to Luminate.
“Tumblr Girls” never charted upon its debut, but it’s become a fan favorite — so much so that two years ago, G-Eazy released a sequel, “Running Wild (Tumblr Girls 2),” although TikTok has yet to scoop that one up in the same way. – JL
Beyoncé’s “XO” Gets Streams ‘Turned’ Up by Teen TV Sensation
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We’ve written plenty on Billboard about the extensive artistic partnership Amazon Prime’s hit coming-of-age drama The Summer I Turned Pretty has developed with Taylor Swift, having featured over a dozen of Swift’s songs across its two seasons. But the show’s second season proved that it can also deploy the music of another pop icon currently on a globe-conquering world tour: Beyoncé, whose 2014 classic “XO” is featured in the finale’s climactic scene, resolving the long-building love triangle between the characters Belly (Lola Tung) and brothers Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) and and Conrad (Christopher Briney).
The scene had an unsurprising impact on viewers, who then proceeded to stream the Beyoncé self-titled ballad en masse. The song jumped from 388,000 official on-demand streams for the tracking week ending Aug. 17 (the day before the finale was released to streaming) to nearly 990,000 streams for the following week – a jump of 155%, according to Luminate. With Summer already having been renewed for a third season, you can bet that pop stars of all shapes and sizes will be angling to get a prime sync on the Prime smash. – AU
Q&A: Christine Rogerson, SVP of Business Operations at Vibee, on What’s Trending Up in Her World
A very hectic season in the live industry is coming to a close. What was Vibee’s focus over the summer?
Vibee spent the summer hosting and engaging with our fans at several festival integrations like Lollapalooza in Chicago, Day Trip in Long Beach, TidalWave in Atlantic City, and BeachIt! in Virginia Beach. We were also in the thick of our planning processes for the monumental U2: UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere run of shows in Las Vegas, Lionel Richie’s Dancing on the Sand in the Bahamas, the inaugural EDSea cruise, and Tiesto’s Chasing Sunsets in Cabo San Lucas.
Can you speak a little bit about the newly announced immersive U2 fan portal and what attendees can expect?
Fans are in for a real treat with the Zoo Station fan portal. The portal was developed by Vibee in collaboration with Gavin Friday, who is U2’s longtime creative director, and with insight and input from the band. Fans will move throughout 12,000 square feet of immersive exhibits over two floors. Key attractions include the incredible Anton Corbijn Gallery featuring photos and videos from the famed photographer as well as the Zoo Station Cinema which is curated by The Edge himself! For those fans who love memorabilia, the U2 Pop-Up Shop will be a must visit with a variety of collectibles, including a capsule collection of limited edition exclusive U2:UV items. It’s truly a special experience for newer or those dedicated fans of U2.
What industry-wide trends did you notice this summer in terms of the evolution of immersive fan experiences?
Right now, fans are still prioritizing entertainment and travel in their personal budgets but, as discretionary dollars become more precious, we have to ensure that we are presenting people with standout experiences that meet or exceed their needs and expectations on multiple levels. People are looking for memory-making opportunities and bucket list moments. As a destination experience company, Vibee is seeking out those ways that we can engage with fans, curate an experience, weave in a story, and connect great music with amazing destinations. The feedback that we received from fans is that they were searching out those unique experiences and shared moments at the events that they were able to attend. We aim to deliver on that.
Fill in the blank: in the next few years, concertgoers will be surprised by ______.
…the ways in which immersive experiences continue to enhance live music events, which is exactly what Vibee is committed to accomplishing through our artist partnerships, thoughtful curation, destination selection, and bespoke inclusions. – JL
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 charts dated Sept. 9), Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves’ new duet challenges Oliver Anthony Music’s reign at No. 1 – but they’re far from the only ones in the hunt.
Zach Bryan feat. Kacey Musgraves, “I Remember Everything” (Belting Bronco/Warner): It’s nothing but good news for Americana sensation Zach Bryan these days. His self-titled, self-produced new album debuted on Friday (Aug. 25) to dynamite streaming numbers and strong reviews — with a debut atop the Billboard 200 albums chart likely within its sights — and this week, he announced a 2024 arenas-and-stadiums tour featuring veteran luminaries Jason Isbell and Sheryl Crow among the opening acts. Next week, he might be on deck for another career first: A Billboard Hot 100 No. 1.
The album’s “I Remember Everything,” featuring the Grammy-beloved Kacey Musgraves, has led the daily charts on both Spotify and Apple Music since its Friday release, and has also climbed into the top five on the iTunes chart. As is typical of brand-new songs – particularly from format-ambiguous artists like Bryan – radio support thus far has been minimal, but with its streaming and sales numbers both so high and so steady, it might not need much airplay help to mount a serious charge for the No. 1 spot.
Even if it doesn’t get there, it should still easily notch a new career high peak for both Bryan (who hit No. 10 earlier this year with “Something in the Orange”) and Musgraves, whose previous best on the Hot 100 was the modest No. 60 success of “Follow Your Arrow” in 2014. (Miranda Lambert’s “Mama’s Broken Heart,” co-written by Musgraves and featuring her on backing vocals, hit No. 20 the year before.)
Oliver Anthony Music, “Rich Men North of Richmond” (Self-Released): Oliver Anthony dismissed any notion of one-week-wonderdom this week by sticking atop the Hot 100 for a second frame, while also topping the Streaming Songs chart for the first time. He’s still pulling strong numbers on streaming (albeit not as strong as “Remember”) and still hanging atop the iTunes sales chart – but with numbers less sky-high than the tens of thousands he sold daily in the single’s debut week.
The song’s performance is steady enough that a fall out of the top 20 (like Jason Aldean had with his similarly sales-boosted No. 1 “Try That in a Small Town” a few weeks earlier) is unlikely. But unless “Richmond” can catch a second wind in its virality to turn its sagging numbers around, its reign atop the chart is certainly vulnerable.
Luke Combs, “Fast Car” (River House/Columbia Nashville/Columbia): Will it ever be Luke Combs’ time? The carousel of male country singers atop the Hot 100 this summer has seen Morgan Wallen, Jason Aldean and Oliver Anthony Music all take their turns – but Combs has been stuck at No. 2 for much of that time, spending its seventh nonconsecutive frame in the runner-up spot this week. Now, he risks getting lapped a fourth time — as Bryan’s new single is on pace to comfortably lead his in streams, and may pass him in sales as well.
However, Combs is sure to have a major lead in one factor: airplay. His “Fast Car” continues to gain on Pop Airplay, moving 9-8 on the chart this week, while holding strong at No. 2 on the all-format Radio Songs chart; it’s also still top five on Country Airplay, after ruling for five frames. If his song continues to gain there while holding strong enough in streaming and sales, it might be able to fend off the advances of Bryan and Musgraves – or challenge them again the week after.
IN THE MIX
Doja Cat, “Paint the Town Red” (Kemosabe/RCA): Among all the bearded white guys with guitars, pop and rap luminary Doja Cat is elbowing her way into the mix with new hit “Paint the Town Red.” The song jumps from 15-5 on the latest Hot 100, with major gains in streams, airplay and sales – with the former two carrying into this tracking week. If its velocity keeps up, it should be in contention to become Doja’s second No. 1 before too long – possibly as soon as next week, though she still has a sizable gap to close first.
Taylor Swift, “Cruel Summer” (Republic): Seemingly all summer, Swifties have awaited their fearless leader making the final move — a music video, a new remix, something totally unexpected — to put “Cruel Summer” over the top on the Hot 100. It hasn’t arrived yet, though the song is still hanging strong at No. 4 on the chart, after reaching No. 3 and continuing to gain in airplay, still in range of the top spot should it get that one final big boost. But Swift’s window may be closing: The top of the Hot 100 is getting more crowded every week, and Labor Day is just around the corner.
Morgan Wallen, “Last Night” (Big Loud/Mercury/Republic): Remember this one? Wallen’s 16-week Hot 100 conqueror has spent two weeks outside of the top spot now, but it’s hanging on at No. 3 on the chart, and still ranks in the top 10 on Digital Song Sales, Streaming Songs and Radio Songs. Plus, it’s spent multiple weeks outside the top spot and then rebounded to the summit twice already in the course of its nearly six-month chart run. Don’t assume it’s dead until you actually see the carcass.