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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.
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.
Stormzy secures a 26th top 10 as “Hide & Seek” (via Def Jam) storms the U.K. singles chart, while Sam Smith and Kim Petras complete a full month atop the survey with their “Unholy” collaboration.
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“Hide & Seek,” lifted from Stormzy’s upcoming third album This Is What I Mean, is new at No. 7, giving the homegrown hip-hop star the week’s top debut. This Is What I Mean is due out Nov. 25.
Meanwhile, Anne-Marie and Aitch’s “Psycho” (Atlantic) collab is on the climb. After chasing a top 5 spot on the midweek survey, some five weeks after its release, “Psycho” finishes the chart week up 9-6.
No less than seven singles make a splash in the U.K. top 40 for the first time, including British rapper Central Cee, whose “One Up” (Central Cee) arrives at No. 17. “One Up” becomes the Londoner’s 14th U.K. top 40 hit.
The 1975 has the best-selling album in the U.K. this week with Being Funny In A Foreign Language (Dirty Hit). The British pop-rock outfit also bring up their 11th and 12th top 40 appearances, with album tracks “Oh Caroline,” new at No. 29 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, and “I’m In Love With You,” at No. 34.
Lil Baby also snags two top 40 debuts on the Official Chart, published Friday (Oct. 21), with “California Breeze” (No. 26) and “Real Spill” (No. 36). Both are lifted from the U.S. rapper’s new album It’s Only Me (via Motown/Quality Control), which bows this week at No. 3, a new career high.
Labelmate Lil Yachty floats into the top tier with “Poland,” new at No. 30, for the U.S. rapper’s third top 40 appearance.
Blink 182 makes an immediate impact with “Edging” (Columbia), the U.S. pop-punk trio’s first recording with Tom DeLonge in a decade. The track, lifted from the reunited band’s forthcoming studio album, debuts at No. 31, for Blink’s 11th top 40 hit.
At the pinnacle of the U.K. chart is Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy” (EMI), which locks-in four-straight weeks at No. 1. The latest crown comes as Smith unveils the tracklist and release date for their fourth studio album, Gloria, due out Jan. 27, 2023.
Finally, two versions of the EDM tune “Miss You” are flying on the chart. Oliver Tree’s cut with Robin Schulz (via Atlantic) blasts 28-9, while German EDM producer Southstar’s “Miss You” (B1/Ministry Of Sound) rises 62-23. Both settle into peak positions.
The 1975 lands at No. 1 on the U.K. albums chart with Being Funny In A Foreign Language, the British alternative rock outfit’s fifth consecutive leader.
Led by Matt Healy, the Cheshire, England band previously led the Official U.K. Chart their self-titled 2013 set, 2016’s I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it, 2018’s A Brief Enquiry Into Online Relationships, and 2020’s Notes On A Conditional Form.
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With their fast start, the 1975 enter the premium class of artists to have taken top spot with all five of their studio albums, drawing level with Ed Sheeran. The leader of that particular tally is Noel Gallagher, whose unbroken streak across Oasis and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds LPs stands at 10.
Being Funny In A Foreign Language also starts at No. 1 on Australia’s all-genres ARIA Chart.
Coming in at No. 2 on the latest U.K. chart, published Oct. 21, is Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Return To The Dream Canteen (Warner Records). It’s the veteran U.S. rock act’s 10th U.K. top 10, and the followup to Unlimited Love, which dropped in April of this year and went to No. 1.
One spot down the chart, Atlanta hip-hop artist Lil Baby bounces to his first solo top 5 appearance with It’s Only Me (Motown/Quality Control), new at No. 3. That effort beats the No. 5 best for his 2021 collaborative project with Lil Durk, The Voice Of The Heroes. It’s Only Me blasts to No. 1 on the latest Billboard 200.
U.S. rock veterans Alter Bridge bag a fifth U.K. top 10 record with Pawns & Kings (Napalm), starting at No. 6, while Big Moon enjoys a first top 10 appearance with Is Everything (Fiction), arriving at No. 9. The English indie-rock four-piece previously impacted the chart with 2020’s Walking Like We Do, peaking at No. 19.
Also debuting on the latest frame is London rapper Rimzee, with his third mixtape Cold Feet (Rimzee), new at No. 11; Britpop-era band the Lightning Seeds with their comeback effort, See You In The Stars (BMG), at No. 16; English folk group the Unthanks with Sorrows Away (Rabblerouser), at No. 26; the Vamps, with their career retrospective 10 Years Of The Vamps (UMR/Virgin), at No. 30; and production wizard Brian Eno with FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE (Universal Music Recording), new at No. 32.
Lil Baby lands his third No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart (dated Oct. 29) as It’s Only Me debuts atop the tally. The set earned 216,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 20, according to Luminate. It also claims the third-largest streaming week for an album in 2022.
Lil Baby previously topped the list with The Voice of the Heroes (a collaborative set with Lil Durk in 2021) and My Turn (2020). The latter finished 2020 as Luminate’s most popular album of that year.
It’s Only Me was announced in early September and marks the rapper’s sixth top 10, all consecutive, on the Billboard 200.
Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ second album of 2022, Return of the Dream Canteen, enters at No. 3; The 1975’s Being Funny in a Foreign Language starts at No. 7 and Bailey Zimmerman’s debut effort Leave the Light On bows at No. 9.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Oct. 29, 2022-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Oct. 25. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Of It’s Only Me’s 216,000 equivalent album units earned, SEA units comprise 209,000 (equaling 288.97 million on-demand officials streams of the set’s 23 tracks — the third-largest streaming week of 2022 for an album), album sales comprise 6,500 and TEA units comprise 500.
Bad Bunny’s former No. 1 Un Verano Sin Ti is a non-mover at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 72,000 equivalent album units earned (down 5%).
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ second album of 2022, Return of the Dream Canteen, debuts at No. 3 with 63,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 56,000 (it’s the top-selling album of the week, debuting at No. 1 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprise 7,000 and TEA units comprise a negligible sum. Return of the Dream Canteen follows the band’s chart-topping Unlimited Love, which debuted atop the list dated April 16.
Notably, on the Top Album Sales chart, the Peppers have scored a pair of No. 1s in 2022 (Unlimited Love and Return of the Dream Canteen) – making it the first group with two No. 1 rock albums on the chart in less than 12 months since 2005. That year, System of a Down doubled-up at No. 1 with Mezmerize and Hypnotize. (The Peppers have logged their two 2022 No. 1s six months and two weeks apart; System of a Down notched theirs in 2005 six months and a week apart.)
Return of the Dream Canteen marks the ninth top 10-charting album for Red Hot Chili Peppers on the Billboard 200. The album was led by the single “Tippa My Tongue,” which hit No. 1 on both the Rock & Alternative Airplay and Alternative Airplay charts. On the latter, it’s the 15th No. 1 for the group, extending its record for the most No. 1s in the chart’s history.
Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping Dangerous: The Double Album is stationary at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 (45,000 equivalent album units; down 2%), The Weeknd’s The Highlights is steady at No. 5 (40,000; down less than 1%) and Beyoncé’s former No. 1 Renaissance falls 3-6 (33,000; down 56%).
The 1975 collects its fourth top 10-charting effort on the Billboard 200 as the band’s new Being Funny in a Foreign Language bows at No. 7 with 32,500 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 19,500, SEA units comprise 13,000 (equaling 16.24 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 11 tracks) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum. The album was preceded by a pair of top 20-charting singles on the Alternative Airplay chart (“Part of the Band” and “I’m in Love With You”).
Harry Styles’ chart-topping Harry’s House falls 6-8 with 32,000 equivalent album units earned (down 5%).
Bailey Zimmerman’s debut effort Leave the Light On starts at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 with 32,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 27,000 (equaling 36.19 million on-demand official streams of the set’s nine tracks), album sales comprise 4,000 and TEA units comprise 1,000.
The singer-songwriter initially broke through on TikTok in 2020 and has already notched a trio of top 10-charting hits on the Hot Country Songs chart, all of which are included on Leave the Light On (“Fall in Love,” “Rock and a Hard Place” and “Where It Ends”). All three tracks have additionally reached the top 25 on the all-genre Streaming Songs chart, and the top five of the Country Streaming Songs chart (with “Rock and a Hard Place” hitting No. 1 in June).
Zach Bryan rounds out the top 10 of the new Billboard 200 as American Heartbreak falls 8-10 with 28,000 equivalent album units earned (up 1%).
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 off to a record-breaking start in the U.S. after its first day in release.
According to initial reports to Luminate, the album, which was released on Oct. 21, has sold more than 800,000 copies in the U.S. through its first day across all available formats (multiple digital album download, CD, vinyl and cassette variants). It has already logged the largest sales week for any album since 2017, is the top-selling album of 2022 year-to-date, and has set a modern-era record for single-week vinyl album sales.
Luminate’s data powers Billboard’s weekly charts.
2022’s Top-Selling Album After One Day: Midnights’ initial sales sum already makes it the biggest-selling album of 2022 year-to-date. Previously, 2022’s top-selling album, year-to-date, was Harry Styles’ Harry’s House, with 620,000 copies sold through the week ending Oct. 13.
It’s assumed that Midnights’ sales figure will increase in the coming days, as the tracking week ends on Thursday, Oct. 27. The set’s final sales number is expected to be announced on Sunday, Oct. 30, along with its expected large debut on the multi-metric Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Nov. 4). If Midnights debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, it will mark Swift’s 11th chart-topping effort.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each units equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
News of initial streaming-and-track-equivalent activity for the album, as provided by Luminate, will reported in the coming days.
Biggest Sales Week for Any Album Since Swift’s reputation in 2017: With just one day of sales, Midnights logs the largest sales week for any album in the U.S. since Swift’s own reputation debuted with 1.216 million copies sold in its first week (ending Nov. 16, 2017).
Reputation was also the last album to sell more than 1 million copies in a single week in the U.S., a feat that has become difficult to achieve in recent years as consumers transition to consuming music through streaming services. (Yearly U.S. album sales decreased in every year from 2012-2020.)
Since Luminate began tracking music sales in 1991, there have only been 23 instances – by 21 different albums – where an album sold at least 1 million copies in a single week. One of those albums, Adele’s 25, sold over 1 million in three separate weeks.
Modern-Era Vinyl Sales Record: Further, Midnights handily breaks the modern-era record for single-week vinyl album sales in the U.S., with over 400,000 copies sold so far. That’s the largest week for an album on vinyl since Luminate began tracking music sales in 1991. It surpasses the previous high, set earlier this year, when Harry’s House debuted with 182,000 vinyl copies (week ending May 26, 2021).
Midnights’ overall initial sales figures include any pre-orders of the album that were fulfilled to the customer through Oct. 21, as well as traditional in-store sales that were generated on the day of release.
Midnights arrived after months of pre-release promotion and pre-orders – and its initial sales figure is bolstered by an array of available versions and variants of the album.
Midnights is available to purchase in a standard digital album (both clean and explicit), an iTunes-exclusive version with a bonus track (clean and explicit), four standard CD editions (each with a different cover, both clean and explicit), four vinyl LP editions (each with a different cover and colored vinyl) and a cassette tape.
Target is also selling an exclusive “Lavender” edition of the album on CD and colored-vinyl LP, with the CD boasting three bonus tracks.
In addition, in the weeks leading up to release, Swift’s webstore sold pre-orders of signed copies of the four standard CD albums and the four standard vinyl LPs. Midnights is also available in a deluxe boxed set with a CD edition of the album and a Swift-branded T-shirt, exclusively for Capital One cardholders.
Three hours after Midnights arrived, Swift issued a deluxe edition of the album with seven bonus songs (20 tracks total) to streaming services and digital retailers (with the later including a digital liner notes booklet).
Taylor Swift has been a regular fixture at the top of the Billboard 200 since 2008, when she notched her first No. 1 album with Fearless. Since then, she’s continued to break records, rack up No. 1s — 10 so far — and score eye-popping first-week unit totals.
While it’s difficult to compare debut-week performances of any single artist’s albums over time — owed to changes in market conditions and music consumption patterns — it’s enlightening to take a look back at Swift’s last five charted releases, from 2019’s Lover through 2021’s Red [Taylor’s Version], and at what fueled their debuts on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
The marketing and promotion techniques applied to those five releases likely informed the rollout plan of Swift’s 10th studio album, Midnights, which arrived Friday (Oct. 21). It bowed on streaming services and via retailers in a plethora of options: as a digital album download, multiple CD and vinyl LP variants and a cassette tape.
Midnights is Swift’s first studio album since Evermore, in 2020. Since then, she released two re-recorded albums, Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version), both in 2021. Five months prior Evermore, she released its sister project, Folklore, and in 2019, Lover.
Midnights arrives after months of pre-release promotion and pre-orders — but no music from the 13-track album was released until the album dropped in full. The set’s “Anti-Hero” garnered an official music video on Oct. 21 and is being promoted as its lead radio single. The album is available to purchase in a standard digital album (both clean and explicit), an iTunes-exclusive version with a bonus track (clean and explicit), four standard CD editions (each with a different cover, both clean and explicit), four vinyl LP editions (each with a different cover and colored vinyl) and a cassette tape.
Target also sold an exclusive “Lavender” edition of the album on CD and colored-vinyl LP, with the CD boasting three bonus tracks.
In addition, in the weeks leading up to release, Swift’s webstore sold pre-orders of signed copies of the four standard CD albums and the four standard vinyl LPs. Midnights was also available in deluxe boxed set with a CD edition of the album and a Swift-branded T-shirt, exclusively for Capital One cardholders.
Three hours after Midnights arrived, Swift issued a deluxe edition of the album with seven bonus songs (20 tracks total) to streaming services and digital retailers (with the latter including a digital liner notes booklet).
What else might Swift have up her sleeve during release week? As with most things in Swiftworld — only she knows for sure until it’s announced. What we do know — thanks to her sharing via social media – is that she’s slated to make an appearance on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday (Oct. 24) and a second music video from the album will arrive on Tuesday (Oct. 25). Her social media calendar has also teased possible promotions or activations with Target on Saturday (Oct. 22) and independent record stores on Sunday.
Here’s a recap of the debut-week performances of Swift’s last five albums before Midnights and some of the marketing and promotional activations that fueled their arrivals on the chart.
Glass Animals set a new record on the Billboard Hot 100 this week thanks to their smash single “Heat Waves,” and lead singer Dave Bayley gave Billboard his exclusive reaction via social media.
“I just found out some amazing news, that ‘Heat Waves’ has broken the record for the longest-running Hot 100 single of all time, and I’m a little bit speechless,” the frontman said in a video posted to Billboard‘s Instagram. “But I wanted to make a little video just to say thank you so, so much for making that happen.
“I think a lot of you probably know that when I wrote this song, I was writing about someone who I loved very much and miss very much, and it’s particularly beautiful for that reason.” he continued. “To see the song spread so much love and connection around the world, and you all made that happen. So thank you. And thank you to everyone who’s helped the song reach so many people. It really has meant so much over the last couple of years, I can’t even begin to explain it.”
Before signing off with “lots of love, bye-bye for now,” Bayley also teased that he’s just about ready to start working on new music to finally follow the band’s 2020 album Dreamland.
With its historic chart accomplishment at 91 weeks and counting, “Heat Waves” surpassed The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights,” which had previously spent 90 weeks on the Hot 100. Other long-running singles have included Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive” (87 weeks), AWOLNATION’s “Sail” (79 weeks), Dua Lipa’s “Levitating” (77 weeks) and more.
Watch Bayley express his disbelief and gratitude at the continuing success of “Heat Waves” below.
