Chart Beat
Page: 96
It’s May 4, 1999, and Jennifer Lopez releases “If You Had My Love,” the song that marked her embarkation to a fruitful dual-track career.
The Rodney Jerkins-produced single came as a surprise to critics then, as Lopez became one of the relatively few actors to effectively crossover from the screen to a successful recording career. “I embraced all of it to be who I was and offer something really different,” Lopez told Billboard in 2020.
“When I started working in my early 20s, it was size 0 models on the cover of magazines,” Lopez mused. “Tall, blonde, white, sometimes Black. But never Latina. I didn’t shy away from being from the Bronx, I didn’t shy away from my humble beginnings.”
[embedded content]
The single, the opening track from Lopez’s 16-track debut studio album, On the 6, her first of eight top 10s on the Billboard 200 chart, was initially intended for Michael Jackson, but the King of Pop passed as he thought it was a better fit for a female artist, and he was right.
Trending on Billboard
With “If You Had My Love” — written by Rodney Jerkins, LaShawn Daniels, Fred Jerkins III and Cory Rooney — Lopez broke the surface of the mainstream as the commercial hit propelled her to a maiden entry on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart, It debuted at No. 81 on the May 15, 1999, chart and hit No. 1 on the June 12-dated survey, beginning a five-week command.
The 2020 Billboard Women in Music icon joined Ricky Martin for the longest-leading Hot 100 No. 1 of 1999 to that point, as the Puerto Rican’s fellow Latin pop explosion “Livin’ La Vida Loca” ceded the top spot to “If You Had My Love.”
The song’s 25-year anniversary arrives on the heels of the star’s recently canceled This Is Me… Live Tour, which was scheduled to be her first concert run in five years, in support of her ninth studio album, This Is Me… Now, her first in a decade.
To date, “If You Had My Love” has pulled in 3.8 billion in radio audience, 122.8 million official on-demand U.S. streams and 263,000 downloads sold, according to Luminate.
Lopez, who also boasts three No. 1s among seven top 10s on the Hot Latin Songs chart over 1999-2020, subsequently led the Hot 100 with “I’m Real,” for five weeks in 2001, “Ain’t It Funny” (six, 2002) – both feature Ja Rule – and “All I Have,” featuring LL Cool J (four, 2003). She has notched 10 top 10s, through the No. 3 hit “On the Floor,” featuring Pitbull, in 2011.
Tasha Cobbs Leonard notches her seventh No. 1 on Billboard’s Gospel Airplay chart as “Burdens Down” rises to the top of the survey dated June 15. It increased by 5% in plays May 31-June 6, according to Luminate.
“Burdens Down,” which was authored solely by Cobbs Leonard and produced by her husband, Kenneth Leonard, is from her LP Hymns. The set opened at its No. 3 high on Top Gospel Albums in October 2022, becoming the Atlanta native’s seventh of eight top 10s. Itwas recorded live in Chicago earlier that year.
“It is always an honor to write, produce and release musical tools that help to inspire others,” Cobbs Leonard says. “I am committed to spreading the good news by all means.”
[embedded content]
“Burdens Down” is Cobbs Leonard’s fifth consecutive Gospel Airplay No. 1, following “The Moment,” which led for two frames starting in May 2023; “Gotta Believe” (one week, March 2022); “In Spite of Me” (one week, June 2021); and “You Know My Name (Live)” (one week, October 2019).
Cobbs Leonard previously topped Gospel Airplay as featured on Kirk Franklin’s “My World Needs You” (also featuring Sarah Reeves and Tamela Mann), a two-week leader in July 2017, and with her debut hit, “Break Every Chain,” for seven weeks beginning in June 2013.
The singer-songwriter ties Jekalyn Carr, Todd Dulaney and Marvin Sapp for the fourth-most No. 1s since Gospel Airplay began in March 2005. Kirk Franklin and Tamela Mann lead with 10 each, followed by James Fortune and FIYA (nine).
Cobbs Leonard’s active streak of five Gospel Airplay leaders is the longest among women, followed by Tamela Mann’s four. Among all acts, Dulaney, Jonathan McReynolds and Pastor Mike Jr. have the longest active runs (six each, with Pastor Mike Jr.’s the best from the start of a career in the chart’s history).
‘Exile’ Enters at No. 1
Crowder banks his fourth leader on Top Christian Albums, all of which have opened at the summit, with The Exile. The 12-song set, released May 31, earned 11,000 equivalent album units in the U.S., with 8,000 in album sales, through June 6.
Crowder, from Texarkana, Texas, previously opened at No. 1 on Top Christian Albums with Milk & Honey in June 2021; American Prodigal in October 2016; and Neon Steeple in June 2014.
“Grave Robber,” the new set’s lead single, ruled Christian Airplay and Christian AC Airplay for two frames each in May, becoming Crowder’s fifth and third No. 1, respectively. On the multimetric Hot Christian Songs chart, the track reached No. 8 in April, marking his 10th top 10.
While Eminem has never experienced a major decline in popularity in the 25 years since his “My Name Is” breakthrough at the turn of the century, his new single “Houdini” is reminding people just how big he remains after a quarter century.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The new single, Em’s first unaccompanied solo release since 2020 and the expected lead single off his upcoming The Death of Slim Shady LP, sees the rapper reviving his “Without Me”-era personality, down to the “Guess who’s back, back again” intro and the superhero getup in its music video. “Houdini” has also now matched the chart peak of that 2002 classic, debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week (dated June 15).
How did “Houdini” score such a big bow? And will Eminem be able to keep up the momentum from here? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.
Trending on Billboard
1. “Houdini” debuts at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, breezing through a loaded top 10 giving Morgan Wallen and Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help” all it could handle for No. 1. On a scale from 1-10, how surprised are you that Eminem is still able to manage this kind of bow in 2024?
Katie Atkinson: 4. We can’t be that surprised when “Godzilla” with Juice WRLD debuted in the top 10 only in 2020. And the fact that Em is recalling his most popular early days in all the marketing for his new music – from the cheeky Unsolved Mysteries promo to the title of the album itself – means generations of fans who have been along for at least part of his 25-year career feel invested in giving it a curiosity listen (or curiosity watch, in the case of the throwback music video) at minimum. Really, Eminem never went anywhere.
Anna Chan: 1: Not surprised whatsoever – I’m only surprised that he didn’t debut at No. 1. (Marshall was robbed!!!) Of course Em was going to have a massive debut upon his return. Not only is he the Rap God, though he may have laid low in terms of music in the last few years, he’s remained relevant in pop culture, whether it was rooting for his Detroit Lions to make the Super Bowl, partnering with Fortnite, making surprise SNL cameos, to serving up Mom’s Spaghetti and other opportunities. Plus, both the song and music video reflect the classic Em days, so “Houdini” is a welcome return for many a longtime fan.
Kyle Denis: Probably around a 5? Eminem’s always been one for lofty debuts, and there was clear anticipation for “Houdini” thanks to its pre-release campaign. When you couple that with a questionable bar about one of culture’s hottest current female rappers, a No. 2 isn’t terribly surprising.
Angel Diaz: My number is 8 and my mind is officially blown. I can’t believe that record performed that well. All I saw were jokes about how washed up he is on my Twitter timeline. Color me impressed.
Andrew Unterberger: I’d say a 7. Yes, “Godzilla” had a lofty debut, but that was nearly a half-decade ago at this point, and was heavily boosted by its posthumous Juice WRLD hook. I thought this bow would be closer to “Walk on Water” (No. 14) territory for Eminem. I was wrong!
[embedded content]
2. Eminem explicitly harkens back to his “Without Me” era both in the “Houdini” song and the video. Does the return-to-classic-form still feel fresh to you, or is it starting to sour?
Katie Atkinson: This feels like a good time to admit that I’m from Michigan. I have the softest soft spot for my fellow Michiganian Eminem and always have, which probably makes me quicker to defend or praise him, even when I should know better. Which is to say, I kind of love all this nostalgia. I wouldn’t say it “feels fresh,” but I think a lot of the things that people are calling out about “Houdini,” from the offensive lyrics to the cheesy sample, are Slim Shady hallmarks that are designed to press these exact buttons. This album is called The Death of Slim Shady, right? So Em is in the process of killing off this purposely annoying alter ego. Shouldn’t we wait to hear the whole thing before casting judgment on the intro single that sounds exactly like at least three other Eminem lead singles over the decades? (Now if the whole album sounds like this, I’ll take back everything I just wrote.)
Anna Chan: Fresh smesh. Nostalgia works for a reason, but in this case in particular, the goofy Em is back (only to be killed in the music to come?) to entertain, and I’m here for it. Call me old, IDGAF. Give me more RapBoy!
Kyle Denis: It’s been sour. He’s referencing The Eminem Show (2002) on a song that’s the lead single for an album whose title references The Slim Shady LP (1999) which will arrive just over a decade after The Marshall Mathers LP2 (2013) – which, in turn, references his own Marshall Mathers LP (2000). It’s tired. You can’t keep heralding a return-to-classic-form when the new material isn’t up to par. The constant self-references feel more like a crutch than a source of genuine inspiration.
Angel Diaz: I hated the song but warmed up to it after watching the video. I wouldn’t say it was “fresh” but there was something nostalgic about the video, I guess. I will probably never listen to it again after this exercise, though. That’s how Em’s silly stuff has been for me over the course of his career. “My Name Is” is the only one of those I find myself going back to.
Andrew Unterberger: About as fresh as mom’s spaghetti after being left on the radiator for a week.
3. Em also gets a good deal of help on “Houdini” via a melody lift and chorus interpolation from a song that got all the way to No. 1 on the Hot 100 42 years ago: Steve Miller Band’s “Abracadabra.” Is the lift more tired or inspired to you?
Katie Atkinson: Somewhere in between. “Abracadabra” is obviously a fitting sample, given the magical theme of “Houdini,” and it’s always been a catchy (albeit sorta grating) song. I think it very much works within the Slim Shady theme, because it has a sort of carnival-music sound that matches previous Em productions. What I would call tired is the atrocious rhyme scheme in the chorus. “Abracadabra” rhyming with “I’m ’bout to reach in my bag, bruh” and “Just like that and I’m back, bruh”? This is where my Michigan loyalty ends.
Anna Chan: My two cents: It’s … free. I mean, fine! The beat lends itself easily to a “Without Me” mashup and the magic theme, so no complaints here!
Kyle Denis: I’d say it’s inspired. Thanks to the sample, “Houdini” doesn’t really sound like anything else in mainstream rap right now, for better or for worse. Regardless, the way he and producer Luis Resto flipped the sample makes it sound more cartoonish than they probably intended.
Angel Diaz: I don’t like Carny Beat Eminem at all and didn’t realize the chorus and the beat are essentially the same. However, for the sake of the rap community I’m going to say it’s more wired than tired and inspired. The song is fun when matched with the video.
Andrew Unterberger: The melody lift is inspired, but the “Abra, abracadabra/ I’m ’bout to reach in my bag, bruh” chorus hook is downright comatose.
[embedded content]
4. What do you think is the biggest reason Eminem is still able to command this much interest and attention 25 years into his career — and do you see this lasting, or mostly being a one-week thing where interest in the song and his return will fade quickly afterwards?
Katie Atkinson: He’s a legend who has consistently stayed present in pop culture since his mainstream debut in 1999. He doesn’t feel dated because he just had a Hot 100 top five hit four years ago. No one is forcing him to tap into his early days; he seems to have an artistic reason/motivation for revisiting the alter ego that made him famous. This all adds up to a fun, throwback-y moment that anyone who has ever been invested in Eminem before would enjoy. I think the album rollout will be on our radar all summer, but as for “Houdini” itself? I could see it staying the upper half of the Hot 100 for at least month.
Anna Chan: Talent can withstand the ages, and Em is wildly talented – just ask Dre, Drake and Wiz Khalifa. (Don’t believe them? Check out Billboard’s very own 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, in which Em lands in the top five.) But what’s more, he knows how to court controversy (and it’d be so empty without him). While he’s toned down significantly since the early Slim Shady days, he still knows how to push just the right buttons to get fandoms in an uproar (that “Houdini” lyric about Megan’s feat, anyone?) while also maintaining a sense of humor (see: the new single’s music video). So yes, Shady’s back with a No. 2 debut, and he ain’t going anywhere, obituary or no.
Kyle Denis: Obviously, Eminem is a very gifted rapper who has built an unwavering fan base over the past quarter century. He’s one of those artists that will always be able to garner considerable interest in new material because his track record (at least pre-2013) is so strong. Nonetheless, there’s also something to be said for the reach Eminem has in comparison to Black rappers. His whiteness allows him to reach and maintain a broader audience, some of whom don’t even really engage with hip-hop outside of Eminem and his music.
Angel Diaz: I think some of the controversial lines got people talking again and this song felt fresher than some of his latest lyrical miracle efforts. He’s also a legend and every white person’s favorite rapper. The latter part always helps when it comes to the charts.
Andrew Unterberger: Eminem never really fit that seamlessly into contemporary pop or hip-hop, so the fact that he sounds even more out of step with trends now doesn’t really hurt him much with his still-devoted fanbase. I don’t think the song is gonna hang in the top 10 for more than another week or two, but if radio picks up on it — he is still a big name, and the song is catchy — I doubt it’ll disappear from the chart altogether that quickly either.
5. Make one request of Eminem for his upcoming The Death of Slim Shady album. (Anything you think he should do or hope he doesn’t do on or with the album.)
Katie Atkinson: Slim Shady worked best when balanced with Em’s more thoughtful songs, like “Stan” or “Mockingbird.” If Slim is getting killed off, then I’m hoping for the jokey songs like “Houdini” to be paired with something a little deeper. …Or at least give me a new jam for my workout playlist – “Lose Yourself” and “Not Afraid” are still in heavy rotation, but I can always use more gritty inspiration.
Anna Chan: There’s so much I’ve loved from his previous albums – witty word play, lyricism and humor, for starters! – that I’m sure will be present on TDOSS. So let’s hope for yet another amazing collab with a powerhouse female vocalist to bring some extra oomph, someone new, along the lines of a Rihanna (“The Monster”), Dido (“Stan”) or Beyonce (“Walk on Water”).
Kyle Denis: No more weird lines about “transgender cats.” Please. I’m begging.
Angel Diaz: Please let this be the only carnival beat. Wishful thinking, I know, but one can only dream. He was so good on Dre’s 2001 and 50’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’. I’m not sure why he doesn’t rap on harder beats more often.
Andrew Unterberger: If he’s calling this The Death of Slim Shady, then I just hope he gets all these callbacks, reheated beats and half-hearted attempts at controversy out of his system and tries something new and different next time around.
Billboard Japan released its 2024 mid-year charts last week, and Creepy Nuts’ viral hit “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” topped the all-genre Japan Hot 100 list compiled from six metrics.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The catchy rap banger was featured as the opening theme song for the TV anime series MASHLE season 2, which premiered in January. Along with the infectious dance moves of the anime’s opening clip, the hip-hop hit gained overwhelming support from listeners, mainly through TikTok and streams.
The popularity of the song spilled over from Japan to other countries, and the track spent 19 straight weeks atop the Global Japan Songs Excl. Japan tally — the longest consecutive streak at No. 1 on this chart. This puts the viral hit atop the mid-year tally for this and numerous other rankings for an unprecedented total of 13 No. 1s.
Trending on Billboard
The tremendous momentum that propelled “BBBB” up the charts was something that the pair, rapper R-shitei (“R-rated”) and DJ Matsunaga, never anticipated. The two spoke about their long-running hit in this mid-year chart-topper interview and shared their common mindset of enjoying what they never imagined.
Congratulations on “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” topping 13 charts including the Japan Hot 100 and Global Japan Songs Excl. Japan charts on Billboard Japan’s 2024 mid-year reports. Tell us how you feel about these accolades.
R-shitei: I wasn’t expecting it at all, so I’m surprised, or rather… It still hasn’t really hit me yet. But I’m thankful. It’s gratifying.
DJ Matsunaga: The song became a hit when I was working at my own pace, in a kind of “I’ll just take it slow and have fun making music” mindset, which highlighted the unexpectedness of it all. I’m at a place where it’s all too much of a blessing and I haven’t been able to take it in. [Laughs]
[embedded content]
R-shitei: We weren’t trying to break out overseas at all, either. I’ve always thought that our style of music… my rapping in particular, is super-native, the type of rap that’s interesting only to those who understand the Japanese language. Of course I do want to make rap music that’d be awesome to listen to even for those who don’t understand the language, but I thought that Japanese was the crux of my rapping. I’ve never really considered tailoring my style to fit international audiences.
That’s interesting. Along the lines of what R-shitei just said about his verses, your tracks sound really “Japanese” as well. Could you share your thoughts on this, DJ Matsunaga? I have a feeling “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born,” even with its Jersey club beat, would have turned out differently if, say, an American track maker had produced it.
DJ Matsunaga: Well… Our stance is, “Let’s make something we’ve never heard before.” The thing is, there’s no reference when we’re mixing our songs, so I often find it hard to convey what I’m aiming for to the engineer. There are no similar songs.
R-shitei: [To Matsunaga] When a song we’re working on turns out to be something that doesn’t exist elsewhere, it feels worth it, doesn’t it? We feel the greatest sense of accomplishment when we create a type of song not found anywhere else in the world… In the U.S. or any other foreign country.
DJ Matsunaga: I made the sound of that track based on my own ideas… The combination of Latin and Jersey club music was rare. Plus, not just one but a number of things I’ve adopted and have been inspired by are included in a track. I mix them together and then my habitual hand movements are added to the mix. I also mess around a lot when I make each song, waiting for an “accident” (unexpected turn of events) to happen. We have other Jersey club-inspired songs with a feel for chord progression besides “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born,” but none of them have such a solid riff.
Lyrically, “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” and “Nidone” were written as tie-ins for an anime and drama series, respectively, and while both include content inspired by those works, they don’t end there, which I think is brilliant. Do you start assembling the lyrics after being tapped to work on a project?
R-shitei: Basically, yes. But looking back at our songs written as tie-ins up to now, because of hip-hop as an art form, I end up singing about me. And I want to sing about me, it’s harder not to. Both “Nidone” and “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” were written so that they end up being about me, even though they’re linked to other works. In fact, when I work on a tie-in, instead of conforming to the source material, I take the theme or the worldview of the original work and then ask, “So, what about me?” I write lyrics that I can ultimately shoulder to the end as something that pertains to myself. That’s basically how I’ve always done it.
[embedded content]
By the way, did you routinely check music charts, including those other than Billboard Japan, before “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” became a hit?
DJ Matsunaga: No, I never really looked at the charts. I’ve looked at streaming charts and the like for the purpose of checking out new music, but honestly never thought I’d ever look at the charts from the viewpoint of a participant.
R-Shitei: I used to think that charts didn’t have anything to do with me. Seeing ourselves alongside people like Taylor Swift and 21 Savage makes me go, “Come on, this must be a lie that some junior high kid who just started rapping came up with.” [Laughs]
The week when “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Global Excl. US chart, Taylor was at No. 5, Miley Cyrus was at No. 6, and and Ye (Kanye West) & Ty Dolla $ign were at No. 10. [Week of Feb. 24, 2024]
R-shitei: I thought, “That’s insane!”
DJ Matsunaga: Really. It’s not like we weren’t thinking, “Damn, Kanye’s new album came out at the same time!” [Laughs]
R-shitei: If some younger rapper were saying that, you’d tell them to cut it out, wouldn’t you?
DJ Matsunaga: I sure would. [Laughs]. I’d be like, “Come on, man, cool it.”
Your songs have been appearing on the upper tiers of the Japan charts since “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” became a hit, and the public’s expectations for new songs seem to be growing rapidly. Could you share your future plans in terms of new music?
DJ Matsunaga: The next song we’re releasing is already done. The song we’re writing next will be… Well, this is completely subjective, but it’ll be aggressive, and we’ll focus more on points like, “We’ve learned a new way of doing things,” “We’ve updated ourselves,” and “We’ve come up with another song that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world” when we’re working on it. I wonder what kind of song it’ll turn out to be?
Oh, so you don’t know what to expect, either?
R-shitei: But that’s what we hope will happen. We’re happier when we come up with something that’s not like what we’re imagining now.
DJ Matsunaga: Yeah, that’s so true. It’s not much fun just taking what we’ve imagined, what’s done in our minds, and making a clean copy of it in reality.
R-shitei: It’s more fun when it’s like, “Whoa, this is how it turned out?!”
DJ Matsunaga: That’s so true. The fun part is that the two of us can definitely make that happen by playing catch with each other. I’m sure we’ll be able to make things that we can’t imagine now. All of our new songs will be like that.
Creepy Nuts is set to perform at South Korea’s Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival 2024 in August. This will be your first performance outside of Japan after “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” became a hit. Is there anything you’re looking forward to?
R-shitei: I’m not looking forward to anything much, but we will try to do our best and are considering what to do.
DJ Matsunaga: For sure. But I think that’ll be so much fun. When we were starting out as a duo, we didn’t even have our own songs, so every show was like an away game. The process of trying to gain fans by all possible means was really rewarding and fun. And now, thankfully, we’re performing more and more in places we’ve been before where there are a certain number of people who’ve heard our songs, so I’m really grateful to be able to take on such challenges again from square one at this timing and at my age, when I’ve experienced various things to some extent.
Are you willing to expand your activities globally in the future?
R-shitei: I’d love to. I want to go to various places, to various countries to do shows. I haven’t been outside of Japan much in my daily life to begin with, so being able to go with our music in tow will give us something in return, you know? I’m really looking forward to seeing if and how the things we express will change.
DJ Matsunaga: Yes, I’m willing. It’s the same in Japan, but if you listen to hip-hop from overseas, there really aren’t many artists these days who do engaging shows with just rapping and DJing.
R-shitei: I know, right?
DJ Matsunaga: All I can say is that we’re really grateful that that’s the case. [Laughs] So it’s exciting to be able to take our style and go out in front of people who’ve never heard our music before.
[embedded content]
Lastly, a lot of songs from Japan that rank high on global charts, including “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born,” tend to be a blend of Japanese and Western styles, or have some Japanese elements to them. As a duo that has taken pride in exploring Japanese rap throughout its career, could you tell us how you face the Japanese language and elements of Japanese-ness in your music?
R-shitei: I don’t face it, but rather, it turns out that way when I do things naturally. Personally, the first thing I listened to was rap by Japanese artists. When I try to do something that’s fun and feels good to the max in a natural way, elements of Japanese style are probably going to surface no matter what. And I think that’s good, so it just overflows without my thinking consciously about it. The things I’ve absorbed by being born and raised in this land are being outputted.
I also look forward to how something I’ve never seen before will come about as I change through other influences. Of course, I do think about using and studying various languages, but in the end, the language that suits me best is the language of my own country. As for my rapping, I don’t think that will change much.
DJ Matsunaga: When you look at the Japanese music market, there are many templates. Themes, sounds, chord progressions, and all other aspects of a song can be said to be “designed for the Japanese charts.” If you make a song based solely on the J-pop model, the range of expression becomes extremely limited. Plus, that J-pop model is incompatible with the sound production and songwriting of hip-hop, so I’ve completely given up, or rather abandoned, the idea of creating songs that will perform well on the domestic charts.
I want to use everything properly — my own sensibilities, new things I’m constantly absorbing, styles unique to Japan, overseas trends. But I think songs sound catchier when there are fewer notes. In any case, I want people to listen to rap music. I think it’s absolutely true that the voice is the catchiest instrument. With that in mind, I design my tracks in a very conscious way.
I see now that the blend of Japanese and Western styles and the sonically Japanese elements in Creepy Nuts’ music are the products of both of your personalities.
DJ Matsunaga: Yes. Well, highlighting R’s Japanese may be a big factor, because he raps in a way that makes the Japanese come across in a solid way. And yet his flow is freakier than those who break down the language to make it sound more like English.
R-shitei: I want to rap to different beats and also want to try out various ways of playing with Japanese. A big part of rap is about how much you can play around with language, so I’ve always wanted to create something good by manipulating the words I see as someone who has lived a normal life instead of forcing myself to use U.S.-like phrases.
DJ Matsunaga: Polishing up our songs while maintaining that and seeing how much they resonate with people who don’t know Japanese at all is what makes it worthwhile.
—This interview by Maiko Murata first appeared on Billboard Japan
A new Cardi B remix adds a serious jolt to GloRilla and Megan Thee Stallion’s “Wanna Be,” sending the rap collaboration rebounding up the Billboard Hot 100 and multiple other charts (dated June 15) following the first tracking week for the new version, which was released May 31.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
In the May 31-June 6 tracking week, according to Luminate, “Wanna Be” generated 19.7 million official U.S. streams – its biggest streaming yet and a 51% increase from the previous week, sparking its 35-15 ascent on the Streaming Songs chart. The single sold 13,000 downloads in the same period, up 6,210%, prompting a No. 4 re-entry on the Digital Song Sales list. (It reached Nos. 9 and 1 on the respective charts upon its debut on rankings dated April 20.)
“Wanna Be” also registered 7.1 million airplay audience impressions, a 115% week-over-week improvement. Although it’s as yet below the 50-position threshold for the all-genre Radio Songs chart, the single’s gains reap rewards on format airplay charts: It darts 36-17 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart (up 113% in audience to 5.9 million) and debuts at No. 37 on Rhythmic Airplay.
Trending on Billboard
[embedded content]
Thanks to the increases for all three metrics, “Wanna Be” rockets 39-15 on the Hot 100, which blends streaming, sales and airplay into its calculations. The collaboration nears its peak of No. 11, achieved upon the song’s debut. Additional jumps occur on both the multimetric Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts, which use the same methodology as the Hot 100. “Wanna Be” rebounds 11-5 on the former to match its peak rank and 9-4 on the latter, earning a new best showing. (All versions of the song are rolled up into one listing for tracking purposes and chart ranks. Cardi B is not listed on “Wanna Be” on the June 15-dated multimetric charts, as the remix did not account for the majority of the song’s overall consumption during the tracking week, although she is listed on radio charts, as the new remix is already responsible for the bulk of its airplay; such decisions are reviewed each week upon compilation of updated data.)
Plus, streaming and sales consumption for “Wanna Be” in both its original and remixed forms helps the track’s parent album, GloRilla’s Ehhthang Ehhthang, rally on the albums charts. The set, released in April (which includes the original GloRilla and Megan Thee Stallion version), drives 47-23 on the all-genre Billboard 200, with 23,000 equivalent album units earned May 31-June 6, a 35% gain from the previous week. Further, the project’s 13-4 surge on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart unlocks a new peak, while it returns to its highpoint on Top Rap Albums with an 11-3 advance.
Somewhere along the way, the concept of pop stardom got severely warped. The 2010s – an absolutely mind-boggling decade that we’re still trying to figure out – brought about a bevy of pop stars and pivots that prioritized not just a banal understanding of “relatability,” but also a specific kind of feigned honesty and vulnerability. In an effort to stoke the increasingly parasocial connection between consumers and creators, pop stars packaged up “refreshingly honest and vulnerable” lyrics that didn’t actually say much at all about their authors and sold them in more variants and configurations than there are editions of the Merriam-Webster dictionary. The obsessive curation of the relatable pop star threatened to completely swallow up the reckless bombast and brash provocation of pop’s most gifted and most imported auteurs – until Charli XCX’s superb sixth official studio album, Brat.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
As an artist who has helped steer the evolution of pop over the past decade and change – while sporadically reaching some of the most staggering commercial heights of pop stardom (Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers, Grammy nominations, smash soundtrack singles) – Charli XCX has always been miles ahead. Now that the top 40 world has mostly caught up with her – think Beyoncé’s “All Up in Your Mind” (2022) or Camila Cabello’s “I Love It” (2024) — an album like Brat feels remarkably accessible. Nonetheless, at least half of that accessibility comes by way of Charli’s own maturation; Brat finds her finally embracing the full scope of her specific brand of pop stardom, not through cynicism or snark, but by genuine self-reflection soundtracked by some of the boldest and most audacious production pop music has heard in years.
Trending on Billboard
[embedded content]
“I went my own way and I made it/ I’m your favorite reference, baby,” she begins the album by proclaiming, on delicious pure-pop opener “360.” The opening oscillating synths immediately situate the LP’s sonic universe as the soundtrack to the video game that is life – specifically the high-octane lives of hot girls, party girls and, of course, pop stars. On “Club Classics,” she dubs herself as such and demands to dance to her own music in the club, and on lead single “Von dutch” she reminds us – and herself – that she’s our “No. 1.”
For an artist who’s often been incredibly frank about her insecurity regarding where she stands (and how she’s perceived) in the pop ecosystem, these songs could read as Charli trying to convince herself of her greatness. In reality, she’s always believed those things, but those sentiments are just one component of her self-understanding. Being a hot girl pop star is terribly messy business, and as Brat barrels through its 15-song tracklist, Charli completely submerges herself in those murky, ever-troubled waters.
Brat is filled with homages to rambunctious late ‘90s French dance music, as Charli searches for the biggest and brightest sounds pop can offer, and those sonic touchpoints are vital to the album’s success. “All this sympathy is just a knife/ Why I can’t even grit my teeth and lie?/ I feel all these feelings I can’t control,” she sings in the chorus of “Sympathy Is a Knife,” the album’s third track and first taste of the nuanced examination of pop stardom Charli emarks on throughout the album. On the Gesaffelstein-helmed “I Might Say Something Stupid,” she feigns contentment with being “perfect for the background”; “Girl, So Confusing” finds her coming to terms with empty lip service from peers that only exacerbates how out of place she feels; and “I Think About It All The Time” introduces motherhood as a very real path for her, one that’s truly beckoning her attention – for better and for worse – for the first time.
[embedded content]
These moments where Charli opens up on a whim are as disarming as they are charming – and they never contradict the flashier come-hither anthems like “Talk Talk.” The negative connotations of the word “brat” are paramount to the album’s tone, but if a “brat” is to be understood as a poorly behaved child, then Charli sources her childlike tendencies by feeling the full extent of all of her emotions – more of a skill than most realize, and one that many people lose as they transition to adulthood.
Brat reaches its emotional apex with “So I,” a downright heartbreaking ballad dedicated to the late SOPHIE, a pop and dance music pioneer and frequent collaborator of Charli’s. “When I’m on stage sometimes I lie/ Say that I like singing these songs you left behind/ And I know you always said, ‘It’s okay to cry’/ So I know I can cry, I can cry, so I cry,” she coos, her slightly hoarse voice hanging on by a thread as a tidal wave of tears threatens to wash the rest of the song away. Charli hasn’t ever sounded like this on a record; this is the vulnerability that we’ve been sold facsimiles of for the past decade in pop.
[embedded content]
Of course, Charli is able to display this level of nuance in her vocal performance because the LP’s sprawling soundscape – which features contributions from forward-thinking producers such as El Guincho, A.G. Cook, Cirkut, George Daniel and Omer Fedi – allows her the space to. Whether it’s the heartbeat-nodding throbs of “Everything Is Romantic” or the electro-jazz breakdown in the back half of “Mean Girls,” Charli is granted an entire sonic galaxy to stake her claim over.
Six studio albums and several seminal projects since she first hit the scene over a decade ago, Charli seems to have finally found herself, while charting limitless futures for dance and pop music in the process. We hear so much about how pop music tends to cast aside its leading ladies once they hit their 30s, but a now 31-year-old Charli is only getting more indispensable. She is pop music – in all of its glorious sleaze and self-doubt and sex and somber introspection. And personifying the totality of pop while synthesizing it into some of her most evocative work yet reveals more about who Charli is than any amount of faux-diaristic, needlessly verbose lyrics could anyway.
Eminem’s “Houdini” magically appears at No. 1 in its first week on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts. It becomes the rapper’s first leader on the lists, which began in September 2020.
“Houdini” is additionally the first song to debut atop Global Excl. U.S. and the U.S.-based Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts. One other track has led the three rankings, although it didn’t enter at No. 1 on them: Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red,” last year.
The Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the United States.
Trending on Billboard
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.
[embedded content]
“Houdini” launches atop the Global 200 with 121.4 million streams and 72,000 sold worldwide May 31-June 6. The streaming sum marks the highest in a single week for a title that has also hit the Hot Rap Songs chart, besting the 118 million that Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” drew three weeks earlier.
Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” holds at its No. 2 Global 200 high; Tommy Richman’s “Million Dollar Baby” drops to No. 3 after two weeks at the summit; Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help,” featuring Morgan Wallen, descends 3-4, three weeks after it debuted at No. 1; and Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” returns to its No. 5 best from No. 6.
On Global Excl. U.S., “Houdini” debuts at No. 1 with 73.3 million streams and 23,000 sold outside the U.S. May 31-June 6. As on the Global 200, the song’s streaming total is the highest in a single week for a track that has also reached Hot Rap Songs; it passes the 64.9 million logged by Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red” on the Oct. 7, 2023, chart.
Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” slides to No. 2 following four weeks at No. 1 on Global Excl. U.S.; FloyyMenor and Cris Mj’s “Gata Only” holds at its No. 3 high; and Billie Eilish rounds out the top five with two tracks: “Birds of a Feather” flies 11-4, surpassing its prior No. 9 peak reached two weeks earlier upon its debut, and “Lunch” falls to No. 5 after spending its first two weeks on the chart at No. 2.
The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated June 15, 2024) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, June 11. 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 X, formerly known as 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.
Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help,” featuring Morgan Wallen, notches a fourth total and consecutive week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. The song, Post Malone’s sixth leader and Wallen’s second, is the first to spend at least its first four weeks on the chart at No. 1 since Miley Cyrus’ […]
Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department scores a seventh straight and total week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated June 15), as the set earned 148,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending June 6 (down 16%), according to Luminate.
Poets is the first album to spend its first seven weeks at No. 1 since Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time led for its first 12 weeks a year ago (March 18-June 3, 2023-dated charts). Among Swift’s collection of 14 No. 1s, Poets surpasses Folklore for the most weeks at No. 1 from its debut, as Folklore spent its first six weeks atop the list (before it slipped to the No. 5 spot in its seventh frame).
Of Swift’s No. 1s on the Billboard 200, Poets matches Red for her fourth-most weeks on top. Ahead of them are 1989 and Fearless (each with 11) and Folklore (eight).
Trending on Billboard
Meanwhile, Swift adds her 76th career week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, extending her record among soloists. (Elvis Presley has the second-most among soloists, with 67.) The total encompasses her 14 leaders. (She’s tied with Jay-Z for the most No. 1s among soloists.)
Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, ATEEZ achieves its fifth consecutive, and total, top 10-charting effort as Golden Hour: Part.1 bows at No. 2, while Shaboozey lands his first charting album as his new release Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going launches at No. 5.
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 June 15, 2024-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on June 11. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Of The Tortured Poets Department’s 148,000 equivalent album units earned, SEA units comprise 120,000 (down 10% — it’s No. 1 on Top Streaming Albums; its SEA units equal 157.26 million on-demand official streams of the deluxe edition’s 31 songs), album sales comprise 27,000 (down 35%) and TEA units comprise 1,000 (down 22%).
ATEEZ achieves its fifth consecutive, and total, top 10-charting album on the Billboard 200 as Golden Hour: Part.1 debuts at No. 2 with 131,000 equivalent album units earned (the largest week of 2024 for any K-pop album). Of that sum, album sales comprise 127,000 (the year’s biggest sales week for a K-pop album; it’s also the top-selling album of the week; it’s No. 1 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprise 4,000 (equaling 6.15 million on-demand official streams of the set’s six songs) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum. The album’s first-week sales were supported by its availability across 31 CD variants, all containing branded paper merch and other collectibles.
Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft slips 2-3 with 117,000 equivalent album units earned (down 19%). With the top three titles on the Billboard 200 each exceeding 100,000 units earned for the week, it’s the second week in a row that the top three have all cleared at least 100,000. The last time that happened was on the Oct. 28- and Nov. 4, 2023-dated lists.
Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping One Thing at a Time is a non-mover at No. 4 on the new Billboard 200 with 71,000 equivalent album units earned (down 3%).
Shaboozey’s third album, Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going, debuts at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, marking the first chart entry from the artist. The set was ushered in by the smash single “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” which has reached No. 3 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on Hot Country Songs. The album earned 50,000 equivalent album units in its first week, and of that figure, SEA units comprise 39,000 (equaling 52.66 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 12 songs, largely powered by “A Bar Song”), album sales comprise 8,000 (it was only available to purchase as a standard digital download album) and TEA units comprise 3,000.
Wallen’s former leader Dangerous: The Double Album is a non-mover at No. 6 on the new Billboard 200 with 43,000 equivalent album units earned (down 4%), Noah Kahan’s Stick Season steps 9-7 (42,000; up 5%), Future and Metro Boomin’s chart-topping We Don’t Trust You slips 7-8 (40,000; down 6%), Gunna’s One of Wun falls 8-9 (nearly 40,000; down 6%) and Zach Bryan’s self-titled former No. 1 is stationary at No. 10 (36,000; down 3%).
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.
Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” scores its first Billboard radio crown as it reaches No. 1 on the Rhythmic Airplay chart dated June 15. The single, released on pgLang/Interscope Records/ICLG, climbs from the runner-up spot to lead the list as the most-played song on reporting U.S. rhythmic radio stations, according to Luminate.
The new champ registered a 22% surge in plays May 31-June 6. Thanks to the increase, the track claims the chart’s Greatest Gainer prize, awarded each week to the song with the largest vault in plays at the format.
“Not Like Us” was released May 4 amid Lamar’s feud with Drake. With the beef dominating hip-hop news cycles and pop culture at large, the track exploded instantly: It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, largely thanks to 70.2 million official U.S. streams in the corresponding tracking week – the highest weekly count for any hip-hop song in the last three years. In its first four weeks on the Hot 100, the track has yet to leave the top two.
Trending on Billboard
The fervor has translated into strong radio momentum for “Not Like Us,” which tops Rhythmic Airplay in just its fifth week on the list. It wraps the quickest climb, by weeks, to the summit since Jack Harlow’s “First Class” also completed a five-week run to No. 1 in May 2022.
[embedded content]
“Not Like Us” gives Lamar his sixth Rhythmic Airplay leader. Here’s a review of his collection:
Song Title, Artist, Weeks at No. 1, Date Reached No. 1“Humble.,” three, June 3, 2017“Loyalty.,” feat. Rihanna, one, Sept. 30, 2017“Love.,” feat. Zacari, one, Dec. 30, 2017“Pray for Me,” with The Weeknd, two, April 14, 2018“Like That,” with Future & Metro Boomin, four, May 18, 2024“Not Like Us,” one (to date), June 15, 2024
Elsewhere, “Not Like Us” repeats at its No. 5 best on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, up 24% in weekly plays as it likewise captures Greatest Gainer honors. It also holds at No. 2 on Rap Airplay, again with the chart’s Greatest Gainer tag thanks to a 23% improvement in audience impressions.