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09 Jan 2023

Ascend Agency is at the Forefront of Playlist Marketing for Indie Artists

The music marketing scene is rapidly evolving. With streaming services rising to become the number one income source for most artists, there is a declining interest in record deals for independent artists.

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The evolution of streaming services has provided new and more exciting ways for artists to market their work, from playlist marketing to social media reels and trends. In many ways, social media, and music streaming have leveled the playing field in the music industry, and everyone is grappling for their place. Over the last decade, it has become normal to see independent artists’ work at the top of Billboard’s charts.

Ascend Agency has built a powerful reputation around taking brands from relative obscurity to profitable visibility. In the last two years, Ascend Agency has distinguished itself as a top player in the PR and Content Marketing space, rising to the very top of the game in record time purely on the wings of its genius strategy.

CEO of Ascend Agency, Jonathan Jadali told Billboard, “At Ascend, we have an uncanny ability to reach across the gap between Fortune 500 companies and startups. We service the million-dollar brands while at the same time pitching our tent with the underdogs and bringing them visibility on a budget.”

Ascend Agency’s revolutionary strategy has always depended upon building strategic partnerships. According to Jadali, partnerships trump patronage any day.

“In the PR space, we have built strategic partnerships with hundreds of publications as well as some of the top publishing chains in the country, like A360 Media and Modern Luxury. These partnerships have been the lifeblood of our amazing success. We are great at building networks, and that’s what the music game is about; getting the right type of music heard by the right people on the right platforms. We are only replicating our winning strategy in the music scene.”

Brauch Owens, who oversees Ascend’s Music Department sees the music marketing and reputation management space as a newly evolving industry. While these industries have always existed in some form, the explosion of independent artists creates a huge vacuum to fill by marketing agencies and brand management platforms like Ascend.

“Many creatives are creating on Youtube and releasing songs on streaming platforms. The volume of phenomenal talent on display in some places is amazing, but many of them remain relatively unknown. This is where we come in.” Owens explains, “At the end of the day, we love variety in our music, just like we love it in our food. There will never be enough music or enough artists to serve the tastes of all the music lovers out there. This means that the room for expansion in this industry is limitless.”

Ascend Agency has built an extensive network of playlist curators on platforms like Spotify, Youtube, Apple Music, and Soundcloud and is leveraging these partnerships to great effect to deliver phenomenal results for their clients in record time. This strategy is consistent with Ascend’s plan to build and maintain a valuable network.

“We try to have partners everywhere who are doing it at a very high level,” Jadali opines, “This makes it much easier to give our clients the desired results faster. Playlists are to today’s artists what radio used to be in the past. We are careful to find the right playlist fit for each client. While many independent artists are trying to reinvent the wheel, we can give our clients faster results by partnering with the right people. When it comes to music, the first on the scene often takes the day.”

Ascend Music Group a Subdivision of Ascend Agency has quickly become a one-stop shop for independent artists’ needs, from playlist marketing to providing press, reputation management, iTunes charting, distribution, and Album/Single releases. Ascend has entered the music game with clear intent and is gradually translating all its previous success in the PR space into the music space.

Ascend’s success in the music space in this short time has taken many by surprise, but not the company’s CEO Jonathan Jadali, “The market is there and has been growing for a long time, not many are taking advantage of it.” he says. Ascend Agency hit $2.5 million in 2021 its first year of operation and has now hit the $7.5 million mark in 2022 its second year.

We live in a streaming era as all other forms of music consumption continue to decline. Global subscribers to music streaming platforms grew by 26.4% in 2022 and now average about 523.9 million subscribers. The music streaming revenue in America now makes up 84% of the U.S. music industry revenue and is projected to grow to 90% in the next few years. “The pie is enormous, and independent artists want a slice of it,” says George Nellist.

The reason for this growth in independent artists can be tied to the growth in sound engineering technology, making it relatively easier to create music and the relative visibility social media provides. According to Owens, “the sheer volume of independent artists building a following outside the establishment is impossible to ignore. Independent artists will likely become the future of the industry or at least a major player, and Ascend will be right there at the forefront making sure that their amazing art gets heard.”

09 Jan 2023

Dr. Dre Calls Marjorie Taylor Greene ‘Divisive & Hateful’ After She Uses ‘Still D.R.E’ in Promo Video

If your name is Marjorie Taylor Greene and you’re looking to license music from a certain legendary hip-hop star … let’s just say you can forget about Dre. Dr. Dre has addressed the controversial Georgia congresswoman following a video she posted using his and Snoop Dogg‘s 1999 smash hit “Still D.R.E.” to celebrate Kevin McCarthy’s choppy Speaker of the House win — and the artist isn’t happy.

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“I don’t license my music to politicians, especially someone as divisive and hateful as this one,” Dre said in a scathing statement about Greene to TMZ Monday (Jan. 9).

Billboard has reached out to Snoop Dogg for comment.

The video in question — posted Monday morning on Greene’s social media accounts — features the Republican representative strutting through the halls of Congress in slow motion, grinning at the camera as Dre’s infamous piano riff repeats on a loop. Toward the end, it calls back to a photograph taken of her on the House floor during McCarthy’s speakership vote, holding up her phone to show she’s conversing with “DT” — presumably former president Donald Trump.

The video then cuts to footage of McCarthy being confirmed as the new Speaker of the House, a title he won only after several grueling days of back-and-forth between members of the Republican party and 15 rounds of voting. Greene had backed McCarthy in the speakership vote, and she immediately posted a selfie with the California congressman after he was declared winner.

Reactions to Greene’s video ranged from amusement to anger, with many calling on Dre to address the use of his song, which reached a new Billboard Hot 100 peak of No. 22 last year after the rapper performed at the 2022 Super Bowl. “Hey @drdre & @SnoopDogg y’all cool with this lunacy?” tweeted House of Cards actor Michael Kelly, re-sharing Greene’s post.

“@DrDre @SnoopDogg, did you approve this?” tweeted the Lincoln Project.

“Marjorie Taylor Greene using Dr. Dre songs for her campaign videos,” commented another. “We’re living in an episode of South Park.”

09 Jan 2023

Morgan Wallen Pays Tribute to Keith Whitley in New Song

Morgan Wallen shared an early look at a new song over the weekend, and it is a musical nod to the late country music artist Keith Whitley.

“Sitting here waiting on the sun in a deer blind…here’s a new one,” Wallen wrote via Instagram on Sunday (Jan. 8), along with an audio snippet of a demo tape labeled “Keith Whitley Ref 1 Jan 6.”

The ballad, which includes the lyrics, “I’m no stranger to the rain/ It starts rainin’, I start pouring, I’ll take hurtin’ like hell in the morning over feeling this way…there ain’t a mirror in this house anymore,” nods to Whitley songs including “I Never Go Around Mirrors” and “I’m No Stranger to the Rain.”

This isn’t the first time Wallen has paid tribute to Whitley. Over the holidays, Wallen shared a video of himself singing a cover of Whitley’s “Kentucky Bluebird,” calling it one of his favorite Whitley songs. The song is the title track to a 1991 Whitley compilation album.

Whitley, who was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2022, is known for his hits including “I’m No Stranger to the Rain,” “Miami, My Amy.” As a teenager, Kentucky native Whitley teamed with another talented teen, Ricky Skaggs, to begin a bluegrass band, and soon bluegrass luminary Ralph Stanley hired Whitley and Skaggs as part of his own Clinch Mountain Boys.

By 1977, Whitley had joined J.D. Crowe & the New South, performing on albums including 1982’s Somewhere Between. In 1984, Whitley inked a deal with RCA Records and released the EP A Hard Act to Follow. He followed by his album L.A. to Miami, which included the singles “Ten Feet Away,” “Homecoming ’63” and “Hard Livin’.” Whitley’s 1988 album, Don’t Close Your Eyes, earned Whitley three consecutive Billboard Hot Country Songs chart toppers, including “When You Say Nothing at All,” “I’m No Stranger to the Rain,” and the album’s title track. Whitley died on May 9, 1989.

Later this year, Wallen will launch his massive One Night at a Time World Tour. He will welcome several openers for various shows, including HARDY, ERNEST, Bailey Zimmerman and Parker McCollum. The U.S. leg of the tour includes stops at Boston’s Fenway Park, Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, Chicago’s Wrigley Field, St, Louis’ Busch Stadium and Detroit’s Ford Field, while the trek will also head overseas to Australia and New Zealand.

Listen to the clip of Wallen’s new tribute song to Whitley below.

09 Jan 2023

10 Cool New Pop Songs to Get You Through The Week: Monsta X, The New Pornographers, Leony & More

Looking for some motivation to help power you through the start of another work week? We feel you, and with some stellar new pop tunes, we’ve got you covered.

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These 10 tracks from artists including Monsta X, The New Pornographers, Leony and JW Francis and more will get you energized to take on the week. Pop any of these gems into your personal playlists — or scroll to the end of the post for a custom playlist of all 10.

Monsta X, “Beautiful Liar”

The members of Monsta X have always been adept at synthesizing different genres into a fun, immediate product, and on “Beautiful Liar,” the standout track from new mini-album Reason, the K-pop stars mash up funk, hair metal, dance-pop and hip-hop in a manner that doesn’t sound overstuffed or lose its foundation. Plenty of Monsta X singles possess interesting tidbits in their margins, but “Beautiful Liar” keeps its ambition front and center. – Jason Lipshutz

India Theiriot, “Montage”

Ever scroll New Music Friday and hear a pop song so self-assured and satisfying that it stops you in your tracks? That effect undoubtedly happened to anyone lucky enough to stumble upon singer-songwriter India Theiriot’s “Montage,” a heartfelt and ornately produced track that possessed the quality of a breakthrough. Theiriot’s vocal warmth wraps around the synths here, presenting observations and memories with a gravity that invites the listener closer. – J.L.

Leony, “Somewhere in Between”

Now this is how you do a pre-chorus: on “Somewhere in Between,” the new single from Leony, the German pop artist’s voice keeps creeping upward, inching toward higher octaves, before the hook kicks in and the listener feels a rush of speed and danger. Best of all, “Somewhere in Between” matches its construction with a tale of self-confidence (“Got clarity inside of me, I know who I am / No matter what you saw, I know my heart always stayed the same,” Leony sings), so that the payoff feels earned. – J.L.

Debby Friday, “So Hard To Tell”

Debby Friday’s backstory is fascinating enough to fill a novel — the Nigerian-born artist grew up hopscotching across Canada, attending all-night raves, quitting DJ’ing due to personal issues, then picking up the pieces as a singer-songwriter through YouTube tutorials. Even a context-free listen to new single “So Hard To Tell,” however, reveals one of the young year’s most audacious bangers, a daring and cacophonous piece of pop that wants to entrance (or maybe pummel) its listener with its percussion. – J.L.

The New Pornographers, “Really Really Light”

The New Pornographers have been slinging pristine indie-pop hooks for over two decades now, and new single “Really Really Light,” from just-announced album Continue as a Guest, reminds the world of the combined power of A.C. Newman, Dan Bejar and Neko Case as singers, songwriters and complementary pieces in a group setting. “Really Really Light” is at once big and driving, but also reserved and a little clouded, as if the New Pornos want to make their pop sheen slightly askew here. – J.L.

Violet Saturn, “Love U Madly”

Looking to re-create some Warped Tour memories… or at least the time you scream-shouted “good 4 u” with your friends? Siblings Lauren and Spencer Carr Reed have you covered with this enjoyable pop-punk offering from their group Violet Saturn — just don’t headbang too hard to miss the sly time-signature change on “Love U Madly,” where the phrase “My heart stops” literally causes the tempo to rearrange. – J.L.

Neriah, “Puppet on a String”

Los Angeles newcomer Neriah’s latest single successfully see-saws between her airy vocals and some punchier production as the song builds toward a sticky chorus. Though on the shorter side — the track clocks in at two minutes — “Puppet on a String” has just enough for fans to trust where Neriah is headed. – Lyndsey Havens

MyKey, “Bender”

Singer-songwriter MyKey (a moniker inspired by his real name, Mikey… get it?) blissfully blends acoustic riffs with folk-inspired pop melodies, creating contemplative, consuming songs like “Bender.” With its bare-bones production, the single’s power is in its subtlety, but MyKey pulls off a rare feat here. – L.H.

JW Francis, “Going Home to a Party”

With a style reminiscent of the 2000s indie-rock heyday, “Going Home to a Party” could help usher back in a renaissance of rollicking riffs and whimsical production. Courtesy of bedroom pop artist JW Francis, the single is a strong coming attraction of his upcoming album Dream House, out Jan. 27. – L.H.

Suriel Hess, “Wasted”

There’s a refreshing immediacy to “Wasted” that comes from Suriel Hess’ lyrics rather than any grabbing melody. Supported by an acoustic guitar, he sings, “It could be easier, to sit back and just observe, but my mind races.” It’s a perfect lay-up for what follows, as he chronicles what exactly is running sprints through his mind (spoiler alert: it’s a girl). – L.H.

09 Jan 2023

Ryan Griffin Talks Viral Success of ‘Salt, Lime & Tequila’ & Writing ‘Dibs’ With Kelsea Ballerini’: Watch

Ryan Griffin is soaking up his recent success — and has “Salt, Lime & Tequila” to thank for it. The country singer and songwriter at down with Billboard News to discuss his TikTok viral song, and how co-writing a track for Kelsea Ballerini opened the doors for his music career.

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Griffin debuted “Salt” — which peaked at No. 52 and spent a total of 20 weeks on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart — via TikTok in a fun video with his dad. He explained, “I knew my dad would like that song because it has that beach-y vibe to it, and I threw the phone up and I was like, ‘Pops, listen to this! Just tell me you like the song.’”

The day after the country singer posted the video to his TikTok account, the track started making waves on the platform. “I look at my phone and it’s been going massively viral,” he added. “That’s what we’ve been touring on, that was my first single to country radio that I’ve been doing a radio tour [for] all year across the country. It’s definitely the song has launched my career and put me in the right direction.”

As for Griffin’s “Dibs” collaboration with Ballerini — her second No. 1 single on Country Airplay — it happened as a result of a serendipitous writing session.

“The day that we wrote that song, we weren’t even supposed to have written. We wrote it in 45 minutes and it popped out. I’ll never forget the day she called me and told me it would be her second single. My wife and I were pretty broke at the time, to be honest — being a broke songwriter is a real thing,” he recalled. “[Ballerini] called and told me it was going to be he second single and it was just this huge weight off my shoulders. It was really the song that helped me stick around Nashville a little bit longer and start doing my artist thing.”

Watch Ryan Griffin’s full interview with Billboard News in the video above.

09 Jan 2023

Here’s What Readers Picked as Their Favorite Latin Song of 2022

The results are in: Lasso’s “Ojos Marrones” has won best latin song of 2022 after fans voted in Billboard‘s poll to pick their favorite song from our year-end Best Latin Songs of 2022 list.

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With 37% of the overall votes, “Ojos Marrones” takes home the crown. The track became the Venezuelan singer-songwriter’s first Billboard hit. Lasso entered the Billboard charts for the first time when the track peaked at No. 66 on the Billboard Global 200 chart and at No. 39 on the Billboard Global Excl. US chart, both dated Sept. 17. The song also earned him his first and only entry on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 chart (dated Sept. 10).

Coming in second place with 32% of the votes, are Yuridia and Ángela Aguilar with their collaboration “Qué Agonía.” The track, which marked the first time the two teamed up for a song, peaked at No. 28 on the Hot Latin Songs chart. “Qué Agonía,” a romantic Mexican ballad about being in love long after a breakup, the Eden Muñoz-produced track earned Yuridia her first Global entry when the song debuted at No. 189 on the Global Excl. U.S. chart.

Taking third place with 12% of the votes are Sebastián Yatra and John Legend with “Tacones Rojos (Remix).” The bilingual remix with Legend dropped just months after the original, which was included in Yatra’s third studio album Dharma. “Tacones Rojos” won the 2022 Latin Grammy for best pop song.

See where other Latin songs in the poll landed below.

09 Jan 2023

Post Malone, Lizzo & Lil Nas X to Headline BottleRock Napa Valley Festival: See the Full Lineup

Lots of stars are headed to Napa Valley this spring. In a Monday (Jan. 9) announcement, Post Malone, Lizzo, Lil Nas X and many, many more musical acts were confirmed as performers at the next BottleRock, the one-weekend California music festival scheduled to go down May 26-28 this year.

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The artist lineup was shared in poster form on Instagram by BottleRock’s official account. The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Duran Duran and The Smashing Pumpkins were listed at the top in big letters alongside Post, Lizzo and Lil Nas, billing the six of them as the festival’s main headliners.

Underneath, dozens of additional acts make up the rest of the lineup. Leon Bridges, Carly Rae Jepsen, Wu-Tang Clan and Sheryl Crow are all on there, as are Bastille, Tove Lo, Japanese Breakfast, Yung Gravy, CAAMP, Ashe and more.

Three-day tickets for the festival go on sale at noon PT/ 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday (Jan. 10), available for purchase on BottleRock’s website.

Several artists and bands scheduled to perform have already started posting their excitement for the festival. “We are thrilled to share the first ? show announcement for 2023,” tweeted the National, also on the lineup. “We will play BottleRock… which takes place in beautiful wine country, Napa Valley, CA.”

“BOTTLEROCK AND ROLL” indie pop project Dayglow posted on its Instagram stories.

This year’s festival follows an equally star-studded showcase last year, with Metallica, P!nk, Twenty One Pilots, Kygo and Luke Combs in the books as Bottlerock’s 2022 headliners.

See the full lineup for this year’s BottleRock Napa Valley belo.

09 Jan 2023

Bad Bunny Makes Instagram Private & Shares Cryptic Twitter Message

Bad Bunny never confirmed he’s retiring from music, but his latest moves on social media seem to indicate he’s stepping back.

At 44.9 million followers and with 17 posts, the Puerto Rican artist decided to make his Instagram profile private. Meanwhile, on Twitter — where he boasts nearly five million followers — he shared a cryptic message in his bio: “me van a extrañar…,” which translates to “you will miss me.” Both his Facebook page (with 14 million followers) and TikTok (more than 30 million followers) remain public.

The changes on his social media pages come just one week after the artist made headlines for throwing a fan’s phone in the Dominican Republic. In a video that went viral during the holidays, the “Tití Me Preguntó” singer is seen walking with his group of friends and team when an excited fan approached him with her phone and began recording in selfie mode. Just seconds later, an annoyed Bunny grabbed the phone and threw it into the bushes.

In a since-deleted tweet, he expressed that “the person who comes up to me to say hello, to tell me something, or just to meet me, will always receive my attention and respect. Those who come to put a freaking phone in my face I will consider it for what it is, a disrespect, and I will treat it as is.”

Bunny wrapped 2022 as Billboard’s year-end Top Artists chart for the first time, while his Un Verano Sin Ti made history as the first all-Spanish album to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 year-end albums chart. He also closed out the year with a record-breaking $435 million in tour grosses that combine more than 80 concerts from two separate tours (El Último Tour del Mundo and The World’s Hottest Tour).

Although it’s uncertain whether Bad Bunny will release music or not this year, he recently confirmed to Billboard that “I’m taking a break. 2023 is for me, for my physical health, my emotional health to breathe, enjoy my achievements,” he said. “We’re going to celebrate. Let’s go here, let’s go there, let’s go on the boat. I have a couple of sporadic commitments, and I’ll go to the studio, but there’s no pressure. Remember yourself, cabrón. You’ve worked your a– off.”

09 Jan 2023

Taylor Swift’s ‘Anti-Hero’ Returns to No. 1 on Hot 100, The Weeknd & Beyoncé Hit Top 10

No problem: Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” rebounds to No. 1 this week, from No. 8, on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart for a seventh total week on top. With this latest frame at the summit, Swift ties her longest Hot 100 command, first set by “Blank Space” in 2014-15.

Plus, David Guetta and Bebe Rexha’s “I’m Good (Blue)” blasts 19-4 on the Hot 100, notching its first week in the top five, and two songs soar to their first weeks in the top 10: The Weeknd’s “Die for You” (26-8) and Beyoncé’s “Cuff It” (38-10). The Weeknd achieves his 16th top 10 and Beyoncé banks her 21st.

All songs in the Hot 100’s top 10 surge in rank as holiday hits depart the chart (which reflects the Dec. 30-Jan. 5 tracking week). A week earlier, eight seasonal songs placed in the top 10, led by Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” which added its 12th total week at No. 1, the most for a holiday title in the chart’s 64-year history. This week is the third, following the 2019 and 2021 holiday seasons, in which the modern carol has left the list directly from No. 1, and it’s the only song to have made such a disappearance (with Carey having celebrated its first: “Worth it haaa another record!”)

The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data. All charts (dated Jan. 14, 2023) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Jan. 10). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

“Anti-Hero,” released on Republic Records, tallied 83.8 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 4%), 17.2 million streams (up 2%) and 6,000 sold (down 1%) Dec. 30-Jan. 5, according to Luminate.

The single rebounds from No. 2 for a fourth week at No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales chart; rules Radio Songs for a third week; and soars 37-4 after two weeks atop Streaming Songs.

As “Anti-Hero” tops the Hot 100 for a seventh week, Swift matches her longest reign: “Blank Space” dominated for seven frames in 2014-15. Here’s a look at the weeks at No. 1 for her nine leaders:

Weeks at No. 1, Title, Date Reached No. 1:
7, “Anti-Hero,” Nov. 5, 2022
7, “Blank Space,” Nov. 29, 2014
4, “Shake It Off,” Sept. 6, 2014
3, “Look What You Made Me Do,” Sept. 16, 2017
3, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” Sept. 1, 2012
1, “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version),” Nov. 27, 2021
1, “Willow,” Dec. 26, 2020
1, “Cardigan,” Aug. 8, 2020
1, “Bad Blood,” feat. Kendrick Lamar, June 6, 2015

“Anti-Hero” debuted atop the Hot 100 as Swift made history as the first artist to monopolize the chart’s entire top 10 in a single week, with all tracks all from her album Midnights.

Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy” jumps 10-2 on the Hot 100, after it topped the Oct. 29-dated chart.

SZA’s “Kill Bill” rebounds to its No. 3 Hot 100 high, from No. 11, as it leads Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot R&B Songs, which use the same methodology as the Hot 100, for a fourth week each. The track is from her album SOS, which claims a fourth week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The song gains despite the absence of its official video, although SZA teased a clip of it (“A film by Christian Breslauer”) Dec. 29.

David Guetta and Bebe Rexha’s “I’m Good (Blue)” roars 19-4 on the Hot 100, surpassing its prior No. 7 high. Guetta ties his best career rank, previously established by “Without You,” featuring Usher, in 2011 and “Turn Me On,” featuring Nicki Minaj, in 2012. Guetta has also hit the top five with “Sexy Chick,” featuring Akon (No. 5, 2010). Rexha adds her second top five entry, following “Meant to Be,” with Florida Georgia Line (No. 2, 2018). “Good” concurrently crowns the multi-metric Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart for a 16th week.

Notably, “Good” bests the Hot 100 peak of the song that it interpolates for its basis: Eiffel 65’s “Blue (Da Ba Dee),” which hit No. 6 in January 2000.

Drake and 21 Savage’s “Rich Flex” reverses course, 21-5, on the Hot 100, after spending its first three weeks on the chart at its No. 2 best beginning in November. The collab controls the multi-metric Hot Rap Songs chart for an eighth week.

Metro Boomin, The Weeknd and 21 Savage’s “Creepin’ ” leaps 22-6 on the Hot 100, after it debuted at its No. 5 high in December, and Harry Styles’ “As It Was” soars 31-7, following 15 weeks at No. 1 beginning last April, the fourth-longest reign in the chart’s history.

The Weeknd’s “Die for You” vaults 26-8 on the Hot 100, led by 67.3 million in airplay audience (up 3%) and 9.9 million streams (up 10%).

The song hits the Hot 100’s top 10 over six years after its original release on The Weeknd’s album Starboy, sparked by interaction on TikTok (which does not presently contribute to Billboard‘s charts). That buzz helped lead to the song’s airplay promotion and prominence, as the track holds at its No. 4 Radio Songs high.

Despite its 2016 arrival, Hit Songs Deconstructed (which analyzes the compositional traits of Hot 100 top 10s) notes that “Die for You” “fits in with the recent uptick of synth-heavy top 10s, which doubled between 2020 and 2022 to nearly one-quarter of such songs, and the continued popularity of R&B, which has held steady in half of all top 10s over the past two years.”

The Weeknd ups his career count to 16 Hot 100 top 10s, while Starboy generates its third, after the title cut topped the chart for a week in January 2017, becoming his third of six No. 1s, and “I Feel It Coming” hit No. 4 that April, with both songs featuring Daft Punk.

Steve Lacy’s “Bad Habit” rebounds 30-9 on the Hot 100, following three weeks at No. 1 in October. It concurrently tops the multi-metric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, Hot Rock Songs and Hot Alternative Songs charts for a 20th week each.

Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Beyoncé’s “Cuff It” soars 38-10, with 55.8 million in radio reach (up 4%), 8.3 million streams (up 22%) and 3,000 sold (up 16%).

Beyoncé achieves her 21st Hot 100 top 10 as a soloist. She scores her second from her latest album, Renaissance, after “Break My Soul” spent two weeks at No. 1 beginning in August. The set is her first to spin off multiple top 10s since I Am…Sasha Fierce yielded four in 2008-09: “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” (No. 1, four weeks), “If I Were a Boy” (No. 3), “Halo” (No. 5) and “Sweet Dreams” (No. 10).

Notably, Destiny’s Child, with Beyoncé as a member, tallied 10 Hot 100 top 10s, in 1998-2005. When “Break My Soul” hit the tier in August, the superstar joined elite company among acts with at least 20 solo top 10s and 10 in a group – and became the first woman to achieve the feat. Michael Jackson notched 30 solo top 10s and 11 in Jackson 5/The Jacksons, while Paul McCartney boasts 23 solo (including his output with Wings) and 34 in The Beatles. (In a reverse of the feat, The Supremes scored 20 top 10s, including six billed as by Diana Ross & The Supremes, and Ross went on to tally 12 as a soloist.)

Again, for all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram and all charts (dated Jan. 14), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (Jan. 10).

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.

1 … 2,981 2,982 2,983 2,984 2,985 2,986 2,987 … 3,260

Music

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Monsta X, “Beautiful Liar”

India Theiriot, “Montage”

Leony, “Somewhere in Between”

Debby Friday, “So Hard To Tell”

The New Pornographers, “Really Really Light”

Violet Saturn, “Love U Madly”

Neriah, “Puppet on a String”

MyKey, “Bender”

JW Francis, “Going Home to a Party”

Suriel Hess, “Wasted”

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