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What were some of the most notable trends among No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart during 2024? Hit Songs Deconstructed, which provides compositional analytics for top 10 Hot 100 hits, has released its 2024 No. 1 Hit Focus report.
Here are three takeaways from Hit Songs Deconstructed’s latest in-depth research.
Hip-Hop/Rap Rose
Hot 100 No. 1s were represented by six primary genres in 2024, according to Hit Songs Deconstructed. Hip-hop/rap led for the first time since 2018 with a 38% share. Country followed at a one-quarter take and pop rounded out the top three with just under a one-fifth share.
The report also notes that hip-hop/rap’s share of Hot 100 No. 1s more than doubled from 2023 to 2024. Kendrick Lamar led the genre with two chart-toppers: “Not Like Us” and “Squabble Up.”
Meanwhile, country remained strong among Hot 100 No. 1s last year as a primary genre. Notes Hit Songs Deconstructed: “After rising from 0% to 24% in 2023, country’s share of No. 1s held steady in 2024 with one-quarter of songs.” Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” was the longest-leading such smash in 2024, running up a record-tying 19 weeks at No. 1.
‘80s in the ‘20s
Along with six primary genres, “17 diverse subgenres and influences shaped the sound and vibe of 2024’s No. 1 hits” on the Hot 100, according to Hit Songs Deconstructed’s report. “Pop’s influence was particularly prominent, appearing in three-quarter of songs. Hip-hop/rap followed at 38% and retro influences in general rounded out the top three at 38%.”
Notably, “The 1980s continued to be the retro decade of choice,” per Hit Songs Deconstructed’s findings about subgenres’ influences on Hot 100 No. 1s, heard in such as hits as “Squabble Up,” Taylor Swift’s “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone, and Ariana Grande’s “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love).”
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Also among subgenres’ influences on Hot 100 No. 1s in 2024, “Country’s rose to nearly one-third of songs in 2024,” per Hit Songs Deconstructed. “All stemmed from the country primary genre except for Sabrina Carpenter’s country-influenced pop smash ‘Please Please Please.’”
Plus, dance/club’s subgenre influence “rose slightly to one-quarter of songs” atop the Hot 100 in 2024. Among them: Jack Harlow’s “Lovin on Me,” Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” and Grande’s “We Can’t Be Friends” and “Yes, And?”
More Choruses, But Later & Longer No. 1s
“The average amount of time it takes for No. 1 hits to get to the first chorus has been increasing since 2021, rising from 33 seconds to 45 seconds in 2024,” Hit Songs Deconstructed reports.
The 0:40-0:59 range for a first chorus tripled from 18% of Hot 100 No. 1s in 2023 to 44% in 2024. Plus, a quarter of choruses in No. 1s occurred after the 1-minute mark, spanning genres from R&B/hip-hop (Lamar’s “Not Like Us” and Future, Metro Boomin and Lamar’s “Like That”) to rock (Hozier’s “Too Sweet”) and dance/club (Grande’s “Yes, And?”)
Also noteworthy, “The majority of No. 1s – 69% – had three choruses in their framework” in 2024, per Hit Songs Deconstructed. That share has more than tripled from 2022 (31%). Conversely, songs with two choruses have fallen from 46% to 29% to 19% among Hot 100 leaders since 2022.
Overall, Hit Songs Deconstructed notes, the average length of 2024’s Hot 100 No. 1 was 3:30, eight seconds longer than the 2023 average. The 4-minute-plus range has “generally been on the rise since 2019, increasing from 0% to 25% of songs. Its representatives were all hip-hop/rap songs except for Hozier’s “Too Sweet.’ ”
Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip.
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This week: The Grammys make big winners on streaming out of both long-established legends and rising stars, while Fetty Wap scores his biggest hit in a decade with a song from a decade ago and Severance dips its toes into big rock synchs.
Biggest Grammys Gainers: ‘Cowboy Carter,’ ‘Von Dutch’ and All Things Doechii
The 67th Annual Grammy Awards ended with history being made: Beyoncé at long last won the album of the year award, as her country crossover Cowboy Carter finally earned the most Grammy-nominated and Grammy-winning artist in history the top prize of the ceremony. The magnitude of that victory is still being put into context days later, but one thing was for certain: Cowboy Carter was going to see a major uptick in streaming activity immediately after the Grammys, with unfamiliar viewers perusing the album and longtime fans revisiting it nearly a year after its release.
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On Jan. 26, the Monday before the Grammys, Cowboy Carter earned 1.07 million U.S. on-demand audio streams, according to Luminate. On the Monday after the Grammys (Feb. 3), however, that daily total shot to 7.50 million — a 595% increase. As for the rest of the Big Four, Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” was up 74% in daily streams (from 1.37 million on Jan. 26 to 2.4 million on Feb. 3) following its wins for record of the year and song of the year, while Chappell Roan’s catalog rose 50% (from 5.96 million streams on Jan. 26 to 8.99 million streams on Feb. 3) thanks in part to her best new artist victory.
Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” — which received a brightly colored, rodeo clown-filled performance showcase — naturally earned an even bigger bump, rising 109% (851,000 daily streams to 1.77 million) during that span. Other notable gainers thanks to performances included Charli XCX’s “Von Dutch,” which zoomed from 183,000 daily streams to 423,000 (up 130%) following her raucous performance to close out the ceremony; Raye’s “Oscar Winning Tears,” which jumped from 216,000 daily streams to 334,000 (up 54%) thanks to the British artist’s vocal pyrotechnics, and Doechii’s eye-popping medley, which constituted the best performance of the ceremony, helped “Catfish” leap from 210,000 daily streams to 658,000 (up 213%) and “Denial is a River” move from 1.08 million daily streams to 2.08 million (up 93%).
In addition to her performance, Doechii also delivered a moving acceptance speech following her win for best rap album with Alligator Bites Never Heal — a breakthrough moment, which helped her entire catalog soar from 2.84 million daily streams to 8.01 million (up 182%). – JASON LIPSHUTZ
Fetty Wap Is Hot ‘Again’ Thanks to Slightly Confusing Viral Trend
10 years after the New Jersey rapper took the world by storm with hits like “Trap Queen,” “My Way” and “679,” Fetty Wap is hot again – and the conversation is all around his aptly titled 2015 Billboard Hot 100 top 40 hit “Again” (No. 33).
Centered around the phrase “blasting Fetty Wap on the JBL speaker,” the joke of the meme is playing he rapper’s songs at particularly inappropriate moments via the JBL. At the top of the new year (Jan. 9), one user used “Again” in a video captioned “How do you think the pilgrims would react if I pulled up to the Mayflower with my JBL speaker and introduced them to Fetty Wap?”; that post currently has over 3.6 million views and a reply from the official History Channel TikTok account. More history–minded posts followed, and near the end of the month (Jan. 24), the trend evolved past historical settings. One user used the official “Again” sound to make a World War III quip, while another used it to make a joke about blasting the track at a friend’s funeral.
According to Luminate, “Again” earned over 4.77 million official on-demand U.S. streams last week (Jan. 24-30). That’s a 265% increase in streaming activity from the 1.3 millin streams it pulled the week prior (Jan. 17-23). Last weekend (Jan. 24-27), the song posted a 387% jump to 6.69 million streams versus the 1.37 million it logged the weekend prior (Jan. 31-Feb. 3). Currently, the official “Again” sound boasts over 250,000 posts. Fetty Wap may unfortunately still be incarcerated, but clearly a comeback isn’t entirely out of the question. — KYLE DENIS
The Who and Stone Roses Jams Get ‘Severance’ Bump
The first season and a quarter of Apple TV’s sci-fi workplace drama Severance has been relatively light on high-profile synchs – but thank Kier, the show is starting to break out the big guns midway through its second season. The third episode of Season Two, “Who Is Alive?,” is bookended with a pair of songs used in big spots: The Stone Roses’ mid-’90s alt-rock hit “Love Spreads” soundtracks a road journey for the (maybe?) villainous Ms. Cobel (Patricia Arquette) to start the show, while the ep ends with The Who’s early-’80s AOR staple “Eminence Front” punctuating a breakthrough moment for protagonist Mark S (Adam Scott).
The synchs haven’t resulted in Stranger Things-sized gains yet for the songs in question, but both saw big bumps following their S2E03 appearance in the hit show. “Love Spreads” racked up a combined 33,000 U.S. on-demand audio streams over the first four days of this tracking week – with the episode premiering on the first day, Friday (Feb. 20) – a gain of 78% over the same period the week prior, according to Luminate. “Eminence Front” was also up 27% to 326,000 over the same time span, while the two songs combined to sell nearly 400 copies after selling under 100 the week before. If Severance keeps up with the inspired synch choices, maybe it’ll be producing legitimately viral hits by the time Mark completes the Cold Harbor project. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Yung Bredda Heats Up the Winter with Soca Smash
Between Machel Monatano’s historic NPR Tiny desk set and Yung Bredda’s infectious new hit, soca is having a beautiful start to 2025. Trinidadian soca star Yung Bredda’s “The Greatest Bend Over” — a sweet ode to the woman with “di wickedest bend over” — arrived late last year on Full Blown’s “Big Links” riddim (Dec. 2). The song has quickly become one of the most dominant current hits across the Caribbean with carnival season still to come. Soca is a bit more of a nice genre in the U.S., but “The Greatest Bend Over” is still finding some traction.
During the period of Dec. 13-19, Yung Bredda’s track earned just over 35,000 official on-demand U.S. streams. A little over a month later (Jan. 24-30), the song’s streaming exploded by a whopping 940% to over 367,000 streams. On TikTok, the song’s official sound plays in over 34,400 posts – a number that’s sure to grow as the song continues to enchant different parts of the globe.
Vybz Kartel’s comeback may be giving dancehall all the airtime, but pay attention to the soca scene too! — KD
It’s been only two weeks since Karol G entered the record books with an unmatched 26 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart with “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido.” Now, the Colombian superstar is setting yet another new record over on the Tropical Airplay chart (dated Feb. 8).
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“Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido” adds a 30th week at No. 1 on the tropical radio ranking, marking the most weeks atop 30-year-old chart for any song.
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“Si Antes,” released June 21, 2024 via Bichota/Interscope/ICLG, reaches the record despite a 7% decline in audience impressions; that’s 8.8 million earned in the U.S. during the tracking week of Jan. 24-30, according to Luminate.
With 30 weeks at No. 1, Karol ends a historic run for Prince Royce, who previously commanded the chart for 29 weeks when “Carita De Inocente” capped its reign on the October 17, 2020-dated ranking.
As “Si Antes” resets the longest-leading run on Tropical Airplay, here’s a review of the songs with the most weeks atop, since the chart launched in October 1994.
Weeks at No. 1, Title, Artist, Peak Date30, “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido,” Karol G, July 20, 202429, “Carita de Inocente,” Prince Royce, March 28, 202022, “De Vuelta Pa’ La Vuelta,” Daddy Yankee & Marc Anthony, Jan. 2, 202118, “Inmortal,” Aventura, April 20, 201918, “Danza Kuduro,” Don Omar & Lucenzo, Nov. 13, 201015, “Bailando Bachata,” Chayanne, August 5, 202315, “La Mejor Versión de Mi,” Natti Natasha & Romeo Santos, Oct. 26, 201915, “Centavito,” Romeo Santos, Oct. 13, 201815, “Dile Al Amor,” Aventura, Jan. 2, 201015, “Perdidos,” Monchy & Alexandra, Nov. 6, 2004
Elsewhere, “Si Antes” cedes the throne to Bad Bunny’s “El Clúb” on the overall Latin Airplay chart, after a record-extending 27 weeks at No. 1.
Singer-songwriter Crowder ascends to No. 1 on Billboard’s Christian AC Airplay chart (dated Feb. 8) with “Somebody Prayed.” During the Jan. 24-30 tracking week, the single advanced by 3% in plays among the ranking’s reporting panel of stations, according to Luminate. Meanwhile, on the genre’s overall Christian Airplay chart, “Somebody Prayed” holds at its No. […]
Teddy Swims scores his first No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated Feb. 8) as his latest album, I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2) debuts atop the list with 26,000 sold in the U.S. in the week ending Jan. 30, according to Luminate. That marks Swims’ best sales week yet and first top 10, following three previous entries.
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Also shaking up the top 10: Kane Brown, FKA twigs and Central Cee all see their latest albums debut in the region, while blink-182’s chart-topping One More Time… reenters at No. 4 after a deluxe reissue.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album (TEA) units and streaming equivalent album (SEA) units.
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Of Swims’ first-week sales, physical purchases comprise 19,000 (with 12,000 on CD and 7,000 on vinyl) and digital download purchases comprise 7,000. The set’s sales were bolstered by its availability across eight vinyl variants (including a signed edition), and two CD variants (including a signed edition). The effort also debuts at No. 1 on the Vinyl Albums chart, as well as No. 5 on the Indie Store Album Sales chart.
Kane Brown lands his fifth top 10-charting effort on Top Album Sales as The High Road drives in at No. 2 with 19,000 sold in its first week. The album’s first-week sales were aided by its availability across nine vinyl variants (including a signed edition), four CD variants (including a signed edition), and three digital download variants (a standard version, plus two with alternative cover art). On the Vinyl Albums chart, the set enters at No. 9.
FKA twigs notches her biggest sales week ever and first top 10, as Eusexua enters at No. 3 on Top Album Sales with nearly 12,500 sold. It also launches at No. 3 on Vinyl Albums and No. 2 on Indie Store Album Sales. The album’s opening-week sales were aided by its availability across six vinyl variants, signed and unsigned CDs, a cassette and two digital download variants (one an artist webstore exclusive with a bonus track).
Blink-182’s chart-topping One More Time… reenters Top Album Sales at No. 4 with a little over 11,000 sold (up 9,089%), following the set’s deluxe reissue on two vinyl variants and CD with additional bonus tracks. U.K. rapper Central Cee makes his Top Album Sales chart debut with the No. 5 entry of his new studio album Can’t Rush Greatness (nearly 10,000 sold).
Mac Miller’s Balloonerism falls 1-6 in its second week on Top Album Sales (9,000; down 78%), the Wicked film soundtrack dips 3-7 (nearly 9,000; down 8%), Stray Kids’ chart-topping HOP falls 4-8 (just over 8,000; down 9%), Gracie Abrams’ The Secret of Us falls 2-9 (8,000; down 62%) and Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess falls 5-10 (7,000; down 11%).
Fresh off a Grammy sweep for “Not Like Us,” which won all five of its nominations, Kendrick Lamar piles on another win as his single “TV Off,” featuring Lefty Gunplay, darts to No. 1 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Airplay chart dated Feb. 8. The track jumps from No. 3 to crown the list after a 12% surge in plays that made it the most-played tune on U.S. panel-contributing monitored rhythmic radio stations in the tracking week of Jan. 24 – 30, according to Luminate.
“TV Off” detaches Tyler, The Creator’s “Sticky,” featuring GloRilla, Sexyy Red and Lil Wayne, from the Rhythmic Airplay summit after the latter’s one week in charge. Last week’s champ drops to No. 2 after a 2% decline in plays for the week.
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With “TV Off,” Kendrick Lamar achieves his eighth Rhythmic Airplay No. 1 and second of 2025, after “Squabble Up” ruled for two weeks in January. Here’s the updated review of his chart-topping collection on the radio ranking:
“Humble.,” three weeks at No. 1, beginning June 6, 2017“Loyalty.,” featuring Rihanna one, Sept. 30, 2017“Love.,” featuring Zacari, one, Dec. 30, 2017“Pray for Me,” with The Weeknd, two, April 18, 2018“Like That,” with Future and Metro Boomin, four, May 18, 2024“Not Like Us,” 12, June 15, 2024“Squabble Up,” two, Jan. 18, 2025“TV Off,” featuring Lefty Gunplay, one, Feb. 8, 2025
Featured artist Lefty Gunplay earns his first Rhythmic Airplay No. 1 through his maiden entry on the chart. The rapper is one of several California-bred rappers with supporting spots on GNX, Lamar’s 2024 album that includes “TV Off” and “Squabble Up.”
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Beyond the No. 1 title, Kendrick Lamar claims plenty more prime real estate on Rhythmic Airplay. The previous champ “Squabble Up” slides 2-3, while “Luther,” a collaboration with SZA, leaps 9-4 with a 12% improvement in plays. With the trio, Lamar is the first act — in a lead role — to have three of the top five concurrently on the Rhythmic Airplay chart. In total, five acts, including Lamar this week, have had three of the top five at the same time, but the other four – Ashanti, 50 Cent, T-Pain and Drake – all needed a combination of songs in both lead and featured billings.
Moreover, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Lamar enjoys a fourth appearance in the week’s top 10 – for a second week in a row – with a different collaboration with SZA, “30 for 30,” which repeats at its No. 10 peak. A week ago, he became the fifth act to have four of the top 10 titles concurrently, and the first ever with four of the top 10 in a lead role. The only other acts to claim four of the top 10 at the same time are 50 Cent, T-Pain, Lil Wayne and Drake.
While “TV Off,” “Squabble Up” and “Luther” all appear on Lamar’s GNX, “30 for 30” is from SZA’s SOS Deluxe: LANA edition of her chart-topping album.
Elsewhere, “TV Off” holds at its No. 10 best on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart (up 3% in weekly plays) and slides 2-3 from its peak on Rap Airplay, though it added 7% in weekly audience listenership. On the all-genre Radio Songs chart, “TV Off” lands a third nonconsecutive week at its No. 30 high, with an 8% boost to 21 million audience impressions across all formats.
Bad Bunny adds his 26th No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart with “El Clúb,” which lifts 2-1 to lead the Feb. 8-dated ranking. It’s the first song from Debí Tirar Más Fotos to top the overall radio ranking. “El Clúb” reigns after a 5% gain in audience impressions, to 9.2 million, earned in the […]
After being one of the most frequent visitors to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 around the turn of the 2020s, Travis Scott is back there for the first time in nearly half a decade this week with his new single “4×4.”
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The new single, whose net proceeds Scott announced will benefit Direct Relief’s California Wildfire Response Fund, debuts atop the Hot 100 this week, making for Scott’s fifth career No. 1 on the chart. It’s also the first rap single to top the chart in 2025, following four weeks of Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars’ ‘Die With a Smile” reigning.
How did “4×4” get over the top on the chart? And what does the song tell us about where he might go next as an artist? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.
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1. Though Travis Scott topped the Hot 100 three times at the turn of the decade, this is his first time back to No. 1 since. On a scale from 1-10, how big a deal is “4×4” debuting at No. 1 for him?
Kyle Denis: Probably a 6? We’ve seen this film before with Travis seemingly coming out of nowhere to debut atop the Hot 100 with a boatload of pure sales. If anything, he’s probably a bit annoyed that his true smashes and signature songs – like “Goosebumps” or “Fein” — keep missing the top spot in favor of loosies like this one.
Carl Lamarre: 8.5. Whenever an artist of Travis’ caliber lands a No. 1 song, it’s a noteworthy achievement, regardless of the circumstances. Travis, who’s evolved into a hip-hop supernova since 2018’s Astroworld, sees anything less than a chart-topping single or album as a flop. Despite his busy tour schedule, various business ventures, and preparation for his Coachella performance, it’s a relief for Team Travis to know that musically, he’s still in high demand, even after a two-year hiatus since Utopia.
Jason Lipshutz: Fittingly, a 4. Travis Scott carries the distinction of charting higher with his minor hits than with most of his signature songs — think of how “The Scotts” and “Franchise” brought him to the top of the Hot 100, for instance, while “Goosebumps” and “FE!N” did not. We’ll see how “4×4” continues to perform on the Hot 100, but considering that this is a standalone single from an artist with multiple No. 1 hits whose commercial power was never in doubt, this chart-topping debut represents another feather in Scott’s cap rather than a monumental shift in mainstream appeal.
Michael Saponara: 4. I don’t think he necessarily needed any validation, but it has been over four years since his last No. 1 hit and “4×4” is the first since the Astroworld Festival tragedy. We’ll see if it infiltrates radio and can last on the charts heading into his Coachella performance in April.
Andrew Unterberger: Yeah it’s a 5 at most. Never a bad thing to have another No. 1 on the roster but what are the chances this song is actually better-remembered or more meaningful to Travis’ catalog than “FE!N” (Hot 100 peak: No. 5) five years from now? Not particularly high I’d say.
2. What do you see as being the biggest factor in “4×4” getting over the top where his other singles of recent years have generally fallen short?
Kyle Denis: Travis has been teasing this song for months, so there was fervent anticipation across his fanbase. Snippets have been circulating since last September, and another teaser dropped during the Oct. 18 episode of WWE SmackDown. Two weeks later (Oct. 30), Scott performed the song at the last show of his $209 million-grossing Circus Maximus tour, and then again during his headlining set at Rolling Loud Miami’s tenth anniversary (Dec. 14). At the top of the new year (Jan. 6), Scott appeared in-person at WWE Raw and confirmed that “4×4” would be the program’s official opening theme. Later that month (Jan. 20), he played the song at the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship halftime show, sharing a link to pre-save the song shortly after.
We’re already well acquainted with the buying power of Scott’s fanbase (this is also his first solo post-Utopia release), but with the “4×4” release, he also explicitly courted fans across two sports that are having major moments in American culture right now. Football, of course, is always the talk of the town, but between last Christmas’ Beyoncé Bowl, Kendrick Lamar’s forthcoming halftime show, and the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce of it all, it’s smart to align yourself with American football in some way. Similarly, WWE Raw’s move to Netflix was a milestone moment for the evolution of live events and on-demand streaming services. Most importantly, sports fans put their money where their mouths are; they buy game tickets, jerseys, caps, etc. Selling pure copies of music feels like a Herculean task nowadays, but Travis Scott has cracked several codes.
Carl Lamarre: Quite frankly, the record is just straight heat. Travis hasn’t had a bulletproof single since “Sicko Mode,” and that song itself is forever entrenched in the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame when speaking of hits. So, understandably, it’s hard to topple that kind of success, knowing how much of an explosion “Sicko” made circa 2018. As for “4×4”, the buzz was created before the song’s release. He teased the initial record during his campaign with WWE months back, then performed the song at halftime for the College Football Playoff Championship game before ultimately unleashing the video. By creating a feverishly high demand for the song, Travis’ supporters came in droves when it was time to cheer on La Flame.
Jason Lipshutz: Fan excitement. Sure, it’s easy to point to the oversized sales numbers that helped “4×4” top the Hot 100 in the same way that Days Before Rodeo was able to top the Billboard 200 last year, but Scott boasts the rabid base to justify those numbers and push more minor projects to the top of the chart. And while “4×4” isn’t functioning like a durable hit on streaming services yet, it’s also Scott’s first solo single since 2023, and one that fans feverishly wanted to be officially released for months. This Hot 100 debut doesn’t happen without that type of widespread listenership.
Michael Saponara: Hype. He’s been teasing “4×4” for a while in multiple forums, whether that be his DJ sets or a performance debut atop Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium as part of the College Football Playoff National Championship halftime show. The Tay Keith-produced track also made noise in the wrestling world while serving as the official theme song of Raw when it made the jump to Netflix at the top of 2025.
Andrew Unterberger: Gotta be the charity element. The hype helped, of course, but the sales number this song posted means fans really voted for this one with their wallets — and if they knew their funds were going to a cause as meaningful as L.A. fire relief, I’m sure that swayed a lot who were on the fence about whether or not they really needed to purchase the physical edition.
3. Of his three 2019-20 No. 1s, the only one that showed particular chart endurance was “Highest in the Room.” Do you see “4×4” as being that type of hit, or more of a quick-fader like “The Scotts” or “Franchise?
Kyle Denis: I anticipate it ending up somewhere in between. With the WWE Raw assists, I see “4×4” having more staying power than “The Scotts,” but it’s also not Travis’ best effort as far as standalone singles go… so I wouldn’t expect it to truly give “Highest” a run for its money chart-wise.
Carl Lamarre: Travis’ partnership with the WWE should help keep the song moving, as the track is now the theme song for Monday Night Raw. For my hip-hop and wrestling enthusiasts, that’s a big deal for Team Travis, as the latest Netflix deal between WWE and the streaming conglomerate means a bigger and newer audience for both parties. So, because of that, and seeing how he’s taken the record into different sectors, like the wrestling world and the college football arena, I’ll give it up the leg up over “Franchise” and “The Scotts” when speaking of staying power.
Jason Lipshutz: I’m guessing it will be somewhere in between — not a months-long hit, but not a forgotten piece of chart trivia, either. “4×4” sounds designed for live-show enormity, its orchestral thump and gargantuan drums slotting in nicely during the maximalist stretch on his set list. That will help “4×4” endure in fans’ minds, regardless of how many weeks the song logs on the Hot 100.
Michael Saponara: If this was a scale, I’d be leaning more toward the “Highest in the Room” side of things, but I don’t think it will match the longevity of “Highest” – that’s one of Trav’s signature tracks. However, “4×4” should have more legs than “The Scotts” or the gaudy “Franchise,” which burned bright and burned quickly during the COVID-19 pandemic when Scott’s rage was blanketed.
Andrew Unterberger: The song is already out of the top 50 on both Spotify’s Daily Top Songs USA and Apple Music’s real-time chart, so I’m guessing it’s gonna be more of a quick fader.
4. Do you think “4×4” points to any particular new evolution within Travis Scott’s sound or style for where he may go next, post-Utopia? Or is it more likely just a one-off not meant to signal much about his future direction?
Kyle Denis: I get one-off vibes from this. It’s a bit weak lyrically, but I don’t mind how the production feels like an offshoot of his Astroworld soundscape. He made some really nice choices with the background vocals too.
Carl Lamarre: This is a one-off situation for Travis. The guy is always working and experimenting. He’s still savoring Utopia’s wins and the impact it created over the last two years after its release. Consider this his victory lap, especially since he’s now a stadium-level artist, courtesy of his fans.
Jason Lipshutz: The latter. There’s no indication that “4×4” precedes a new Travis Scott project, and sonically, the song fits neatly into what he was accomplishing with Utopia. Considering the five-year gap between Astroworld and Utopia, we may be a ways away from a proper new Scott album and the stylistic shift that it may signify, so “4×4” likely represents a placeholder until that new era comes.
Michael Saponara: This feels like more of a one-off to set the tone for the year, although I wish it was a jetsetter into La Flame’s next era. I’d expect that to come around Coachella. The marching band horns aspect is experimental for Trav’s sound – I don’t think we’ve heard him utilize that mixed in with his trap drums on a track before.
Andrew Unterberger: I could see it leading to a more lush, string-based sound on his next album — the success of Bryson Tiller’s “Whatever She Wants” and 21 Savage’s “Redrum” set the table for that already a little bit last year. I hope so, it’s a good sound for Travis.
5. Travis Scott is the first rapper to top the Hot 100 in 2025 — who do you predict will be the second?
Kyle Denis: Probably Kendrick with whatever song gets the biggest boost from his Super Bowl halftime show. If not him… it could very well be Drake, ironically; it’s not implausible that one of the songs from his forthcoming Valentine’s Day joint album with Partynextdoor sneaks a week atop the Hot 100 when the full set drops on Feb. 14.
Carl Lamarre: Dare I say: Drizzy Drake Rogers. Think about it. New album with PND next week? All eyes are on him after Kendrick’s Grammy sweep and upcoming Super Bowl appearance. This is a lay-up for him.
Jason Lipshutz: Kendrick Lamar, particularly if “Luther” receives a prime slot in the Super Bowl halftime show. Due to the Christmas music onslaught beginning in November, “Squabble Up” remains the only GNX song to top the Hot 100. That feels wrong! And I believe it won’t be the case for much longer.
Michael Saponara: PUT THAT GELO ON!
Andrew Unterberger: How fun is it that the answer here is almost certainly either Drake or Kendrick Lamar? (Or maybe not that fun, depending.)
FKA Twigs scores her fourth career No. 1 album on Billboard’s Top Dance Albums chart (dated Feb. 8), thanks to her new LP Eusexua.
Released Jan. 24 via Young/Atlantic/AG, the album opens with 21,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Jan. 30 in the U.S., according to Luminate. Of that sum, 12,000 were in pure sales, generating a No. 3 debut on Top Album Sales. Vinyl sales were particularly high for the album — 7,000 — helping the album also debut at No. 3 on Vinyl Albums.
FKA Twigs previously led Top Dance Albums with LP1 in 2014, Magdalene in 2019 and Caprisongs in 2022.
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Her four No. 1s tie her with Aphex Twin, Lindsey Stirling, M.I.A., Marshmello and Pet Shop Boys for the fifth-most No. 1s in the 24-year history of Top Dance Albums, after only Lady Gaga and Louie DeVito (seven each), and Daft Punk and Chainsmokers (six each).
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Eusexua, notably, ends the reign of Charli XCX’s Brat on Top Dance Albums. Brat spent 33 weeks at No. 1 — encompassing the entirety of its chart run — and dips to No. 2 with 16,000 units.
Eusexua concurrently starts at No. 24 on the Billboard 200, becoming the highest charting album of FKA Twigs’ career.
She also debuts five songs from the album on Billboard’s recently launched Hot Dance/Pop Songs chart: “Childlike Things” featuring North West (No. 6), “Striptease” (No. 9), “Eusexua” (No. 10), “Girl Feels Good” (No. 12) and “Perfect Stranger” (No. 15).
Billboard launched the 15-position Hot Dance/Pop Songs chart beginning on the Jan. 18-dated rankings. The chart ranks the most popular current dance/pop songs, featuring titles with dance-centric vocals, melody and hooks, by artists not traditionally rooted in the dance/electronic genre. That same week, the publication revamped its Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. The 25-position list ranks the most popular current dance/electronic songs, billed to DJs, producers and long-standing core artists in the dance/electronic genre, with an emphasis on electronic-based production.
On Monday morning (Feb. 3), Beyoncé announced details for her Cowboy Carter Tour. Following shortly after 2023’s record-breaking Renaissance World Tour, she could add another $300 million to her career Boxscore total.
Like most weeks, it’s a good week to be Beyoncé. Last night, she won her record-extending 33rd, 34th and 35th Grammys, including album of the year for Cowboy Carter. But one night earlier, she teased a 2025 tour for her genre-busting album, and the morning after, she confirmed it with dates and venues.
Cowboy Carter Tour will take Beyoncé across the U.S. and over to Europe, just like the routing for the Renaissance World Tour. But while her 2023 trek took a relatively traditional route through 14 European cities and then another 25 in North America, her upcoming schedule is consolidated into a series of multi-night stops in major markets.
First, the tour will begin with four shows at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., less than a half-hour drive from downtown Los Angeles. Then, two nights in Chicago and four in New Jersey (New York market). Next, Beyoncé will fly to London for four shows and to Paris for two. Finally, she’ll return Stateside for double-headers in Houston, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta.
With an initial routing of 22 shows, the Cowboy Carter Tour will be Beyoncé’s briefest solo headline tour yet, but that doesn’t mean it won’t register mammoth grosses. Using the same average ticket prices and per-show attendance from each city’s stop on the Renaissance World Tour, the 2025 trek would sprint to a finish of $294.3 million and almost 1.2 million tickets. Just two years removed from her last tour, a 4% inflation bump would bring her upcoming stint to $306 million.
But just as the initial announcement for the Renaissance World Tour grew from 41 shows to a final count of 56, additional dates for Cowboy Carter Tour could push its final gross further beyond the $300 million mark. And like its predecessor, its actual impact will go far beyond standard ticket sales.
By playing 22 shows in just eight markets over two and a half months, Cowboy Carter Tour reframes Beyoncé’s touring schedule and capitalizes on some of the frenzied energy that followed the Renaissance World Tour. During that trek, it was well–documented that fans were traversing across city, state and country lines, turning Renaissance shows into festival-style destinations. From travel and lodging to wardrobe and entertainment, the tour boosted local economies beyond the purchase of a concert ticket.
Channeling the scale of a world tour to eight major cities on either side of the pond, Cowboy Carter Tour teases each stop as a destination event. It makes sense, then, that Live Nation partner Vibee is providing curated experience packages that pair concert tickets with hotel stays and other VIP add-ons. While the company’s homepage shows similar packages for artist residencies like Bad Bunny’s upcoming 21 shows in Puerto Rico and various artists at Sphere in Las Vegas, Cowboy Carter Tour is the only proper tour featured. Further signaling a new era of concerts that double as immersive experiences, it’s another way to efficiently meet growing demand in the post-pandemic touring landscape.
Beyoncé’s Boxscore history has continued to bloom into the new decade. The Renaissance World Tour finished with $579.8 million and 2.8 million tickets in 56 shows. That’s more than double the take of 2016’s The Formation World Tour and 2018’s On the Run II Tour with Jay-Z ($256.1 million and $253.5 million, respectively), both of which had improved upon The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour ($211.9 million in 2013-14) and the original On the Run Tour ($109.6 million in 2014).
By design, simply due to the limited number of scheduled tour dates, it’s unlikely that Beyoncé will continue to one-up herself with Cowboy Carter Tour, but it will push her career totals to new heights. Dating back to the 2004 Verizon Ladies First Tour with Alicia Keys and Missy Elliott, and her first solo outing with 2007’s The Beyoncé Experience, the pop-dance-R&B-country superstar has grossed $1.3 billion and sold 11.6 million tickets over 431 reported concerts. By year’s end, those totals should climb past $1.6 billion and 12.8 million tickets.
Cowboy Carter Tour follows Beyoncé’s album of the same name. In addition to its Grammy win for album of the year, it made her the first Black artist to win best country album. Upon its release last Spring, the set debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 407,000 equivalent album units earned, according to Luminate, marking Queen Bey’s biggest week, by units, since Lemonade eight years prior. Cowboy Carter includes “Texas Hold ‘Em,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks and Hot Country Songs for 10 frames.