Monthly Archives: January 2017

Migos’ “Bad and Boujee” leads for a third week, while “Scars to Your Beautiful” becomes Cara’s second top 10.

Migos‘ viral hit “Bad and Boujee,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert, tops the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Feb. 11) for a third total week. Meanwhile, Alessia Cara collects her second top 10, as “Scars to Your Beautiful” ascends from No. 13 to No. 10.

As we do every Monday, let’s run down the top 10 of the Hot 100, which blends sales, airplay and streaming data. All charts will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, Jan. 31.

“Bad,” the first Hot 100 No. 1 for both hip-hop trio Migos (Quavo, Takeoff and Offset) and rapper Lil Uzi Vert (as well as the first for the 300 Entertainment label), has inspired abundant memes and tweets playing off the song’s “raindrop, drop top” lyrics. The track tops the Streaming Songs chart for a fifth week with 47 million U.S. streams in the week ending Jan. 26, according to Nielsen Music. It also leads the audio subscription services-based On-Demand Streaming Songs chart for a fifth week (19.7 million on-demand clicks).

“Bad” rebounds 4-3 on Digital Song Sales (51,000 downloads sold, down 25 percent) and jumps 27-23 on Radio Songs, gaining by 20 percent to 49 million in airplay audience. It additionally rules Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts for a fourth week each. Migos’ second full-length, Culture, featuring “Bad,” was released Friday (Jan. 27) and is set to debut on Billboard album charts dated Feb. 18; another song from the set, “T-Shirt,” enters the Hot 100’s top 40 (43-37) on its second week on the chart.

Ed Sheeran‘s “Shape of You” keeps at No. 2 on the Hot 100 following its No. 1 debut two weeks ago, while remaining the best-selling song in the U.S. and gaining in streams and airplay. The cut holds atop Digital Song Sales, down 14 percent to 104,000 sold. It becomes the first song to sell more than 100,000 in its first three weeks of release since Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” did so in its first eight frames (beginning May 28, 2016).

“Shape,” which previews Sheeran’s third studio album ÷, due March 3, stays at No. 2 on Streaming Songs (26.5 million) and surges to the Radio Songs top five (12-5; 93 million, up 25 percent), earning the Hot 100’s top Airplay Gainer award for a second week. Sheeran scores his fourth top five Radio Songs hit and, at four weeks, completes his speediest flight to the region; it’s the fastest blast to the top five since (guess who) Timberlake also needed only four weeks with “Feeling” (June 4).

As previously reported, the proper official video (following its earlier lyric clip) for “Shape” arrived today, which should further enhance the song’s fortunes on next week’s charts.

The Chainsmokers‘ “Closer,” featuring Halsey, lifts 4-3 on the Hot 100, after spending 12 weeks at No. 1. It extends its record for the most weeks logged in the top 10 from a song’s debut, having totaled all 26 of its weeks on the chart – a full six months – in the top 10 since its bow at No. 9 on Aug. 20. “Closer” also tops Hot Dance/Electronic Songs for a 24th week. (Plus, after debuting at No. 7 on the Hot 100 a week ago, The Chainsmokers’ radio follow-up “Paris” drops to No. 13, down by 57 percent to 40,000 sold, as it dips 2-5 on Digital Song Sales. It backtracks 9-10 on Streaming Songs, with 16.8 million, and roars 32-22 on Radio Songs, up 36 percent to 50 million.)

Machine Gun Kelly and Camila Cabello‘s “Bad Things” reaches the Hot 100’s top five, rising 6-4. It pushes 5-3 on Radio Songs (109 million, up 10 percent); 5-4 on Digital Song Sales (42,000, down 10 percent); and 12-11 on Streaming Songs (16.7 million). Kelly earns his first top five Hot 100 hit, while Cabello does the same as a soloist. She matches her previous high achieved before she went solo; as a member of Fifth Harmony, she reached No. 4 with “Work From Home” (featuring Ty Dolla $ign) last June.

Rounding out the Hot 100’s top five, Zayn and Taylor Swift‘s “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)” reaches the region and its best rank, climbing 8-5; it debuted at its prior No. 6 high on the Dec. 31-dated chart. The collab, from the film Fifty Shades Darker (due Feb. 10, along with its soundtrack), rises 3-2 on Digital Song Sales (61,000, down 16 percent, although aided by a 69-cent iTunes Store sale price); 14-11 on Radio Songs (78 million, up 12 percent); and 15-12 on Streaming Songs (16.3 million). The song could gain further on next week’s Hot 100, following the Jan. 27 arrival of its official video.

Zayn adds his second top five solo Hot 100 hit, following last year’s No. 1 “Pillowtalk” (while he also made three trips to the tier as a member of One Direction), and Swift scores her 11th top five and first since the No. 5-peaking “Wildest Dreams” in November 2015.

Rae Sremmurd‘s “Black Beatles,” featuring Gucci Mane, slides 3-6 on the Hot 100, following its seven-week command; Maroon 5‘s “Don’t Wanna Know,” featuring Kendrick Lamar, rebounds to its Hot 100 highpoint (9-7), while ruling Radio Songs for a seventh week (136 million, down 4 percent); The Weeknd‘s “Starboy” descends 5-8 on the Hot 100 after its one week at No. 1, while leading Hot R&B Songs for an 18th week; and Drake‘s “Fake Love” returns to the Hot 100’s top 10 (11-9) and its peak to date (previously set on the Jan. 14 and 21 charts, becoming his 18th top 10). “Fake” also becomes Drake’s 18th Radio Songs top 10 (11-10; 78 million, up 2 percent), a sum second among solo males only to Lil Wayne’s 19 (in the chart’s 26-year history); Rihanna leads all acts with 28.

Capping the Hot 100’s top 10, Alessia Cara collects her second top 10, as “Scars to Your Beautiful” lifts 13-10. “Scars” keeps at No. 2 on Radio Songs (128 million, down 1 percent) and No. 25 on Digital Song Sales (22,000, down 11 percent) and bounds 37-25 on Streaming Songs (12.6 million). Likely helping the song’s profile, NBC’s Saturday Night Live announced Jan. 23 that Cara will be the musical guest on the show’s Feb. 4 episode (to be hosted by Kristen Stewart. Meanwhile, Sheeran will perform on the Feb. 11 episode, to be hosted by Alec Baldwin). “Scars” also leads the Pop Songs airplay chart for a second week.

In its 22nd week on the Hot 100, the track completes the steadiest climb to the top 10 since gnash’s “I Hate U I Love U,” featuring Olivia O’Brien, made the bracket in its 25th week (Oct. 22, 2016). Until “Scars,” no song by a lead female had taken a more scenic journey to the top 10 since Anna Kendrick’s “Cups (Pitch Perfect’s When I’m Gone)”: 28 weeks, 2013.

Cara, the winner of the Rule Breaker award at Billboard’s 2016 Women in Music celebration in December, first hit the Hot 100’s top 10 with her breakthrough single “Here,” which peaked at No. 5 on the Feb. 6, 2016, chart. With both songs from her debut full-length, Know-It-All, Cara is the first artist to notch at least two top 10s from a first LP since Fetty Wap banked three from his self-titled debut in 2015. She’s the first woman to earn the honor since Meghan Trainor, who also landed three from Title in 2014-15.

Just beyond the Hot 100’s top tier, two songs climb to new heights in the top 20: Rihanna‘s “Love on the Brain” (17-14) and The Weeknd’s “I Feel It Coming” (19-18), like “Starboy” also featuring Daft Punk.

Also note two key changes, effective this week (for the chart dated Feb. 11), to the Hot 100’s methodology (as well to that of Billboard’s multi-metric genre charts: Hot Country Songs, Hot Rock Songs, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Hot Rap Songs, Hot R&B Songs, Hot Latin Songs, Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, Hot Christian Songs and Hot Gospel Songs). First, Billboard has applied a formula adjustment, as is regularly administered, to the Hot 100 (and those charts cited) to rebalance the ratio among sales, airplay and streaming, accounting for changes in music consumption patterns, i.e., increases in streaming and decreases in sales.

Plus, as noted in more detail in a separate announcement, influential Pandora streaming data is added to the Hot 100’s data pool, as well as to those of the other aforementioned charts.

Find out more Hot 100 news in the weekly “Hot 100 Chart Moves” column later this week, and visit Billboard.com tomorrow (Jan. 31), when all charts, including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh. The Hot 100 and other charts will also appear in the next issue of Billboard magazine, on sale Friday (Feb. 3).

Source: billboard.com

“Bad and Boujee” logs a second week on top, replacing Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You,” which debuted at the summit a week ago. Plus, The Chainsmokers’ “Paris” launches at No. 7.

Migos‘ “Bad and Boujee,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert, rebounds from No. 2 to No. 1 to top the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Feb. 4) for a second total week, again driven in part by viral online buzz; it first led the Jan. 21-dated chart. The song dethrones Ed Sheeran‘s “Shape of You” (1-2), which debuted at No. 1 a week ago (on the Jan. 28 tally).

Plus, The Chainsmokers debut at No. 7 on the Hot 100 with their new single, “Paris,” marking their highest entrance to date.

Let’s run down the top 10 of the Hot 100, which blends sales, airplay and streaming data. All charts will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, Jan. 24.

“Bad,” the first Hot 100 No. 1 for both hip-hop trio Migos (Quavo, Takeoff and Offset) and rapper Lil Uzi Vert (as well as the first for the 300 Entertainment label), has inspired numerous memes and tweets playing off the song’s “raindrop, drop top” lyrics. Also helping the song’s profile, Donald Glover shouted it out during his acceptance speech at the Golden Globes on Jan. 8. With Migos having guested on the FX series Atlanta, created by and starring Glover, the artist said, “I really wanna thank the Migos, not for being in the show, but for making ‘Bad and Boujee.’ Like, that’s the best song ever.”

“Bad” tops the Streaming Songs chart for a fourth week with 43 million U.S. streams (up 11 percent) in the week ending Jan. 19, according to Nielsen Music. The majority of its streams stem from YouTube (21.8 million), followed by Spotify (10.6 million). The track also leads the audio subscription services-based On-Demand Streaming Songs chart for a fourth week (21 million on-demand clicks, up 17 percent).

Impressively, “Bad” wins the Hot 100’s top Streaming Gainer award for a record fifth straight week. It passes Desiigner‘s “Panda” and Rihanna‘s “Work,” featuring Drake, each of which earned the honor for four consecutive frames in 2016.

“Bad” dips 3-4 on Digital Song Sales (68,000 downloads sold, down 21 percent) but surges 34-27 on Radio Songs, gaining by 23 percent to 41 million in airplay audience. It additionally rules Billboard‘s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts for a third week each. Migos’ second full-length, Culture, featuring “Bad,” arrives Friday (Jan. 27); another song from the set, “T-Shirt,” debuts on the Hot 100 at No. 43.

Sheeran’s “Shape” shifts to No. 2 on the Hot 100 following its No. 1 debut, although it remains the best-selling song in the U.S. and gains in streams and airplay. The cut holds atop Digital Song Sales, down 50 percent to 120,000 sold (having sold 360,000 in its first two frames). It pushes 4-2 on Streaming Songs (21.3 million, up 7 percent) and 18-12 on Radio Songs (75 million, up 31 percent, good for the Hot 100’s top Airplay Gainer nod).

Meanwhile, Sheeran’s other top 10-debuting song from a week ago, “Castle on the Hill,” tumbles 6-28 on the Hot 100, down 2-11 on Digital Song Sales (37,000 sold, down 78 percent) and 11-18 on Streaming Songs (9.2 million, down 29 percent). The songs preview Sheeran’s third studio album ÷, due March 3. Both boast an official lyric video, with the proper official clip for “Castle” having arrived early today (Jan. 23). At radio, “Shape” is being promoted to pop and adult pop formats, while “Castle” is being worked to alternative and adult alternative.

Rae Sremmurd‘s “Black Beatles” holds at No. 3 on the Hot 100, following its seven-week command, and The Chainsmokers‘ “Closer,” featuring Halsey, rebounds 5-4, after spending 12 weeks at No. 1. “Closer” extends its record for the most weeks logged in the top 10 from a song’s debut, having totaled all 25 of its weeks on the chart in the region since its debut at No. 9 on Aug. 20. The track additionally tops the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart for a 23rd week. (More on The Chainsmokers’ debut, as well as a new Hot 100 entry for Halsey, just ahead …)

Rounding out the Hot 100’s top five, The Weeknd‘s “Starboy” descends 4-5 after its one week at No. 1. Linking the top five (and as insightful reader Angel Lopez noticed), for a second week all titles are present or current No. 1s. The last time the top five sported nothing but No. 1-peaking titles? Nearly five years ago, as the March 3, 2012-dated Hot 100 looked like this, in order from No. 1 to No. 5 (and featured only women, for that matter): “Part of Me,” Katy Perry; “Set Fire to the Rain,” Adele; “I Will Always Love You,” Whitney Houston; “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You),” Kelly Clarkson; and “Rolling in the Deep,” Adele.

That week in 2012, Perry’s song debuted at No. 1; Adele’s two hits had led for two and seven weeks, respectively; Houston’s had reigned for 14 weeks back in 1992-93 before returning in 2012 following her passing; and Clarkson’s had spent two of its three weeks on top. (The last time before this and last week that the Hot 100 sported at least two straight weeks of top fives with only No. 1 hits? In December 2010-January 2011, for six consecutive weeks.)

Back to the current Hot 100, Machine Gun Kelly and Camila Cabello‘s “Bad Things” bounds to a new high, hiking 10-6. It climbs 9-5 on Radio Songs (99 million, up 12 percent); 7-5 on Digital Song Sales (46,000, down 6 percent); and 14-12 on Streaming Songs (13.3 million, up 5 percent).

And … more Chainsmokers, who debut at No. 7 on the Hot 100 with “Paris.” The song, released Friday, Jan. 13 (and accompanied by an official lyric video), enters Digital Song Sales at No. 2 (92,000); Streaming Songs at No. 9 (14.6 million); and Radio Songs at No. 32 (37 million). The duo earns its fourth Hot 100 top 10 and bests the No. 9 debut of “Closer” for their highest arrival. Also notably, the act has also ranked in the Hot 100’s top 10 for 38 consecutive weeks,  thanks to “Paris,” “Closer” and the No. 3-peaking “Don’t Let Me Down” (featuring Daya). The record among duos or groups: 48 straight weeks in the top 10 for Ace of Base in 1993-94. Perry holds the overall mark: 69 weeks in a row in 2010-11.

Global success: “Paris” is the second top 10 to name-check the French capital in its title, following Jay Z and Kanye West’s “Ni**as in Paris,” which hit No. 5 in 2012. The Chainsmokers’ new single is also the second song simply titled “Paris” to grace the Hot 100, with the first having charted just after the list’s August 1958 launch; that October, Perez Prado and His Orchestra took their “Paris” to No. 95.

Zayn and Taylor Swift‘s “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)” returns to the Hot 100’s top 10, rising 12-8. After debuting at No. 6 on the Dec. 31-dated chart, the collab reaches its highest rank since, aided by continued interest in the Fifty Shades Darker extended trailer, which arrived Jan. 2, and the film’s pending Feb. 10 premiere; its soundtrack arrives the same day. The track pushes 4-3 on Digital Song Sales (73,000, up 8 percent); bullets for a second week at No. 14 on Radio Songs (69 million, up 10 percent); and ascends 16-15 on Streaming Songs (11.9 million, up 14 percent), while its official video is possibly imminent. (At No. 77 on the Hot 100, another song from the film and its soundtrack debut: Halsey’s “Not Afraid Anymore,” powered by its No. 17 start on Digital Song Sales with 30,000 sold.)

Maroon 5‘s “Don’t Wanna Know,” featuring Kendrick Lamar, drops 8-9 on the Hot 100, after hitting No. 7, while ruling Radio Songs for a sixth week (142 million, down 2 percent). Closing out the Hot 100’s top 10, Bruno Mars‘ “24K Magic” descends 7-10 after peaking at No. 4.

Just beyond the Hot 100’s top tier, three songs climb to new heights: Big Sean‘s “Bounce Back” (16-15); Rihanna‘s “Love on the Brain” (19-17); and The Weeknd‘s “I Feel It Coming” (22-19), like “Starboy” also featuring Daft Punk. Meanwhile, “Brain” becomes Rihanna’s record-extending 28th Radio Songs top 10, furthering her lead over runner-up Mariah Carey, who has notched 23 (dating to the chart’s December 1990 inception).

Find out more Hot 100 news in the weekly “Hot 100 Chart Moves” column later this week, and visit Billboard.com tomorrow (Jan. 24), when all charts, including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh.

Source: billboard.com

The xx scores its highest charting album ever on the Billboard 200 chart, as the alternative band’s third studio album, I See You, debuts at No. 2. The set earned 46,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Jan. 19, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 36,000 were in traditional album sales.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new Feb. 4-dated chart (where I See You starts at No. 2) will be posted in full to Billboard’s websites on Tuesday, Jan. 24.

The xx had previously peaked as high as No. 5 in 2012 with Coexist, the act’s second album. It debuted at its peak, starting with 73,000 sold in its first week. The band has charted one other title, its self-titled debut effort, which reached No. 92 in 2010.

I See You’s 36,000 in traditional album sales enables the title to bow at No. 1 on the Top Album Sales chart, which ranks the week’s best-selling albums.

I See You is blocked from the No. 1 slot on the Billboard 200 by The Weeknd’s Starboy, which holds for a third straight week at No. 1, and collects a fourth week atop the list overall. (It debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated Dec. 17, then returned to the top on Jan. 21, where it has been since.) Starboy earned 61,000 equivalent album units in the latest tracking frame (down 3 percent). The bulk of those units were generated by streams of the songs from the album, as streaming equivalent album units for Starboy totaled 38,000 for the week (which translates to 57.2 million streams of the album’s tracks). The rest of Starboy’s overall units were powered by track equivalent album units (10,000) and traditional album sales (13,000 copies sold).

Starboy has now blocked three challengers for No. 1 in the last three weeks: the Moana soundtrack surged 6-2 on the Jan. 21 list; the La La Land soundtrack vaulted 15-2 a week ago, and this week the xx debuts in the runner-up slot. The last time one album blocked three successive ascending or debuting (at No. 2) titles from hitting No. 1 was Drake’s Views, which thwarted ScHoolboy Q’s Blank Face LP, NEEDTOBREATHE’s HARD LOVE and Gucci Mane’s Everybody Looking between July 30 and Aug. 13. (All three of those titles debuted at No. 2.)

As for the rest of the new top 10: La La Land dips one rung to No. 3 on the Billboard 200, with 42,000 units (up less than 1 percent), while Moana falls one slot as well, to No. 4, with 34,000 units (down 13 percent).

Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic falls one position to No. 5 with 33,000 units (down 10 percent), while the original Broadway cast recording of Hamilton: An American Musical, is steady at No. 6 with 28,000 units (down 4 percent). J. Cole’s 4 Your Eyez Only slips two slots to No. 7 with a little more than 27,000 units (down 10 percent), and Drake’s Views descends a spot to No. 8 with 27,000 units (down 4 percent). Post Malone’s Stoney is a non-mover at No. 9 with 25,000 units (up 7 percent), largely driven by streams (18,000 of the album’s units were generated by streams).

Rounding out the top 10 is the Trolls soundtrack, climbing four slots to No. 10 with 23,000 units (up 20 percent). The set had a big gain in traditional album sales, as it sold 14,000 for the week (up 40 percent). The album was sale-priced for $6.99 in the iTunes Store during the tracking period.

Source: billboard.com

Sheeran scores his first Hot 100 No. 1 as a performer & becomes the first act ever to debut in the top 10 with two titles simultaneously.

Ed Sheeran earns his first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 as a performer, as “Shape of You” starts atop the chart dated Jan. 28. The pop singer-songwriter also becomes the first artist ever to debut in the top 10 with two songs simultaneously, as “Castle on the Hill” follows with an entrance at No. 6.

Let’s run down the top 10 of the Hot 100, which blends sales, airplay and streaming data. All charts will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, Jan. 18 (a day later than usual, due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday having pushed back chart processing this week).

“Shape,” the 1,061st No. 1 in the Hot 100’s 58-year history, rockets in powered most heavily by sales, as it also bows atop the Digital Song Sales chart with 240,000 first-week downloads sold in the week ending Jan. 12, according to Nielsen Music. It launches at No. 4 on Streaming Songs with 20 million U.S. streams and soars 41-18 on Radio Songs with 57 million in airplay audience following its first full week of tracking.

Sheeran simultaneously starts at No. 6 on the Hot 100 with “Castle on the Hill,” which opens at No. 2 on Digital Song Sales (171,000 sold) and No. 11 on Streaming Songs (13 million U.S. streams). (With both debuts, Sheeran ups his career count to five Hot 100 top 10s.)

“Shape” and “Castle” were released Jan. 6 on Atlantic Records and preview Sheeran’s third studio album ÷ (pronounced “Divide”), due March 3. Each song is accompanied by an official lyric video so far. At radio, “Shape” being promoted to pop and adult pop formats and “Castle,” to the more niched alternative and adult alternative formats.

Upon Sheeran’s shining week, let’s look at the many feats that he achieves.

Sheeran’s first No. 1 as an artist: Sheeran tops the Hot 100 for the first time among 16 career entries, dating to his arrival with “The A Team” (on July 28, 2012). He previously peaked as high as No. 2 (for eight weeks) with “Thinking Out Loud” in 2015. (He’d debuted as high as No. 15 with “Sing” in 2014.) Still, Sheeran had topped the Hot 100 as a writer, having co-written Justin Bieber‘s “Love Yourself,” which spent two weeks at No. 1 in February 2016 and went on to become the top title on the 2016 year-end Hot 100.

Sheeran scores his second Hot 100 No. 1 as a writer, while “Shape” co-writers Steve Mac and Johnny McDaid each tally their first. Notably, Sheeran and McDaid co-penned Sheeran’s 2015 No. 10 hit “Photograph.” (Another note on Mac’s success follows below …)

First artist with simultaneous top 10 debuts: As pointed out above, until Sheeran on the new Hot 100, no act in the chart’s history had debuted with two titles in the top 10 in the same week. In 2016, two artists just missed the honor by one notch each: on the May 14 chart, Beyonce blasted in at No. 10 with “Formation” and No. 11 with “Sorry.” On the Dec. 31 chart, J. Cole debuted at No. 7 with “Deja Vu” and No. 11 with “Immortal.”

Started from the top: “Shape” is the 27th title to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100. It’s the first since Justin Timberlake‘s “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” on May 28, 2016. Speaking of Timberlake …

Solo success: “Shape” marks the first No. 1 by an artist unaccompanied by any featured acts since Timberlake’s “Feeling” debuted and spent its one week at No. 1. Sheeran’s new leader ends a Hot 100-record 34 consecutive weeks of No. 1s sporting featured acts, linked by Drake‘s “One Dance,” featuring WizKid and Kyla (nine weeks at No. 1); Sia‘s “Cheap Thrills,” featuring Sean Paul (four); The Chainsmokers‘ “Closer,” featuring Halsey (12); Rae Sremmurd‘s “Black Beatles,” featuring Gucci Mane (seven); The Weeknd‘s “Starboy,” featuring Daft Punk (one); and, the song that “Shape” dethrones, Migos‘ “Bad and Boujee,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert (one). (More on the four lattermost songs ahead …)

3 for ’17: “Shape” is already the third song to log its first week at No. 1 on the Hot 100 on charts dated in 2017, following The Weeknd’s “Starboy” and Migos’ “Bad and Boujee,” which climbed to No. 1 (for a week each) on the Jan. 7 and 21 charts, respectively. If that seems like quick a rate of turnover at the top, it is: since Nielsen data began powering the Hot 100 in November 1991, never before had three songs hit No. 1 for the first time each in January. Such turnover last occurred in January 1991, when Madonna‘s “Justify My Love” (Jan. 5), Janet Jackson‘s “Love Will Never Do (Without You)” (Jan. 19) and Surface‘s “The First Time” (Jan. 26) all reached No. 1.

What a production: With “Shape,” Sheeran scores his first Hot 100 No. 1 as a producer, while co-producer Steve Mac adds his third, and first since two American Idol-related leaders in the early 2000s: he co-produced Kelly Clarkson‘s “A Moment Like This” (two weeks at No. 1 in 2002, and the first Hot 100 topper by an Idol contestant) and Clay Aiken‘s “This Is the Night” (one, 2003). (More recently, Mac had reached No. 3 as producer and co-writer of The Wanted‘s “Glad You Came,” which hit No. 3 in 2012. He’s also currently scaling the Hot 100 as co-writer and co-producer of Clean Bandit‘s “Rockabye,” featuring Sean Paul and Anne-Marie, up 61-51 on the latest chart.)

Sheeran Nos. 1 and 2 in sales: As “Shape” and “Castle” start in the top two spots on Digital Song Sales, Sheeran is the first act to debut at Nos. 1 and 2 simultaneously in the chart’s history. (Other acts had ranked, but not debuted, at both Nos. 1 and 2 at the same time, most recently Prince, last May 14). Meanwhile, the 240,000 that “Shape” sold in its first week mark the most for a song since Timberlake’s “Feeling” roared in with 379,000 (May 28).

Notably, Sheeran’s U.S. chart success with “Shape” and “Castle” accompanies his similarly striking start in his native UK, as the songs arrive at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, on the Official UK Singles chart, making him the first artist ever to debut in the list’s top two simultaneously.

As Sheeran starts at No. 1 (and No. 6) on the Hot 100, Migos’ “Bad and Boujee” drops to No. 2 after reaching the summit a week ago, although it sweeps the chart’s top streaming, digital sales and airplay gainer awards for the biggest increases in all three metrics (among non-debuting songs). Having inspired numerous memes and tweets playing off the song’s “raindrop, drop top” lyrics, “Bad” tops Streaming Songs for a third week (38.7 million U.S. streams, the song’s highest weekly sum yet, up 10 percent). It also leads the audio subscription services-based On-Demand Streaming Songs chart for a third week (17.9 million on-demand clicks, up 13 percent).

“Bad” dips 2-3 on Digital Song Sales (below Sheeran’s two tracks), but with a 14 percent gain to 86,000 sold, and debuts on the Radio Songs chart at No. 34 (34 million in airplay audience, up 61 percent). It additionally rules Billboard‘s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts for a second week each.

Likely helping “Bad,” Donald Glover praised the song during his acceptance speech at the Golden Globes Jan. 8. With Migos having guested on the FX series Atlanta, created by and starring Glover, he said, “I really wanna thank the Migos, not for being in the show, but for making ‘Bad and Boujee.’ Like, that’s the best song ever.”

Rae Sremmurd’s “Black Beatles” slips 2-3 on the Hot 100 following its seven-week command and The Weeknd’s “Starboy” holds at No. 4 after its one week at No. 1.

Rounding out the Hot 100’s top five, The Chainsmokers’ “Closer” retreats 3-5, after spending 12 weeks at No. 1, and sets a record: having totaled all 24 of its weeks on the chart in the top 10, dating to its debut at No. 9 on Aug. 20, the collab with Halsey rewrites the mark for the most consecutive weeks tallied in the top 10 from a song’s debut week. It passes Bieber’s aforementioned Sheeran co-write “Love Yourself,” which logged its first 23 weeks on the Hot 100 in the top 10 (Dec. 5, 2015-May 7, 2016). “Closer” additionally leads the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart for a 22nd week.

(Looking ahead to next week, The Chainsmokers should make a lofty entrance with “Paris,” released Friday, Jan. 13. After its first three days of airplay, the follow-up radio single to “Closer” is already new at No. 24 on the Jan. 28-dated Pop Songs airplay chart.)

Below Sheeran’s “Castle” at No. 6 on the Hot 100, Bruno Mars‘ “24K Magic” descends 5-7 after peaking at No. 4; Maroon 5‘s “Don’t Wanna Know,” featuring Kendrick Lamar, drops from its No. 7 peak to No. 8, while topping Radio Songs for a fifth week (145 million, up 2 percent) and taking over atop Pop Songs (2-1); Ariana Grande‘s “Side to Side,” featuring Nicki Minaj, falls 6-9 on the Hot 100 after reaching No. 4; and Machine Gun Kelly and Camila Cabello‘s “Bad Things” keeps at No. 10 after hitting No. 9 three weeks earlier.

Find out more Hot 100 news in the weekly “Hot 100 Chart Moves” column later this week, and visit Billboard.com tomorrow (Jan. 18), when all charts, including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh. The Hot 100 and other charts will also appear in the next issue of Billboard magazine, on sale Friday (20).

Source: billboard.com

The rap acts each earn their first Hot 100 No. 1 with the viral track. Plus, Bruno Mars’ “24K Magic” is the week’s top-selling song for the first time.

Migos‘ “Bad and Boujee,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert, rises 2-1 to crown the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Jan. 21), driven in part by viral online buzz.

As we do every Monday, let’s run down the top 10 of the Hot 100, which blends sales, airplay and streaming data. All charts will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, Jan. 10.

“Bad” is the first Hot 100 No. 1 for both hip-hop trio Migos (Quavo, Takeoff and Offset) and rapper Lil Uzi Vert (born Symere Woods). It’s also the first Hot 100 leader for the 300 Entertainment label, founded in 2014, as well as the first topper for the Quality Control imprint. (In the Hot 100’s 58-year history, the song is the 1,060th No. 1 all-time.)

As previously reported, “Bad” has inspired numerous memes and tweets playing off the song’s “raindrop, drop top” lyrics. A 60-second clip of Migos of performing “Bad” in Lagos, Nigeria, posted to Twitter Dec. 20, has also helped the song’s profile surge.

“Bad” tops the Streaming Songs chart for a second week with 35.3 million U.S. streams (up 9 percent) in the week ending Jan. 5, according to Nielsen Music. The majority of its streams stem from YouTube (19.3 million), followed by Spotify (9.2 million). The track also leads the audio subscription services-based On-Demand Streaming Songs chart for a second week (15.9 million on-demand clicks, up 7 percent).

“Bad” pushes 4-2 in Digital Song Sales (76,000 downloads sold, down 35 percent; most songs dropped significantly in sales in the tracking week, following a hearty prior sales frame that included Christmas-week shopping) and nears the Radio Songs chart, gaining by 34 percent to 20 million in airplay audience. On R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, it bounds 14-6 as the chart’s Greatest Gainer (up 31 percent to 16.2 million in audience at the format).

“Bad” additionally takes over atop Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts.

Looking ahead to next week, “Bad” could further gain thanks to Donald Glover’s shout-out of the song during his acceptance speech at the Golden Globes last night (Jan. 8). With Migos having guested on the FX series Atlanta, created by and starring Glover, he praised, “I really wanna thank the Migos, not for being in the show, but for making ‘Bad and Boujee.’ Like, that’s the best song ever.” (Any consumer reaction to the mention would count for next week’s Hot 100, which will cover streaming and sales from Jan. 6 through Jan. 12.)

As the act hits the Hot 100’s top spot, Migos has blasted past its previous best peak, No. 69, set by “Fight Night” in 2014. Meanwhile, Lil Uzi Vert’s second-highest-charting Hot 100 entry brings him more good news: “You Was Right” rises 42-40, reaching the top 40 at last in its 26th week on the list.

(And, good news for a Hot 100 No. 1 with “bad” in its title: Migos’ new leader is the first such song since Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood,” featuring Kendrick Lamar, on June 6, 2015. It’s also the first such topper by a group since 1988, when Bon Jovi reigned with “Bad Medicine.” Bon Jovi, in fact, had scored the last two Hot 100 No. 1s with “bad” in their titles among groups prior to “Bad and Boujee”: “You Give Love a Bad Name” ruled in 1986.)

“Bad” dethrones a song that likewise originally topped the Hot 100 fueled in part by viral action, Rae Sremmurd’s “Black Beatles,” featuring Gucci Mane, after seven nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1; “Beatles” had first led the Hot 100 dated Nov. 26, boosted by videos with the song’s audio serving as the soundtrack to Mannequin Challenge clips. “Beatles” rises 3-2 on Streaming Songs (24.7 million, down 13 percent); drops to No. 4 after seven weeks atop Digital Song Sales (66,000, down 52 percent); and keeps at its No. 8 high on Radio Songs (97 million, up 8 percent).

Notably, hip-hop-based rap tracks lead the Hot 100 for the first time in back-to-back weeks for the first time in more than eight years (considering titles that have hit the top 40 of R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay): on Nov. 15, 2008, T.I.’s “Live Your Life,” featuring Rihanna, replaced his own “Whatever You Like” at the Hot 100’s summit.

The Chainsmokers’ “Closer,” featuring Halsey, rebounds 4-3 on the Hot 100 after spending 12 weeks at No. 1. Having totaled all 23 of its weeks on the chart in the top 10, dating to its debut at No. 9 on Aug. 20, the collab ties the mark for the most consecutive weeks tallied in the top 10 from a song’s debut week. Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” likewise logged its first 23 weeks on the Hot 100 in the top 10 (Dec. 5, 2015-May 7, 2016), including two at No. 1; the ballad went on to become the top title on the 2016 year-end Hot 100.

The Weeknd‘s “Starboy,” featuring Daft Punk, descends 3-4 on the Hot 100 after crowning the Jan. 7 chart, becoming The Weeknd’s third leader and Daft Punk’s first. It leads the Hot R&B Songs chart for a 15th week. Meanwhile, follow-up “I Feel It Coming,” also featuring Daft Punk, jumps 34-25 on the Hot 100 (nearing its No. 22 high set last month).

Rounding out the Hot 100’s top five, Bruno Mars‘ “24K Magic” holds at No. 5 after peaking at No. 4, while becoming the best-selling song of the week for the first time. It lifts 7-1 on Digital Song Sales (77,000, down 27 percent). (The track received notable further attention after Mars appeared on CBS’ The Late Late Show With James Corden Dec. 13, and sang it in the coveted passenger seat, in the show’s “Carpool Karoake” segment.)

Ariana Grande‘s “Side to Side,” featuring Nicki Minaj, reverses course on the Hot 100, lifting 7-6 after reaching No. 4. It leads the top 40-based Pop Songs airplay chart for a fifth week, tying Sia’s “Cheap Thrills,” featuring Sean Paul, in August-September and Swift’s “Bad Blood” (five weeks, 2015) for the longest reign by a lead female since Swift’s “Blank Space” topped Pop Songs for six weeks in 2014-15.

Maroon 5‘s “Don’t Wanna Know,” featuring Lamar, returns to the Hot 100’s top 10, and its peak (11-7), while topping Radio Songs for a fourth week (142 million, up 9 percent).

DJ Snake‘s “Let Me Love You,” featuring Bieber, stays at No. 8 on the Hot 100, after peaking at No. 4; Drake’s “Fake Love” is likewise steady, at No. 9, its best rank; and Machine Gun Kelly and Camila Cabello’s “Bad Things” rebounds 12-10, after hitting No. 9 two weeks earlier.

Among moves just beyond the Hot 100’s top 10, Alessia Cara‘s “Scars to Your Beautiful” climbs 15-12, hitting a new highpoint; Zayn and Taylor Swift‘s “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)” jumps 22-14, boosted by interest in the Jan. 2 arrival of the Fifty Shades Darker extended trailer, as the duet reaches its best rank since it debuted at No. 6 three weeks ago; and Big Sean‘s “Bounce Back” bumps 21-18, reaching the top 20 for the first time.

And, further looking ahead to next week, Ed Sheeran should make a splashy start on the Hot 100 with two songs: “Shape of You” and “Castle on the Hill.” Both released Friday (Jan. 6), the tracks launched at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, on the Billboard + Twitter Trending 140. Already, on the new Jan. 21-dated Radio Songs chart, “Shape” (the single being promoted to radio) debuts at No. 41 with 29 million audience in its first three days of airplay. Check Billboard.com this week for projections of where the songs could debut on next week’s Hot 100 following their first full week of tracking.

Plus, find out more Hot 100 news in the weekly “Hot 100 Chart Moves” column later this week, and visit Billboard.com tomorrow (Jan. 10), when all charts, including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh.

After two weeks of Pentatonix ruling the Billboard 200 with its holiday effort A Pentatonix Christmas, the vocal group steps aside, to let The Weeknd return to the top slot with Starboy. The latter set climbs from No. 2 to No. 1 (for a second week in the penthouse) with 69,000 equivalent album units (down 26 percent) earned in the week ending Jan. 5, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 18,000 were in traditional album sales (down 46 percent).

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new Jan. 21, 2017-dated chart (where The Weekend jumps back to No. 1) will be posted in full to Billboard’s websites on Tuesday, Jan. 10.

The Weeknd’s Starboy debuted at No. 1 six weeks ago, fell to No. 2 in its second week, but has been within the top three of the list each week since. It’s the first album to return to No. 1 in three months, since Drake’s Views spent its 13th and (so far) final week at No. 1, jumping from No. 2 to No. 1 on the Oct. 8, 2016-dated list — after having spent the previous seven weeks not at No. 1.

Meanwhile, last week’s leader, Penatonix’s A Pentatonix Christmas, falls to No. 41 (12,000 units; down 88 percent). It is the only holiday album within the top 100 of the chart. The next highest-ranking seasonal set is Pentatonix’s previous holiday effort, That’s Christmas to Me, which falls from No. 9 to No. 112.

The Moana film soundtrack rises from No. 6 to No. 2 with 64,000 units (up 21 percent) and 44,000 in traditional album sales (up 37 percent — it is the best selling album of the week). It’s the only title in the top 10 to post a gain in either total units or sales, so, for the most part, albums with a small decline in units will rise up the list. That is typical for the first tracking week after the holiday shopping season and Christmas — when the chart adjusts to normal non-holiday business. And, soundtracks to music-heavy films popular at the beginning of the year ­— like Moana — tend to profit on the chart in January.

For example, two years ago this month, the soundtracks to both Into the Woods and the remake of Annie jumped into the top 15 for the first time. Back in January of 2013, the Les Miserables soundtrack rose to No. 1, while the Pitch Perfect soundtrack hit the top 10 for the first time (on its way to a No. 3 peak in February of that year). Other stunning January jumps for soundtracks include when Titanic sailed from No. 11 to No. 1 on the Jan. 24, 1998 chart and Dreamgirls zoomed from No. 31 on Jan. 6, 2007 to No. 1 just two weeks later.

Moana isn’t the only soundtrack basking in that post-holiday glow in the latest top 10: three more soundtracks populate the region: Sing (rising 21-8 with 28,000 units; though its down 9 percent), Suicide Squad (10-9 with 27,000 units; down 36 percent) and Trolls (14-10 with 26,000 units; down 28 percent). For Sing, the soundtrack hits a new peak, as it has climbed steadily since its debut at No. 113 on the Dec. 31, 2016-dated list. It then jumped to No. 70, then to No. 21 and now to No. 8. (While Moana, Sing and Trolls are all still currently in theaters, Suicide Squad was released in August and closed in November. However, the movie was issued on DVD and blu-ray on Dec. 13, which aids in its popularity this month.)

With four soundtracks inside the top 10, that’s the most concurrently charting soundtracks in the top tier in more than 18 years. It last happened on the Sept. 5, 1998-dated list when the soundtracks to Armageddon (No. 4), Dr. Dolittle (No. 7), How Stella Got Her Groove Back (No. 8) and City of Angels (No. 10) populated the top 10.

Farther up the top 10, Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic is steady at No. 3 with 45,000 units (down 44 percent) and Drake’s Views climbs 8-4 with 41,000 units (down 17 percent). J. Cole’s former No. 1, 4 Your Eyez Only, slips one rung to No. 5 with 39,000 units (down 48 percent), the original Broadway cast recording of Hamilton falls a step to No. 6 with 32,000 units (down 41 percent) and Twenty One Pilots’ Blurryface is a non-mover at No. 7 with 30,000 units (down 42 percent).

Source: billboard.com

“Black Beatles,” featuring Gucci Mane, rebounds for a seventh week at the summit, while Migos’ “Bad and Boujee,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert, vaults into the top 10.

Rae Sremmurd‘s “Black Beatles,” featuring Gucci Mane, rises 2-1 for a seventh week atop the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Jan. 14). Meanwhile, Migos‘ “Bad and Boujee,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert, blasts 13-2, driven in part by viral buzz and marking the first top 10 for each hip-hop act.

Let’s run down the top 10 of the Hot 100, which blends sales, airplay and streaming data. All charts will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, Jan. 4 (a day later than usual, due to the New Year’s Day holiday having pushed back chart processing this week).

“Beatles,” released on Interscope Records and the first Hot 100 No. 1 for the brother duo of Khalif “Swae Lee” and Aaquil “Slim Jxmmi” Brown (and likewise the first leader for Gucci Mane), returns to the top after a week at No. 2. It adds a sixth week at No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales chart (rising 3-1) with a 120 percent gain to 136,000 downloads sold in the week ending Dec. 29, according to Nielsen Music. (All 50 titles on Digital Song Sales sport gains for the week, reflecting robust holiday shopping.) “Beatles” slips to No. 3 after seven weeks atop Streaming Songs (28.4 million U.S. streams, down 3 percent), while holding at its No. 8 high on Radio Songs (90 million in airplay audience, down 1 percent).

“Beatles” tops Billboard‘s Hot Rap Songs chart for an eighth week. As on the Hot 100, it rules Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for a seventh week.

“Beatles” had first topped the Hot 100 (dated Nov. 26) powered in large part by viral videos, with the song serving as the soundtrack to Mannequin Challenge clips, and the runner-up song on the new Jan. 14-dated tally similarly leaps with a viral assist. Migos’ “Bad and Boujee,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert, vaults 13-2 and becomes the most-streamed song of the week, surging 5-1 on Streaming Songs (32.5 million, up 86 percent). The majority (54 percent) of its streams stem from YouTube (17.6 million), followed by Spotify (7.9 million). The track also crowns the audio subscription services-based On-Demand Streaming Songs chart (3-1; 14.8 million on-demand clicks, up 32 percent).

As previously reported, “Bad” has inspired numerous memes and tweets playing off the song’s “raindrop, drop top” lyrics. A 60-second clip of Migos of performing “Bad” in Lagos, Nigeria, posted to Twitter Dec. 20, has also helped propel the song’s profile.

“Bad” easily marks the first Hot 100 top 10 for each act. Trio Migos had previously peaked as high as No. 69 in 2014 with “Fight Night,” its first of six entries on the chart. Rapper Lil Uzi Vert’s second-highest-charting Hot 100 hit (of five to date) is still climbing, as “You Was Right” jumps 52-42 (in its 25th week on the list).

Also notably, with “Beatles” and “Bad” at Nos. 1 and 2 on both the Hot 100 and Hot Rap Songs concurrently, the top two tracks on each chart match for the first time in more than a year-and-a-half; on May 30, 2015, Wiz Khalifa‘s “See You Again,” featuring Charlie Puth, and Fetty Wap‘s “Trap Queen” ranked at Nos. 1 and 2 on the tallies, respectively (for a third straight week).

The Weeknd‘s “Starboy,” featuring Daft Punk, descends to No. 3 on the Hot 100 after rising 2-1 on the Jan. 7 chart, becoming The Weeknd’s third leader and Daft Punk’s first. The track drops 3-4 on Streaming Songs (23.3 million, down 7 percent); 5-7 on Radio Songs (100 million, down 3 percent); and 1-11 on Digital Song Sales (although up 18 percent to 101,000; the song had topped the chart the week before partly due to 69-cent sale-pricing in the iTunes Store during the week ending Dec. 22). Still, “Starboy” leads the Hot R&B Songs chart for a 14th week.

The Chainsmokers‘ “Closer,” featuring Halsey, slides 3-4 on the Hot 100 after spending 12 weeks at No. 1. Impressively, the collab has spent all 22 of its weeks on the chart in the top 10, dating to its debut at No. 9 on Aug. 20. Only one song has logged more weeks in the top 10 from its debut week: Justin Bieber‘s “Love Yourself” (23 weeks, Dec. 5, 2015-May 7, 2016, including two at No. 1; the song went on to become the top title on the 2016 year-end Hot 100).

Rounding out the Hot 100’s top five, Bruno Mars‘ “24K Magic” retreats to No. 5 from its No. 4 peak.

Also each dropping a notch on the Hot 100, Zay Hilfigerrr & Zayion McCall’s “Juju on That Beat (TZ Anthem)” falls to No. 6 from its No. 5 peak; Ariana Grande‘s “Side to Side,” featuring Nicki Minaj, slips 6-7 after reaching No. 4 (and leads the top 40-based Pop Songs airplay chart for a fourth week); and DJ Snake‘s “Let Me Love You,” featuring Bieber, drops 7-8, after peaking at No. 4.

Drake‘s “Fake Love” hits a new high on the Hot 100, lifting 10-9. The track pushes 8-6 on Digital Song Sales (111,000, up 39 percent); bullets at No. 9 on Streaming Songs (14.7 million, up 4 percent); and dips 16-18 on Radio Songs but with a 3 percent gain to 51 million.

D.R.A.M.‘s No. 5-peaking “Broccoli,” featuring Lil Yachty, rebounds 15-10 on the Hot 100, led by its 21-5 hike on Digital Song Sales (114,000, up 281 percent), aided by a 69-cent iTunes sale price.

Just beyond the Hot 100’s top 10, Maroon 5‘s “Don’t Wanna Know,” featuring Kendrick Lamar, drops from its No. 8 peak to No. 11, although it leads Radio Songs for a third week (130 million, up 6 percent). Meanwhile, Machine Gun Kelly and Camila Cabello‘s “Bad Things” descends to No. 12 on the Hot 100 from its No. 9 high but hits the Radio Songs top 10 (11-10; 68 million, up 8 percent). Kelly and Cabello each earn their first Radio Songs top 10 (after Cabello had notched two while she was a member of Fifth Harmony).

Plus, three songs reach the Hot 100’s top 20 for the first time: Jon Bellion‘s “All Time Low” (jumping 24-16), Shawn Mendes‘ “Mercy” (28-17) and Niall Horan‘s “This Town” (37-20).

Find out more Hot 100 news in the weekly “Hot 100 Chart Moves” column later this week, and visit Billboard.com tomorrow (Jan. 4), when all charts, including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh. The Hot 100 and other rankings will also appear in the next issue of Billboard magazine, on sale Friday (Jan. 6).

Source: billboard.com

Pentatonix spends a second week atop the Billboard 200 with A Pentatonix Christmas, as the set earned 101,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Dec. 29, 2016 — the final tracking week of the calendar year.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new Jan. 14, 2017-dated chart (where Pentatonix holds at No. 1) will be posted in full to Billboard’s websites on Wednesday, Jan. 4 (one day later than normal, due to the New Year’s Day holiday on Jan. 1).

The closing tracking frame of 2016 includes the two days leading up to Christmas Day and the holiday itself, so it’s fitting that a Christmas album leads the tally. While A Pentatonix Christmas’ total units earned for the week were down by 51 percent, its traditional album sales were greater than any other album: it sold 82,000 copies (down 55 percent), far ahead of the No. 2 selling set of the week, Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic, with 55,000 copies (down 39 percent).

A Pentatonix Christmas‘ handsome sales, along with small declines in SEA and TEA (down 12 and 10 percent, respectively), helps keep the album ahead of the No. 2 set on the Billboard 200, The Weeknd’s former No. 1 Starboy. The latter climbs one rung with 94,000 units (down only 7 percent).

Mars’ 24K Magic dips one slot to No. 3 with 81,000 units (down 29 percent), while J. Cole’s 4 Your Eyez Only is steady at No. 4 with 75,000 units (down 16 percent).

The original Broadway cast recording of Hamilton: An American Musical climbs two positions to No. 5 with 54,000 units (down 7 percent). This is the highest rank for the title in five months, since it also placed at No. 5 on the Aug. 6, 2016-dated list. The album has so far peaked at No. 3 (July 2, 2016), following its 11 Tony Award wins on June 12.

The soundtrack to the animated film Moana jumps 10-6 on the new chart with 53,000 units (up 4 percent), while Twenty One Pilots’ Blurryface vaults 15-7 with 52,000 units (up 37 percent). The latter album benefits from a $5.99 sale price in the Apple iTunes store, as well as promotion generated by the release of Twenty One Pilots’ new EP with MuteMath, The MuteMath Sessions, on Dec. 20. Overall sales of Blurryface were up by 23 percent to 33,000, while its download sales increased by a whopping 268 percent to 20,000.

Drake’s Views also rises, thanks to sale pricing, as it steps 19-8 with 49,000 units (up 48 percent). The album was discounted to $6.99 in the iTunes Store.

Pentatonix’s first full-length holiday album, 2014’s That’s Christmas to Me, retreats 5-9 with 42,000 units (down 45 percent). In the previous tracking week, the album surpassed 2 million in U.S. sales. Its total sales now stand at 2.05 million.

Rounding out the top 10 is the Suicide Squad soundtrack, as it rises 21-10 with 42,000 units (up 25 percent). The set is goosed by sales of the album’s hit single “Heathens” by Twenty One Pilots, which is bolstered by Christmas-related purchases (consumers redeeming digital gift cards and filling up newly acquired devices, etc.), as well as a just-released version of the track (found on The MuteMath Sessions EP). Track equivalent album units for the Suicide Squad soundtrack rally by 164 percent to 14,000.

Source: billboard.com