Chart Beat
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Billboard has more than 200 different weekly charts in its menu, encompassing numerous genres and formats.
While established artists often compete for a spot on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart and Billboard 200 albums ranking, which track the most popular songs and albums of the week, respectively; up-and-coming talents typically start off on genre-specific lists.
Here’s a look at 10 acts who appear on surveys for the first time on the July 15-dated charts.
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Grian Chatten
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The Irish singer-songwriter and frontman of the post-punk group Fontaines D.C. makes his first solo visit to Billboard’s charts thanks to his new solo LP, Chaos for the Fly. The set, released June 30 on Partisan Records/Knitting Factory, debuts at No. 88 on Top Current Album Sales with 1,000 copies sold in its opening week, according to Luminate. Fontaines D.C. have charted two entries on the Top Album Sales tally: A Hero’s Death (No. 16 in 2020) and Skinty Fia (No. 38, 2022). A Hero’s Death also reached No. 25 on the Top Alternative Albums chart. The group has also sent two songs onto Adult Alternative Airplay, both in 2022: “Jackie Down the Line” (No. 40 peak) and “Roman Holiday” (No. 35).
Yellow House
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The Cape Town, South Africa-based artist (real name Emile van Dango) reaches Billboard’s charts for the first time with his new collaboration with ODESZA, “Heavier.” The song, released June 27 via Foreign Family Collective/Ninja Tune, debuts at No. 29 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs with 798,000 official U.S. streams earned. The song is set to appear on the new EP from ODESZA and Yellow House, Flaws in Our Design, due out July 21. “In 2018, I received an email from ODESZA reaching out to explore some ideas together,” Yellow House said in a recent Instagram post. “I followed a link which led to a page of dreamy, synth-laden works in progress. The idea was to pick one I resonated with, add my touch to it and see how it turned out. In 2019, I secretly travelled to Seattle to work in studio with the guys. Five years on from that first demo, we have completed an EP of material that has morphed and grown every step of the way, just as we have in our own personal lives.”
DaBoii
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The rapper (real name Wayman Barrow) and former member of the hip-hop group SOB X RBE achieves his first solo chart entry thanks to his new song with E-40, Lil Jon and P Lo, “What We On.” The song, released April 21 through Lil Jon’s self-titled imprint/EMPIRE, debuts at No. 39 on Rhythmic Airplay (up 9% in plays). As a member of SOB X RBE, which disbanded in 2019, the Vallejo, Calif., native reached Billboard’s charts in 2018. The group’s breakthrough hit “Paramedic!” was featured on the Black Panther soundtrack and includes uncredited vocals from Kendrick Lamar and Zacari; it reached No. 29 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 65 on the Billboard Hot 100. Their albums Gangin and Gangin 2 also hit No. 74 and 191 on the Billboard 200, respectively.
6YNTHMANE & RXDXVIL
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Both artists notch their first Billboard chart appearances thanks to their collaboration “BRAZILIAN DANÇA PHONK.” The song, released May 12 on Black 17 Media, debuts at No. 50 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart with 497,000 U.S. streams. The track was boosted by two remixes: a slowed and reverb version, and a sped-up mix. TikTok has also been a big factor in the song’s growing profile, as the track has been used in over 30,000 clips on the platform. 6YNTHMANE (real name Oleksandr Liubchenko) and RXDXVIL (real name Fysun Serhii Volodimirovich) have each released several other phonk tracks, and are both based in Ukraine.
Mo Louis
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The jazz musician and saxophonist arrives on Billboard’s charts with his song “Static.” The track, which he self-released May 1, debuts at No. 30 on the Smooth Jazz Airplay chart (up 17% in plays). Louis has been recording music since childhood, but “Static” is just his fifth solo song released streaming services. He previously released his four-track EP Perfect Timing in September. The EP’s lead single “Turn It Up” arrived in April 2022.
Emir Can İğrek
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The Turkish alt-rock singer-songwriter hits Billboard’s charts with his breakthrough hit “Ali Cabbar.” The song, released June 2 on his sophomore LP Parti İptal, debuts at No. 62 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart and No. 145 on the Billboard Global 200 with 17 million official streams worldwide. The song also hits No. 1 on this week’s Turkey Songs chart. TikTok has been instrumental in the song’s growing buzz, as the track has been used in more than 20,000 clips on the platform. İğrek, who hails from Çerkezköy, Turkey, released his debut studio album, Ağır Roman, in 2018.
Mc Livinho
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The Brazilian singer (real name Oliver Santos) reaches Billboard’s charts with his new collaboration with DJ Matt D, “Novidade na Área.” The song, released June 23 on MBB Diamond, debuts at No. 141 on the Global Excl. U.S. chart (10.5 million streams outside the U.S.), and also rises 9-3 on the Portugal Songs chart and debuts at No. 4 on Brazil Songs. Mc Livinho has been releasing music since 2014 and has dropped three studio albums: Vagabundo Romântico in 2016, Mágico dos Flows in 2021 and PÁGINAS in 2022.
Joseph James
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The New York-based singer-songwriter and producer (real name Joe Vulpis) earns his first Billboard chart entry with his song “For All You Know.” The song, released May 19 on his own AP Music Group (which he founded), debuts at No. 30 on Adult Contemporary (up 2% in plays). James has released one additional song on streaming platforms — “Valentine,” in January.
Dezko
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The Colombian dance artist makes his arrival on Billboard’s charts with his song “Ascend.” Released June 21 on Too Future/Alt:Vision, it debuts at No. 41 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart with 440,000 U.S. streams. Save for an alternative version of the song, titled “Ascend (My Mind Edit),” the track is Dezko’s only release so far.
Josi Cuen
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The Mexican singer-songwriter reaches Billboard’s charts for the first time with his new collaboration with Luis Angel “El Flaco,” “Prefiero Estar Muerto.” Cuen released the original version of the song (without Angel) in September on his debut studio album Ya Estuvo Suave. Sparked by the new collaborative mix, the song opens at No. 36 on Regional Mexican Airplay (up 76% in airplay audience).
Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up column, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. This week: Sexyy Red follows her breakout hit with two more viral singles, Taylor Swift’s new-old smash sends listeners to an even older warm-weather perennial and Myke Towers launches a mid-summer bid for global ubiquity.
Summer 2023 Is Sexyy Red Season
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Sexyy Red is officially one of the biggest breakout artists of summer 2023. The St. Louis rapper has been a social media fixture for years thanks to her vulgar raps and round-the-way personality, but she has now reached a new level of mainstream prominence and commercial success thanks to the virality of several tracks from her latest mixtape, Hood Hottest Princess.
Back in January, Sexyy Red released “Pound Town,” a delightfully ratchet ode to the crudest edges of the sexual experience, which eventually received an equally ratchet remix from rap icon Nicki Minaj, titled “Pound Town 2” in May – helping the song debut at No. 66 on the Billboard Hot 100. Minaj’s remix also kickstarted a new phase of the song’s multi-platform appeal: According to Luminate, “Pound Town” collected 5.4 million official on-demand U.S. streams in the week ending July 6 – up 4% from the previous week – while on radio, “Pound Town” currently ranks at No. 14 on Rap Airplay and No. 21 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay for the charts dated July 15. After driving the culture for so many months — the love for her breakout song is so strong that Sexyy Red gave an impromptu performance of the track from her seat in the audience at the 2023 BET Awards — “Pound Town” now has legitimate commercial success to add to its accolades.
“Pound Town” functioned as the de facto lead single for Hood Hottest Princess. Released on June 9, the mixtape did not debut on the Billboard 200 until this week’s chart (dated July 15), entering at No. 193 — a testament to the consistent growth of the tape’s streams. Two songs from the 11-track tape have emerged as the follow-ups to “Pound Town:” “Skee Yee,” a burgeoning summer anthem that garnered love on TikTok pre-release, collected 2.5 million official on-demand U.S. streams in the week ending July 6, a 22% increase from the week prior. Aided by a trend in which users aggressively whip their hair as Sexyy Red yells out her “skee yee” ad-lib, the most popular “Skee Yee” sound has over 237,000 clips on TikTok. Recently, Grammy-nominated rap star Travis Scott invited Sexyy Red to perform the song (along with “Pound Town”) during his headlining set at Wireless Festival in London — further proof that the rapper’s TikTok virality is translating into streams and support.
Another song from her mixtape, “Looking for the H–s (Ain’t My Fault),” is currently going viral on TikTok. Users put their own voice over Sexyy Red’s as she raps, “You like my voice? It turn you on? / This ain’t nothin’, wait ’til you see it in a thong.” “H–s” earned 1.6 million official on-demand U.S. streams in the week ending July 6, a whopping 292% increase from the period prior. The official TikTok sound for the song soundtracks over 305,000 clips on the app.
All in all, from the period of June 30-July 6, Sexyy Red’s catalog has received 11.1 million official on-demand U.S. streams, a 24.5% increase from the week prior. Between her audacious one-liners and knack for natural hooks, Sexyy Red has become one of the defining artists of the summer, one outrageously obscene song at a time. – KYLE DENIS
A Summer Twice as Cruel: Taylor Swift’s Smash Boosts Bananarama Streams
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On this week’s Hot 100 chart, Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” completes its long-overdue climb into the top 10, as the former deep cut from her 2019 album Lover jumps from No. 13 to No. 7 after recently becoming promoted as an official single. “Summer” has benefited from prime placement in Swift’s Eras tour set list, renewed fan support on TikTok and social media as the summer heats up, and prime placement on playlists like Spotify’s Today’s Top Hits and top 40 radio blocks (it’s up to No. 20 on this week’s Radio Songs chart).
Benefiting, in turn, from Swift’s “Cruel Summer”: Bananarama’s classic hit of the same name. The British trio’s “Cruel Summer” became a new wave crossover hit upon its 1983 release, climbing as high as No. 9 on the U.S. Hot 100. And while Swift’s song becomes the highest-peaking “Cruel Summer” in Hot 100 history this week, Bananarama’s track is riding the “Summer” wave to increased plays, four decades after its release.
Weekly streams for Bananarama’s hit have increased for seven straight weeks: after earning 519,000 U.S. on-demand streams during the week ending May 25, according to Luminate, the original “Cruel Summer” is up to nearly 724,000 streams for the most recent tracking week (ending July 6), making for a 39% cumulative spike in weekly listens. Of course, streams for Swift’s “Cruel Summer” dwarf those numbers – the song enters the Streaming Songs top 10 with 14.4 million weekly streams for this week. But who knows? Maybe if there’s another hit “Cruel Summer” in the year 2063, Swift’s version will see an uptick then, too. – JASON LIPSHUTZ
Myke Towers Turns TikTok Into ‘Lala’ Land
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Puerto Rican rapper-singer Myke Towers has been a fixture on Billboard’s Latin charts for most of the past half-decade, but he’s yet to score a major crossover onto the Billboard Hot 100. That may be coming soon with the sweet reggaetón jam “Lala,” which is the penultimate cut on his 23-track March album La Vida Es Una. The song has taken over TikTok in the past month with its addictive title hook, a super-sticky backing vocal that plays throughout most of the song.
The song has come to soundtrack both a dance challenge and a series of CapCut videos, with over 1.4 million videos being made to the official sound. Consequently, the song has absolutely exploded on streaming, jumping from 206,000 U.S. official on-demand audio streams for the chart week ending June 22 to over 2.6 million for the week ending July 6 – a gain of 1,172% over the two-week span, according to Luminate.
With the song’s upward trajectory continuing this week – debuting at No. 26 on this week’s Billboard Global 200, and even rising to No. 1 on Spotify’s Daily Top Songs Global chart – “Lala” may be on pace to announce itself as a very late song of the summer contender. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
YOASOBI’s “Idol” adds another week to its record stay atop the Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated July 12, dominating the chart for its 13th consecutive week.
While overall points for the Oshi no Ko opener is on the wane, it continues to rule streaming, video views and karaoke for the seventh straight week and still boasts nearly double the points of the track at No. 2, “Candy Kiss” by Travis Japan.
YOASOBI Shares New English Version of Hit Single ‘Idol’: Watch the Video
07/12/2023
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“Idol” is now tied with “Subtitle” by Official HIGE DANdism for most weeks at No. 1 on the Japan Hot 100, and could be on its way to breaking the all-time record next week.
Travis Japan’s 3rd digital single “Candy Kiss” debuts at No. 2 on the Japan Hot 100. The single went on sale July 3 and launched at No. 1 for downloads with 46,077 units thanks to download campaigns on various platforms, and also racked up 3,985,321 streams (No. 18). The track also comes in at No. 19 for radio airplay and No. 55 for video.
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SKE48’s “Suki ni nacchatta” bows at No. 3 with a difference of only 52 points between “Candy Kiss.” The track rules sales with 436,514 copies sold and also hits No. 3 for radio.
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Another debut on the Japan Hot 100 top 10 this week is “Ao no Sumika” by Tatsuya Kitani, the opener of the TV anime Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 that began airing July 6. The track debuts at No. 8, coming in at No. 2 for downloads with 23,205 units and No. 23 for streaming with 3,789,286 streams, off to a good start before its physical release on July 19.
The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.
See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from July 3 to 9, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.
The Cure is more than 40 years deep into its career, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late for new peaks. The British band embarked on the Shows of a Lost World Tour and generated its biggest grosses and attendance ever. After playing its final show earlier this month, the tour grossed $37.5 million and sold 547,000 tickets over 35 shows in the U.S. and Canada, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore.
While those figures are personal highs among the band’s global touring career (dating back to The Cure’s first Boxscore reports in 1985; the band has been touring since the late ‘70s), apples-to-apples comparisons against its North American treks spotlight the tour’s success even better. The $37.5 million revenue total is more than double the band’s previous North American high of $18 million in 2016. And the 547,000 tickets surpass 1992’s 402,000.
Routing for the Shows of a Lost World Tour mixed arenas and amphitheaters in the U.S., yielding its biggest returns in the expected markets. Three shows at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl grossed $4.9 million and sold 50,800 tickets, while a three-peat at New York’s Madison Square Garden brought in $4.1 million from 44,300 tickets. Atlanta, Montreal and San Francisco follow.
Nightly attendance never dipped below 12,000, and averaged 15,629. That marks a 43% improvement over 2016’s 10,952, which itself was a 48% bump from The Cure’s 2008 tour. The band hadn’t averaged such a high attendance since 1989, when it paced 19,539 tickets in support of Disintegration. (That album was, at the time, the band’s highest charting album on the Billboard 200 [No. 12], containing its highest ranking hit on the Billboard Hot 100: “Love Song” [No. 2].)
This bar graph mirrors the peak-valley-peak trajectory that Billboard reported on Janet Jackson’s comeback spring tour. Both acts have sprawling discographies with close to a half century’s worth of beloved songs. That’s the kind of pitch that, after an extended break, can elevate an artist into their highly profitable legacy era, so-to-speak, soaking one’s deep roster of hits in a bath of nostalgia and extra disposable income.
Janet Jackson and The Cure may not make for the most obvious apples-to-apples comparison. But like Jackson, The Cure established a Boxscore peak around the turn of the ‘90s, before letting its legacy build to a new peak in the 2020s. Like Jackson, The Cure is touring without new material, many years away from its last album. (The band last released a new studio set in 2008.) Their 2023 shows marked the first North American tour for either act since the mid-2010s.
And while the effects of Jackson’s highly publicized mid-’00s controversy don’t quite apply here, the Shows of a Lost World Tour generated its own batch of headlines earlier this year. Frontman Robert Smith spoke out about various “scams” and fees, courtesy Ticketmaster and the larger secondary market, resisting dynamic pricing, platinum ticketing and scaled re-sale. The band went as far as to ensure that every show had a price option of $30 or less. Further, after fans made Smith aware of exorbitant fees, he negotiated with Ticketmaster to issue refunds.
As lines between primary and secondary ticket sellers blur and pricing strategies become more creative, concert revenues for arena acts have surged. And though it may seem like perfect timing to pair those ticketing practices with The Cure’s much-anticipated return to the stage, the band’s defiant public stand against gouging fans worked out in the end.
The Shows of a Lost World Tour averaged a $68.54 price, 37% less than the triple-digit average ticket among the top 50 tours on Billboard’s midyear 2023 recap. Only one artist in that top 50 – The 1975 – averaged less ($63.01), and that was with mostly European shows, where tickets haven’t exploded in the same way as the U.S., where The Cure played.
Still, the tour made enough money to have ranked among the top 20, had its shows been eligible (The midyear charts are based on shows between Nov. 1, 2022 – April 30, 2023. The Cure’s tour began on May 10.). The Cure’s bulked-up, career-high grosses are owed to consistently sold-out crowds, perhaps nudged along by the band’s steadfast dedication to affordable tickets.
Though the Shows of a Lost World Tour has wrapped, The Cure will play a slew of festivals plus a few standalone shows in Latin America between September and December.
Stretching back to 1985, The Cure has grossed a reported $146.1 million and sold 3 million tickets.
Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A.” is back on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (dated July 15) for the first time since its initial chart run in 2009-10, thanks to annual Fourth of July gains.
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The song (released on her former label Hollywood Records; she’s now signed to Columbia Records) re-enters the Hot 100 at No. 50 with 8 million U.S. streams (up 64%), 5.2 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 34%) and 6,000 downloads sold (up 560%) in the June 30-July 6 tracking week, according to Luminate. The sales sum helps it also re-enter the Digital Song Sales chart at No. 7.
“Party in the U.S.A.” was a smash hit during its original chart run. It debuted and peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 in August 2009, becoming Cyrus’ highest charting song at the time. She had previously reached the top 10 with “See You Again” (No. 10 peak in 2008), “7 Things” (No. 9; 2008), “The Climb” (No. 4; 2009) and “He Could Be The One” (No. 10; 2009).
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The re-entry is an added bonus to an already huge year for Cyrus. In March, she dropped her eighth studio album, Endless Summer Vacation, which hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200 after its debut, becoming her 14th top 10. Ahead of the LP’s release, lead single “Flowers” debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in January and spent eight weeks on top. It ranks at No. 5 this week in its 25th consecutive week on the chart — all of which has been spent in the top five. The song became her second No. 1, after the three-week reign of “Wrecking Ball” in 2013.
“Flowers” also hit No. 1 on four individual radio formats: Adult Pop Airplay (for 17 weeks), Adult Contemporary (14 and counting), Pop Airplay (10) and Dance/Mix Show Airplay (four). It ruled the all-format Radio Songs chart for 18 weeks, setting a new record for a title by a woman. In the chart’s history, only The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” has spent more time at No. 1, with 26 weeks.
In total, five songs from Endless Summer Vacation have charted on the Hot 100: “Flowers,” “River” (No. 32 peak), “Jaded” (No. 56), “Thousand Miles” featuring Brandi Carlile (No. 68) and “Rose Colored Lenses” (No. 91).
Older songs such as “Party in the U.S.A.” are eligible for the Hot 100 if they rank within the top 50 and have a meaningful reason for their resurgences. We occasionally see this phenomenon during the year if catalog songs go viral and/or are newly promoted, as with Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” (from 2019 and now in the Hot 100’s top 10) or have notable TV/film synchs that generate newfound interest, as was the case with Kate Bush’s 1985 classic “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” last year. And we see it during every holiday season, when festive songs storm the higher ranks of the Hot 100.
In the first six months of 2023, Morgan Wallen’s monster album One Thing at a Time was the most popular album, while Miley Cyrus’ smash single “Flowers” was the most-streamed song (by on-demand streams, audio and video combined), respectively, at the midyear point in the U.S., according to Luminate. “Flowers” was also the most-heard song on radio airwaves, with over 2.4 billion in radio audience impressions.
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Read more about midyear metrics in the 2023 Luminate Midyear Music Report.
‘One Thing’ is Tops: For the tracking period of Dec. 30, 2022, through June 29, 2023, Wallen’s One Thing at a Time was the most popular album in the U.S. The country star’s latest studio effort was released on March 3, 2023 via Big Loud/Mercury/Republic Records and earned 3.312 million equivalent album units in the first half of 2023. (See full top 10 chart, below.) One Thing at a Time spent 15 nonconsecutive weeks atop the weekly Billboard 200 chart in March-July – the most weeks at No. 1 for any album since Adele’s 21 racked up 24 nonconsecutive weeks in 2011-12.
Concurrently, the One Thing at a Time single “Last Night” was the most-streamed song by on-demand audio streams in the first half of 2023 in the U.S., with 588.7 million on-demand audio streams (inclusive of user-generated content streams). “Last Night” spent 13 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on the weekly all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart from March through July – the singer-songwriter’s first leader on the tally.
The most-streamed song by total on-demand streams (audio and video combined, inclusive of user-generated content streams) was Cyrus’ “Flowers,” with 750.7 million clicks in the first six months of the year. “Flowers” led the Hot 100 eight nonconsecutive weeks from January through early April. It marked Cyrus’ second chart-topper, following 2013’s “Wrecking Ball.”
Equivalent album units – for album titles and chart rankings cited below (but not industry volume numbers) – comprise traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sales, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album, or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official and audio streams generated by songs from an album.
Equivalent album units cited for album titles below, and in the “Midyear Top 10 Albums in U.S.” chart do not include user-generated content (UGC) streams. UGC streams are included in Luminate’s industry volume numbers and its midyear song streaming rankings. (UGC streams are not factored into any of Billboard’s weekly charts.)
For the sake of clarity, equivalent album units do not include listening to music on broadcast radio or digital radio broadcasts. All numbers cited in this story are rounded, and for the U.S. only. Programmed streams are not included in any of the data in this story.
Luminate (formerly MRC Data, Nielsen Music and SoundScan) began tracking music consumption in 1991. Luminate’s sales, streaming and airplay data is used to compile Billboard’s weekly charts.
Of One Thing at a Time’s 3.312 million equivalent album units earned at midyear, SEA units comprise 3.024 million (equaling 4.023 billion on-demand official streams of the set’s 36 songs), album sales comprise 242,000 and TEA units comprise 46,000.
The top five most popular albums at the midyear point in the U.S. are One Thing at a Time, SZA’s December 2022 release SOS (1.982 million equivalent album units), Taylor Swift’s October 2022 release Midnights (1.876 million), Wallen’s January 2021 release Dangerous: The Double Album (1.172 million) and Metro Boomin’s December 2022 release Heroes & Villains (1.038 million). In 2022, Midnights and Dangerous were the Nos. 2 and 3 most popular albums of the year in Luminate’s year-end report.
2023’s Midyear Top 10 Albums in U.S. (by Equivalent Album Units)1. Morgan Wallen, One Thing at a Time (3.312 million)2. SZA, SOS (1.982 million)3. Taylor Swift, Midnights (1.876 million)4. Morgan Wallen, Dangerous: The Double Album (1.173 million)5. Metro Boomin’, Heroes & Villains (1.038 million)6. Bad Bunny, Un Verano Sin Ti (967,000)7. Drake & 21 Savage, Her Loss (898,000)8. Zach Bryan, American Heartbreak (769,000)9. Karol G, Mañana Séra Bonito (716,000)10. Taylor Swift, Lover (711,000)Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022, through June 29, 2023. UGC (user-generated content) streams are not included in this chart, but are included in Luminate’s on-demand streaming charts (below). Luminate’s equivalent album unit totals include SEA and TEA for an album’s songs registered before an album’s release, but only during the tracking period.
Total Album Consumption Increases 13.4% at Midyear: Year-to-date, total equivalent album units stand at 538.9 million – up 13.4% compared to the first half of 2022 (475.4 million in the tracking period of Dec. 31, 2021, through June 30, 2022).
Album Sales Up! Total album sales across all formats (physical CDs, vinyl, cassettes, etc., along with digital album downloads) increased by 7.9% in the first half of 2023 as compared to the same point in 2022. At the 2023 midyear point, 50.6 million albums were sold – up from the 49.6 million sold in the first half of 2022. The top-selling album of 2023 so far is Swift’s Midnights, with 607,000 copies sold
In total, there were 41.6 million physical albums sold (up 13.3% compared to 36.7 million at midyear 2022) and 9.234 million digital albums sold (down 11.2 percent compared to 10.4 million at midyear 2022).
CD album sales grew by 3.8% in the first half of 2023 (17.5 million vs. 16.9 million at midyear 2022), while vinyl album sales jumped by 21.7% (23.6 million vs. 19.4 million at midyear 2022). Even cassette tape album sales perked up. The mostly dormant format sold 212,000 in the first half of 2023 – up 5.8% compared to the 200,500 sold in the first half of 2022.
The top-selling album across all physical formats (CD, vinyl, cassette, etc.) at the midyear point is Swift’s Midnights, with 430,000 sold. It’s also the top-selling digital album (177,000) and vinyl LP (251,000). The biggest-selling CD album in the first half of 2023 was TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION with 395,000 copies sold.
Taylor Swift was the top-selling artist by total album sales in the first half of 2023, with 1.45 million albums sold across her entire catalog across all formats. Swift was also the top-selling in total physical album sales (1.19 million), vinyl album sales (808,000) and digital album sales (256,000). Stray Kids was the top-selling act in CD album sales (509,000).
2023’s Midyear Top 10 Selling Albums in U.S. (Physical & Digital Album Sales Combined)1. Taylor Swift, Midnights (607,000)2. TOMORROW X TOGETHER, The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION (399,000)3. Stray Kids, 5-STAR (327,000)4. TWICE, Ready to Be (286,000)5. Morgan Wallen, One Thing at a Time (242,000)6. SEVENTEEN, SEVENTEEN 10th Mini Album: FML (236,000)7. Metallica, 72 Seasons (215,000)8. Agust D, D-Day (200,000)9. Jimin, FACE (152,000)10. Melanie Martinez, Portals (194,000)Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022, through June 29, 2023.
Taylor Swift, Midnights (251,000)
Lana Del Rey, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd. (132,000)
Taylor Swift, Folklore (107,000)
Tyler, The Creator, Igor (104,000)
Fleetwood Mac, Rumours (103,000)
Boygenius, The Record (100,000)
Melanie Martinez, Portals (93,000)
Michael Jackson, Thriller (85,000)
Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon (85,000)
Lana Del Rey, Born to Die (84,000)
On-Demand Streaming Up 15%, ‘Flowers’ Most-Streamed Song: “Flowers,” Cyrus’ Hot 100-topping single, was the most-streamed song in the first half of 2023 in the U.S., with 750.7 million on-demand streams (inclusive of UGC). SZA’s “Kill Bill” (701.2 million) and Wallen’s “Last Night” (642.8 million) round out the top three.
Total on-demand streams (audio and video combined) at midyear grew 15% in the U.S. as compared to the same point a year ago (713.5 billion vs. 620.2 billion). On-demand audio streams rose 13.5% (616.5 billion vs. 543.2 billion) while on-demand video streams grew 26% (97 billion vs. 77 billion).
UGC streams are included in Luminate’s industry streaming on-demand volume numbers (above) and its midyear streaming song charts (below). UGC streams are not factored into any of Billboard’s weekly charts.
In general, all songs in the below charts combine the assorted remixes of a song into one overall total. Thus, PinkPantheress’ “Boy’s a Liar” includes activity for its remix with Ice Spice, “Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2,” The Weeknd’s “Die for You” includes activity for its remix with Ariana Grande,” and so forth.2023’s Midyear Top 10 Most Streamed Songs in U.S. (On-Demand Audio & Video Combined)1. Miley Cyrus, “Flowers” (750.7 million)2. SZA, “Kill Bill” (701.2 million)3. Morgan Wallen, “Last Night” (642.8 million)4. PinkPantheress, “Boy’s a Liar” (580.7 million)5. Lady Gaga, “Bloody Mary” (531.7 million)6. Rema & Selena Gomez, “Calm Down” (486.3 million)7. Twisted featuring Oliver Tree, “Worth Nothing” (462.7 million)8. J. Cole featuring Amber Coffman & The Cults, “She Knows” (455.6 million)9. Fifty Fifty, “Cupid” (427.7 million)10. Lil Uzi Vert, “Just Wanna Rock” (416.1 million)Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022, through June 29, 2023. Includes UGC streams.
2023’s Midyear Top 10 Most Streamed Songs in U.S. (On-Demand Audio)1. Morgan Wallen, “Last Night” (588.7 million)2. SZA, “Kill Bill” (567.6 million)3. Miley Cyrus, “Flowers” (464.6 million)4. PinkPantheress, “Boy’s a Liar” (370.4 million)5. The Weeknd, “Die for You” (349.8 million)6. Zach Bryan, “Something in the Orange” (331.2 million)7. Metro Boomin, The Weeknd & 21 Savage, “Creepin’” (308.3 million)8. Eslabon Armado x Peso Pluma, “Ella Baila Sola” (307.4 million)9. Morgan Wallen, “You Proof” (303.3 million)10. Taylor Swift, “Anti-Hero” (302.8 million)Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022, through June 29, 2023. Includes UGC streams.
Digital Song Sales Drop 13%: Digital song sales fell 13% in the first six months of 2023, dipping to 69.57 million, as compared to 79.98 million sold in the first half of 2022. The top-selling digital song at the midyear point is Cyrus’ “Flowers” with 380,000 sold. Six songs sold more than 100,000 downloads in the first half of 2023. At midyear 2022, there were eight songs that sold in excess of 100,000.
2023’s Midyear Top 10 Selling Digital Songs in U.S.1. Miley Cyrus, “Flowers” (380,000)2. Jimin, “Like Crazy” (289,000)3. Morgan Wallen, “Last Night” (217,000)4. Luke Combs, “Fast Car” (126,000)5. Beyoncé, “Cuff It” (119,000)6. Rema & Selena Gomez, “Calm Down” (110,000)7. Taylor Swift, “Anti-Hero” (97,000)8. Lainey Wilson, “Heart Like a Truck” (89,000)9. Ice Spice, “Princess Diana” (87,000)10. Jelly Roll, “Need a Favor” (86,000)Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022, through June 29, 2023.
‘Heat Waves’ Hottest on Radio: The most-heard song on U.S. radio in the first half of 2023 was Cyrus’ “Flowers,” with a cumulative 2.409 billion audience impressions across all formats monitored by Luminate. The single was released in early January and became one of the biggest radio hits in the modern era. It spent 18 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s all-format Radio Songs chart, tying Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” for the second-most weeks at No. 1 since the chart began in 1990. The song with the most weeks at No. 1 on Radio Songs is The Weeknd’s enduring “Blinding Lights,” which ruled for 26 weeks in 2020.
2023’s Midyear Top 10 Radio Songs in U.S. (Based on Audience Impressions)1. Miley Cyrus, “Flowers” (2.409 billion)2. Metro Boomin, The Weeknd & 21 Savage, “Creepin’” (2.359 billion)3. SZA, “Kill Bill” (1.909 billion)4. The Weeknd, “Die for You” (1.877 billion)5. Taylor Swift, “Anti-Hero” (1.730 billion)6. David Guetta & Bebe Rexha, “I’m Good (Blue)” (1.691 billion)7. Rema & Selena Gomez, “Calm Down” (1.580 billion)8. Harry Styles, “As It Was” (1.362 billion)9. Sam Smith & Kim Petras, “Unholy” (1.275 billion)10. Chris Brown, “Under the Influence” (1.142 billion)Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022, through June 29, 2023.
Taylor Swift’s third re-recorded album, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), has earned over 575,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first four days of release (July 7-10), according to initial reports to Luminate — marking the biggest week for any album in 2023. Of that sum, album sales comprise over 400,000 copies – the largest sales week for an album this year, too.
Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is a re-recorded version of Swift’s 2010 No. 1 Billboard 200 studio album Speak Now. The 22-track re-recorded edition includes new recordings of the original album’s 14 standard tracks, along with bonus cuts and previously unreleased “From the Vault” recordings. Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) follows Swift’s re-recorded Red and Fearless albums, released in 2021. Both debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
If Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) debuts at No. 1 on the July 22-dated Billboard 200 chart (which reflects the tracking week ending July 13), Swift’s count of No. 1 albums will rise to 12, surpassing Barbra Streisand (with 11 leaders) for the most No. 1 albums among female artists. Swift would also tie Drake for the third-most No. 1s among all acts, with only The Beatles (19) and Jay-Z (14) ahead of them. (The Billboard 200 began publishing on a regular, weekly basis in March 1956.) The top 10 of the July 22-dated Billboard 200 chart is scheduled to be announced on Sunday, July 16.
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. 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.
2023’s previous largest week, by equivalent album units earned, was tallied by Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time, which launched with 501,000 units in the week ending March 9, as reflected on the Billboard 200 chart dated March 18. The year’s largest sales week was held by the debut frame of Stray Kids’ 5-STAR with 235,000 copies sold in the week ending June 8, as reflected on the June 17-dated charts.
Sales: With over 400,000 sold in only four days, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) already has the largest sales week for any album since Swift’s own last studio album, Midnights, debuted with 1.14 million copies sold last year (week ending Oct. 27, 2022; as reflected on the Nov. 5-dated Billboard charts).
Vinyl sales comprise over half of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’s sales – as the three-LP set has sold over 225,000 copies on wax. The latter marks the second-largest sales week for a vinyl album in the modern era (since Luminate began electronically tracking sales in 1991). It is second only to the first week of Midnights’ vinyl LP, with 575,000 sold in its opening frame. Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is available in three color variants on vinyl – orchid marbled, violet marbled and a Target-exclusive lilac marbled color.
The remainder of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) sales is comprised of CDs, digital album download purchases and cassette tape sales.
Streaming: The collected 22 songs on Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) generated more than 200 million on-demand official streams in the U.S. July 7-10, according to Luminate. The most-streamed tune on the album, by audio on-demand official streams, is the “from the vault” cut “I Can See You (Taylor’s Version),” with over 13 million on-demand official audio streams in those four tracking days.
SZA achieves her fourth No. 1 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Airplay chart as “Snooze” ascends from the runner-up rank to lead the list dated July 15. Despite a 1% decline in plays for the last tracking week (June 30 – July 6), the single became the week’s most played song on U.S. monitored rhythmic radio stations, […]
Natanael Cano captures his third top 10 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart as his latest album Nata Montana debuts at No. 5 on the July 15-dated list. The 15-track set concurrently launches at No. 2 on Regional Mexican Albums.
Nata Montana starts with 20,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. after its first tracking week ending July 6, according to Luminate. Cano’s eighth studio effort was released June 30 via Rancho Humilde.
As with most Latin albums these days, streams power Nata Montana’s opening sum. Out of the 20,000 units, 19,000 stem from streaming-equivalent album units. That equals 28 million official on-demand streams of the album’s songs.
An equivalent album unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album (track equivalent album units, TEA), or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album (streaming equivalent album units, SEA).
At only 18 years old, Cano pioneered the era of corridos tumbados — an amalgam of Mexican corridos with trap-permeated sounds within conventional regional Mexican music — with his breakthrough set Corridos Tumbados, which peaked at No. 4 on Top Latin Albums in November 2019.
The now-22-year-old has opened the curtain for his peers Peso Pluma, labelmate Junior H and others, some of whom comprise the all-star crew on Nata Montana –- the album’s name and artwork are references to the 1983 cult film Scarface starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana, with “The World is Yours” phrase as the set’s cornerstone approach.
As mentioned, Nata Montana marks Cano’s third top 10 on Top Latin Albums among eight entries. Prior to Montana, Cano earned his second top 10 through the No. 9 high A Mis 20 in June 2021.
The album was preceded by two songs: “AMG,” with Gabito Basllesteros and Peso Pluma (No. 6-peak in Feb.) and “Pacas de Billetes” (reached No. 37 in May).
Further, as Montana launches, two of its songs arrive on the multi-metric Hot Latin Songs chart: “Más Altas Que Bajadas” at No. 42 and “Mi Bello Ángel” at No. 46.
Beyond its debut on the Latin albums charts, Montana bows at No. 35 on the overall Billboard 200 list. It bests his only other entry there: Corridos Tumbados which debuted and peaked at No. 166 in 2019.
For the first time in 26 years, Babyface rules Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart without any other credited artists, with “As a Matter of Fact” advancing from No. 3 to lead the list dated July 15. The legend last led on his own with “Every Time I Close My Eyes,” a two-week No. 1 in 1997, and collects his sixth overall chart-topper.
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“Fact” ascends to the summit after a 10% boost in plays that made it the most-played song on U.S. monitored adult R&B radio stations in the week ending July 6, according to Luminate. The new leader extends the icon’s hot streak on Adult R&B Airplay; his last four chart entries have all reached the top five. Plus, Babyface is off to a strong start with new label P Music, as his first two visits – as featured on Charlie Wilson’s “No Stoppin’ Us,” alongside fellow guests K-Ci Hailey and Johnny Gill – and now “As a Matter of Fact” have topped the list.
“I am grateful and blessed to have another [No. 1] song on the Billboard [Adult] R&B radio chart as a solo artist after 26 years,” Babyface tells Billboard. “I am thankful to still be here and do what I love – creating music. It will always come back to the music. Thanks to my fans and my team!”
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In total, “As a Matter of Fact” gives the hitmaking performer, songwriter and producer his sixth Adult R&B Airplay No. 1. Here’s an updated look at all his champs as an artist:
“Never Keeping Secrets,” one week at No. 1, beginning Dec. 4, 1993“When Can I See You,” two, Aug. 20, 1994“Every Time I Close My Eyes,” two, March 29, 1997“Hurt You,” with Toni Braxton, four, Dec. 14, 2013“No Stoppin’ Us,” Charlie Wilson featuring Babyface, K-Ci Hailey & Johnny Gill, three, Aug. 6, 2022“As a Matter of Fact,” one (to date), July 15, 2023
Elsewhere, “As a Matter of Fact” rises 23-22 for a new peak on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, which measures songs by combined audience from adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop stations. There, the single gained 6% in audience to reach 5.4 million in the latest tracking week. In addition to his own track, Babyface has even more to celebrate: As a co-producer and co-writer, he shares in the success of SZA’s “Snooze,” which wins a third week at No. 1 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay.