Chart Beat
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While conditions slowly inch toward spring temperatures in the Western hemisphere, Oceania continues its stronghold over Billboard’s Boxscore charts as open-air stadium shows in Australia and New Zealand continue to deliver blockbuster numbers. After Elton John led in January, Ed Sheeran picks up the mantle with the highest grossing tour of February. According to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, The Mathematics Tour grossed $50.6 million and sold 475,000 tickets throughout the short month.
Sheeran played three shows in New Zealand (one in Wellington and two in Auckland) and five in Australia (three in Brisbane and two in Sydney). The quintet of Australian shows drove much of his February business, earning more than $7 million per show, compared to about $4 million per night in New Zealand.
The Brisbane and Sydney runs earn Sheeran the top two positions on Top Boxscores, with a $19.2 million haul at Suncorp Stadium on Feb. 17-19, and a $18.9 million run at Accor Stadium on Feb. 24-25.
Sheeran’s three-night stint at Suncorp Stadium isn’t just the biggest of the month, it’s the biggest reported boxscore in the venue’s history. The February shows pass U2 for the biggest gross, ($19.2 million for Sheeran; $11 million for U2 on Dec. 8-9, 2010) and himself for the biggest attendance.
Sheeran sold 173,000 tickets over three shows last month, eclipsing the 104,000 tickets in two shows in March 2018. Even taking an average per-night attendance, forgetting the fact that he had the horsepower to sell three stadium shows in Brisbane this time around, his 57,661 pace improves upon 2018’s 51,872.
The Divide Tour, Sheeran’s record-setting 2017-19 tour, played 18 shows in Oceania, all between March 2-April 1, 2018. Those earned a combined $82.6 million and sold just over 1 million tickets. With four Australian shows left to be reported, his regional run on the Mathematics Tour would need to average $8 million per show. That’s a tall order considering the February dates balanced out at $6.3 million, but the major market shows in Melbourne could help push him closer.
February marks Sheeran’s third month at No. 1, following June 2022 and April 2019. He matches The Rolling Stones and Trans-Siberian Orchestra, while trailing Bad Bunny (four) and Sir Elton John (seven). Those five acts have led Top Tours for 20 of the 32 monthly recaps since launching in February 2019. The other nine spread between BTS, P!nk and Post Malone with two apiece, plus Backstreet Boys, Coldplay, Grupo Firme, Paul McCartney, Spice Girls and Tool.
Not only does Sheeran follow John on Top Tours and at Nos. 1-2 on Top Boxscores, the Oceania sweep continues with Red Hot Chili Peppers and Post Malone. Their co-headline run in Australia and New Zealand logs its second consecutive month at No. 2 on Top Tours with multiple top 10 placements on Top Boxscores.
The dynamic duo played five continental shows in February, spread between Sydney’s Accor Stadium (two shows), Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium (two) and Perth’s Optus Stadium (one). The Sydney and Melbourne engagements rank Nos. 4-5 on Top Boxscores, with Perth closely following at No. 7.
The Chili Peppers set a new kind of record of their own. Not only are the pop-funk-rockers at No. 2 on Top Tours, but follow at No. 6, unaccompanied by a co-headliner. The band played three dates on its own in Asia that grossed $12.1 million.
Though it’s rare for an act to chart twice in the same tracking period, it’s not completely unprecedented. On the 2018 year-end charts, Jay-Z was No. 3 alongside Beyonce for the On the Run II Tour, and at No. 25 for his solo headline dates.
Two shows from Sheeran and another two from the Chili Peppers & Post combine to $32.4 million at Accor Stadium, enough to be the top-grossing venue of the month. With Suncorp Stadium at No. 2 and Marvel Stadium at No. 4, among venues with capacity of 15,001 or more, it is another consecutive win for Australia. Suncorp was No. 1 last month, with Sydney’s other marquee stadium, Allianz Stadium, at No. 2.
On the other side of the spectrum, geographically and in terms of size, Las Vegas headlines the 10,000-and-under range, with Dolby Live at No. 1 among venues 5,001-10k, and Resorts World Theatre among venues 5,000 or less. The former is lifted by residency shows from Bruno Mars and the Jonas Brothers and the latter by Luke Bryan and Katy Perry.
Mexico City’s Electric Daisy Carnival is No. 3 on Top Boxscores, with a three-day haul of $16.4 million. The EDM festival returned to Autodromo Hermanos Rodrigues from Feb. 24-26, playing host to 269,000 fans. A year further removed from COVID woes, its 2023 earnings are up 73% from last year’s $9.5 million, even improving upon pre-pandemic runs in 2020 ($12.2 million) and 2019 ($10.5 million).
It’s the second biggest festival gross in the entire franchise, trailing only a previous Orlando edition that earned $17.1 million at Camping World Stadium from Nov. 8-10, 2019.
Chino Pacas is officially a Billboard Hot 100-charting artist, as his breakthrough song “El Gordo Trae El Mando” debuts on the April 1-dated list at No. 84.
The track, released Jan. 27 via Street Mob Records, arrives with 7.2 million U.S. streams (up 21%) in the March 17-23 tracking week, according to Luminate. It concurrently rises 14-13 in its sixth week on the Hot Latin Songs chart. The song also ascends 89-68 on the Billboard Global 200 (22.7 million streams, up 13%, worldwide) and 93-84 on Billboard Global Excl. U.S.
Pacas has one additional entry on the latest Hot Latin Songs chart: “Dijeron Que No La Iba Lograr,” with Fuerza Regida (on which he is billed as Chinito Pacas) jumps 48-17 in its second week, with 5.9 million U.S. streams following its first full week of release.
Pacas is not new only to Billboard’s charts, but to the music world at large. The regional Mexican artist has three titles to his name on Spotify: “El Gordo Trae El Mando” (which became his first chart entry in February), “Dijeron Que No La Iba Lograr” and “Negro Como La Pantera,” with Calle 24.
Billboard’s Hot 100 First-Timers column highlights artists who achieve their first career entries on the Hot 100.
Manhattan has always been a muse for Bruce Springsteen.
The fire escapes of “Incident on 57th Street,” the transistor blasts of “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out,” the darkness, dust and redemption of “The Rising” — all testify to the inspiration New York City has offered to Springsteen through the decades. And his history as a live performer is rich with milestones at New York venues.
In the winter of 1973, at Max’s Kansas City, off Union Square, a Billboard reviewer praised Springsteen’s energy and “incisive” lyrics. At The Bottom Line in Greenwich Village, a five-night, 10-show residency in August 1975 preceded the release of Born to Run. Six nights at the Palladium on 14th Street in the late fall of October and November of 1976 were followed by three dates at that theater in September 1978 (a brief retreat to a smaller hall in the midst of Springsteen’s first arena tour). And a show at the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem in March 2012 opened the Wrecking Ball tour and was carried live on Sirius XM’s E Street Radio.
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But Madison Square Garden outranks all New York City venues in Springsteen lore, for the number of times it has hosted The Boss, both on his own tours and as part of benefit concerts. The first time he took the famous stage may have been less memorable; he opened at MSG for Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Chicago in June 1974. But other nights burn bright in the memories of fans.
As Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band return to MSG on Saturday (April 1) as part of his 2023 international tour, here’s a look at his 10 greatest moments at The Garden.
1. “Summertime Blues” (1978)
The hottest show on the road in the summer of 1978 came to New York from Aug. 21 to 23 as Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band made their debut as headliners at Madison Square Garden. Less than three months after the release of Darkness On The Edge of Town, Springsteen was playing his first arena tour, opening most shows with that album’s lead track “Badlands.” But not that first night at The Garden. “Well, I’m a-gonna raise a fuss/ I’m a-gonna raise a holler! About workin’ all summer/ just-a trying to earn a dollar!” shouted Springsteen, opening with Eddie Cochran’s 1958 hit “Summertime Blues.”
After the show’s intermission — yes, an intermission — the band returned with the instrumental “Paradise by the `C,’” a showcase for the Big Man on sax, Clarence Clemons. Dave Marsh later wrote in his biography Born To Run: The Bruce Springsteen Story about Springsteen’s reluctance to move from theaters to larger venues: “Certainly, by playing sports arenas so successfully, Springsteen proved that he could have both quality and quantity; in fact, he got a clearer, more powerful sound in Madison Square Garden than many acts have at the Palladium or the Bottom Line.”
2. “Rave On” (1979)
Springsteen shared a bill with Bonnie Raitt (as the opening act) at the Harvard Square Theater in Cambridge the night of May 9, 1974, for an audience that included his future manager, Jon Landau. By 1979, Raitt had joined with Jackson Browne, Graham Nash and others to form Musicians United For Safe Energy (M.U.S.E.) to protest the use of nuclear power and stage five No Nukes concerts at Madison Square Garden in September of that year.
Springsteen joined the lineup on Sept. 21 and Sept. 22 for a relatively short but intense sets that concluded, the first night, with Mitch Ryder’s “Detroit Medley” and Buddy Holly’s “Rave On” and, the second night, with Gary U.S. Bonds’ “Quarter To Three.” In September 2021, Springsteen released The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts, a film of those Garden performances, edited by his longtime collaborator and filmmaker Thom Zimny from the original 16 millimeter film, with sound powerfully remixed by Bob Clearmountain.
3. “Who’ll Stop The Rain” (1980)
In December of 1980, music fans worldwide were in mourning. The night of Dec. 8, John Lennon had been murdered outside his home, The Dakota apartment building on Manhattan’s Central Park West. After two shows in November at The Garden, Springsteen returned to MSG on Dec. 18 and 19, showcasing that year’s The River, what he later called his “coming of age record.” The first night included Springsteen’s first live cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Who’ll Stop The Rain.” And for all the somber tone of songs from The River — ”Stolen Car,” “Drive All Night,” “The Price You’ll Pay”– Bruce also offered the joyousness of his first top five Billboard Hot 100 hit, “Hungry Heart.” In 2015, the Springsteen fan publication and website Backstreets posted a previously unheard audio clip of a John Lennon interview recorded for the RKO Radio Networks in which Lennon praised “Hungry Heart” as “a great record.” The interview, according to Backstreets, was recorded the afternoon of Dec. 8, 1980.
4. “Tunnel of Love” (1988)
For a meeting across the river with his fans during the massively successful Born in the U.S.A. arena tour of 1984, Springsteen played 10 shows at what was then known as the Brendan Byrne Arena in the New Jersey Meadowlands — and none at The Garden. But on the first leg of his 1988 arena tour to support the reflective Tunnel of Love album, Springsteen and the E Street Band sold out five nights at MSG between May 16 and May 23 — each opening with the set piece of a carnival ticket-taker onstage. Among the highlights of the closing night at The Garden were performances of “Be True,” a brilliant B-side from the River sessions, and a segue of “Light of Day” and Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild.”
5. “Lonesome Valley” (1993)
Kristen Ann Carr, the beloved daughter of Barbara Carr and Dave Marsh, died on Jan. 3, 1993 of sarcoma, a rare form of cancer. A senior majoring in journalism at New York University, she was 21 years old. On June 26, 1993, the closing night of his 1992-1993 world tour, Springsteen and his band staged a benefit at The Garden to help launch the Kristen Ann Carr Fund, joined onstage by guests Joe Ely and Sananda Maitreya, then known as Terence Trent D’Arby. Ely and Springsteen opened the show with the gospel song “Lonesome Valley” and Maitreya sang with Bruce on “Many Rivers to Cross.” Forty years later, the Kristen Ann Carr Fund continues to support research into sarcoma, underwrites the education of young physicians and seeks ways to improve the quality of life of cancer patients.
6. “American Skin (41 Shots)” (2000)
Amadou Diallo was a 23-year West African immigrant coming home to his apartment in the Bronx, just after midnight on Feb. 4, 1999, when he was approached by four New York City police officers, searching for a rape suspect. He reached for his wallet. The officers later said they believed he was going for a gun—and fired 41 shots, killing him in the vestibule of his building. All four officers were later acquitted in the shooting. On a reunion tour, Springsteen and the E Street Band played an unprecedented 10 nights at Madison Square Garden between June 12 and July 1. His song “American Skin (41 Shots)” was an emotional center of the shows. The HBO special Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: Live In New York City was filmed during these shows, which also introduced the anthemic “Land of Hope and Dreams.”
7. “The Rising” (2001)
Jon Pareles in the New York Times first reported the story, describing how, a few days after Sept 11, 2001, Springsteen was pulling out of a beach parking lot in the Jersey Shore town of Sea Bright “when a fan rode by,” Pareles wrote. “The man rolled down his window, shouted, ‘We need you!’ and drove on.” Springsteen responded to the unimaginable loss of 9/11 with The Rising, and the third night of the tour showcasing that album brought the E Street Band to The Garden on Aug. 12, 2002, their first New York City show following the World Trade Center attacks. Songs from The Rising — ”Lonesome Day,” “Empty Sky,” “Into The Fire” — alternated with blistering versions of older tracks, “Prove It All Night,” “Darkness on the Edge of Town” and “The Promised Land.”
8. “This Land Is Your Land” (2009)
In the summer of 1969, when Bruce Springsteen was still dreaming of a record deal, the folk music icon Pete Seeger saw a different dream come true. Living in Beacon, N.Y., overlooking the then-polluted Hudson River, Seeger envisioned a community-supported sailing sloop that would inspire people to come out on the river — and help save it. Built in Maine and christened the Clearwater, Seeger’s sloop sailed into New York Harbor for the first time on Aug. 1, 1969.
Flash forward to May 3, 2009 at Madison Square Garden where Springsteen joined an all-star cast — John Mellencamp, Tom Morello, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, Kris Kristofferson, Richie Havens, Roger McGuinn, Ani DiFranco, Taj Mahal, Ben Harper, Dave Matthews and more — to celebrate Pete Seeger’s 90th birthday and raise money for the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, which sails on to this day, one of the nation’s oldest activist organizations with its roots in music. Opening the show in acoustic duet with Morello on “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” Springsteen and the ensemble serenaded Seeger with “Happy Birthday” and “This Land Is Your Land.”
9. “Fortunate Son” (2009)
The 25th anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was celebrated with two concerts at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 29 and 30, 2009 — and Springsteen was the life of the party, as captured by the HBO special filmed at the event. He sang “Fortunate Son” and “Proud Mary” with John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Soul Man” with Sam Moore, and “Da Doo Ron Ron” with Darlene Love, all on the first night. He and Roy Bittan returned the second night to join U2 for “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”
10. “Land of Hope and Dreams” (2012)
Springsteen and the E Street Band returned to Madison Square Garden throughout the 2000s: for the home-spun Seeger Sessions Band shows on June 22, 2006; the Magic Tour on Oct. 17 and 18, 2007; the Working on a Dream Tour on Nov. 7-8, 2009; and the Wrecking Ball World Tour on April 6 and April 9, 2012. Springsteen’s Garden performance on The River Tour in 2016 marked the most recent time he and the E Street Band played The Garden until now — and remarkably, that show took place almost exactly seven years ago, on March 28, 2016.
Of all those nights, however, one that cannot be overlooked was not planned — until Hurricane Sandy slammed into New York on Oct. 29 and 30, 2012. Billed as 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief, the show was an all-star concert like few others, carried on scores of television, radio and web outlets and featuring (among others) The Rolling Stones, The Who, Billy Joel, Eric Clapton, Bon Jovi, Alicia Keys and Eddie Vedder. Who could play the opening slot on such a bill but Bruce Springsteen? It was a four-song set that began with the perfect song: “Tomorrow there’ll be sunshine/and all this darkness past,” sang Springsteen. “Well, big wheels roll through fields where sunlight streams/ Oh, meet me in the land of hope and dreams.”
Wisin & Yandel and Rosalía take over Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart as “Besos Moja2” rises 2-1 to lead the April 1-dated ranking. The new champ hits the top after the song’s domination on Latin Rhythm Airplay, where it holds strong at No. 1 for a fourth week.
“Besos Moja2” is a contemporary reggaetón version of Wisin & Yandel’s “Besos Mojados” produced by Luney Tunes and originally released as part of the duo’s sixth studio album, La Revolución (No. 1 on Top Latin Albums, May 2009). The new Rosalía-assisted version stems from the Puerto Rican’s 10th and farewell full-length set as a duo, La Última Misión, which debuted and peaked at No. 14 on Top Latin Albums and reached top 10 on Latin Rhythm Albums last October.
“Besos Moja2,” produced by the same team plus Los Legendarios and Noah Goldstein, stretches to No. 1 on Latin Airplay, after two weeks in the runner-up slot, with a 3% increase in audience impressions, to 12 million, earned in the U.S. in the week ending March 23, according to Luminate.
The collab gives Wisin & Yandel their 16th No. 1. The duo extends its record for the most champs among groups, ahead of Mana’s 11 leaders, and Zion & Lennox’s eight No. 1s. Among all acts, J Balvin continues to lead with 35 No. 1s. “Besos Moja2” arrives atop of the chart following Wisin & Yandel’s one week command through “Mayor Que Usted,” with Natti Natasha and Daddy Yankee, in September 2022.
Rosalía, meanwhile, secures her seventh No. 1, and sixth consecutive, after conquering Latin Airplay also for one week with the bachata “El Pañuelo,” with Romeo Santos on the survey dated Feb. 25.
Eladio Carrión nets his fourth top 10 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart as 3MEN2 KBRN debuts at No. 3 on the list dated April 1. The set earned 25,000 equivalent units in the U.S. during the March 17-23 tracking week, according to Luminate.
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As is characteristic in the Latin rhythmic format, streaming comprises the majority of the set’s starting sum. That figure equals 31.2 million on-demand official streams of the album’s songs in its first week, while 500 units stem from album sales and track-equivalent album units.
On the multimetric Top Latin Albums chart as measured in equivalent album units, 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.
3MEN2 KBRN bests the opening rank of his last album SEN2 KBRN, Vol. 2, which launched at No. 4 in November. Previously, Carrión, a Missouri native with Puerto Rican heritage, nearly missed the top slot with the No. 2 debut and peak of Sauce Boyz 2 in December 2021. Plus, he debuted and peaked at No. 8 on the all-Latin albums tally with Sauce Boyz in 2020.
The 23-track 3MEN2 KBRN was released March 17, the first day of its tracking week, through Rimas. It earns the second-largest opening week in terms of overall units in 2023, after Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito, which debuted at No. 1 with 94 million units.
Notably, in the last 12 months, 3MEN2 ranks sixth in terms of first-week units. Here is the albums rundown:
Overall Units, Title, Artist, Debut Date, Debut Rank274,000, Un Verano Sin Ti, Bad Bunny, May 21, 2022, No. 194,000, Mañana Será Bonito, Karol G, March 11, 2023, No. 129,000, Nostalgia, Eslabon Armado, May 21, 2022, No. 229,000, LEGENDADDY, Daddy Yankee, April 9,2022, No. 126,000, Fórmula, Vol. 3, Romeo Santos, Sept. 17, 2022, No. 225,000, 3MEN2 KBRN, Eladio Carrion, April 1, 2023, No. 3
Further, 3MEN2 blasts in at No. 16 on the all-genre Billboard 200, a career high for Carrión on the overall albums ranking, by far surpassing the No. 92 debut and peaking Sauce Boyz 2 in December 2021.
3MEN2 boasts a collective of superstars, with Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, Future, Bad Bunny and Quavo among its 23-track set collaborators. As the set arrives, two tracks debut on Hot Latin Songs: “Coco Chanel,” with Bad Bunny, at No. 14 and “Si La Calle Llama,” featuring Myke Towers, at No. 40. The former gifts Carrión his highest-charting title on the multimetric list.
Elsewhere, 3MEN2 concurrently arrives at No. 3 on Latin Rhythm Albums, also Carrion’s second-best performance there.
BiSH’s “Bye-Bye Show” blasts in at No. 1 on this week’s Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated March 29, tallying the week from March 20 to 26.
“Bye-Bye Show” sold 281,148 copies in its first week to hit No. 1 for sales, and also came in at No. 2 for radio. The six-member girl group will be disbanding this year and its last single was written and produced by THE YELLOW MONKEY frontman Kazuya Yoshii, with the other members of the veteran rock band — Hideaki Kikuchi on guitar, Yoichi Hirose on bass, and Eiji Kikuchi on drums — taking part in the recording.
“Bye-Bye Show” Music Video
BiSH’s high-profile track came out on top over Kenshi Yonezu’s new single, “LADY,” currently being featured as the commercial song for Coca-Cola Japan’s Georgia bottled coffee. The hitmaker’s new single is an R&B-style number completely different from his long-running hit song “KICK BACK” at No. 7 this week, and was co-arranged by music producer/drummer mabanua. “LADY” racked up 20,907 downloads to rule the metric, while also launching at No. 1 for radio and No. 27 for streaming to debut at No. 2 on the Japan Hot 100 this week.
The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.
Check out the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Mar. 20 to 26, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.
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: A college team’s locker room pre-game ritual helps Lil Baby score a breakout hit from two solo albums ago, the new John Wick blockbuster gives boosts to its soundtrack cuts, Sexyy Red enjoys an X-rated breakout hit and much more.
Lil Baby’s ‘Low Down’ Soars High Thanks to March Madness
Although the Kansas State men’s basketball team may have had their hopes for a national championship dashed last weekend when they lost a heartbreaker to the upstart Florida Atlantic University team to miss out on the Final Four, hopefully the Wildcats can take solace in the fact that they’ve actively helped Lil Baby score an out-of-nowhere viral hit.
During their run to the Elite 8, the Kansas State squad used “Low Down,” a deep cut from the deluxe edition of Baby’s 2020 chart-topper My Turn (via Capitol/Motown/Wolfpack/Quality Control) as their pump-up anthem, sharing videos of team meetings in which the whole team is clapping along to the song’s beat (with the coaching staff sometimes doing a little more dancing than clapping!). TikTok users ran with the association between the team and the song, and during the week-and-a-half in which Kansas State competed in March Madness, dozens of clap-along clips were posted — and “Low Down” started rising on streaming charts.
During the week ending Mar. 16, “Low Down” earned a total of 2.44 million U.S. on-demand streams, according to Luminate. Then, when March Madness officially kicked off on Mar. 16, weekly streams for “Low Down” dramatically rose 84%, up to 4.44 million during the week ending Mar. 23. While Kansas State’s run may have ended, “Low Down” is still holding strong in the top 10 of Apple Music’s Top 100 chart, and will still be racking up streams by the time a new NCAA champion is crowned early next week. – JASON LIPSHUTZ
John Wick Songs Light Up on Search and Streaming
To the delight of action film fans and dog lovers everywhere, the fourth chapter in the John Wick franchise was released last Friday (March 24) to rave reviews and excellent box office returns. Though the series has never really produced a breakout sync, interest in the dark-hued dance music used in the films remains high: Chapter Four has dominated the TuneFind Trending Music page (which indexes music and songs appearing in popular TV shows, movies and video games), occupying at least three of the top five spots in the days following its release.
That newly piqued interest has resulted in modest streaming bumps for some of the songs involved, as well. Gesaffelstein’s “Hate or Glory” has steadily risen from just over 1,000 daily on-demand official U.S. streams on March 23 (before the movie’s release) to over 7,000 on March 27 – a 417% gain, according to Luminate – while Le Castle Vania’s “LED Spirals” is up from under 10,000 to over 20,000 (a 107% gain) and Justice’s “Genesis” is up from under 9,000 to nearly 12,000 (a 38% gain). And the songs are still climbing, as more fans see the movie and are inspired to soundtrack their own imaginary assassin battle scenes. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Sexyy Red Scores an Explicit Hit
St. Louis rapper Sexyy Red has been delivering raunchy singles over the past three years, turning herself into a quotable local star with songs like “Throw That Mf” and “Hood Bitch.” Yet the MC is primed to break out of the midwest thanks to the X-rated anthem “Pound Town,” with weekly streams for the track starting to soar in recent weeks following the single’s late January release.
With an eerie piano line courtesy of all-star producer Tay Keith (Drake, Travis Scott), “Pound Town” (released independently via Open Shift Distribution) has expanded its audience thanks in part to a sex-positive, ladies-first TikTok challenge. Meanwhile, multiple versions of the song — some with Sexyy Red solo, others with Tay Keith listed as a guest artist — have popped up on streaming platforms, and both a dating-show-spoofing official video and “spring break edition” of the song are listed on YouTube.
Regardless of how it’s being consumed, “Pound Town” looks like a breakthrough: after earning 121,000 U.S. on-demand streams during the week ending Feb. 23, according to Luminate, the single was up to 1.16 million streams for the week ending Mar. 23. Sexyy Red has yet to score a Billboard Hot 100 hit, but if that growth continues, that’s a challenge she’ll have completed soon enough. – JL
The “Poetic Rizz” of French ‘60s Soundtrack Composers
The phrase “rizz” may sound either eye-rollingly done-to-death or totally unfamiliar to you depending on your age and/or degree of onlineness, but it’s helped a theme song from a 1960s French drama become an unlikely viral sensation in recent weeks. The theme is from 1968 drama La Leçon Particulière (The Private Lesson), and it’s a rousing orchestral instrumental composed by Oscar winner Francis Lai.
The song found unexpected new life on TikTok thanks to its frequent accompaniment of videos demonstrating “poetic rizz” – or basically, users trying to show off their game at being seductively romantic in a particularly lyrical manner. (Often sarcastically.) In any event, the song’s sweeping melodrama has made the jump to streaming – the clip has exploded from around 31,000 on-demand official U.S. streams for the tracking week ending to over 496,000 four weeks later, a 1,500% hike, according to Luminate. Now, just wait till Gen Z discovers Love Story. – AU
Q&A: Priyanka Khimani, founder of Khimani & Associates, on What’s Trending Up in Her World
As one of India’s most prominent entertainment lawyers, what issues has your firm focused on most recently?
With the increasing presence of global digital streaming and social media services in India, coupled with growing consumption of Indian-language music across territories, we have had to extensively focus on navigating the music rights licensing landscape.
India often becomes a challenging territory, for three reasons:- (i) the various complexities around publishing rights; (ii) the tumultuous relationship between record labels (who double up as publishers) and authors (who, for the most part, do not control any copyright, but are entitled to receive their share of royalties); and (iii) the lack of uniformity in the relationship between major labels and the primary Indian PROs. Generally educating songwriters and artists on the relevance of publishing, its long-term value proposition and why holding on to it is essential to their future, has been another focus area.
Sync music licenses and music clearance generally have also seen a sharp increase in India, with the continued intersection of film and TV with music. Sync licensing has breathed new life into the non-film and independent music sector, giving artists greater control over when, and how, their music is placed or used.
What’s the biggest change that needs to take place within India’s music industry deals?
In so far as digital licensing deals are concerned, there needs to be a clear path towards licensing on all sides of music copyright, especially on the music publishing front. Rights ownership and administration is so uniquely structured in India that licensees often find themselves caught between conflicting interests of record labels (doubling as publishers), authors and the Indian PROs. There’s a pressing need for increased efficiency, better licensing models and structures, as well as clarity on which stakeholder collects what and through which route. This will lead to increased revenue generation, and generally boost confidence in India as an important emerging market.
When it comes to artist/songwriter deals in India, there needs to be a more equitable approach to ownership of publishing rights, as opposed to the traditional buy-out model. Thankfully, there’s been a gradual shift in the recent past as talk and awareness around publishing generally has become more informed and collaborative.
What’s the most common misconception about the Indian music industry?
There are two, actually. First, that the Indian film and music industry is only “Bollywood.” This is obviously untrue – not only are there multiple big film, TV and music industries in India covering different regions and languages, but, more importantly, music is no longer necessarily tied to film & TV. There’s a thriving, stand-alone, non-film, independent music sector which is taking root in India, as well as with the South-Asian diaspora across the world. In fact, most of the current artists that are on top of the India charts are all largely independent and didn’t come out of “Bollywood” or any other Indian film industry. Quite to the contrary, the film and TV industry has been leaning in to the non-film and independent music artists/labels and increasingly licensing or adapting or eventually even buying out their music for on-screen projects.
The other misconception is that we are not a touring market for international artists or festivals. Perhaps the reason for this is the misguided perception that we don’t consume Anglo-American/non-Indian music. I believe this is untrue. There might be other on-ground challenges from the lens of production, infrastructure, and even price points for ticket sales. The rupee value against the dollar doesn’t help either. However, if one is able to take these factors into consideration and tailor the offering to a local audience, organizers may be surprised to discover how much of a demand the market holds.
Fill in the blank: artists attempting to break through on a global stage need to pay closer attention to _______.
Getting their house in order – every artist needs to be equipped with the right team. An agent, manager, attorney, business manager – all have a separate and distinct role to play, and yet must work closely and in sync with each other, because everyone’s playing on the same team. Eliminating a needless string of middlemen, investing in and surrounding yourself with professionals who understand the business, is the key to long-term sustainability of your music and entrepreneurial career. – JL
Season’s Gainings: Future’s Perennial “March Madness”
You’d have to ask the man born Nayvadius Wilburn about how his bracket is doing this upset-heavy NCAA season, but whenever the calendar turns to its third month, you can bet that Future is winning in at least one respect. His 56 Nights fan favorite (and one of Billboard’s Songs That Defined the 2010s) “March Madness” is guaranteed to tick up this time of year – and so far it has, growing from 2.3 weekly million on-demand official U.S. streams for the week ending Feb. 23 to 2.7 million a month later, a gain of 18% – a number that could climb even higher with the Final Four matchups on the docket for this weekend. In any event, it’s already well ahead of “One Shining Moment.” – AU
Taylor Swift’s four newly released songs make impacts on Billboard’s charts dated April 1.
Swift released four tracks March 17, timed to the kick-off that night of her The Eras Tour. Among them, “All of the Girls You Loved Before” launches at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking her 189th career entry on the chart, extending her record for the most among women.
Notably, Swift has now debuted at least one song on the Hot 100 each year since 2006, when she logged her first with “Tim McGraw,” on the chart dated that Sept. 23. Her uninterrupted 18-year run of debuts marks the longest active streak among all acts. (She made the cut in 2016 on the last day of that year: “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever [Fifty Shades Darker],” with Zayn, debuted that Dec. 31.)
Plus, Swift lifts her total to a record-extending 80 top 10s on the Digital Song Sales chart, while her “If This Was a Movie (Taylor’s Version)” premieres at No. 1 on Country Digital Song Sales. With the original having ruled in 2011, the composition is the first to have led the list via two versions.
Swift Up to 189 Hot 100 Hits
Swift’s “All of the Girls You Loved Before,” originally recorded during sessions for her 2019 album Lover, soars onto the Hot 100 at No. 12, with 15.3 million official U.S. streams, 1.2 million in airplay audience (even as it’s not being actively promoted to radio) and 17,500 sold March 17-23, according to Luminate.
Swift swells her career count to 189 Hot 100 entries.
Most Hot 100 Hits:
293, Drake
207, Glee Cast
189, Taylor Swift
184, Lil Wayne
160, Future
141, Kanye West
133, Lil Baby
125, Nicki Minaj
114, Chris Brown
109, Elvis Presley (with the legend’s career having pre-dated the Hot 100’s Aug. 4, 1958, inception)
105, Justin Bieber
105, Jay-Z
As previously reported, “Girls” also enters at No. 10 on the Billboard Global 200 chart.
Swift First to 80 Digital Song Sales Top 10s
All four newly-released Swift songs start in the top 10 of the Digital Song Sales chart.
Beyond “Girls” at No. 2, Swift debuts with “If This Was a Movie (Taylor’s Version)” (No. 4; 11,300 sold), “Safe & Sound (Taylor’s Version),” with Joy Williams and John Paul White (No. 5; 11,200 sold), and “Eyes Open (Taylor’s Version)” (No. 6; 10,900 sold).
Swift becomes the first act with as many as 80 Digital Song Sales top 10s.
Most Digital Song Sales Top 10s:
80, Taylor Swift
57, Drake
49, Nicki Minaj
42, Justin Bieber
39, Eminem
36, Lil Wayne
36, Rihanna
32, BTS
27, Kanye West
26, Ariana Grande
25, Lady Gaga
Swift’s Hit ‘Movie’ Reboot
Meanwhile, Swift’s “If This Was a Movie (Taylor’s Version)” opens at No. 1 on Country Digital Song Sales. With the original having led for a week in November 2011, the composition is the first to have topped the tally via two versions.
The re-recording is additionally Swift’s record-padding 19th Country Digital Song Sales No. 1.
Most Country Digital Song Sales No. 1s:
19, Taylor Swift
11, Luke Bryan
10, Jason Aldean
10, Kane Brown
10, Florida Georgia Line
10, Morgan Wallen
9, Carrie Underwood
8, Luke Combs
7, Blake Shelton
5, Eric Church
5, Tim McGraw
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 April 8), new albums from a wide variety of big names could make for the most debut-crowded top 10 on the Billboard 200 yet in 2023.
Lana Del Rey, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (Polydor/Interscope): Last year’s Blue Bannisters was Lana Del Rey’s first major label album to miss the Billboard 200 top five, but she seems set to return there with the new Ocean Blvd. The album has received some of the strongest reviews of Del Rey’s career, while seven-minute advance single “A&W” is her first song to reach the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs top 10 since her Weeknd-featuring “Lust for Life” in 2017.
Also helping Ocean Blvd’s numbers: well over a dozen physical variants, including five different-colored options on both vinyl and cassette, and four CD deluxe box sets exclusive to her webstore. (Plus, a special shoutout on the year’s hottest pop tour never hurts.) All of that could create a tunnel from Ocean Blvd to the top of the charts, but it will have to contend with Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time in its fourth week; that album has still been earning over 200,000 equivalent album units a week, and Del Rey has yet to post a single-week number higher than 182,000 (for Ultraviolence in 2014).
Jimin, Face (BigHit/Geffen): Another major contender this week, and the latest BTS alum poised for a major Billboard 200 impact — following J-Hope’s No. 17-debuting Jack in the Box last July and RM’s No. 3-peaking Indigo in December — is Jimin, who should be set for a big debut for his debut album Face. The set has already generated one Hot 100 hit in this week’s No. 30-debuting “Set Me Free Pt. 2,” and could score an even bigger one next week with the entrance of the best-selling “Like Crazy.” Though its six-track length may hurt its streaming totals, Face has the advantage of a simultaneous digital and physical release — where Jack in the Box and Indigo both debuted as digital-only releases — with five different collectible CD variants available (each containing a standard set of items plus randomized photo cards and postcards).
Luke Combs, Gettin’ Old (Columbia/River House): Coming just nine months after last year’s No. 2-peaking Growin’ Up, sibling set Gettin’ Old may return country superstar Luke Combs to the Billboard 200’s top five. Lead single “Love You Anyway” debuted in the Hot 100’s top 15 in February — with advance cuts “Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old” and “Joe” also reaching the chart — and its studio version of Combs’ live-staple cover of Tracy Chapman’s late ‘80s alt-folk classic “Fast Car” should follow them onto the chart next week. The set is available in CD, cassette and record, with colored-vinyl exclusives for Amazon and Walmart.
In the Mix
Depeche Mode, Memento Mori (Columbia/Mute): Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Depeche Mode look to extend their streak of eight consecutive top 10 studio albums on the Billboard 200 with this month’s Memento Mori, their first album since the May death of founding member Andy Fletcher. The album, supported by the group’s first world tour in a half decade, was met with critical acclaim, and spawned their first top 15 hit on the Alternative Airplay chart since 2009 with lead single “Ghosts Again.”
Fall Out Boy, So Much for Stardust (Fueled by Ramen/DCD2): Fall Out Boy’s first album since 2018’s Billboard 200-topping Mania features more of a return to the emo heroes’ guitar-driven sound, albeit with more of a disco influence in tracks like third single “Hold Me Like a Grudge.” Lead cut “Love From the Other Side” became the group’s first-ever top five hit on the Rock & Alternative Airplay chart when it reached No. 2 earlier this month.
Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon (Harvest/Capitol): One of the biggest albums in rock history, Pink Floyd’s 1973 prog rock opus Dark Side of the Moon spends its 976th week on the Billboard 200 this week, ranking at No. 172. It should rank a lot higher next week following its 50th anniversary reissue, with a CD and vinyl box set that includes a newly remastered version of the classic album, a 76-page music book, surround sound and Dolby Atmos mixes, and a standalone LP of the group’s 1974 performance of the album at Wembley Arena.
As previously reported, Coi Leray lands her first Billboard Hot 100 top 10, as “Players” jumps to No. 9 on the April 1-dated chart.
Here’s a look at the sonic and lyrical elements that have helped the song surge, as well as a notable trend that “Players” furthers among recent hip-hop hits.
Overt Retro 1980s Influence
Over the past decade, hip-hop songs with an overt retro 1980s influence have been few and far between, with only three making it into the Hot 100’s top 10 from 2013 to 2021:
Eminem’s “Berzerk” (No. 3 peak, 2013)
Rae Sremmurd’s “Black Beatles,” featuring Gucci Mane (No. 1 for seven weeks, 2016-17)
Post Malone’s “Congratulations,” featuring Quavo (No. 8, 2017)
In contrast, over just the past year, three overt retro ’80s-driven songs have hit the Hot 100’s top 10:
Latto’s “Big Energy” (No. 3, April 2022)
Nicki Minaj’s “Super Freaky Girl” (No. 1, one week, August 2022)
Coi Leray’s “Players” (No. 9, to-date, April 2023)
Honoring the Past
Notably, all three such Hot 100 top 10s over the past year revisit, and reinvent, classic hits from the early ’80s:
“Big Energy”: samples Tom Tom Club’s “Genius of Love” (a No. 31 Hot 100 hit in 1982)
“Super Freaky Girl”: samples Rick James’ “Super Freak” (No. 16, 1981)
“Players”: samples Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five’s “The Message” (No. 62, 1982)
The above three originals also hit Nos. 2, 3 and 4, respectively, on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in 1981-82.
What’s Common, and Uncommon, Among Current Hits
Digging deeper into these three most recent ’80s-influenced hip-hop hits, they share the following key commonalities, which are in line with newer hip-hop top 10s on the Hot 100:
The songs feature a combination of sung and rapped vocals.
They possess two verses and three choruses each.
All have their choruses preceding the first verse, a quality more popular in hip-hop than in pop.
In addition, the songs also share qualities that are less common in hip-hop, helping distinguish them while still fitting in among other hits. In addition to their ’80s sample-driven melodies:
They feature solo female lead vocals.
All feature a pre-chorus, which is uncommon among hip-hop top 10s.
‘Girls Is Players, Too’
Further, “Players” further stands out for its female empowerment lyrical theme, which is highly uncommon among recent Hot 100 top 10s.
David and Yael Penn are the co-founders of Hit Songs Deconstructed, which provides compositional analytics for top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits. In 2022, Hit Songs Deconstructed and fellow song analysis platform MyPart partnered to launch ChartCipher, a new platform analyzing hit songs, as defined by Billboard‘s charts.