State Champ Radio Chart Beat
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Emilia, Big One and Callejero Fino hold at No. 1 on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 for a second frame as “En La Intimidad” rules the March 4-dated chart. The song, released Feb. 1 through Fifty One, debuted at No. 9 and landed at the summit in its third week (chart dated Feb. 25).
Karol G and Shakira score their career-high debut as “TQG” arrives at No. 2. The song, which becomes the Hot Shot Debut of the week, is the fifth single from Karol G’s latest album Mañana Será Bonito, which debuted at No. 1 on the overall Billboard 200 chart, Top Latin Albums and Latin Rhythm Albums charts (dated March 11). The track concurrently debuted at No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs in the same period.
Further, TINI’s “Cupido” moves up the ranking with a 6-3 climb. It’s the closest she’s been to the top since “La Triple T” reached No. 1 in its second frame, where it remained for five weeks starting on the May 14-dated tally.
Back to Shakira, her Bizarrap collab “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” dips 2-4 after its four-week run at No. 1 (Jan. 21-Feb. 11). Meanwhile, BM’s “M. A (Mejores Amigos)” holds steady at No. 5 for a third week.
Elsewhere, 16-year-old Camilo Villaruel, known by his stage name Milo J, has the Greatest Gainer of the week as “Rara Vez” rallies 61-17, a 44-position trek. It’s the closest the Argentinian rapper has gotten to the top as his “Milagrosa” rises to its new No. 61 peak also on the current chart. “Rara” propels to the top 20 mainly supported by its popularity on TikTok, where the song has generated more than 31,000 videos.
Further, Miranda! and Emilia each add a new chart entry with their collab “Uno Los Dos,” at No. 28.
The week brings four other debuts, starting with The Weeknd and Ariana Grande’s “Die for You” at No. 63, followed by Sebastian Yatra’s “Una Noche Sin Pensar” at No. 70, Sech’s “29 de June” at No 87, and Camilo and Camila Cabello’s “Ambulancia” at No. 88.
Karol G jumps to No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Songwriters chart (dated March 11), becoming just the second woman to rule the ranking.
The star leads for the first time thanks to a whopping 16 songwriting credits on the latest Hot Latin Songs chart, all via songs on her new LP Mañana Será Bonito. The album debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making history as the first all-Spanish-language leader by a woman. The only other all-Spanish-language No. 1 albums are Bad Bunny’s El Ultimo Tour del Mundo and Un Verano Sin Ti.
The only other woman to have hit No. 1 on Latin Songwriters is regional Mexican up-and-comer Yahritza Martinez, who tallied four weeks on top in April 2022 thanks to Yahritza y Su Esencia’s breakthrough single, “Soy El Unico.”
Here’s a recap of Karol G’s entries on the latest Hot Latin Songs chart:
Rank, TitleNo. 1, “TQG,” with ShakiraNo. 4, “X Si Volvemos,” with Romeo SantosNo. 8, “Mientras Me Curo del Cora”No. 9, “Gucci Los Paños”No. 10, “Tus Gafitas”No. 11, “Gatúbela,” with MaldyNo. 13, “Cairo,” with Ovy on the DrumsNo. 14, “Pero Tú,” with QuevedoNo. 16, “Ojos Ferrari,” with Justin Quiles & Ángel DiorNo. 17, “Besties”No. 19, “Mañana Será Bonita,” with Carla MorrisonNo. 24, “Amargura”No. 25, “Karmika,” with Bad Gyal & Sean PaulNo. 26, “Mercurio”No. 29, “Danamos Los Amistad”No. 33, “Carolina”
In the history of the Hot Latin Songs chart, only Bad Bunny and Ozuna have charted at least 16 songs simultaneously. Bad Bunny holds the record for the most in one week: 24, on May 21, 2022, concurrent with the chart start for Un Verano Sin Ti.
On the latest Latin Producers chart, Ovy on the Drums returns to No. 1 for an 18th week on top, thanks to his production work on Mañana Será Bonito. The hitmaker produced 11 charting songs from the album (Nos. 1, 4, 6, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, 24, 25 and 33). Only Tainy and MAG have spent more weeks at No. 1 on Latin Producers: 119 and 38, respectively.
The weekly Latin Songwriters and Latin Producers charts are based on total points accrued by a songwriter and producer, respectively, for each attributed song that appears on the Hot Latin Songs chart. As with Billboard’s yearly recaps, multiple writers or producers split points for each song equally (and the dividing of points will lead to occasional ties on rankings). 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.
The full Latin Songwriters and Latin Producers charts, in addition to the full genre rankings, can be found on Billboard.com.
Singer-songwriter Brandon Lake earns his second No. 1, and his first as a lead artist, on Billboard’s Christian Airplay chart (dated March 11) with “Gratitude.”
The song jumps 5-1 following its increase of 9% to 7.3 million audience impressions in the tracking week ending March 2, according to Luminate.
Lake co-authored “Gratitude” with Dante Bowe and Benjamin Hastings, while Jacob Sooter produced it.
Concurrently, “Gratitude” spends a sixth week at No. 1 on the streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Christian Songs survey. It collected 2.1 million U.S. streams and sold 2,000 downloads to lead Christian Digital Song Sales for an eighth frame.
When “Gratitude” initially reached the Hot Christian Songs summit (Feb. 4), also becoming Lake’s second No. 1 and first as a lead artist, he told Billboard, “Every song has a season, and season a song. ‘Gratitude’ couldn’t more accurately describe everything I want to express to God in this time. There are times where I feel like worshipping and there are times I often don’t, but what can shift any weary soul is a spirit of gratitude.”
The 32-year-old Lake, who serves as worship pastor at Seacoast Church in Charleston, S.C., previously topped Christian Airplay and Hot Christian Songs as featured on Elevation Worship’s “Graves Into Gardens” in 2021.
Haddon Adds Third No. 1
On Gospel Airplay, Deitrick Haddon scores his third leader as “Here Comes the Joy” ascends 4-1 (up 17% in plays).
Haddon, a native of Detroit, serves as lead pastor of Los Angeles’ Hill City Church.
“Joy,” which he co-penned, marks his first Gospel Airplay chart-topper since “Open Door Season” dominated for two weeks in June 2020. His first No. 1, “A Billion People,” ruled for a week in September 2017. He boasts 11 top 10s, dating back to 2005.
Miley Cyrus scores her first No. 1 on Billboard’s Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart as “Flowers” tops the tally dated March 11. Previously, she achieved top 10 hits with “Party in the U.S.A.” (No. 9, 2009) and as featured on Mark Ronson’s “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart” (No. 5, 2019).
With radio-friendly remixes from Tommie Sunshine/On Deck/JustnKayse, Dark Intensity and Kue, among others, “Flowers” is finding core-dance airplay on outlets including KNHC (C89.5) Seattle, iHeartRadio’s Pride Radio and SiriusXM’s Diplo’s Revolution Feb. 24-March 2, according to Luminate. (The Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart measures radio airplay on a select group of full-time dance stations, along with plays during mix shows on around 70 top 40-formatted reporters.)
Starting with “See You Again” (No. 17, 2008), Cyrus has tallied eight appearances on Dance/Mix Show Airplay. Her other entries: “We Can’t Stop” (No. 14, 2013), “Wrecking Ball” (No. 19, 2013), “Malibu” (No. 19, 2017) and “Midnight Sky” (No. 26, 2020).
“Flowers” just spent six weeks at No. 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Global 200 charts, among other successes.
Additionally on the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, Loud Luxury lifts to its fifth top 10 and Hook N Sling celebrates its first with “Afterparty” (12-9). Plus, VAVO and Clara Mae each earn initial top 10 placements with “Take Me Home” (13-10).
Shifting to the multi-metric Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, Skrillex, Missy Elliott and Mr. Oizo jump 14-8 with “RATATA.” Skrillex’s seventh top 10 and the first each for Elliott and Oizo, “RATATA” racked up 1.4 million U.S. streams and sold 700 downloads in the tracking week.
Sticking with Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, MK collects his fifth top 10 and Dom Dolla draws his second with “Rhyme Dust,” new at No. 9. The track earned 1.2 million streams and sold 900, the latter figure also enabling a top 10 debut on Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales (No. 8).
On the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart, Dutch DJ/producer MELON and Dance Fruits make their first Billboard chart appearance with This Is Melon, Vol. 1 (No. 7). The set, which starts with 4,000 equivalent album units, is a sprawling, 41-track collection of upbeat dance covers of dance, pop, rock and R&B classics, including ABBA’s “Dancing Queen,” Avicii’s “Levels,” Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” and Swedish House Mafia’s “Don’t You Worry Child.”
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.
