Music

Usher takes the throne on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart for the first time since 2016 as his collaboration with Summer Walker and 21 Savage, “Good Good,” crowns the list dated Nov. 4.

The single advances from No. 2 to become the most-heard song in combined audience for U.S. monitored adult and mainstream R&B/hip-hop stations despite a 2% drop to 20.2 million in listenership in the tracking week ending Oct. 26, according to Luminate.

“Good Good” gives Summer Walker her first R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay No. 1, after she previously managed a No. 6 best twice – with “Girls Need Love” featuring Drake in 2019 and “Playing Games” the following year. 21 Savage, meanwhile, bags his third champ, following his featured turn on Post Malone’s eight-week No. 1 “Rockstar” in 2017-18, and the two-week leader “Rich Flex” with Drake in January and February.

Thanks to the new champ, Usher collects his 16th No. 1 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay. Among all artists, he trails only Drake’s 29 leaders for the most since the chart began in 1992. Here’s an updated look at the leaderboard:

29, Drake
16, Usher
12, Lil Wayne
10, Beyoncé
10, Chris Brown
8, Alicia Keys
8, Jay-Z
8, R. Kelly

Plus, as Usher first led on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay with “You Make Me Wanna…” in September 1997, he rewrites the record for the longest span of No. 1s in the chart’s history, at 26 years and two months between his first and most recent champs. To recap the record run, here’s a full rundown of Usher’s sweet 16 champs on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay:

Song Title, Artist (if other than Usher), Weeks at No. 1, Date Reached No. 1
“You Make Me Wanna…,” 12, Sept. 6, 1997
“Nice & Slow,” three, Jan. 24, 1998
“U Got It Bad,” eight, Nov. 10, 2001
“Yeah!,” featuring Lil Jon & Ludacris, seven, March 13, 2004
“Burn,” four, June 5, 2004
“Confessions Part II,” two, July 10, 2004
“My Boo,” with Alicia Keys, four, Oct. 23, 2004
“Lovers and Friends,” Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz featuring Usher & Ludacris, one, Feb. 26, 2005
“Love in This Club,” featuring Young Jeezy, four, April 12, 2008
“Papers,” two, Dec. 12, 2009
“There Goes My Baby,” four, Aug. 14, 2010
“Climax,” 11, April 28, 2012
“Good Kisser,” one, July 19, 2014
“New Flame,” Chris Brown featuring Usher & Rick Ross, four, Oct. 25, 2014
“No Limit,” featuring Young Thug, Oct. 15, 2016
“Good Good,” with Summer Walker and 21 Savage, one (to date), Nov. 4, 2023

As “Good Good” rules the radio ranking, it evicts SZA’s “Snooze” from the summit after an 18-week domination, the second-longest run for a song by a woman in a lead role in the chart’s history. Further, “Good Good,” released and promoted by mega/gamma, ends a titanic command atop R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay for RCA Records, who held a 42-week monopoly on the list through the three most recent champs – SZA’s “Snooze,” Tems’ “Free Mind” and Chris Brown’s “Under the Influence.” The last non-RCA leader was Drake and 21 Savage’s “Rich Flex,” which wrapped a two-week stay on the chart dated Feb. 4.

Elsewhere, “Good Good” shores up its ranks on other airplay charts. The track repeats at its No. 2 high on Rhythmic Airplay, though it slid 4% in plays at the format in the last tracking week. The tune has crossed over to pop radio, with a 25-22 climb on the Pop Airplay chart following a 13% boost in plays at mainstream top-40 stations. With that influx reinforcing its dominant position at R&B/hip-hop radio, “Good Good” pushes 12-11 on the all-genre Radio Songs chart, with a 2% improvement to 43.2 million in audience in the latest tracking window.