Chart Beat
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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 July 29), the two best-performing artists of 2023 battle again for the top spot, while new sets from a late rapper and a hip-hop star recovering from a near-death experience could make big bows.
Taylor Swift, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (Republic): Taylor Swift is in the midst of a Billboard 200 week for the history books. Not only does her Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) debut at No. 1 with a 2023-best 716,000 units – the highest first-week number since her own Midnights last November – but it’s one of four Swift albums in the chart’s top 10 this week, along with Midnights (No. 5), Lover (No. 7) and Folklore (No. 10). The last living artist who had that many albums in the top 10 at the same time was Herb Alpert, way back in 1966.
Now, Swift will try to do something she’s yet to do with one of her Taylor’s Version re-recordings: hold at No. 1 for a second straight week. Though both her Fearless and Red redos debuted atop the chart with massive first-week numbers, both were deposed in the next frame: Fearless by YSL’s label showcase Slime Language 2 and Red by Adele’s much-anticipated 30. (Fearless did return for a second week on top months later, following its release on vinyl and signed CD.)
Swift’s primary competition will be – of course – Morgan Wallen, still at No. 2 with his 15-week chart-topper One Thing at a Time. The album continues to post weekly units in the six digits, and will likely have the streaming advantage over Swift with its 36 tracks (including the long-reigning Streaming Songs No. 1, “Last Night.”), as Swift’s massive first-week sales numbers take the usual second-week drop. However, Swift is following her biggest Taylor’s Version debut yet, and a second week even 15% as strong as her first week would still have been enough to get past Wallen’s most recent One Thing total.
IN THE MIX
King Von, Grandson (Only the Family/Empire): Chicago rapper King Von only released one album during his lifetime, 2020’s No. 5-peaking Welcome to O’Block, but he was well on his way to hip-hop stardom when he was shot to death that November. He’s already released one posthumous album with 2022’s No. 2-debuting What It Means to Be King, and he may hit the top 10 a third time with last Friday’s (July 14) Grandson, featuring guest appearances from hitmakers like Polo G, Lil Durk and Moneybagg Yo.
Lil Tjay, 222 (Columbia): New York rapper Lil Tjay’s promising career was derailed in June 2022 when he was shot multiple times during an attempted robbery. He survived the shooting, and on Friday released his first album since getting out of the hospital, 222. The album includes features from Summer Walker, The Kid LAROI, YoungBoy Never Broke Again and more, plus the first-person narrative “June 22,” named after the day of his ‘22 shooting.
Lauren Spencer-Smith, Mirror (Republic): The early-2022 viral breakout of teenage singer-songwriter (and former American Idol contestant) Lauren Spencer-Smith‘s heartbreak ballad “Fingers Crossed” earned her Olivia Rodrigo comparisons, and a deal with Republic Records. Subsequent singles haven’t fared as well, but Smith hopes to make good on that early promise with debut album Mirror – which she released on Friday as a “Fan Pack” (with vinyl and a shirt), as a boxed set (CD and shirt) and as a signed CD.
Kierra Sheard’s “Miracles” featuring Pastor Mike Jr. rises to No. 1 on Billboard’s Gospel Airplay chart (dated July 22). In the July 7-13 tracking week, the song increased by 16% in plays, according to Luminate.
“Miracles” marks the fifth Gospel Airplay No. 1 for both Sheard and Pastor Mike Jr. (real name Mike McClure Jr.).
Sheard wrote the song with her brother J. Drew Sheard II and Marcus Johnson. It’s the first single from her LP due later this year. Its content relates to a series of miscarriages that Sheard endured. She is currently pregnant, expecting her first child with husband Jordan Kelly.
“I’m a walking miracle, and I’m sure we all have some kind of miraculous story of God moving in our lives,” Sheard tells Billboard. “It’s only right for these lyrics to be our anthem and I’m grateful that so many are listening.”
“Miracles is more than a song,” adds Pastor Mike Jr. “Kierra and I really wanted to inject the world with hope, and we’re seeing so many lives changed with this positive message.”
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With “Miracles,” Pastor Mike Jr. adds his record-extending fifth consecutive career-opening No. 1 on Gospel Airplay. It follows “Impossible” featuring James Fortune (a two-week leader in April); “Amazing,” (two weeks, May 2022); “I Got It” (four weeks, beginning in March 2021); and “Big Rock City” (10 weeks, beginning in February 2020).
Pastor Mike Jr. also ties for the longest streak of Gospel Airplay No. 1s overall, regardless of career-launching runs, with Todd Dulaney and Jonathan McReynolds. All three acts’ streaks are active, with Dulaney currently charting a potential sixth leader in a row, as “It’s Working,” with Bishop Hezekiah Walker, climbs 22-21 for a new high.
Sheard, the daughter of Karen Clark Sheard of The Clark Sisters, tops Gospel Airplay for the first time since “Something Has To Break,” featuring her mother, led for two weeks in October 2021.
Before that, Kierra Sheard’s solo song “It Keeps Happening” dominated for a week in September 2020. In April 2017, GEI’s “Hang On,” on which she’s featured, dominated for a week, after Mary Mary’s “God in Me,” featuring Sheard, ruled for seven weeks beginning in August 2009.
Sheard has an additional song on the latest Gospel Airplay survey, as “God Is Good,” with her mother, Stanley Brown and Hezekiah Walker, ranks at No. 27 (up 2% in plays).
On July 19, 2008, Blake Shelton’s “Home” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. Michael Bublé co-wrote the ballad with Alan Chang and Amy Foster-Gillies, and his original version topped Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart for two weeks in 2005. “Home” gave Ada, Okla., native Shelton his fourth of 14 Hot Country Songs leaders, among […]
Taylor Swift soars past 100 career hits on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, thanks to 22 new entries – the entirety of her new album, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). She’s just the second woman to achieve the milestone and now boasts 108 career entries on the ranking – just two away from Dolly Parton’s 110, the most among women.
As previously reported, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) launches at No. 1 on both the all-genre Billboard 200 and Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart (dated July 22). Released July 7, the set is the third of Swift’s planned six re-recorded albums.
Swift notched the first of her 108 Hot Country Songs entries on the chart dated July 1, 2006, when “Tim McGraw” debuted at the list’s No. 60 anchor spot. It became her first of 36 career top 10s, with eight having hit No. 1, from “Our Song” in 2007 through “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” in 2021. (She adds seven top 10s on the latest tally.)
Parton scored her first of 110 Hot Country Songs hits when “Dumb Blonde” debuted at No. 64 on the Jan. 21, 1967, chart, on its way to a No. 24 peak that March. She has earned 55 top 10s, including 25 No. 1s from “Joshua” in 1971 through her featured turn on Brad Paisley’s “When I Get Where I’m Going” in 2006.
Notably, Swift has swelled her count of Hot Country Songs hits this decade via multiple charted cuts each from her Fearless (Taylor’s Version), Red (Taylor’s Version) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) releases. As streaming has surged, it has become common for high-profile artists to land numerous songs on charts, in a variety of genres, the week that their respective parent albums debut. In prior decades, artists and labels generally charted one promoted single, for several weeks, at a time.
Among all acts, the late George Jones has totaled the most Hot Country Songs entries – 159 – dating to when the chart became an all-encompassing genre survey in October 1958.
Meanwhile, both Swift and Parton appear in position to add to their sums of Hot Country Songs placements. Swift has yet to re-record her debut LP, the country-focused Taylor Swift, and Parton is prepping her 30-track Rockstar album, due Nov. 17.
If Swift claims top honors for the most Hot Country Songs hits among women, Parton would seemingly pass the torch gracefully to her successor. “Taylor, she’s a great writer,” Parton praised in early 2022. “She’s always had good taste in how she’s presented herself and with her songs. And she’s very creative and very, very, very smart in the marketing of her life. She knows who she is and what she wants. And I’m the same way. I’m going to fight if it goes against what I feel is not right for me.”
Rauw Alejandro’s Playa Saturno album blasts in at No. 4 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart (dated July 22), his sixth straight top 10 which encompasses all of his charting efforts.
Playa Saturno, the Puerto Rican’s fourth-studio album, is the follow-up to his retro-futuristic No. 2-peaking Saturno, released in Nov. 2022; Saturno holds solidly on the tally at No. 15 in its 35th week.
Playa dropped via Duars/Sony Music Latin on July 7, the first day of the chart’s tracking week. According to Luminate, it launches with a little over 21,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. during its first week of activity ending July 13.
As with Rauw’s preceding three studio efforts, streaming fuels nearly all the set’s opening sum. The 21,000 streaming-equivalent album units equals to 27.5 million official on-demand clicks for the songs on the album, while the remaining balance is a negligible sum comprising album sales and track-equivalent album units.
Playa’s 27.5 million official on-demand streams improves on Rauw’s streaming performance as Saturno registered 25.6 million official streams in its first week. Among his chart entrances, including the No. 6-peaking Track Cake, Vol. 2 EP, the two-week album champ Vice Versa, continues to lead with 29.1 million U.S. clicks during its debut week (July 2021).
As mentioned, Rauw collects his sixth straight top 10 album, dating back to his maiden visit, Concierto Virtual En Tiempos de Covid-19, which reached No. 10 in Sept. 2020.
Further, Rauw’s four studio albums simultaneously rank in the top 30 on Top Latin Albums (Playa at No. 4, Saturno at No. 15, Vice Versa at No. 19, and Afrodisiáco at No. 29), the second-most among Latin rhythm artists after Bad Bunny, who’s placed as many as six top 30 albums throughout different chart weeks.
Playa’s entrance extends to the airplay, digital sales, and streaming data-fused Hot Latin Songs chart, where three songs from the album debut: “Picardía,” with Junior H, at No. 42; “Cuando Baje El Sol” at No. 45; and “Al Callao’” at No. 48. Plus, the album was preceded by one track: “Baby Hello,” with Bizarrap, which rises to its No. 32 high on the current tally.
Beyond its top five launch on Top Latin Albums, Playa Saturno also makes its way to two other albums charts: a No. 3 bow on Latin Rhythm Albums, and No. 29 start on the all-genres Billboard 200.
While her Eras Tour continues to boost her catalog to unprecedented heights, while her 2022 blockbuster Midnights still has hits in the Hot 100’s top 20, and while one of her older deep cuts has already been resurrected into a top 10 smash, Taylor Swift now adds to her 2023 dominance with the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), third of her full-album re-recordings.
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The set debuts with 716,000 equivalent album units this week (chart dated July 22), over 500,000 of which come in sales — both the highest numbers for any album since her own Midnights bow last November — while debuting all 22 of its tracks on the Billboard Hot 100, led by the No. 5 entrance for new cut “I Can See You (Taylor’s Version).” It’s also the best first-week performance from any of the three Taylor’s Versions released thusfar, easily passing the 605,000 posted by Red (Taylor’s Version) in 2021.
Why did this first week mark her best Taylor’s Version showing yet? And how much bigger could those numbers still grow for future re-recordings? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.
1. The 716,000 units for Speak Now is easily the most for any Taylor’s Version so far, breezing past the 605,000 that Red (TV) debuted with in 2021. What do you think is the biggest reason for the debut-week increase for Speak Now?
Katie Atkinson: With more than a half-million of those units in traditional album sales, I think the biggest reason is collecting. No Swiftie collection will be complete with the (Taylor’s Version) projects, so it’s a must-own record. There are also multiple versions of the physical album you could buy, so if you’re a completist Swiftie, you’ve gotta have ’em all. These re-recordings are basically the equivalent of legacy box sets but delivered during the prime of an artist’s career, which makes them obvious collector’s items.
Hannah Dailey: It may be partly due to the momentum she’s created with the past two Taylor’s Versions, but I think the main reason for Speak Now’s success is definitely the ongoing cultural phenomenon that is the Eras Tour. This is the first re-release to drop since she kicked off the tour, which is built almost completely around the nostalgia factor of her old albums. With pictures and videos from the show populating everyone’s timelines just about every weekend, people are more incentivized than ever to indulge in “Old Taylor” for as long as it’s cool again to do so.
Kyle Denis: As impossible as it may seem, Taylor’s star power has only gotten stronger. Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is Swift’s first re-recording release since she dropped off Midnights last year — and that album earned her the biggest first-week units total of her career. Couple that with Speak Now (TV) being the first full-length release from Swift since the start of her record-breaking Eras Tour, and you have an already massive fanbase that’s only become even bigger and more galvanized to consume all things Swift. It also helps that Swift’s most dedicated fans often have a particularly strong connection to Speak Now. While the self-penned record didn’t house a litany of zeitgeist-conquering hits like Fearless or 1989, a lot of fan-favorites that weren’t smash hits (“Dear John,” “Enchanted,” “Better Than Revenge,” “Long Live,” etc.) are housed on the album.
Jason Lipshutz: Taylor Swift’s enormity. Obviously Swift was a superstar back when she released the first two Taylor’s Version albums in 2021, but somehow, she’s grown in stature exponentially even from that point, highlighted by the gargantuan success of Midnights (her biggest debut week ever!), “Anti-Hero” (her longest-leading Hot 100 No. 1 hit ever!), and the Eras tour (her biggest tour ever!). Make no mistake, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) was always going to enjoy a comfortable No. 1 bow – but the release of its timing, when Swift’s commercial streak has gone from red-hot to scorching, can help explain its final units total.
Andrew Unterberger: It’s just Taylor Swift, rolling along her pop stardom as it absorbs everything in its path and keeps growing bigger and bigger — like Katamari Damacy. Speak Now is a fan-beloved album, but was not really the kind of commercial juggernaut that Fearless or Red were, and the re-recording has no songs nearly as anticipated as Red‘s “All Too Well (10-Minute Version).” It’s simply the biggest because Taylor Swift is at her biggest right now.
2. Speak Now is just one of four Swift albums in the Billboard 200‘s top 10 this week (making her the first living artist since Herb Alpert in 1966 to have four simultaneous top 10 albums), while she also has three top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, each from a different album (making her the first living artist since The Beatles in 1964 to have three simultaneous top 10 hits from different albums). Which of the two accomplishments is more impressive to you?
Katie Atkinson: It’s hard to say, but I’ll give the edge to the Hot 100 stat. We’ve seen a lot of artists dominate the Hot 100 top 10 – as Swift herself did after the release of Midnights when she became the first artist to hold all top 10 spots on the chart – but those weeks include songs almost exclusively from the same album. Having three different songs in the upper region from three different albums is a wild level of domination that only Swift (and The Beatles!) could pull off.
Hannah Dailey: It’s hard to say, as I think the two achievements are pretty reflective of each other. But considering how much pride Swift takes in her ability to weave her songwriting into palatable, full bodies of work, I would say the Billboard 200 feat is most impressive.
Kyle Denis: I think the latter is more impressive. Placing four albums in the top 10 is certainly a feat, but with an event like the Super Bowl, some discounts, and a relatively quiet chart week, it’s certainly achievable for quite a few artists, should they put in that effort. To have singles from three different albums simultaneously place in the top 10, however, is a lot more difficult, I think. Especially when none of the songs appear on albums from other artists.
Swift and her team were able to time the radio ascent of “Karma” with the explosive rise of “Cruel Summer,” while also securing enough fan attention to care about one of six new “From the Vault” tracks on Speak Now (TV). To toe that line of a having a high volume of output without being so overexposed that people start to shy away from you… that’s not easy at all. It’s incredibly impressive, and a testament to how Swift’s stardom is borderline impenetrable.
Jason Lipshutz: Swift having a bunch of albums in the upper reaches of the Billboard 200 is impressive but not uncommon. Three songs, from three different albums, simultaneously in the top 10 of the Hot 100, though? That’s the sort of mind-boggling chart feat that Swift, and only Swift, is routinely adding to her resumé. Really, that accomplishment speaks to the astonishing rise of “Cruel Summer” four years after its release: having a single from last year’s Midnights and the newly released Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) in the top 10 makes some sense, but a Lover track organically rising to new heights at the same time simply demonstrates Swift’s current ubiquity, unprecedented in the modern music era.
Andrew Unterberger: I mean, anytime you can be the first artist since The Beatles to do something… Still, I might find the albums stat slightly more impressive, just because it shows how widespread the Swift bump of recent months has been, without been mostly contained to one or even a couple releases. And look outside of the top 10: She’s got another two in the top 20, and another two in the top 25. That kind of cross-catalog dominance when it comes to her overall legacy… that’s pretty Beatlesque.
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3. The current top 10 hit from Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is “I Can See You,” which debuts at No. 5 on the Hot 100 — helped by prime New Music Friday placement and an internet-friendly music video starring a number of Speak Now-era Taylorverse fixtures. Does it feel like a lasting top 10 hit to you, or will it be more of a one-week wonder?
Katie Atkinson: I *really* like this song and would like it to have more of a moment, but if the shock factor of Swift casting one of her era-specific ex-boyfriends in the music video and the release-week timing couldn’t boost it higher than No. 5, I don’t see it climbing there another way. It seems like Team Swift would be smart to put their full juice behind the resurgent “Cruel Summer” instead, including the release of a long-awaited music video perfectly timed to land the top spot on the chart.
Hannah Dailey: I could see it sticking around a little longer, though I think it’s more likely it’ll be a slightly more successful “I Bet You Think About Me” – the parallel Vault single from Red (Taylor’s Version), which made it to No. 22 before falling off the Hot 100 after two weeks.
Kyle Denis: Definitely a one-week wonder. All eyes are on “Cruel Summer” right now, as the fan-favorite collects the commercial success it’s deserved for four years now. Between “Cruel Summer” and the three Midnights singles currently in rotation on radio, it would probably be overkill to promote a fifth Swift single — and radio is what “I Can See You” will need the most to remain a lasting top 10 hit. Now, should “I Can See You” naturally gain traction outside of its newness and star-studded music video, then that would be a different story.
Jason Lipshutz: I love “I Can See You” as both an ultra-catchy flirtation and redirection of Swift’s sound, pushing her Speak Now songwriting towards a more sexually suggestive and downright funky sound. In a vacuum, the song sounds like a no-brainer new hit from Swift… but it’s going to have to compete for attention with “Karma” and “Cruel Summer,” and while I think the cultural appetite for her music is larger than it’s ever been, I’d have to imagine that those concurrent hits cannibalize each other’s streams and plays to some degree. We’ll see in the weeks ahead just how many hits from different eras Swift can juggle at one time, though!
Andrew Unterberger: Yeah, just too crowded for “I Can See You” right now unfortunately — if it’s going to grow into a long-lasting hit, that’s probably going to have to be because it caught on as a TikTok moment or otherwise made some kind of specific cultural imprint. A top five debut is still pretty impressive for it though, considering the level of competition right now (including her own simultaneous hits).
4. The numbers keep getting bigger with these re-recordings — do you think we’ll eventually see a million-unit first week for one of the Taylor’s Versions?
Katie Atkinson: I wouldn’t put anything past Taylor Swift – and I’m especially not counting out this possibility considering 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is still on the horizon and was commercially and critically beloved upon its original release. Imagine the high-quality 1989 “From the Vault” tracks we’re going to get from that era if “New Romantics” was just a bonus track back in 2014.
Hannah Dailey: I think it’s very possible. My money is on 1989 (Taylor’s Version), especially because that record had such major first-week sales the first time around.
Kyle Denis: I’m expecting 1989 (Taylor’s Version) to get close to a million units first week, especially if she has some surprises in store like a new version of the “Bad Blood” music video or some big-name collaborations on the Vault tracks. We already got “Wildest Dreams (TV)” in 2021, so the 1989 (TV) campaign has been subtly chugging along for months now. There’s also the fact that 1989 is her most-successful album that needs to be re-recorded, so the hype will certainly be there. I expect Reputation (TV) to perform similarly to Red (TV) and Speak Now (TV). The re-recording of her eponymous debut, however, will probably pull in the smallest first-week units total of the Taylor’s Versions series.
Jason Lipshutz: Maybe – which I don’t think I would have said a week ago, since scoring a million-unit first week is such a tall order! But if Swift’s reign refuses to let up, the timing is right, and the hits-packed 1989 (Taylor’s Version) includes some undeniable fan goodies conjuring the frenzy of “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version),” then anything is possible. The success of these re-recorded albums has already surpassed the loftiest expectations, so I can’t count out something like a seven-figure debut for one of them.
Andrew Unterberger: The fact that it’s even a discussion is pretty crazy — remember how impressive it seemed when Fearless (Taylor’s Version) did nearly 300k in its first week, and most of us assumed that would be the biggest first-week number in the series, with future projects meeting with diminishing returns thanks to fading novelty. Clearly that hasn’t been the case, and when 1989 (Taylor’s Version) debuts, the million-unit mark will be within the realm of possibility — though if I had to put money on it, I’d still probably take the under.
5. Fill in the brackets: “Taylor Swift is currently the biggest pop star I can remember since [artist] in [year].“
Katie Atkinson: Justin Timberlake in 2006, so we’re talking about the release of FutureSex/LoveSounds followed by “Dick in a Box” on Saturday Night Live. But really, there’s no perfect comparison because no other pop superstar has been this strategic of a businessperson and made it part of their public brand. So she’s riding a high like late-2006 JT, but she’s transcended to a whole other plane at this point.
Hannah Dailey: I’m 23. Taylor is the biggest pop star I can remember, period. Even so, I don’t know if she even warrants comparison anymore. It would’ve been easier to finish the sentence ten years ago, but at this point, she’s broken enough of her own records to become her own benchmark. I think she stands alone.
Kyle Denis: Taylor Swift is currently the biggest pop star I can remember since Britney Spears in 1998-2003.
Jason Lipshutz: Since Adele in 2011, when her album 21 hovered around the top of the Billboard 200 for months on end (eventually collecting a whopping 24 weeks at No. 1) and sending three singles to the top of the Hot 100. Adele was just absolutely dominant that year – and by most metrics, Swift is currently experiencing an even bigger 2023.
Andrew Unterberger: Since Lady Gaga in 2009-2010? Drake’s chart dominance in 2018 was comparable, and Adele’s sales figures in 2011 (and 2015) may never be matched again. But in terms of all-encompassing, any-metric-you-use, tangible-or-intangible, center-of-the-conversation STARDOM? If not Gaga, then you really might need to go back to Britney and Eminem at the beginning of the century.
“Overdrive,” the latest taste of Post Malone’s upcoming album Austin, debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s July 22-dated Hot Trending Songs chart.
Billboard’s Hot Trending charts, powered by Twitter, track global music-related trends and conversations in real-time across Twitter, viewable over either the last 24 hours or past seven days. A weekly, 20-position version of the chart, covering activity from Friday through Thursday of each week, posts alongside Billboard’s other weekly charts on Billboard.com each Tuesday, with the latest tracking period running July 7-13.
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“Overdrive” debuts at No. 1 after being teased on social media prior to its July 14 release, first on July 12.
It’s the third song to be released from Austin, which is out July 28. First came lead single “Chemical,” which debuted at No. 5 on the Top Trending Songs tally dated April 22 and has peaked so far at No. 13 on the multimetric Billboard Hot 100. Then came “Mourning,” which debuted at No. 36 on the Hot 100 in June.
More chart activity for “Overdrive” will be reflected on the Billboard rankings dated July 29.
After “Overdrive” comes “Militerian,” from J Hus’ new album Beautiful and Brutal Yard. The song, which features Naira Marley, was released on July 13 ahead of the LP’s July 14 premiere.
Jung Kook’s “Seven” vaults 10-3 due to more teases of the song before its official release on July 14, while NMIXX’s “Party O’Clock” bows at No. 4 after being uploaded July 11. The chart’s previous No. 1, EXO’s “Cream Soda,” rounds out the top five at No. 5.
Keep visiting Billboard.com for the constantly evolving Hot Trending Songs rankings, and check in each Tuesday for the latest weekly chart.
Chicago-based drill rapper FendiDa Rappa is officially a Billboard Hot 100-charting artist as she scores her first appearance on the list with her new collaboration with Cardi B, “Point Me 2.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The song, released July 7 through Giant Music (which relaunched in […]
NewJeans jump from No. 6 to No. 1 on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart (dated July 22), as the South Korean pop group becomes the top emerging act in the U.S. for the first time, powered by its new single “Super Shy.”
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The song, released July 7 via ADOR/Geffen/Interscope Records, debuts at No. 66 on the Billboard Hot 100 with 9.2 million official U.S. streams and 2,000 downloads sold through July 13, according to Luminate. It also opens at No. 2 on World Digital Song Sales and No. 45 on the all-genre Digital Song Sales chart.
Internationally, the song debuts at No. 2 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts. It’s the act’s third top 10 and highest-charting entry on each survey.
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“Super Shy” is NewJeans’ third and highest charting title on the Hot 100 after “OMG” and “Ditto,” which reached Nos. 74 and 82, respectively, in February.
In the Emerging Artists chart’s six-year history, NewJeans are the 10th K-pop group to hit No. 1, following NCT, BLACKPINK, NCT 127 (all in 2018), TOMORROW X TOGETHER, NCT DREAM (both 2019), ATEEZ (2021), xikers, (G)I-DLE and P1Harmony (all this year).
NewJeans formed in 2022 and is comprised of members Danielle, Haerin, Hanni, Hyein and Minji.
Among other moves on Emerging Artists, FendiDa Rappa debuts at No. 9, thanks to her new collaboration with Cardi B, “Point Me 2.” The song starts at No. 82 on the Hot 100, as well as No. 14 on Hot Rap Songs and No. 20 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, becoming her first-ever Billboard chart appearances.
The Emerging Artists chart ranks the most popular developing artists of the week, using the same formula as the all-encompassing Billboard Artist 100, which measures artist activity across multiple Billboard charts, including the Hot 100 and Billboard 200. (The Artist 100 lists the most popular acts, overall, each week.) However, the Emerging Artists chart excludes acts that have notched a top 25 entry on either the Hot 100 or Billboard 200, as well as artists that have achieved two or more top 10s on Billboard’s “Hot” song genre charts and/or consumption-based “Top” album genre rankings.
What will be the No. 1 song of the summer of 2023? We’re halfway to the answer, per Billboard’s Songs of the Summer chart.
The 20-position Songs of the Summer running tally tracks the most popular titles based on cumulative performance on the weekly streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Billboard Hot 100 chart from Memorial Day through Labor Day (this year encompassing charts dated June 10 through Sept. 9). At the end of the season, the top song of the summer will be revealed.
Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” ranks at No. 1 through the first half of this year’s Songs of the Summer tracking period, having led the list all seven weeks so far. Luke Combs’ “Fast Car” ranks at No. 2, followed by Rema and Selena Gomez’s “Calm Down” (No. 3), Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” (No. 4) and Lil Durk’s “All My Life,” featuring J. Cole (No. 5).
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While all five hits above have appeared on Songs of the Summer each week this season, two titles not on the survey at summer’s start are currently climbing (on the chart dated July 22): SZA’s “Snooze,” up 14-13 in its fifth week, and Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer,” new at No. 16. The latter, introduced on Swift’s 2019 album Lover, has been gaining momentum in recent weeks, as Swift has been performing it on her current The Eras Tour, her first in which she’s been able to spotlight songs from the set, which was released shortly before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The song is now being promoted as a single by Republic Records.
(“Cruel Summer” is also the first song with “summer” in its title to reach the Songs of the Summer chart since Calvin Harris’ “Summer,” the season’s No. 8 hit for 2014.)
Conversely, one hit has endured enough to rank on this year’s Songs of the Summer chart after also making last year’s final tally: Wallen’s “You Proof,” at No. 19, after finishing at No. 17 for 2022.
Harry Styles’ “As It Was” wrapped at No. 1 on the 2022 Songs of the Summer chart, joining the lineage of BTS’ “Butter,” the leader for 2021; DaBaby’s “Rockstar” featuring Roddy Ricch (2020); Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus (2019); and Drake’s “In My Feelings” (2018).
Check out the top 10 summer songs every year throughout the Hot 100’s history (from the chart’s start in 1958) and the latest Songs of the Summer chart in its entirety.