Chart Beat
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The release of Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito, the fourth studio LP from the Latin music superstar, is already historic. The set earned 94,000 album equivalent units in the United States in the week ending March 2, according to Luminate, making it the Billboard 200 chart’s first all-Spanish language No. 1 by a female artist.
Globally, the set’s 17 songs drew 438.2 million official streams, with 13 of its tracks hitting the March 11-dated Billboard Global 200. Nine of those appear on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. ranking, including four songs whose releases pre-date the album. All nine rank higher on the Global 200 than on Global Excl. U.S.
It’s rare to see a Colombian artist who performs exclusively in Spanish do better on the Global 200 than the Global Excl. U.S. chart, where the primarily English-language American market is the only difference in methodology.
But based on Karol G’s global chart history, and that of many other major hitmakers of the last few years, the balance between her ranking on Billboard’s global surveys may even out in the weeks to come. Over the 30 months since the global charts launched, a pattern has emerged where an album’s first-week streams will lean much heavier toward domestic activity, before steadying in the weeks that follow.
In the case of Karol G, the spike in U.S. activity is sharp. One week ago, three advance singles from Bonito were on both charts and averaged more than 80% of their streams from outside the U.S. in the week ending Feb. 23 (ahead of the album’s Feb. 24 release), all ranking higher on Global Excl. U.S. than the Global 200.
In the album’s debut week, her 13 new tracks averaged 66% non-U.S. streams, while a couple songs dipped as low as 59% and 57%. Even though her international stream total remains above 50%, the drop from 80% international to 66% in the album’s first week reflects a common listening pattern in America.
Based on streaming activity for practically all major global albums in the charts’ history, the U.S. versus non-U.S. splits will likely return to Karol G’s “normal.”
Drake, Billboard’s top artist of the 2010s, released his long-teased Certified Lover Boy in September 2021. All 21 songs debuted on both lists but averaged at No. 16 on the Global 200 and No. 44 on Global Excl. U.S. in the set’s debut week. Of its combined 1.1 billion streams, just 32% came from outside the U.S., less than half of that week’s average.
Three weeks later, the album’s international streams climbed — though barely — to 34%. Three months after that, they settled at 37%. These changes aren’t drastic, but similar patterns exist for recent hit albums by J. Cole, Future, and Kendrick Lamar.
Those higher-U.S. and lower-international splits are common for hip-hop albums, but their rising trajectory applies to pop artists as well. Taylor Swift’s Midnights averaged 53% of its 973 million first-week streams (for the set’s 13 standard-edition tracks) from outside the U.S. Three weeks later, that share bumped to 56%, and three months later, to 61%.
Even among artists from outside the U.S., first-week streams spike in America. Harry Styles’ Grammy-winning Harry’s House was released last year and scored 620 million streams in its first seven days. Of those, 60% came from outside the U.S., far lower than the 75% of his own years-old hit “Watermelon Sugar.” The opening 60% grew to 66% by week four, and to 69% by month four. The same goes for recent releases by fellow Brits Adele and Ed Sheeran.
These examples, all of which debuted their entire track listings on the Global 200, suggest an urgency from American listeners for first-week listens, while international fans, broadly speaking, are slower to discover new releases. But while the artists mentioned above all follow this pattern, the closest comparison to Karol G’s glass-ceiling moment is the other artist to score major American success with all-Spanish albums.
Bad Bunny dominated 2022 with Un Verano Sin Ti, the album that spawned his biggest U.S. hits to date. The 23-song set debuted with 1.1 billion streams worldwide, 66% of which were from outside the U.S. That number is much closer to that week’s average than the opening week splits for Drake and Swift, but the fact that Bad Bunny was below the average at all, just as Karol G is on her debut week, was surprising. One week prior, he had six globally charting songs, averaging 75%. While the release of his new album generated huge numbers everywhere, the bigger immediate spike in consumption was in America, despite his all-Spanish-language material.
Less than a month after the album’s release, the pendulum moved closer to the center, up from 66% to 71% non-U.S. streams. That number remained relatively steady as the album continued to rule various charts. The happy medium between the album’s first week numbers and Bad Bunny’s pre-Verano figures also indicate that while he experienced the same U.S.-heavy first-week spike as virtually every other major pop act, the album may have done some heavy lifting in making him an even bigger star in the U.S. than he had been when he scored the first-ever all-Spanish No. 1 album.
Time will tell how consumption for Mañana Será Bonito will settle in the coming weeks and months, but Bad Bunny’s 2022 may be indicative of her future global prospects. Like Bad Bunny, Karol G scored her biggest Billboard Hot 100 hit yet upon impact, with “TGQ,” with Shakira, debuting at No. 7, leading a heap of debuts further down the U.S.-based chart and a giant domestic streaming total. We can expect international listeners, specifically those in South and Latin America, to close the gap somewhat, although her global star power could continue to rise in all directions.
Kirk Franklin makes history as he spends a landmark 100th week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Gospel Songwriters chart (dated March 11).
The artist becomes the first person to reach the 100-week milestone on a songwriters chart. Billboard launched its Hot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers charts, as well as genre-specific rankings for country, rock & alternative, R&B/hip-hop, R&B, rap, Latin, Christian, gospel and dance/electronic in June 2019. (Alternative and hard rock joined in 2020, along with seasonal holiday rankings in 2022.)
“As a songwriter, there are few things more gratifying than seeing your work connect with people on a deep level,” Franklin tells Billboard. “To have my music resonate with so many for 100 weeks is truly a humbling experience. I am grateful beyond words to those that love my music for their support and to everyone who has played a part in bringing my music to life.”
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Franklin extends his record run atop Gospel Songwriters thanks to three songwriting credits on the latest Hot Gospel Songs chart. He’s also credited as a recording artist and producer on all three tracks. Here’s a recap:
Rank. Artist Billing, Title (co-songwriters in addition to Franklin)
No. 4, Maverick City Music X Kirk Franklin feat. Brandon Lake & Chandler Moore, “Fear Is Not My Future” (Brandon Lake, Jonathan Jay, Hannah Shackleford, Nicole Hannel)
No. 7, Maverick City Music X Kirk Franklin feat. Naomi Raine & Chandler Moore, “Kingdom” (Chandler Moore, Jonathan Jay, Jacob Poole)
No. 9, Maverick City Music X Kirk Franklin, “Bless Me”
The only act to spend at least 100 weeks atop a producers chart is Tainy, who has amassed 119 weeks at No. 1 on Latin Producers, thanks to his work on hits by J Balvin and Bad Bunny, among others.
Franklin has been hugely successful on Billboard’s gospel charts. He holds the record for the most Hot Gospel Songs No. 1s (eight) and has the second-most top five hits (15), top 10s (20) and overall entries (36) in the chart’s 18-year history. He’s also tied for the most No. 1s on Gospel Airplay (nine, with Tamela Mann) and holds the record for the most career entries at the format (25, also over the list’s 18 years).
Franklin’s “Wanna Be Happy?” spent 45 weeks at No. 1 on Hot Gospel Songs in 2015-16, making it the third-longest-leading hit in the chart’s archives, while his “Love Theory” spent 44 weeks on top, the fourth-longest reign. His eight leaders on Hot Gospel Songs have spent a combined 144 weeks at No. 1, the most among all acts.
Franklin has also earned 13 No. 1 albums on the Top Gospel Albums chart, the most among all acts since he first led the chart in December 1993, with Kirk Franklin And The Family. On the all-genre Billboard 200, he’s charted 14 albums, including five top 10s.
Wisin & Yandel and Rosalía can cross out a new career chart accomplishment, as they each score their highest debut on Billboard’s Latin Airplay. “Besos Moja2,” their first team-up, bows at No. 2 on the March 11-dated list. It’s the highest start for the Puerto Rican duo, after 46 entries, and for Rosalía, who has secured nine since her first chart visit in 2019.
“Besos Moja2” starts with 10.2 million in audience impressions earned in the U.S. during the Feb. 24-March 2 tracking week, according to Luminate.
The new entry on the all-genre tally grants Wisin & Yandel their 28th top 10, which places them into a tie with Ricky Martin for the seventh-most overall, among those, the duo has scored 15 No. 1s. Rosalía, meanwhile, captures her seventh top 10, six of which reached the top of the ranking. Let’s look at the top 10 scoreboard since the chart’s inception in 1994:
46, Daddy Yankee41, Enrique Iglesias40, J Balvin37, Ozuna35, Shakira30, Marc Anthony28, Ricky Martin28, Wisin & Yandel
It’s taken almost a decade and a half for Wisin & Yandel to roar back with a debut in the upper region. In November 2007, the pair claimed a No. 3 start with “Sexy Movimiento,” which later ruled for one week (January 2008). Previously, the duo collected their first top 10 arrival, at No. 8, through their featured turn in Los Benjamin’s “Noche de Entierro (Nuestro Amor),” which also features Daddy Yankee, Hector ‘El Father’ and Zion, in September 2006 (the song peaked at its No. 6 high a week later where it remained for three weeks).
As mentioned, Wisin & Yandel have collected 15 No. 1s, including the one-week champ “Mayor Que Usted,” with Natti Natasha and Yankee (last September).
For Rosalía, the No. 2 start for “Besos Moja2” is her only top 10 debut among a collection of nine career entries on Latin Airplay. Among those, however, she’s placed six champs, including her last win with “El Pañuelo,” with Romeo Santos (Feb. 25-dated ranking).
“Besos” concurrently debuts at No. 1 on Latin Rhythm Airplay. It becomes Wisin & Yandel’s 20th leader there, tying with Ricky Martin for the fourth-most behind Daddy Yankee and Bad Bunny, both with 34 No. 1s, and Ozuna (29). Rosalía captures her fourth ruler there.
Gorillaz and Godsmack lead Billboard’s rock album charts dated March 11 with the new sets Cracker Island and Lighting Up the Sky, respectively.
Gorillaz’s Island bows at No. 1 on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Alternative Albums tallies with 64,000 equivalent album units earned, according to Luminate. A total of 49,000 of those units are via album sales.
It’s the virtual band’s third No. 1 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums and first since 2017’s Humanz. Prior to that, Plastic Beach ruled in 2010. (The chart began in 2006.)
Concurrently, Island crowns Top Album Sales, becoming the act’s second leader (after Humanz) and tops Vinyl Albums with 32,000 sold on vinyl.
On the all-genre Billboard 200, as previously reported, Island starts at No. 3, marking Gorillaz’s sixth top 10 and best rank since Humanz reached No. 2.
Seven songs from Island reach the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart dated March 11, led by “Tormenta,” featuring Bad Bunny, at No. 9, thanks to 5.1 million official U.S. streams and 1,000 downloads sold. It’s followed by current radio single “New Gold,” featuring Tame Impala and Bootie Brown, up 42-22 (2.8 million streams, 1.1 million radio audience impressions). “Gold” currently rises to No. 16 on Alternative Airplay.
Thanks to “Tormenta,” Bad Bunny scores his first entry and top 10 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs. He boasts a record 59 top 10s on Hot Latin Songs.
Meanwhile, Godsmack’s Lighting Up the Sky launches at No. 1 on Top Hard Rock Albums on the strength of 21,000 units (18,000 in album sales).
The Sully Erna-fronted band boasts four No. 1s dating to the chart’s 2007 inception, including three in a row, with Sky following 2018’s When Legends Rise and 2014’s 1000Hp. The group first led with The Oracle in 2010.
Sky also begins at No. 3 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums. On the Billboard 200, it opens at No. 19, marking the band’s 11th entry, dating to its initial appearance with its self-titled set in 1999.
The new album’s lead single, “Soul on Fire,” enters Hot Hard Rock Songs at No. 17 (883,000 streams; 478,000 airplay audience impressions) and starts at No. 30 on Mainstream Rock Airplay.
Official HIGE DANdism’s “Subtitle” returns to No. 1 after six weeks on the latest Billboard Japan Hot 100, released Wednesday (March 8).
The smash hit ballad by the four-man band broke the record previously held by Gen Hoshino’s “Koi” for most weeks atop the Japan Hot 100 on the chart released Jan. 25, hitting the peak position for the 12th non-consecutive week. The track continued to coast along in the top 3 while other songs came and went above it, moving 2-2-2-3-2 and now rising again to rule the chart for the 13th time.
“Subtitle” has been consistently strong in streaming, and while this week’s count drops below the 10 million threshold, the track continues to dominate the metric for the 20th consecutive weeks with 9,471,511 streams.
Mukade & Inman’s “Kimi no mama” (“The way you are”) rises 13-7 this week, marking the first top ten hit for the young rapper duo. The mellow love song is the third release by the rapper duo consisting of the winner and contestant of Japan’s High School RAP Competition, a stepping stone for aspiring hip-hop artists. The track, which dropped in February, increased by 4.5 percent in streaming from the previous week with 6,886,852 weekly streams, moving 4-3 for the metric and looking like it could rise further up the charts.
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 Feb. 27 to Mar. 5, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.
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: While celebrating one cut from his 2016 album improbably topping the Hot 100 in 2023, The Weeknd sees gains from another Starboy favorite — plus a dancehall classic revived by a rap superstar’s new single, and the early standout from the 36 songs on the new Morgan Wallen album.
Another Starboy “Reminder”?
Thanks largely to its much-hyped (and well-delivered) Ariana Grande-assisted remix, The Weeknd‘s “Die for You” tops the Billboard Hot 100 this week, over six years after it first debuted on the chart in 2016. Back then, it was one of many debuts from the artist born Abel Tesfaye’s Starboy album (via XO/Republic), a Billboard 200-topping success — but one that few would’ve predicted would still be spinning off hits in 2023. At the height of the TikTok age, though, seemingly no song is off-limits from a potential revival, with “Die for You” being one of the biggest recent beneficiaries.
And wouldn’t you know it: The Weeknd may even have a follow-up hit off the same set. “Reminder” also graced the Hot 100 back in late 2016, debuting and peaking at No. 31, with a star-studded video that was even nominated for video of the year at the 2017 Video Music Awards. In the past few month or two, the song has seen new life, with a popular TikTok trend of listeners posting selfie videos to the song’s (somewhat questionable) “Got a sweet Asian chick, she go low man (lo mein)” lyric.
The song has steadily risen in official on-demand U.S. streams over the last four weeks as a result — from 1.8 million for the tracking week ending Feb. 9 to over 2.7 million the week ending March 2, a 52% gain, according to Luminate. That’s still just a fraction of the streams posted by “Die for You” in its chart-topping week, but the song does debut at No. 140 on the Global 200 this week (dated March 11) — and with the success of “Die” serving as proof of concept, it might not take much more of a foot in the door for radio and streaming audiences to get on board with embracing another new-old Weeknd hit.
“Oooh” Yeah: Lumidee Classic Gains Thanks to Nicki Minaj Sample
For her first single of 2023, rap superstar Nicki Minaj reached back two decades for assistance. Lumidee’s 2003 top five Hot 100 hit “Never Leave You (Uh Oooh)” is one of the fondest-remembered smashes from the Sean Paul-heralded dancehall explosion in the pop mainstream of the mid-’00s, and Minaj sampled both the hypnotic Diwali Riddim and the singer’s own entrancing “Uh ooooh” chorus cries for the beat to her fiery new “Red Ruby da Sleeze,” released last Friday (March 3).
Unsurprisingly, the original “Never Leave You” (released on Universal) saw a bump in listenership as a result. The song rose from just under 42,000 official on-demand U.S. streams on the Thursday before the song’s release to nearly 72,000 that day, a gain of 71%, according to Luminate. “Red Ruby” is also off to a strong start, with millions in streams and thousands in sales in its debut week — though with heavy traffic expected from the 36 tracks found on Morgan Wallen’s blockbuster new album One Thing at a Time, it might have to wait to challenge the No. 3 peak of the Lumidee classic it borrows from.
“Thinkin’ Bout” an Early Breakout From New Morgan Wallen LP
Speaking of: As we’ve already written about extensively this week on Billboard, Morgan Wallen is off to the year’s best start with his third album One Thing at a Time, a 36-track set that looks to be a streaming behemoth — even beyond the standards of his 10-week Billboard 200-topping sophomore Republic/Big Loud/Mercury set Dangeorus: The Double Album. Dozens of the tracks are expected to land on the Hot 100 next week, with the pack predictably led by previously released cuts like “Last Night” and the title track, as well as early-tracklist highlights like “Man Made a Bar” and “Ain’t That Some.”
However, one track is joining the front-runners, despite appearing deep into the set’s running order: the rueful post-breakup cut “Thinkin’ Bout Me.” Showing up 25th out of the album’s 36 tracks, the song has nonetheless outperformed most of the tracks before it, with nearly 13 million combined official on-demand U.S. streams across its first four days of release (March 3-6), according to Luminate. The song might’ve been helped by a TikTok video Wallen shared days before One Thing‘s release of an older woman dancing enthusiastically at what appears to be a silent disco — with the vid set to “Thinkin’,” though it’s unclear what music the woman’s actually grooving to — along with the caption “fav fan ever. y’all help my find this lady.”
How high will “Thinkin’ Bout Me” and the rest of the album’s heavy-hitters debut on the Hot 100 next week? Too early to say for sure — but it’s probably safe to say that in general, One Thing at a Time will not be as patient with its chart takeover as its title suggests.
Christian music star Steven Curtis Chapman banks his third No. 1 on Billboard’s Christian AC Airplay chart as “Don’t Lose Heart” tops the list dated March 11.
In the tracking week ending March 2, the song increased by 5% in plays, according to Luminate.
Chapman wrote “Heart,” which marks his third Christian AC Airplay No. 1 among 15 top 10s, with Bryan Fowler and Micah Kuiper.
On the Christian Airplay chart, “Heart” ranks at No. 5 (6.5 million in audience), after reaching No. 3.
The Franklin, Tenn.-based Chapman, originally from Paducah, Ky., scores his first Christian AC Airplay leader since “Christmas Time Again” dominated for three weeks beginning in December 2012. His first No. 1, “Do Everything,” led for a week in October 2011.
“Heart” follows Chapman’s feature on CAIN’s “Wonderful,” which reached No. 3 in January 2022.
Chapman first reached the Christian AC Airplay top 10 with “How Do I Love Her,” which peaked at No. 7 in August 2003. Chapman, who has been producing hits since the late-1980s, logged many before Billboard’s Christian Airplay and AC Airplay charts began in June 2003.
“Heart” is from Chapman’s album Still, which entered Top Christian Albums at its No. 4 peak last October, awarding him his 21st top 10. He made his first of 27 appearances in 1987 with Real Life Conversation, which peaked at No. 19. He followed with his first top 10, More to Life (No. 2, May 1990). His first of nine No. 1s, For the Sake of the Call, reigned for two weeks in March 1991. He most recently led in November 2009 when Beauty Will Rise arrived at the summit.
Currently on tour, Chapman, 60, makes his next stop March 15 in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Welcome to The Contenders, 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 March 18), Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time crashes the Billboard 200 like an asteroid, with its impact likely to be felt for many weeks to come.
Morgan Wallen, One Thing at a Time (Big Loud/Republic/Mercury): When Morgan Wallen announced the release date of his new album in late January, every artist with an album scheduled for March probably screamed at their phone. Not only is Wallen’s previous album — the 30-track Dangerous: The Double Album – still sitting in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 a full two years after its 2021 release, but this album was going to be even longer: a whopping 36 tracks, six of which ranked on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of One Thing’s March 3 release.
Unsurprisingly, the album’s streams have been eye-popping. Billboard reported on Wednesday that the set’s collected tracks had scored 315 million official on-demand U.S. streams in its first four days (March 3-6) of release – already the biggest week for any 2023 album, the biggest week for any country album (passing Taylor Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version)’s debut week in 2021), and a significantly bigger week than Dangerous achieved in its full first week (240 million). Perhaps more impressively, despite not yet being available on vinyl, the set has already sold well: 90,000 copies in its first three days, also more than the 74,000 total Dangerous sold in its debut week (with vinyl available).
As of Tuesday, the album was up to over 350,000 equivalent album units – again, both the best of any 2023 album and better than Dangerous’ full debut (265,000). That means it’s already eclipsed the 318,000 units of the first week of SZA’s 23-track SOS in December, and is not far away from the 404,000 of Drake & 21 Savage’s 16-track Her Loss from that set’s November debut — though it should still fall well short of the 1.578 million posted by Swift’s Midnights earlier that month. (A closer battle will be with the 605,000 units of Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version) for the biggest first week for any country album of the equivalent album units era, which replaced pure album sales as the Billboard 200’s ranking metric in 2014.)
Then it’s a question of how long the album will hold atop the Billboard 200. It will face a worthy competitor next week with the debut of Miley Cyrus’ 13-track Endless Summer Vacation, led by the six-week Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 “Flowers,” and sets are expected later in the month from big names like Fall Out Boy, Lana Del Rey and fellow country superstar Luke Combs. But Dangerous reigned for its first 10 weeks with a shorter tracklist and a much slower start than One Thing, so any challengers to the throne have their work cut out for them.
IN THE MIX
Kali Uchis, Red Moon in Venus (Geffen/EMI): Red Moon marks acclaimed R&B singer-songwriter Kali Uchis’ first album since crossing over with her TikTok-driven 2021 hit “Telepatía.” First-week album sales for the set should be boosted by a variety of available variants, with three different vinyl LPs (including a salmon-colored vinyl exclusive to Urban Outfitters), a signed CD sold exclusively in her official webstore and four different deluxe boxed sets (two with a T-shirt and a CD, two with a hoodie and a CD).
NCT 127, Ay-Yo – The 4th Album Repackage (SM): Korean pop boy band NCT 127 had a top five hit on the Billboard 200 last fall with their fourth album 2 Baddies – which was repackaged and retitled with three new bonus tracks and released to streaming services and digital retailers in January as Ay-Yo. The set should see big gains this week with its physical release, including three different collectible CDs with randomized elements packaged inside.
Macklemore, Ben (Bendo): For veteran Seattle rapper Macklemore’s first album since 2017’s No. 2-peaking Gemini, he’s pulling out all the stops with the physical variants: different-colored vinyl exclusive to his website and to Urban Outfitters, six boxed sets (with such goodies as posters, hoodies and signed CDs) and even a cassette version. The album has been discounted to $3.50 for the CD and digital version on his webstore.
De La Soul, Three Feet High and Rising (AOI): After a decades-long battle over their catalog, legendary New York rap group De La Soul finally brought their full discography to streaming services last Friday (though, sadly, just weeks after the death of co-founder Trugoy the Dove), along with physical reissues of their six albums on vinyl, CD and cassette. Unsurprisingly, the best-performing of their sets looks to be 1989 debut 3 Feet High and Rising – one of the most acclaimed rap albums ever, thanks to classics like “Me, Myself & I,” “Eye Know” and “Buddy,” — which is available in multiple vinyl variants, and may surpass its original Billboard 200 peak of No. 24.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appears on Billboard’s charts, thanks to his feature on Brad Paisley‘s new single.
“Same Here” enters the all-genre Digital Song Sales chart (dated March 11) at No. 7 with 5,000 downloads sold Feb. 24-March 2, according to Luminate.
The track, Paisley’s co-written first release on Universal Music Group Nashville’s EMI Nashville Records, also begins on Country Digital Song Sales at No. 3.
Featuring a spoken section from Zelenskyy, the song benefits United24, a charitable program to restore Ukrainian homes destroyed during the ongoing Russian invasion (which began Feb. 24, 2022, a year to the day before the song’s release).
“The label [was] so great about it, realizing this isn’t going to be the feel-good hit of the year and this isn’t going to be something that’s going to work long-term at radio, [that it’s] not going to research,” Paisley told Billboard, noting that there will not be a radio edit without Zelenskyy. “I thought, ‘Would President Zelenskyy like to have the last couple of minutes and have a discussion with me on the ways we’re the same?’ This needs to exist in whatever form we can present it.”
Notably, other political leaders have used their platforms to appear on recordings, also resulting in Billboard chart placements.
In December 2015, U.S. President Barack Obama, then in his second term in office, reached No. 10 on the (now-defunct) Billboard Twitter Emerging Artists chart as featured on JX Cannon’s “Pop Off.” The track was built upon Obama’s G20 Summit speech in Turkey that November in which he mused, “If folks want to pop off and have opinions on what they think they would do, present a specific plan.”
No one-hit wonder, Obama, following the conclusion of his presidency, received artist credit with singers Christopher Jackson and BeBe Winans on the Lin-Manuel Miranda-penned “One Last Time (44 Remix)” from Hamilton. The song hit No. 2 on R&B Digital Song Sales, No. 15 on R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales, No. 22 on Hot R&B Songs and No. 38 on Digital Song Sales in January 2019.
Earlier that decade, former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev contributed to an eclectic billing with beloved actress Sophia Loren and the Russian National Orchestra on the album Sergei Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf/Jean-Pascal Beintus: Wolf Tracks. The set hit No. 5 on Classical Catalog Albums in March 2012, with proceeds benefiting multiple charities. At the 2004 Grammy Awards, it won for best spoken word album for children.
Meanwhile, 10 albums credited to late U.S. President John F. Kennedy hit the Billboard 200, including two top 10s in February 1964: That Was the Week That Was (No. 5), a BBC tribute to Kennedy, and The Presidential Years 1960-1963 (No. 8). One title highlighted two former commanders in chief: Actual Speeches of Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy (No. 109, also in February 1964).
Prior to Kennedy’s chart run, an impersonator of his had climbed even higher on the Billboard 200: comedian Vaughn Meader dominated for 12 weeks in 1962-63 with The First Family and hit No. 4 in 1963 with The First Family, volume two. The former also won the 1962 Grammy for album of the year. (The set sports such send-ups as “Press Conference,” in which, after a family dinner, “Kennedy” takes questions on such vital topics as why he didn’t touch the salad that wife Jackie had prepared: “I would prefer if, er-uh, in the future, we stuck to coleslaw …”)
Similarly, Welcome to the LBJ Ranch!, an album ribbing U.S. Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Dwight Eisenhower, as well as former Vice President Richard Nixon, among others, via out-of-context recordings of them (helmed by Earle Doud and Alen Robin), hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200 in 1965.
Plus, impressionists David Frye and Rich Little made, well, impressions on the Billboard 200: The former charted four albums about then-President Nixon in 1969-73, led by the No. 18-peaking I Am the President in 1969, and the latter hit No. 29 in 1982 with The First Family Rides Again, gently lampooning U.S. President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan (with contributions from Doud and Meader).
Others known for prominent world leadership positions that have hit Billboard charts include Pope John XXIII (a Billboard 200 entry in 1963), Pope John Paul II (multiple chart appearances in 1995-99) and singer – and first lady of France in 2008-12 – Carla Bruni (visits to various charts in 2005-17).
Additional research by Jim Asker, Paul Grein and Alex Vitoulis.
Karol G’s winning streak continues across the Billboard charts. The Colombian star tacks another No. 1 debut to her account, as “TQG” (“Te Quedé Grande”), with Shakira, arrives at No. 1 on the Hot Latin Songs chart (dated March 11). It’s the third pair-up by two female artists in a lead role to debut at No. 1 since the tally launched in 1986 — and they’ve all been Karol G collabs.
As previously reported, Mañana Será Bonito’s large streaming first-week sum spurs 13 debuts on Hot Latin Songs. Those, plus three titles also striding up the list, take over the multimetric ranking. In total, 16 songs of the 17-track set rank on this week’s chart, while “Provenza,” now off the tally, ruled for one week in May 2022 (Karol G’s only No. 1 as a soloist among six champs).
With 16 tracks on the chart concurrently, Karol G makes history as the woman with the most simultaneous songs since the ranking began. Only two other acts have scored more songs: Bad Bunny with between 17 and 24 concurrent songs throughout different periods and Ozuna with 21 titles in September 2018. Plus, with five songs in the top 10, Karol G now holds the record for the most simultaneous top 10s among women.
The No. 1 start for “TQG” is powered by streaming activity. It logged 29 million clicks in the U.S., during the Feb. 24-March 2 tracking week, according to Luminate, becoming the most-streamed Latin song of the week.
Karol G first summoned fans to Times Square for the Shakira collab announcement through social media on Feb. 22, where the song was teased on the big screens. The joint effort by the Colombian stars, plus buzz generated about the narrative of the song (heartbreak and moving on after high-profile breakups), have helped “TQG” bow atop Hot Latin Songs. It becomes just the eighth song by a female act to debut at No. 1 since the chart launched in 1986. Here’s the recap:
Debut Date, Title, ArtistsJan. 14, 2012, “Hotel Nacional,” Gloria EstefanFeb. 28, 2015, “Mi Verdad,” Mana Featuring ShakiraNov. 19, 2016, “Chantaje,” Shakira Featuring MalumaOct. 13, 2018, “Taki Taki” DJ Snake Featuring Selena Gomez, Ozuna & Cardi BNov. 23, 2019, “Tusa,” Karol G & Nicki MinajAugust 8, 2020, “Un Dia (One Day),” J Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny & TainyFeb. 26, 2022, “MAMIII,” Becky G X Karol GMarch 11, 2023, “TQG,” Karol G & Shakira
Further breaking down the big debut, “TQG” earns multiple achievements:
-It’s the sixth title with a female act in a lead role to debut at No. 1 since the chart launched in 1986.
-It’s the fifth title by a Hispanic female act on a lead tole to debut at No. 1 since the chart’s inception. (Hispanic relating to Spanish-speaking countries, especially those in Latin America and/ or artists with Latin ascendancy).
-It’s the third pair-up by two female artists in a lead role to debut at No. 1, all including Karol G.
In addition to “TQG,” other songs from the album make progress or debut in the top 10 on Hot Latin Songs: “X Si Volvemos” with Romeo Santos rallies 12-4 in its fourth chart week, with 9.5 million clicks and takes the Greatest Gainer/Streaming honors of the week. “Mientras Me Curo El Cora,” the album’s opening track, opens at No. 8, with 7.3 million U.S. streams; “Gucci Los Paños” is at No. 9 with 7 million clicks; and “Tus Gafitas” at No. 10 with 6.7 million. The latter track links two of the most successful producers from two different worlds: Karol’s longtime collaborator Ovy on the Drums and Billie Eilish’s brother and collaborator Finneas.
Here’s a look at all the songs from Mañana Será Bonito on the current Hot Latin Songs chart:
Rank, Title, Artist (if other than Karol G)No. 1, “TQG,” with Shakira (debut)No. 4, “X Si Volvemos,” with Romeo SantosNo. 8, “Mientras Me Curo El Cora” (debut)No. 9, “Gucci Los Paños” (debut)No. 10, “Tus Gafitas” (debut)No. 11, “Gatúbela,” with MaldyNo. 13, “Cairo,” with Ovy on The DrumsNo. 14, “Per Tú,” with Quevedo (debut)No. 16, “Ojos Ferrari,” with Justin Quiles and Angel Dior (debut)No, 17, “Besties” (debut)No. 19, “Mañana Será Bonito,” with Carla Morrison (debut)No. 24, “Amargura” (debut)No. 25, “Karmika,” with Bad Gyal and Sean Paul (debut)No. 26, “Mercurio” (debut)No. 29, “Dañamos La Amistad,” with Sech (debut)No. 33, “Carolina (debut)
“TQG” also records activity in the other two metrics that influence the Hot Latin Songs chart: radio airplay and song sales. On Latin Airplay, it debuts at No. 27 with 4.29 million in audience impressions. It also accrues 7,000 downloads for a No. 1 start on Latin Digital Song Sales and No. 4 on the overall Digital Song Sales.