Chart Beat
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Avatar reaches No. 1 on a Billboard chart for the first time with “The Dirt I’m Buried In,” which tops the Mainstream Rock Airplay ranking dated Sept. 2. The song rises from the runner-up spot in its 31st week on the survey, completing the longest journey to No. 1 in over 20 years. It ties […]
Anthony Oliver Music’s viral hit “Rich Men North of Richmond” arrives on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated Sept. 2) at No. 45. In the tracking week ending Aug. 24, the song, released Aug. 11 (after the singer-songwriter had previewed it on TikTok), drew 2 million audience impressions, up 294%, according to Luminate.
The single, which the Farmville, Va.-based artist (born Christopher Anthony Lunsford) solely wrote, marks his first chart entry. On the Aug. 26-dated charts, “Richmond” launched at No. 1 on the all-genre, multimetric Billboard Hot 100, as well as Hot Country Songs. He became the first artist with no prior chart history in any form to soar in at the summit of each survey.
The former factory worker’s song, a lightning rod for media coverage from both left- and right-leaning media outlets and pundits (and which sparked the opening talking point in the first Republican presidential primary debate on Wednesday, Aug. 23), drew 17.5 million streams and sold 147,000 downloads in the U.S. in the tracking week ending Aug. 17.
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In the past week, many media outlets have been wondering if country radio would get behind the breakout hit. Although the song is not being promoted to radio, at least yet, one programmer giving avid support is Bo Matthews, program director at Alpha Media’s KBAY, San Jose, Calif. It “simply sounds great on the radio,” he tells Billboard. With 32 plays, “Richmond” was the Country Airplay-reporting station’s 16th most played song Aug. 18-24.
“We haven’t gotten any negative feedback for playing it, and I think we are merely meeting the expectations of our listeners,” Matthews muses. “In fact, I have been impressed and proud of the positive feedback we’ve received from people in the industry and the record community expressing their thanks that we’re supporting it. Finally, it’s obvious that radio listeners are becoming the real gatekeepers for the music we decide to play.”
Thanks to only guitar and vocals, and lyrics that have commanded the attention of the both the right and left politically, Anthony Oliver Music’s “Rich Men North of Richmond” soars in at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Aug. 29). How do the song’s characteristics compare to those of other hits that have […]
Doja Cat is purring along as “Paint The Town Red” (via RCA/Sony) climbs all the way to No. 1 in Australia.
The U.S. artist nabs her first leader in the land Down Under, as “Paint The Town Red” completes the leap 6-1 in its third week, eclipsing the No. 2 peak for her previous best, “Kiss Me More” featuring SZA, which hit No. 2 in 2020.
Luke Combs is currently on the road in Australia, and his fans reward him with bumps on the latest ARIA Charts, published Friday, Aug. 8. The U.S. country star’s cover of “Fast Car” (Columbia/Sony) motors 8-2, for a new peak position. “Fast Car” previously parked at No. 3 in June, topping Tracy Chapman’s original, which maxed-out at No. 4 in 1988.
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Several Combs tracks are on the up, including “The Kind Of Love We Make” (up 21-16) in its 62nd week on the chart, for a new peak; “When It Rains It Pours” (31-24); and “Beautiful Crazy” (39-34).
Completing the podium on the ARIA Singles Chart is Dave and Central Cee’s former leader “Sprinter” (Virgin Music Australia/Universal), down 2-3.
Over on the ARIA Albums Chart, Genesis Owusu, the Canberra, Australia-raised talent, secures a top 10 start and a new career high for his sophomore album, Struggler (AWAL).
Struggler bows at No. 4, besting the No. 27 peak for 2021’s Smiling With No Teeth, an album that snagged almost every award possible in these parts, including the Australian Music Prize, ARIA Awards, AIR Awards and more. Smiling With No Teeth peaked at No. 27 on the official, national tally.
Hozier returns with Unreal Unearth (Columbia/Sony), the Irish singer and songwriter’s third studio album. It’s new at No. 13, and follows the No. 3 peak for his debut, self-titled LP from 2014 and the No. 8 best for its followup, Wasteland, Baby from 2019.
Also new to the chart are albums by one-time ARIA male artist of the year Dan Sultan (Dan Sultan at No. 15 via Liberation/Universal), celebrated Aussie singer and songwriter Gretta Ray (Positive Spin at No. 17 via EMI) and K-pop boy band NCT Dream (ISTJ – The 3rd Album new at No. 20 via Universal).
At the top of the tally, Barbie The Album (Atlantic/Warner) lifts 2-1, ahead of Taylor Swift’s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (via Universal) and the Weeknd’s The Highlights (Universal), respectively.
08/24/2023
As the Disney Channel alumni’s parallel careers meet again, Billboard looks back on both stars’ biggest chart achievements.
08/24/2023
“DNA,” No. 67, Oct. 14, 2017“Mic Drop,” featuring Desiigner, No. 28, Dec. 16, 2017“Fake Love,” No. 10, June 2, 2018“Idol,” featuring Nicki Minaj, No. 11, Sept. 8, 2018“Waste It on Me” (Steve Aoki featuring BTS), No. 89, Nov. 10, 2018“Make It Right,” featuring Lauv, No. 76, Nov. 2, 2019“Boy With Luv,” featuring Halsey, No. 8, April 27, 2019“Black Swan,” No. 57, Feb. 1, 2020“On,” No. 4, March 7, 2020“Filter,” No. 87, March 7, 2020“My Time,” No. 84, March 7, 2020“Dynamite,” No. 1, Sept. 5, 2020“Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat),” with Jawsh 685 & Jason Derulo, No. 1, Oct. 17, 2020“Life Goes On,” No. 1, Dec. 5, 2020“Fly to My Room,” No. 69, Dec. 5, 2020“Blue & Grey,” No. 13, Dec. 5, 2020“Telepathy,” No. 70, Dec. 5, 2020“Dis-ease,” No. 72, Dec. 5, 2020“Stay,” No. 22, Dec. 5, 2020“Film Out,” No. 81, April 17, 2021“Butter,” No. 1, June 5, 2021“Permission To Dance,” No. 1, July 25, 2021“My Universe,” with Coldplay, No. 1, Oct. 9, 2021“Yet To Come,” No. 13, June 25, 2022“Run BTS,” No. 73, June 25, 2022“Bad Decisions,” with Benny Blanco & Snoop Dogg, No. 10, Aug. 20, 2022“Take Two,” No. 48, June 24, 2023
Myke Towers claims a third week atop the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 chart as “Lala” crowns the Aug. 26-dated ranking. The song matches his three week-champ “La Jeepeta,” with Nio García, Anuel AA, Brray and Juanka, while “Bandido,” with Juhn, remains his longest-charting title to date, with seven weeks at the summit in 2021. Maria […]
Nine weeks into his Billboard chart career, October London scores his first No. 1 on any chart as his single “Back to Your Place” crowns the Adult R&B Airplay chart. The track rises from No. 3 to head the list dated Aug. 26 thanks to a 10% boost in weekly plays that made it the […]
Jung Kook holds atop the Aug. 26-dated Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts with “Seven,” featuring Latto. At No. 1 for the fifth consecutive week on both lists, it’s the longest running chart-topper on the Global 200 among K-pop acts, including his fellow BTS members and even BTS as a group (“Dynamite” led for four weeks in 2020-21).
But another BTS member makes noise with a pair of top 10 arrivals. V debuts on Global Excl. U.S. at No. 6 with “Love Me Again” and at No. 8 with “Rainy Days,” while starting at Nos. 12 and 16, respectively, on the Global 200.
“Love Me Again” leads the pair with 40.8 million official streams and 35,000 downloads sold worldwide in the week ending Aug. 17, according to Luminate. “Rainy Days” follows with 38.9 million clicks and 32,000 sold. Both tracks take 92% of those streaming figures from outside the U.S.
The bigger global totals for “Love Me Again” are reflected in the song’s international chart ranks. Not only does the song outpace “Rainy Days” in the U.S. (3.4 million streams vs. 2.9 million), but it’s also higher on all five of Billboard’s Hits of the World charts on which they both appear. They’re side-by-side at Nos. 16 and 17, respectively, on Indonesia Songs, but most dramatically separated (if not wildly so) on V’s native South Korea Songs, at Nos. 7 and 21.
Both songs boast official music videos, signaling a big win, especially, for “Rainy Days.” Across video platforms worldwide, the clip received 13.5 million streams (35% of the song’s overall streaming total), compared to 10.5 million (26%) for “Love Me Again.”
Any which way these songs’ success is split, both tracks mark new highs for V. Previously, he hit No. 43 on Global Excl. U.S. and No. 51 on the Global 200 with “Christmas Tree.” With “Love Me Again” and “Rainy Days,” he becomes the fifth BTS member to crack the top 10, following, in chronological order, Jung Kook, Jin, Jimin and Suga (under the alias Agust D).
In total, the men of BTS have accumulated 11 top 10s on Global Excl. U.S. as soloists – equaling the group’s tally.
Tampa, Fla.-based Christian hip-hop artist KB (real name Kevin Burgess) adds his sixth top five entry on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart, as His Glory Alone ll debuts on the list (dated Aug. 26) at No. 4.
In the tracking week ending Aug. 17, the set, released Aug. 11, earned 3,000 equivalent album units, with 1,000 in album sales, according to Luminate.
The 16-track LP is the sequel to KB’s His Glory Alone, which opened at its No. 4 peak in October 2020.
Before that, KB rolled up four consecutive career-opening No. 1s. His debut, Weight & Glory, arrived at the summit in August 2012; EP 100 topped the list in March 2014; Tomorrow We Live launched with a career-best weekly count of 18,000 units in May 2015; and Today We Rebel began at the apex in November 2017.
KB’s new album features collaborations with Brandon Heath, Lecrae and Britt Nicole, among others.
‘Great’ News
Demetrius West and the Jesus Promoters’ “Great God,” featuring Lisa Carter-Cork, rises to No. 1 on the Gospel Airplay chart. The song, which West co-wrote, increased by 12% in plays during the tracking week.
“Great God” awards West and his backing group their second No. 1 among four appearances and three top 10s. “I’m Next,” their first chart-topper, led for a week in October 2020. Their first entry, “Open the Floodgates” featuring Karen Hoskins, reached No. 2 in May 2019.
Carter-Cork leads in her first Gospel Airplay chart appearance. She’s based in Indianapolis, as a pastor and life coach.