Chart Beat
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Lil Baby jumps from No. 8 to No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated Oct. 29), returning as the top musical act in the U.S. for a fourth total week, thanks to his new studio album, It’s Only Me.
The LP launches at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, with 216,000 equivalent album units earned in the Oct. 14-20 tracking week, according to Luminate. It’s the seventh-largest weekly unit sum this year, and the third-largest for a hip-hop album, after the opening weeks of Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers (295,000; May 28) and Future’s I Never Liked You (222,000; May 14).
Lil Baby concurrently charts 25 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, the third-most in a single week in the chart’s 64-year history. Drake placed a one-week record 27 songs on the July 14, 2018 survey, concurrent with the chart debut of his LP Scorpion, and Taylor Swift sent 26 songs onto the Nov. 27, 2021-dated chart after the arrival of Red (Taylor’s Version), with both sets also having opened atop the Billboard 200.
Elsewhere on the Artist 100, Red Hot Chili Peppers re-enter at No. 2 thanks to their new album Return of the Dream Canteen. The set arrives at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with 63,000 units, earning the group its ninth top 10, and No. 1 on Top Album Sales (56,000 sold). The group topped the Artist 100 for the first time in April when its previous 2022 album Unlimited Love began at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
Plus, Bailey Zimmerman jumps 16-9 on the Artist 100, entering the top 10 for the first time, thanks to his new debut studio album Leave the Light On. The project opens at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on Top Country Albums (32,000 units).
The Artist 100 measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay and streaming to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.
Bailey Zimmerman‘s debut collection Leave the Light On debuts at No. 2 on Billboard‘s Top Country Albums chart (dated Oct. 29). Released Oct. 14, the eight-song set earned 32,000 equivalent album units in its first week, ending Oct. 20, according to Luminate.
The first Top Country Albums entry for the 22-year-old from Louisville, Ill., concurrently starts at No. 9 on the all-genre Billboard 200, where he also makes his first appearance. Zimmerman, who worked at a meat processing plant and on a gas pipeline prior to his career in music, co-wrote six songs on the project, which Austin Shawn produced.
Zimmerman made history on the streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Country Songs chart dated Sept. 3 when he became the first act to place three career-opening entries in the top 10 simultaneously, since the list began as an all-encompassing genre ranking in October 1958: “Rock and a Hard Place,” “Where It Ends” and “Fall in Love.”
“My life went from, like, nothing to 100, just so fast,” Zimmerman — who boasts 1.7 million followers on TikTok — recently told Billboard. “I started reading books. [Fellow country artist] Drew Baldridge has been like a mentor for me. He was like, ‘Dude, get the book All You Need to Know About the Music Business [by Donald Passman].’ I learned how labels worked, all kinds of stuff. I still have a lot to learn, but I dove in to learn what’s going on.”
On the Oct. 29 dated Hot Country Songs survey, Zimmerman charts five titles, including two in the top 10. “Rock” pushes 9-6 with 13.7 official streams and 2,000 downloads sold. It also ranks at No. 58 on Country Airplay with 568,000 audience impressions (up 7%). “Fall,” his current proper radio single, holds at its No. 8 Country Airplay high (17.2 million, up 3%), also with 9 million streams and 3,000 sold.
Zimmerman rounds out his current Hot Country Songs haul with “Where” (No. 28; 4.9 million streams); “Never Leave” (No. 35; 5.1 million streams, up 40%); and “Waiting” (No. 36 debut; 2.5 million first-week streams).
‘Delight’-ful Debut
Alabama‘s “Dixieland Delight” arrives on the Country Digital Song Sales chart, sparked by the intense college football rivalry between University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide and the University of Tennessee’s Volunteers.
The track, which led Hot Country Songs in April 1983, becoming the band’s ninth of 33 No. 1s (the most among duos or groups), enters Country Digital Song Sales at No. 13 with 1,500 sold, up 684%.
For those who don’t follow NCAA football, here’s a playbook on the song’s resurgence: Tennessee beat Alabama 52-49 on Oct. 15 at the former’s Neyland Stadium courtesy of a game-winning 40-yard field goal by Chase McGrath, ending a 15-game losing streak for Tennessee against Alabama dating to 2006.
Not unexpectedly, Tennessee fans got a tad rambunctious after the game, flooding the field and knocking over one of their own goalposts (reportedly at a cost of $100,000). As the orange-clad kids filed onto the field, the public address system ribbingly blared “Dixieland Delight” … normally played after the Crimson Tide wins at its home field (Bryant-Denny Stadium, in Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
Aided by buzz and press coverage, the song, solo-penned by Ronnie Rogers (who also wrote Alabama’s 1990 Hot Country Songs No. 1 “Jukebox in My Mind”), additionally gained by 44% in official on-demand streams, to 1.2 million, in the week ending Oct. 20.
Since Country Digital Song Sales began in 2010, Alabama charted one prior entry: Brad Paisley’s “Old Alabama,” on which the band is featured. The collaboration arrived at its No. 2 peak in April 2011. It went on to dominate Hot Country Songs for two frames that June, marking the group’s most recent No. 1 and first since “Reckless” in 1993.
Midnights is on the brink of earning Taylor Swift a rare U.K. chart double.
Swift’s 10th studio album dropped last Friday (Oct. 21) and immediately caught fire on streaming platforms, smashing Spotify’s global 24-hour record. There’s a lot of love for Midnights (via EMI) in the U.K., with the album pushing past 140,000 combined sales in just three days, good enough for the best opening-week result for any title this year.
Midnights should dominate the singles chart, too.
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Based on midweek sales and streaming data captured by the Official Charts Company, Swift is on the brink of a 1-2-3. Currently, Midnights track “Anti-Hero” leads the chart blast, ahead of “Lavender Blaze” and “Snow on the Beach,” respectively.
Swift should unseat Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy” (EMI), ending its four-week run at the top. “Unholy” slips 1-4 on the midweek survey, ahead of David Guetta and Bebe Rexha’s “I’m Good (Blue)” (via Parlophone), down 2-5.
The challenger to Midnights is Arctic Monkeys’ The Car (Domino Recordings). Like Midnights, The Car powers the full complement of three Arctic Monkeys songs into the midweek chart, with “I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am” new at No. 16, “Sculptures of Anything Goes” new at No. 17 and “There’d Better Be a Mirrorball” reentering at No. 20.
Meanwhile, two versions of “Miss You” continue to impact the U.K. top 40. Oliver Tree and Robin Schulz’s version, released by Atlantic Records, rises 12-10 on the Official Chart Update, while Southstar’s version, via B1/Ministry of Sound, dips 26-27.
Southstar has accused his fellow German Schulz of releasing a “copycat version,” a claim that places Sony Music and Warner Music at loggerheads. WMG’s Atlantic Records has responded. “Oliver Tree and Robin Schulz’s version of ‘Miss You’ is the definitive version of the song that uses both the recording and underlying composition from Oliver Tree’s original track ‘Jerk,’ says an Atlantic Records U.S. spokesperson via email. “Southstar remixed ‘Jerk’ without permission and then released a version with re-recorded vocals to avoid fully compensating Oliver Tree and his label.”
Further down, Joel Corry and Tom Grennan are eyeing another U.K. top 40 with “Lionheart (Fearless)” (via Atlantic), which starts at No. 36 on the chart update. If it holds its position, “Lionheart” would give Corry a ninth top 40 appearance, and Grennan a seventh.
Finally, Meghan Trainor’s “Made You Look” (Atlantic) appears to be en route to the top 40. It’s at No. 37 on the chart blast, and should enjoy a nudge following Trainor’s performance of the song Monday (Oct. 24) on The Tonight Show.
All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Singles Chart is published late Friday.
The chart race of the year is only halfway complete, though Taylor Swift’s Midnights is already strides ahead of the pack.
Swift’s tenth studio album and Arctic Monkeys’ seventh studio set, The Car, are both blockbusters that would win almost any U.K. chart battle.
This is no ordinary chart cycle. It’s a heavyweight bout, with both sets notching well over 100,000 chart copies in just three days.
At the midweek point, Midnights has more than 140,000 chart units to secure the advantage. That sum gives Midnights the best start for any album this year, bettering the 113,000 chart units accumulated by Harry Styles’ Harry’s House across its first full week, the OCC reports.
The Car is some distance behind in second place on the Official Chart Update, with 105,000 chart units – an exceptional result for any other week.
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If Midnights stays on target, it will hand Swift her ninth U.K. No. 1 following Red (2012), 1989 (2014), Reputation (2017), Lover (2019), Folklore (2020), Evermore (2020), Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (2021) and Red (Taylor’s Version) (2021). Also, the U.S. artist could swoop in for a chart double; she holds the top three spots on the singles chart update, led by “Anti-Hero.”
Meanwhile, Arctic Monkeys enjoy a spotless streak of six consecutive career No. 1s, starting with their 2006 debut Whatever People Say I Am That’s What I’m Not, and continuing with 2007’s Favourite Worst Nightmare, 2009’s Humbug, 2011’s Suck It And See, 2013’s AM, and 2018’s Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino. Frontman Alex Turner has eight in the row, including his side project, the Last Shadow Puppets.
Based on midweek sales and streaming data published by the OCC, South London artist Loyle Carner could come at No. 3 with his third album, Hugo; veteran Scottish band Simple Minds’ 19th record Direction of the Heart could bow at No. 4; and Australian pop star Kylie Minogue’s sixth studio LP Impossible Princess could return to the chart at No. 5, thanks to a 25th anniversary edition. Impossible Princess originally peaked at No. 10 following its release in 1997.
Norwegian ‘80s pop trio a-ha is set for a return to the U.K. survey this week with True North, new at No. 6 on the chart blast. If True North stays put, it would become the “Take On Me” singers’ highest-charting studio LP in the U.K. since 2009’s Foot of the Mountain went to No. 5.
Finally, Canadian pop singer Carly Rae Jepsen is on track for her career chart peak in the U.K. with The Loneliest Time, eyeing a No. 7 berth; while British alternative-rocker act Dry Cleaning is aiming for a second top 10 appearance with Stumpwork, on track for a No. 8 start.
All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Albums Chart is published late Friday (Oct. 28).
Lucky, lucky girl! Kim Petras took to social media on Monday (Oct. 24) to celebrate her hit single “Unholy” with Sam Smith reaching the top of the Billboard Hot 100.
“NUMBER ONEEEE HOT 100! I’m so grateful,” the singer wrote before giving her collaborator a shout-out. “Sam I can’t thank you enough for riding with me for years at this point. I’m so honored to be a part of your first number one in the US which you should have 500 of at this point. I love you forever angel Sam.”
With the TikTok-fueled song’s gradual ascent through the chart’s top three spots over the course of just as many weeks, Petras and Smith become, respectively, the first openly trans and nonbinary artist in the history of the Hot 100 to have a No. 1 hit. “Unholy” also continues its four-week reign atop both of Billboard‘s Global tallies on the charts dated Oct. 29.
In an exclusive chat with Billboard when the song hit No. 2, Petras reflected on her status as a trans trailblazer in the music industry, saying, “I think I grew up in a more difficult time than now — 10 years ago, I could not have imagined how accepted my presence would be. … As long as the music is good and you’re really freaking good at what you do, you can make it. I’ve built this fanbase over the last five years, which is all kids that are like me; it’s my job to stand up for my community and my fans who have been there since the beginning.”
While “Unholy” marks the singer’s first entry on the Hot 100 after half a decade of releasing fan-favorite tracks like “I Don’t Want It at All,” “Can’t Do Better” and “Coconuts,” she’s currently gearing up for the release of her next solo single “If Jesus Was a Rockstar.”
Read Petras’ sweet post about achieving her first No. 1 below.
Sam Smith and Kim Petras‘ “Unholy” notches a fourth week at No. 1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts.
Plus, Rema and Selena Gomez‘s “Calm Down” hits the Global 200’s top 10, jumping from No. 11 to No. 7, and Kenshi Yonezu‘s “Kick Back” bounds 26-4 and Tom Odell‘s “Another Love” rises 11-10 on Global Excl. U.S., the latter completing a record 81-week run on the chart to the top 10.
The two charts, which began in September 2020, rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Billboard Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the U.S.
Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.
‘Unholy’ No. 1 on Global 200, ‘Calm Down’ Hits Top 10
Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy” achieves a fourth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200, with 85 million streams (up 4%) and 26,000 downloads sold worldwide (up 44%) in the Oct. 14-20 tracking week, its gains sparked by 69-cent sale-pricing, as well as the release of live and instrumental versions and Disclosure and Acraze remixes. Plus, it was announced Oct. 17 that the song will appear on Smith’s forthcoming fourth LP, Gloria, due Jan. 27.
Notably, songs by acts all from outside the U.S. have topped the Global 200 for 35 consecutive weeks, spanning seven titles (and five countries), both record streaks since the chart began. Here’s a recap:
“Heat Waves,” Glass Animals (UK), six weeks at No. 1, beginning March 5“As It Was,” Harry Styles (UK), 15, April 16“Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God),” Kate Bush (UK), three, June 18“Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 52,” Bizarrap (Argentina) & Quevedo (Spain), four, July 30“Pink Venom,” BLACKPINK (South Korea), two, Sept. 3“Shut Down,” BLACKPINK (South Korea), one, Oct. 1“Unholy,” Sam Smith (UK) & Kim Petras (Germany), four to-date, Oct. 8
David Guetta and Bebe Rexha’s “I’m Good (Blue)” holds at its No. 2 Global 200 high; Chris Brown’s “Under the Influence” rises 4-3 for a new best; Harry Styles’ “As It Was” slips 3-4, following its record 15-week reign; and OneRepublic’s “I Ain’t Worried” repeats at its No. 5 highpoint.
Elsewhere in the Global 200’s top 10, Rema and Selena Gomez’s “Calm Down” reaches the region (11-7), led by 45.4 million streams (up 2%) worldwide. Nigeria native Rema dropped the original, solo version of the song in February as the second single from his debut LP, Rave & Roses. Its remix with Gomez arrived Aug. 26, and that version’s official video premiered Sept. 7.
Rema reaches the Global 200’s top 10 in his first appearance on the chart, while Gomez lands her second top 10 since the survey began, after “Ice Cream,” with BLACKPINK, ranked at its No. 8 high on the inaugural list in September 2020.
“Calm Down” concurrently keeps at its No. 8 high on the Global Excl. U.S. chart.
‘Unholy’ Tops Global Excl. U.S., ‘Kick Back,’ ‘Another Love’ Reach Top 10
Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy” adds a fourth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart, with 61.7 million streams (up 4%) and 7,000 downloads sold (up 14%) worldwide in territories outside the U.S. in the Oct. 14-20 tracking week.
Similar to the Global 200, songs by acts from outside the U.S. have dominated the Global Excl. U.S. chart for 33 weeks in a row, covering nine titles (and six countries), likewise record streaks:
“Heat Waves,” Glass Animals (U.K.), three weeks at No. 1, beginning March 19“Envolver,” Anitta (Brazil), one, April 9“As It Was,” Harry Styles (U.K.), 13, April 16“Yet To Come,” BTS (South Korea), one, June 25“Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God),” Kate Bush (U.K.), one, July 16“Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 52,” Bizarrap (Argentina) & Quevedo (Spain), six, July 30“Pink Venom,” BLACKPINK (South Korea), three, Sept. 3“Shut Down,” BLACKPINK (South Korea), one, Oct. 1“Unholy,” Sam Smith (UK) & Kim Petras (Germany), four to-date, Oct. 8
David Guetta and Bebe Rexha’s “I’m Good (Blue)” keeps at its No. 2 Global Excl. U.S. best and Manuel Turizo’s “La Bachata” is steady at its No. 3 high.
Kenshi Yonezu’s “Kick Back” surges 26-4 on the Global Excl. U.S. chart, with 23.3 million streams and 32,000 sold in its first full week of tracking. The Japanese artist lands his first top 10 on the chart (after reaching a prior No. 16 best with “M87” in May) with the opener for the new anime series Chainsaw Man. As previously reported, the track launched atop the latest Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart.
Harry Styles’ “As It Was” falls 4-5 on Global Excl. U.S. following its record 13-week rule.
Rounding out the Global Excl. U.S. top 10, Tom Odell’s “Another Love” rises 11-10. The song by the English singer-songwriter enters the top 10 in its 81st week on the chart, as it wraps the longest climb to the tier, far surpassing the 35-week wait for Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves” in 2021. Going back even further, “Another Love” was originally released 10 years ago this month, on Odell’s debut EP Songs From Another Love, with its profile having swelled to new heights thanks to its presence on TikTok. The song initially hit No. 10 on the Official UK Singles chart in 2013 and ranks at No. 13 in its latest week on the list.
“Another Love,” Odell’s first Global Excl. U.S. entry, gained by 1% to 30 million streams and 5% to 2,000 sold outside the U.S. Oct. 14-20.
The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated Oct. 29, 2022) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Oct. 25). For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard‘s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
Lil Baby charts a whopping 25 songs on the latest, Oct. 29-dated Billboard Hot 100, including all 23 tracks from his new album It’s Only Me.
In the 64-year history of the Hot 100, Lil Baby is just the third act to have his fingerprint on at least a quarter of the chart, after Drake, who placed a one-week record 27 songs on the July 14, 2018, survey, concurrent with the release of his LP Scorpion, and Taylor Swift, who sent 26 songs onto the Nov. 27, 2021-dated chart, as Red (Taylor’s Version) simultaneously made its chart arrival, with both sets having opened atop the Billboard 200 albums tally.
It’s Only Me likewise launches at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, with 216,000 equivalent album units earned in the Oct. 14-20 tracking week, according to Luminate. It’s the seventh-largest weekly units sum this year, and the third-largest for a hip-hop album, after the first weeks of Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers (295,000; May 28) and Future’s I Never Liked You (222,000; May 14).
Lil Baby lands his third Billboard 200 No. 1, after 2021’s The Voice of the Heroes, with Lil Durk, and 2020’s My Turn.
Here’s a recap of Lil Baby’s entries on the newest Hot 100. All are debuts except where noted:
Rank, Artist Billing, Title:
No. 4, Lil Baby, “California Breeze”No. 8, Lil Baby feat. Fridayy, “Forever”No. 10, Lil Baby, “Real Spill”No. 15, Lil Baby & Nardo Wick, “Pop Out”No. 16, Lil Baby, “In a Minute” (up from No. 40; new high)No. 19, Lil Baby & Young Thug, “Never Hating”No. 21, Lil Baby, “Heyy” (up from No. 77; new high)No. 22, Lil Baby, “Stand On It”No. 26, Lil Baby, “Not Finished”No. 32, Lil Baby, “Perfect Timing”No. 42, Lil Baby feat. Future, “From Now On”No. 45, Lil Baby, “Waterfall Flow”No. 52, Lil Baby, “Everything”No. 54, Lil Baby, “Double Down”No. 57, Lil Baby & Rylo Rodriguez, “Cost To Be Alive”No. 58, Lil Baby feat. Pooh Shiesty, “Shiest Talk”No. 64, Lil Baby, “Top Priority”No. 66, DJ Khaled feat. Drake & Lil Baby, “Staying Alive” (down from No. 49; peaked at No. 5)No. 68, Lil Baby & EST Gee, “Back and Forth”No. 69, Lil Baby, “Danger”No. 70, Lil Baby, “Russian Roulette”No. 76, Lil Baby, “FR”No. 80, Lil Baby, “No Fly Zone”No. 81, Lil Baby feat. Jeremih, “Stop Playin”No. 84, Lil Baby, “Freestyle” (down from No. 63, its peak)
With 20 debuts, Lil Baby ups his career total to 131 Hot 100-charting songs, passing Chris Brown (113) and Nicki Minaj (125) for the seventh-most. Drake leads all acts with 278, followed by the Glee Cast (207), Lil Wayne (183), Taylor Swift (168), Future (152) and Kanye West (141).
Lil Baby also ups his career totals to 13 career Hot 100 top 10s, 26 top 20 hits, and 48 top 40 entries.
Upon the rapper’s latest achievement, here’s a look at every week in which an act has charted at least 20 songs on the Hot 100:
Most Concurrent Hot 100-Charting Songs:
27, Drake, July 14, 201826, Taylor Swift, Nov. 27, 202125, Lil Baby, Oct. 29, 202224, Drake, July 21, 201824, Drake, April 8, 201723, Kanye West, Sept. 11, 202122, Bad Bunny, May 21, 202222, Lil Uzi Vert, March 28, 202022, Lil Wayne, Oct. 13, 201821, Drake, Sept. 18, 202121, Drake, April 15, 201720, Bad Bunny, May 28, 202220, Lil Uzi Vert, March 21, 202020, Drake, May 21, 2016
Meanwhile, Lil Baby has now charted 39 songs on the Hot 100 in 2022 alone, passing YoungBoy Never Broke Again (30) for the most among all acts this year. Lil Uzi Vert holds the record for the most entries in a calendar year among soloists, with 46 in 2020. The Glee Cast holds the overall yearly record, with 80 in 2010.
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Sam Smith and Kim Petras‘ “Unholy” ascends to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, marking each artist’s first leader on the list.
Plus, Lil Baby launches three songs in the Hot 100’s top 10 – “California Breeze”; “Forever,” featuring Fridayy; and “Real Spill” – at Nos. 4, 8 and 10, respectively, upping his count to 13 career top 10s. All three tracks are from his new album It’s Only Me, which bounds in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data. All charts (dated Oct. 29, 2022) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Oct. 25). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
“Unholy,” released on EMI/Capitol Records, tallied 25.3 million streams (up 9%), 21.5 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 40%) and 19,000 downloads sold (up 60%, aided by 69-cent sale-pricing, as well as the release of live and instrumental versions and Disclosure and Acraze remixes) in the Oct. 14-20 tracking week, according to Luminate.
The single tops the Streaming Songs and Digital Song Sales charts for a fourth week each and jumps 44-25 on Radio Songs.
“Unholy” debuted at No. 3 on the Oct. 8-dated Hot 100 and spent its next two weeks each at No. 2 prior to its coronation, as it becomes the 1,143rd No. 1 in the Hot 100’s 64-year history. It was released Sept. 22, after Smith and Petras began teasing the single on TikTok in August, and its official video premiered Sept. 30. As announced Oct. 17, the song will appear on Smith’s forthcoming fourth LP, Gloria, due Jan. 27.
Smith & Petras’ First No. 1 Each
Smith and Petras each top the Hot 100 for the first time, Smith with their 20th entry on the chart and Petras with her first. Smith had previously reached a No. 2 top peak with “Stay With Me” in 2014, among seven total top 10s.
“Unholy” dethrones Steve Lacy’s “Bad Habit” after the latter led the Hot 100 the last three weeks. “I love you, Steve Lacy – I think ‘Bad Habit’ is a great song – but move out of the way!” Petras teased as “Unholy” ranked at No. 2.
First, And ‘Don’t Want to Be the Last’
Smith and Petras are the first publicly non-binary and transgender soloists, respectively, to top the Hot 100.
“I just really don’t want to be the last,” Petras told Billboard. “There’s always been incredible and talented trans artists. I’m just happy that Sam gave me the chance to shine here. It feels like people are finally ready for us to succeed, and that fills me with a lot of joy.”
Smith also recently shared with Billboard, “People understanding us… is just the best feeling in the world. Because there’s nothing bad happening here, it’s all love. No one’s taking anything from anyone. People are just trying to live in their own skin on this earth.”
No. 1 in Streams & Sales for 4th Week
As “Unholy” leads both Streaming Songs and Digital Song Sales for a fourth week each, all from its debut, it’s the first title to top both tallies in its first four weeks on each list since Adele’s “Hello” also led both charts in its first four weeks on each survey in November-December 2015.
Capitol, EMI Commands
Thanks to “Unholy,” Capitol Records notches its first Hot 100 No. 1 since Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved” began a three-week reign on the chart dated Nov. 2, 1019.
Meanwhile, the EMI imprint appears atop the Hot 100 for the first time since EMF’s “Unbelivable” led for a week in July 1991. (EMI also ruled the chart for a week in May 1991 via Roxette’s “Joyride.”) EMI was revived in 2020 and had since released two Hot 100 top 10s prior to “Unholy,” both by Elton John: “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix),” with Dua Lipa (on Rocket/EMI/Mercury/Interscope; No. 7 peak in January), and “Hold Me Closer,” with Britney Spears (EMI/Mercury/Interscope; No. 6 debut and peak to-date, September).
Britain’s Big Year
With Smith born in London, “Unholy” is the third Hot 100 No. 1 this year by a British act in a lead role, following Harry Styles’ “As It Was” and Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves.” (Petras is from Germany.)
2022’s trio of Hot 100 No. 1s by lead British acts marks the most in a year since 1989, when six such songs reigned (Phil Collins’ “Two Hearts” and “Another Day in Paradise”; Mike + The Mechanics’ “The Living Years”; Fine Young Cannibals’ “She Drives Me Crazy” and “Good Thing”; and Simply Red’s “If You Don’t Know Me by Now”). (With the ’80s a strong period for British acts, a single-year record 13 such hits ruled in 1985.)
Rihanna at No. 1
Meanwhile, another Hot 100 chart-topper plays into “Unholy,” as Rihanna receives a shout-out in the song’s lyrics. Rihanna has scored 14 No. 1s, the third-most after The Beatles (20) and Mariah Carey (19).
Lacy’s “Bad Habit” descends to No. 2 on the Hot 100, with 47 million in airplay audience (up 9%), 20.5 million streams (up 2%) and 2,000 sold (down 1%). The track concurrently tops the multi-metric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, Hot Rock Songs and Hot Alternative Songs charts for a ninth week each and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot R&B Songs charts for an eighth frame each. It became the first song to rule all five rankings (dating to October 2012, when Billboard‘s main genre-based song charts adopted the Hot 100’s methodology).
Styles “As It Was” holds at No. 3 on the Hot 100, after 15 weeks at No. 1 – the fourth-longest reign in the chart’s history. Still, the song, which debuted at No. 1 on the April 16-dated list, extends its record for the most weeks, 29, logged in the top three, encompassing its entire run on the chart so far. The track also adds a 10th week at No. 1 on Radio Songs (61.4 million in audience, up 1%).
Lil Baby debuts three songs on the Hot 100 in the top 10: “California Breeze,” “Forever,” featuring Fridayy, and “Real Spill,” at Nos. 4, 8 and 10, respectively. Streaming almost entirely drives the songs’ entrances, as they start at No. 2 (23.2 million streams), No. 3 (19.9 million) and No. 5 (19.1 million), respectively, on Streaming Songs.
Lil Baby notches his 11th, 12th and 13th Hot 100 top 10s, with all three tracks from his album It’s Only Me, which soars in as his third Billboard 200 No. 1, with 216,000 equivalent album units.
Fridayy earns his first Hot 100 top 10, in his second appearance, following his featured turn (with Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z and John Legend) on DJ Khaled’s “God Did” (No. 17, September).
Post Malone’s “I Like You (A Happier Song),” featuring Doja Cat, dips 4-5 on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 3; OneRepublic’s “I Ain’t Worried” keeps at its No. 6 best; and Morgan Wallen’s “You Proof” drops to No. 7 from its No. 5 high, as it leads the multi-metric Hot Country Songs chart for a 10th week.
Elsewhere the Hot 100’s top 10, Nicki Minaj’s “Super Freaky Girl” slips 8-9, after it opened atop the Aug. 27 chart, as it tops the multi-metric Hot Rap Songs tally for a 10th week.
Again, for all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram and all charts (dated Oct. 29), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (Oct. 25).
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
Taylor Swift’s Midnights is already a record-setter. Now, Swift’s new studio album is set to crush the U.K. charts.
Based on sales and streaming data from the first 48 hours in the cycle, Swift could snag the top three spots on the Official U.K. Chart.
Swift’s “Anti-Hero” leads the chart blast and is on track to give the U.S. singing star her second U.K. leader, after 2017’s “Look What You Made Me Do.”
“Anti-Hero” got a push with its official music video, which dropped Friday (Oct. 21), following the release proper of Midnights. Swifties were already tuned-into the track, thanks to the singer previously declaring it “one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written,” adding “I really don’t think I’ve delved this far into my insecurities in this detail before.”
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According to the Official Charts Company, Midnights opener “Lavender Haze” is “not far behind” in second spot on the First Look chart, followed by her Lana Del Rey collaboration “Snow On The Beach,” at No. 3.
Those three songs would represent the limit Midnights and its tracks could impact the singles chart. Based on criteria introduced in 2017, acts can have only their three most popular tracks feature in the Official Singles Chart Top 100, a move intended to prevent mega-stars’ albums from flooding the survey.
“Snow On The Beach,” notes the OCC, could secure Del Rey a fifth U.K. top 10 appearance, and first since 2019 collaboration “Don’t Call Me Angel,” with Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus, which peaked at No. 2.
Midnights bolted out the gate. The set is officially the most-streamed album worldwide in a single day in Spotify history.
If Midnights is crowned on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, when it’s published Friday (Oct. 28), it would be Swift’s ninth leader. Arctic Monkeys, which has swept the U.K. chart with every studio album release, is expected to challenge Swift with their own latest album, The Car.
Meanwhile, two tracks from The Car are set to drive into the U.K. top 20. “I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am” is poised to bow at No. 14, the OCC reports, with “Sculptures of Anything Goes” close behind at No. 15.
The midweek U.K. singles and albums surveys will be revealed late Monday (Oct. 24), local time.