Monthly Archives: October 2021

Plus, Lana Del Rey and Elton John debut in the top 10.

Drake‘s Certified Lover Boy returns to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Nov. 6) for a fifth nonconsecutive week on top, as the set rebounds from No. 2. It earned 74,000 equivalent album units (down 10%) in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 28, according to MRC Data.

Plus, Lana Del Rey‘s Blue Banisters debuts at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, marking her eighth top 10 album, and Elton John‘s The Lockdown Sessions launches at No. 10, starting as his 21st top 10 and granting him a span of over 50 years of appearing in the chart’s top tier.

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. 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, Nov. 6, 2021-dated chart (on which Certified returns to No. 1) will post in full on billboard.com Nov. 2. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of Certified‘s 74,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 28, SEA units comprise 73,000 (down 10%, equaling 99.9 million on-demand streams of the album’s songs); album sales account for less than 1,000 (down 21%); and TEA units also contribute less than 1,000 (down 9%).

Notably, the set matches the total weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 of Drake’s prior proper LP, Scorpion, in 2018. Of his 10 No. 1s, the two trail only the reign of Views, which spent 13 weeks at the summit in 2016.

Morgan Wallen’s former 10-week Billboard 200 No. 1 Dangerous: The Double Album pushes 8-2 with 42,000 equivalent album units earned (up 1%); Doja Cat’s Planet Her climbs 7-3 (41,000, down 1%); YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s former one-week leader Sincerely, Kentrell lifts 6-4 (39,000, down 11%); and Olivia Rodrigo’s five-frame topper Sour ascends 9-5 (38,000, down 5%).

Moneybagg Yo’s former two-week Billboard 200 No. 1 A Gangsta’s Pain zooms 34-6, up 128% to 36,000 units following an expanded reissue Oct. 22 with seven additional tracks.

Young Thug’s Punk drops to No. 7 a week after debuting atop the Billboard 200 (34,000, down 62%).

Lana Del Rey achieves her eighth Billboard 200 top 10, and her second of 2021, as Blue Banisters steps in at No. 8 with 33,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 19,000; SEA units total 14,000 (equaling 18.6 million on-demand streams of the album’s songs); and TEA units make for a nominal sum.

Del Rey visited the Billboard 200 top 10 earlier this year with Chemtrails Over the Country Club, which debuted and peaked at No. 2 on the April 3-dated chart. All told, Blue Banisters is Del Rey’s eighth consecutive, and total, top 10. After her only charting effort to miss the bracket, her self-titled set which reached No. 20 in January 2012, she began her active top 10 streak with Born to Die, which opened and peaked at No. 2 in February 2012.

Lil Nas X’s Montero rises 10-9 on the Billboard 200 with 33,000 units, down 8%.

Rounding out the Billboard 200’s top 10, Elton John lands his 21st top 10 album, as his all-star, all-collaborative release The Lockdown Sessions debuts at No. 10 with 29,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 17,000; SEA units total 10,000 (equaling 13.1 million on-demand streams of the album’s songs); and TEA units account for 2,000.

Lockdown includes John’s latest top 40 Billboard Hot 100 hit, “Cold Heart” (Pnau Remix), with Dua Lipa, as well as collaborations with a variety of artists, including Young Thug and Nicki Minaj (“Always Love You”), Charlie Puth (“After All”), Eddie Vedder (“E-Ticket”), Stevie Wonder (“Finish Line”) and Stevie Nicks (“Stolen Car”).

John notched his first Billboard 200 top 10 over 50 years ago, when his self-titled album climbed 11-7 on the Jan. 30, 1971-dated chart; it peaked at No. 4 a week later (Feb. 6, 1971). (Breaking down his 21 top 10s by decade: 13 in the ’70s, two in the ’90s, one in the ’00s, four in the ’10s and now one in the ’20s.)

John is in the select group of acts with at least 20 top 10 albums on the Billboard 200, from March 24, 1956, when the list began publishing on a regular, weekly basis, through the new, Nov. 6, 2021, survey. Here’s an updated leaderboard.

Most Billboard 200 Top 10s:
37, The Rolling Stones
34, Barbra Streisand
32, The Beatles
32, Frank Sinatra
27, Elvis Presley
23, Bob Dylan
22, Madonna
21, Elton John
21, Paul McCartney/Wings
21, Bruce Springsteen
21, George Strait
20, Prince

(The Kidz Bop Kids music brand has collected 24 top 10s, in 2005-16, with its series of kid-friendly covers of hit singles. The franchise’s early albums were performed mostly by anonymous studio singers, although later releases focused on branding named talent.)

Source: billboard.com

The ballad becomes her fifth leader and first since “Hello” in 2015-16.

Adele‘s “Easy on Me” skyrockets to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, following its first full week of tracking. A week earlier, it debuted at No. 68 from its first five hours of availability.

The ballad becomes Adele’s fifth Hot 100 No. 1 and first since “Hello” ruled for 10 weeks in 2015-16.

The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data. All charts (dated Oct. 30) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Oct. 26). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

“Easy on Me” is the 1,131st No. 1 in the Hot 100’s 63-year history. It drew 65 million radio airplay audience impressions and 53.9 million U.S. streams and sold 74,000 downloads in the week ending Oct. 21, according to MRC Data.

The track debuts atop the Streaming Songs and Digital Song Sales charts and at No. 4 on Radio Songs.

Let’s roll deeper into its coronation.

First, after its first full week: Released on Columbia Records at 7 p.m. ET Thursday, Oct. 14, “Easy on Me” entered the Hot 100 dated Oct. 23 at No. 68 thanks to its activity from its premiere through midnight ET Oct. 14, with that chart’s tracking week having spanned Oct. 8-14. It debuted with 3.1 million streams, 3.1 million in radio audience and 14,800 sold in its first five hours of availability.

The song blasts to No. 1 on the Oct. 30-dated Hot 100, which reflects its first full tracking week, covering Oct. 15-21.

Biggest jumps to No 1: “Easy on Me” makes the eighth-greatest vault to No. 1 in the Hot 100’s history. It logs the biggest jump since Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” surged 77-1 in September 2017, also after its first full tracking week.

Here’s a recap of the Hot 100’s loftiest leaps to No. 1:

97-1, “My Life Would Suck Without You,” Kelly Clarkson, Feb. 7, 2009
96-1, “Womanizer,” Britney Spears, Oct. 25, 2008
80-1, “Live Your Life,” T.I. feat. Rihanna, Oct. 18, 2008
78-1, “Crack a Bottle,” Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent, Feb. 21, 2009
77-1, “Look What You Made Me Do,” Taylor Swift, Sept. 16, 2017
72-1, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” Taylor Swift, Sept. 1, 2012
71-1, “Whatever You Like,” T.I., Sept. 6, 2008
68-1, “Easy on Me,” Adele, Oct. 30, 2021

Adele’s fifth Hot 100 No. 1: “Easy on Me” becomes Adele’s fifth Hot 100 leader. Here’s a rundown:

“Rolling in the Deep,” for seven weeks beginning May 21, 2011
“Someone Like You,” five, beginning Sept. 17, 2011
“Set Fire to the Rain,” two, beginning Feb. 4, 2017
“Hello,” 10, beginning Nov. 14, 2015
“Easy on Me,” one, to-date, beginning Oct. 30, 2021

“Easy on Me” is also Adele’s seventh Hot 100 top 10. In addition to her five No. 1s, “Skyfall” and “Send My Love (To Your New Lover)” each reached No. 8, in October 2012 and September 2016, respectively.

Adele adds her 11th top 40 Hot 100 hit, dating to her debut entry “Chasing Pavements,” which rose to No. 21 in February 2009.

(While “Easy on Me” is a piano ballad, it’s not a vocal-and-piano-only song like “Someone Like You,” which became the first Hot 100 No. 1 with exclusively vocals and piano. The new leader features Adele’s vocals, as well as bass, kick drum and piano by Greg Kurstin and strings arranged and conducted by David Campbell; Adele and Kurstin co-wrote it and Kurstin solely produced it.)

Adele notches her fifth No. 1 on Digital Song Sales and second on Streaming Songs and her ninth top 10 on Radio Songs.

British soloists with the most Hot 100 leaders: The London-born Adele becomes one of six British-born soloists with at least five Hot 100 No. 1s (with Liverpool-formed The Beatles pacing all acts with 20 leaders).

Adele also ties Olivia Newton-John for the most Hot 100 No. 1s among women born in the U.K. (Newton-John was born in Cambridge and moved to Australia during childhood.)

Here’s an updated leaderboard of the most Hot 100 No. 1s by British-born solo acts:

9, Elton John
9, Paul McCartney
8, George Michael
7, Phil Collins
5, Adele
5, Olivia Newton-John

Plus, with England’s Coldplay having debuted atop the Oct. 9-dated Hot 100 with its BTS team-up “My Universe,” this month marks the first in which multiple British acts have risen to No. 1 since February 1992, when George Michael and Elton John hit the top of the Feb. 1 chart with “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” and were succeeded on the Feb. 8 survey by fellow UK act Right*Said*Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy” (a song that continues to reverberate on the ranking).

3 albums, 3 No. 1 lead singles: Adele has sent the first single from each of her three most recent albums to No. 1 on the Hot 100, with “Easy on Me” following “Hello” and “Rolling in the Deep.”

“Easy” is the lead single from 30, Adele’s fourth studio album, and first in six years, due Nov. 19. It follows 25, which houses “Hello” and topped the Billboard 200 for 10 weeks beginning in December 2015. 21, which includes her first three Hot 100 No. 1s, led the Billboard 200 for 24 weeks starting in March 2011 and reigns as the top title in the chart’s entire history. (Her debut LP, 19, entered the Billboard 200 in June 2008 and reached a No. 4 high in March 2012.)

Record radio start: As “Easy on Me” launches at No. 4 on Radio Songs, it makes the highest debut since the chart became an all-format ranking in December 1998. In that span, it bests the No. 6 start of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” in February 2011.

(From the chart’s December 1990 inception through November 1998, Radio Songs was largely based on pop airplay, and three songs in that stretch entered in the top five: Madonna’s “Erotica,” at No. 2 in October 1992; Mariah Carey’s “I’ll Be There,” No. 4, May 1992; and Janet Jackson’s “That’s the Way Love Goes,” No. 4, May 1993.)

Among individual formats (and reflecting airplay in the week ending Oct. 24), “Easy on Me” jumps 6-4 on Adult Contemporary, a week after it became the first non-holiday song to bow in the top 10 since the chart adopted MRC Data information in 1993; 14-6 on Adult Pop Airplay; 33-6 on Adult Alternative Airplay; 21-14 on Pop Airplay; and 29-20 on Adult R&B Airplay.

Over 50 million streams: “Easy on Me” is the fifth song released in 2021 to log more than 50 million U.S. streams in a single week. It follows Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License,” which began with 76.1 million (Jan. 23) and drew 59.7 million in its second frame; Drake’s “Way 2 Sexy,” featuring Future and Young Thug (67.3 million, Sept. 18); Rodrigo’s “Good 4 U” (62.7 million, June 5); and Polo G’s “Rapstar” (53.6 million, April 24).

No. 1 in two metrics: “Easy on Me” is the top song of the week in both streaming and sales. A week earlier, Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow’s “Industry Baby” hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 and also led in streaming and sales.

In the previous 36 weeks, however, no Hot 100 No. 1 led in more than one metric each week, a record run since the Streaming Songs chart began in January 2013. Until the past two weeks, Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” likewise last led in streaming and sales as it topped the Hot 100 dated Feb. 6.

(That nearly nine-month drought suggests a widened gap among the three metrics, with streaming and sales often reflective of largely immediate listener behavior and programmed radio airplay more research-based.)

No. 1 by a 2-to-1 margin: Further reflecting its dominance, “Easy on Me” sports slightly more than a 2-to-1 margin in Hot 100 chart points over The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s “Stay” at No. 2. The former is the 25th song to run away with such a lead, and the first since Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License,” dating to when MRC Data information began powering the chart in November 1991.

As ‘Easy’ as 1-2-3 for Columbia: With “Easy on Me” at No. 1, The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s “Stay” at No. 2 and Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow’s “Industry Baby” at No. 3 on the Hot 100, Columbia Records ranks in the top three spots via three acts that the label promotes: Adele, The Kid LAROI and Lil Nas X.

Columbia is the first label to monopolize the Hot 100’s top three thanks to a trio of acts credited on three titles since Oct. 22, 2005, when Island Def Jam Music Group ranked at No. 1 with Kanye West’s “Gold Digger,” featuring Jamie Foxx; No. 2 with Nickelback’s “Photograph”; and No. 3 with Mariah Carey’s “Shake It Off.”

(Multiple labels have since held Nos. 1-3 on the Hot 100 simultaneously through one or two acts, most recently Republic Records on Sept. 18, all due to Drake.)

‘Easy’ does it: Meanwhile, “Easy on Me” is the first song with “easy” in its title to top the Hot 100. Its hard-fought victory passes the prior No. 2 such best for Philip Bailey’s “Easy Lover,” with Phil Collins, in 1985.

Here’s a look at the highest-charting hits with “easy” in their titles:

“Easy on Me,” Adele, No. 1 (one week to-date), 2021
“Easy Lover,” Philip Bailey with Phil Collins, No. 2, 1985
“Easy,” Commodores, No. 4, 1977
“It Don’t Come Easy,” Ringo Starr, No. 4, 1971
“Easy to Be Hard,” Three Dog Night, No. 4, 1969
“It’s So Easy,” Linda Ronstadt, No. 5, 1977

Chart-watcher Paul Nelson of Oakland, Calif., emailed noting the connection between Adele’s “Easy on Me” and the Commodores’ “Easy,” after she and the group’s former lead singer Lionel Richie each topped the Hot 100 with songs titled “Hello.” Not to look too far ahead, but could Adele’s follow-up album to 30 include a song about dancing on a ceiling all night long (all night)?

As noted above, The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s “Stay” ranks at No. 2 on the Hot 100, holding in place after seven weeks at No. 1, as it rules Radio Songs for a sixth week (90.9 million, up 3%).

Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow’s “Industry Baby” drops to No. 3 on the Hot 100, a week after it led, as it spends a ninth week atop both the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts, which use the same multi-metric methodology as the Hot 100.

Walker Hayes’ “Fancy Like” dips to No. 4 from its No. 3 Hot 100 high, as it tops the multi-metric Hot Country Songs chart for a 15th week; Ed Sheeran’s “Bad Habits” slips 4-5 on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 2; Drake’s “Way 2 Sexy,” featuring Future and Young Thug, drops 5-6, following its No. 1 arrival in September; and Olivia Rodrigo’s “Good 4 U” descends 6-7, after it debuted at No. 1 in May.

Dua Lipa’s “Levitating” remains at No. 8 on the Hot 100, after rising to No. 2. It spends a 40th week in the top 10, overtaking Post Malone’s “Circles” (2019-20) for the second-longest top 10 run in the chart’s archives. The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” leads with 57 top 10 weeks (February 2020-April 2021).

Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Ed Sheeran’s “Shivers” climbs 10-9 for a new high and Doja Cat’s “Kiss Me More,” featuring SZA, falls 7-10, after reaching No. 3.

Note: Effective with the Oct. 30-dated Billboard charts, streams from Boomplay is added to the data that informs the Hot 100, Billboard 200, Artist 100 and Billboard Global 200, as well as other Billboard U.S. and global surveys that include streaming data. The plays represent audio streams from Boomplay’s subscription tier and logged-in streams from its ad-supported tier, with streams from each tier weighted differently.

Again, for all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram and all charts (dated Oct. 30), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (Oct. 26).

Source: billboard.com

Plus: Mac Miller, Coldplay and The Beatles make waves in the top five.

Young Thug achieves his third No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Oct. 30) as his latest release, Punk, debuts in the top slot. The set earned 90,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 21, according to MRC Data.

The 20-track Punk boasts an array of guest stars, including A$AP Rocky, J. Cole, Doja Cat, Drake, Future, Gunna, Juice WRLD, Post Malone, Mac Miller, Nate Ruess and Travis Scott.

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. 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 Oct. 30, 2021-dated chart (where Punk debuts to No. 1) will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Oct. 26. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of Punk’s 90,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 21, SEA units comprise 77,000 (equaling 102 million on-demand streams of the album’s songs), album sales comprise 12,000 and TEA units comprise 1,000. Punk marks Young Thug’s third visit to No. 1. He previously topped the list by way of the Young Thug-led Slime Language 2 album earlier in 2021 and So Much Fun in 2019.

Drake’s former No. 1 Certified Lover Boy falls to the No. 2 slot after four nonconsecutive weeks in the lead. It earned 83,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Oct. 21 (down 12%).

Mac Miller’s Faces mixtape debuts at No. 3 with 67,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 34,000, SEA units comprise 33,000 (equaling 43.03 million on-demand streams of the set’s songs) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum. Faces was initially released for free in 2014, but was not commercially issued or distributed to streaming services until Oct. 15, 2021.

Faces’ album sales was bolstered by its release on vinyl LP, which comprises 32,000 of its sales sum, while the remaining 2,000 were digital album sales. Faces is the seventh top 10 effort on the Billboard 200 for the late artist, who died in 2018.

Coldplay’s latest studio album, Music of the Spheres, starts at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, earning 57,000 equivalent album units. Of that sum, album sales comprise 37,000, SEA units comprise 15,000 (equaling 20.55 million on-demand streams of the set’s songs) and TEA units comprise 4,000. Music of the Spheres is the eighth top 10 effort for the band, and follows the 2019 album Everyday Life, which debuted and peaked at No. 7. The new album was led by the single “Higher Power,” which marked the group’s 14th top 10 on the Alternative Airplay chart. The album’s second single, “My Universe,” with BTS, debuted at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, marking the second leader for Coldplay.

The Beatles’ former No. 1 Billboard 200 album Let It Be surges back onto the chart, re-entering at No. 5 following its deluxe special edition reissue on Oct. 15. The set earned 55,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Oct. 21 (up 3,899%). Of that sum, album sales comprise 48,000 (up 11,570%; making it the top-selling album of the week), SEA units comprise 6,000 (up 589%; equaling 8.34 million on-demand streams of the set’s tracks) and TEA units comprise 1,000 (up 1,180%).

Let It Be was first released in 1970 as the final studio effort from the band. It spent four weeks atop the chart (June 13-July 4, 1970-dated charts). For its special edition, the album was reintroduced in a variety of expanded formats and editions, including many with previously unreleased tracks. All versions of the album, old and new, are combined for tracking and charting purposes.

The Let It Be reissue precedes the arrival of director Peter Jackson’s upcoming documentary series The Beatles: Get Back. The three episodes will premiere, respectively, on Nov. 25, 26 and 27 exclusively on Disney+.

YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s former No. 1 Sincerely, Kentrell falls 3-6 with 44,000 equivalent album units earned (down 15%), Doja Cat’s Planet Her is a non-mover at No. 7 with 42,000 units (down 1%), Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping Dangerous: The Double Album is stationary at No. 8 with just under 42,000 units (down 1%) and Olivia Rodrigo’s former leader Sour falls 5-9 with 40,000 units (down 9%). Lil Nas X’s Montero rounds out the top 10, as it falls 6-10 with 36,000 units (down 16%).

Effective with the Oct. 30-dated Billboard charts, streams from Boomplay will be added to the data that informs the Billboard Hot 100, Billboard 200, Artist 100 and Billboard Global 200 charts, as well as other Billboard U.S. and global charts that include streaming data. The plays represent audio streams from Boomplay’s subscription tier as well as logged-in streams from its ad-supported tier, with streams from each tier weighted appropriately.

Source: billboard.com

Plus: Don Toliver scores highest-charting album yet with No. 2 debut of “Life of a Don.”

Drake’s Certified Lover Boy rebounds to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Oct. 23) for a fourth nonconsecutive week in the lead, as the set bumps up from No. 2 with 94,000 equivalent album units earned (down 14%) in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 14, according to MRC Data.

Certified Lover Boy spent its first three weeks at No. 1 (Sept. 18-Oct. 2-dated charts), and then stepped aside to the No. 2 slot for the past two weeks, as YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s Sincerely, Kentrell debuted at No. 1 (Oct. 9-dated chart) and Taylor Swift’s Fearless (Taylor’s Version) returned to No. 1 (Oct. 16 chart).

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. 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 Oct. 23, 2021-dated chart (where Certified Lover Boy returns to No. 1) will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Oct. 19. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of Certified Lover Boy’s 94,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 14, SEA units comprise 92,000 (down 14%, equaling 125.77 million on-demand streams of the album’s songs), album sales comprise 1,000 (down 9%) and TEA units comprise 1,000 (down 10%).

Don Toliver lands his highest-charting album yet, as Life of a Don debuts at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 68,000 equivalent album units. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 49,000 (equaling 64.13 million on-demand streams of the album’s songs), album sales comprise 18,000 (all from a digital download, as no physical product is available) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.

Life of a Don surpasses the No. 7 debut and peak of his one earlier charting album, Heaven or Hell (March 28, 2020 chart).

YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s Sincerely, Kentrell climbs 4-3 with 51,000 equivalent album units earned (down 28%) while Meek Mill’s Expensive Pain falls 3-4 with 46,000 units (down 51%). Life of a Don, Sincerely and Expensive Pain were all released through Atlantic Records, giving the label three of the top four on the Billboard 200 for the first time since the Jan. 20, 2018, chart. That week, Atlantic held the Nos. 1, 2 and 4 slots with the soundtrack to The Greatest Showman, Ed Sheeran’s ÷ (Divide) and Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic, respectively. (Life of a Don was released via Cactus Jack/WeRunIt/Atlantic, Sincerely via Never Broke Again/Atlantic and Expensive Pain via Maybach/Atlantic.)

Back on the new Billboard 200, Olivia Rodrigo’s former No. 1 Sour climbs 6-5 with a little more than 43,000 equivalent album units earned (up less than 1%), Lil Nas X’s Montero dips 5-6 with 43,000 (down 5%) and Doja Cat’s Planet Her is a non-mover at No. 7 with 42,000 units (down 2%).

Morgan Wallen’s former No. 1 Dangerous: The Double Album rises 9-8 with 42,000 equivalent album units earned (up 6%). The album debuted atop the chart 40 weeks ago, and has yet to depart the top 10. It has the fifth-most weeks in the top 10 among country albums all-time (with country albums defined as those that are eligible for Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart). Ahead of it are Swift’s Fearless (58 weeks), Shania Twain’s Come On Over (53), Garth Brooks’ Ropin’ the Wind (50) and Billy Ray Cyrus’ Some Gave All (43).

Dangerous is only the third country album to spend its first 40 weeks on the chart in the top 10, after Ropin’ the Wind spent its first 50 in the region (Sept. 28, 1991-Sept. 5, 1992-dated charts) and Some Gave All held in the top 10 for its first 43 weeks (June 6, 1992-March 27, 1993-dated charts).

Rounding out the new top 10 on the Billboard 200 are a pair of former No. 1s: Kanye West’s Donda rises 10-9 (33,000 equivalent album units earned; down 12%) and The Kid LAROI’s F*ck Love climbs 12-10 (32,000 units; down 4%).

Source: billboard.com

“Essence,” featuring Bieber and Tems, rises from No. 11 to No. 10.

The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber‘s “Stay” returns to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, from No. 2, for a seventh week at the summit.

Plus, Walker Hayes‘ country crossover hit “Fancy Like” hits a new No. 3 high on the survey and Wizkid‘s “Essence,” featuring Bieber and Tems, reaches the top 10, rising 11-10.

The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data. All charts (dated Oct. 16) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Oct. 12). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.ARTISTS MENTIONED

“Stay,” released on Raymond Braun/Columbia Records/Def Jam, drew 86.4 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 4%) and 23.2 million U.S. streams (down 6%) and sold 7,400 downloads (down 14%) in the week ending Oct. 7, according to MRC Data.

“Stay” scores a fourth week at No. 1 on the Radio Songs chart; rises 4-3 on Streaming Songs, where it has spent six weeks on top; and drops 6-10 on Digital Song Sales, after reaching No. 3.

Meanwhile, as “Stay” tops the Hot 100 for a seventh week, it ties for the second-longest No. 1 run for a song by two or more co-billed solo male leads over the chart’s 63-year history. Here’s an updated look at such songs that have reigned for at least three weeks (and which excludes duos or groups known for regularly recording together).

Weeks at No. 1, Title, Artists, Peak date:
16, “Despacito,” Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee (feat. Justin Bieber), beginning May 27, 2017
7, “Stay,” The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber, beginning Aug. 14, 2021
7, “Ebony and Ivory,” Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder, beginning May 15, 1982
6, “Say Say Say,” Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson, beginning Dec. 10, 1983
4, “Shake Ya Tailfeather,” Nelly, P. Diddy & Murphy Lee, beginning Sept. 6, 2003
3, “All for Love,” Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart, Sting, beginning Jan. 22, 1994

“Stay” concurrently hits No. 1 on the Adult Pop Airplay radio chart, where it’s The Kid LAROI’s second leader, after “Without You” dominated for a week in July, and Bieber’s fourth.

Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow’s “Industry Baby” rebounds to its No. 2 Hot 100 best, from No. 3. The song, which debuted at No. 2 in August, keeps at No. 2 on Streaming Songs (23.4 million, down 7%); climbs 6-5 on Radio Songs (58.1 million, up 15%); and falls 8-12 on Digital Song Sales (5,200, down 3%). It adds a seventh week atop both the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts, which use the same multi-metric methodology as the Hot 100.

Walker Hayes’ “Fancy Like” hits a new No. 3 Hot 100 high, ascending from No. 5, as it tops the multi-metric Hot Country Songs chart for a 13th week. Notably, the song is the fifth to have hit the Hot 100’s top three and led Hot Country Songs since the latter list adopted the same methodology as the former in October 2012, and three of the entries have scored such status in 2020-21. Here’s an updated rundown.

Hot 100 Peak, Title, Artist(s), Weeks atop Hot Country Songs; Year(s):
No. 1, three weeks, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” Taylor Swift, 10; 2012
No. 2, “Meant to Be,” Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line, (a record) 50; 2017-18
No. 2, “Forever After All,” Luke Combs, 10; 2020-21
No. 3, “I Hope,” Gabby Barrett feat. Charlie Puth, 27; 2020-21
No. 3, “Fancy Like,” Walker Hayes, 13; 2020-21

For four of the five songs above (except for Combs’), pop radio crossover airplay has assisted their Hot 100 performances. “Fancy Like” bullets at its No. 4 best on the Oct. 16 Country Airplay chart and improves 14-13 on Adult Pop Airplay, 17-16 on Pop Airplay and 22-21 on Adult Contemporary.

Drake’s “Way 2 Sexy” holds at No. 4 on the Hot 100, following its No. 1 launch four weeks earlier, as it logs a fifth week atop Streaming Songs (23.4 million, down 15%); Ed Sheeran’s “Bad Habits” rebounds 6-5 on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 2; Olivia Rodrigo’s “Good 4 U” pushes 7-6, after it debuted at No. 1 in May; and Doja Cat’s “Kiss Me More,” featuring SZA, rises 8-7, after reaching No. 3.

Dua Lipa’s “Levitating” lifts 10-8 on the Hot 100, after hitting to No. 2. It spends a 38th week in the top 10, the third-longest run in the chart’s archives, after The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” (57 weeks; 2020-21) and Post Malone’s “Circles” (39 weeks; 2019-20).

Drake’s “Knife Talk,” featuring 21 Savage and Project Pat, is stationary at No. 9 on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 4.

Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Wizkid’s “Essence,” featuring Bieber and Tems, advances 11-10. It backtracks 7-9 on Radio Songs but with a 5% gain to 48.9 million; rises 26-21 on Streaming Songs (11.2 million, down 1%); and falls 17-24 on Digital Song Sales (3,200, down 8%).

Wizkid earns his second Hot 100 top 10, following his featured turn with Kyla, on Drake’s 10-week 2016 No. 1 “One Dance.” Tems (like Wizkid, from Nigeria) achieves her first top 10 with her first entry on the chart. (She added her second charted title as featured on Drake’s “Fountains,” which debuted at its No. 26 peak on the Sept. 18 survey.)

Bieber tallies his milestone 25th Hot 100 top 10, having joined Wizkid and Tems on the “Essence” remix released Aug. 13. Here’s an updated recap of the acts with the most top 10s, as Bieber matches the totals of Lil Wayne and Elvis Presley (with the chart having begun two years after Presley’s commercial breakthrough).

Most Billboard Hot 100 Top 10s:
54, Drake
38, Madonna
34, The Beatles
31, Rihanna
30, Michael Jackson
29, Taylor Swift
28, Mariah Carey
28, Stevie Wonder
27, Janet Jackson
27, Elton John
25, Justin Bieber
25, Elvis Presley
25, Lil Wayne

Additionally, Coldplay and BTS’ “My Universe” descends to No. 12 on the Hot 100 after it rocketed in at No. 1 a week earlier. It posts a second week at No. 1 on Digital Song Sales (42,600, down 54%) and slides 21-32 on Streaming Songs (8.8 million, down 23%), while sporting a 41% gain to 7.9 million in all-format airplay audience. The collaboration collects a second week atop the multi-metric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Alternative Songs charts.

Again, for all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram and all charts (dated Oct. 16), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (Oct. 12).

Source: billboard.com

Plus: Meek Mill’s ‘Expensive Pain’ and Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga’s ‘Love for Sale’ debut in the top 10.

Taylor Swift’s Fearless (Taylor’s Version) returns to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart for a second nonconsecutive week atop the list. The album surges from No. 157 to No. 1 with 152,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 7 (up 1,931%), according to MRC Data. The set vaults back to No. 1 after the Oct. 1 release of a signed CD available only in Swift’s webstore and its vinyl LP. Fearless (Taylor’s Version) debuted at No. 1 nearly six months ago, on the April 24-dated Billboard 200 chart.

Also in the new top 10: Meek Mill’s Expensive Pain arrives at No. 3, while Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga’s second collaborative album, Love for Sale, bows at No. 8.

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. 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 Oct. 16, 2021-dated chart [where Fearless (Taylor’s Version) returns to No. 1] will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Oct. 12. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’s 152,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 7, album sales comprise 146,000 (up 15,807%), SEA units comprise 6,000 (down 1%, equaling 8.72 million streams of the album’s tracks) and TEA units comprise a negligible number.

Of the 146,000 copies sold for the week, CD sales comprise 77,000, while vinyl LP sales total 67,000. The album sold about 1,000 in cassettes and 1,000 in digital downloads, too. (The album was discounted at digital retail, which spurred a 268% increase in digital album sales, but only 1,000 copies sold for the week.)

Strikingly, 29% of the album’s to-date CD sales were generated in the week ending Oct. 7, concurrent with the availability of its signed CD. The signed CD was only sold via Swift’s webstore, for a limited time, during a pre-order window in late September. (Swift apparently signed so many copies, she “may never write the same again,” as her hand “is now frozen in the permanent shape of a claw.”) Of Fearless (Taylor’s Version)‘s 400,000 total album sales to-date, CD sales comprise 264,000 of that sum — with 77,000 of those CDs sold in the latest tracking week.

As for the vinyl LP sales of Fearless (Taylor’s Version), its 67,000 sold marks the fourth-largest sales week for a vinyl album since MRC Data began tracking music sales in 1991. Her own Evermore holds the record, with 102,000 sold in its first week of availability on vinyl (June 12-dated chart). The debut frames of Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour (76,000; Sept. 4) and Billie Eilish’s Happier Than Ever (73,000; Aug. 14) are in second and third place, respectively.

Fearless (Taylor’s Version) was issued in two vinyl editions: a gold-colored version that was sold through Swift’s webstore and widely available to all retailers and a red-colored edition exclusive to Target.

With the rush in sales for Fearless (Taylor’s Version), its release-to-date sales now climb to 400,000 in the U.S. That makes it the No. 2-selling album of 2021, second only to Swift’s own 2020 release Evermore, which has sold 434,000 copies in 2021. The No. 3-selling album of 2021 is Rodrigo’s 2021 release Sour, with 378,000. Thus, Swift has both the Nos. 1 and 2-selling albums of 2021, as well as the year’s top-selling album released in 2021: Fearless (Taylor’s Version).

For good measure, Swift has three albums among the top 10-sellers of 2021, as Folklore is the No. 7 best-selling album of the year, with 228,000.

With the return of Fearless (Taylor’s Version) to No. 1 after nearly six months, it’s the first album to wait that long between weeks on top since last November, when Luke Combs’ What You See Is What You Get returned to No. 1 after nearly a year. (Earlier in 2021, on the June 12-dated chart, Swift’s own Evermore returned to No. 1 for a fourth week, after nearly five months, following its vinyl LP release.)

Further, with Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’s leap from No. 157 to No. 1, it has the largest positional jump to No. 1 since the April 12, 1997, chart, when The Notorious B.I.G.’s Life After Death rose 176-1 after street date violation sales enabled its debut on the chart a week early.

Lastly, Swift’s total weeks at No. 1, across all nine of her No. 1 albums, now rises to 53. She continues to have the third-most weeks atop the list dating to the chart’s 1956 start. The Beatles have the most, with 132, while Elvis Presley is in second place with 67.

Fearless (Taylor’s Version) is a re-recorded version of Swift’s No. 1 2008 album Fearless. The re-recorded album has 26 tracks, including re-recordings of the original 13 songs on Fearless, along with the six bonus songs added to a 2009 reissue of Fearless (dubbed the Platinum Edition) and the 2010 single “Today Was a Fairytale.” Beyond those 20 re-recordings, Fearless (Taylor’s Version) also has six newly recorded “from the vault” songs that were written for the original Fearless album but were never recorded and released until 2021.

At No. 2 on the new Billboard 200, Drake’s Certified Lover Boy is a non-mover with 110,000 equivalent album units earned (down 19%). The album spent its first three weeks on the chart at No. 1.

Meek Mill collects his seventh top 10 album on the Billboard 200 as Expensive Pain debuts at No. 3. The set earned 95,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Oct. 7. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 82,000 (equaling 110.53 million on-demand streams of the set’s songs), album sales comprise 10,000 and TEA units comprise 3,000.

YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s Sincerely, Kentrell falls from No. 1 to No. 4 in its second week with 71,000 equivalent album units earned (down 48%). Lil Nas X’s Montero dips 3-5 (45,000; down 22%), Olivia Rodrigo’s former No. 1 Sour moves 5-6 (just over 43,000; down 5%) and Doja Cat’s Planet Her is down 6-7 (43,000; down 2%).

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga’s second collaborative album, Love for Sale, debuts at No. 8 on the Billboard 200. The pair’s first project, Cheek to Cheek, debuted at No. 1 in 2014.

Love for Sale is a covers collection of songs written by Cole Porter. Cheek to Cheek featured renditions of favorites from the American songbook by an assortment of songwriters. Love for Sale starts with 41,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 38,000; SEA units comprise 3,000 (equaling 3.85 million on-demand streams of the set’s songs) and TEA units comprise a negligible number.

Love for Sale marks Bennett’s sixth top 10 album on the Billboard 200, and Lady Gaga’s 10th top 10.

Bennett achieved his first top 10 in 1962 with I Left My Heart in San Francisco. It climbed from No. 11 to No. 7 on the Monoaural LP’s chart dated Oct. 6, 1962. (At the time, there were two main album charts, a Monoaural LP’s chart, and a Stereo LP’s chart.) Gaga’s first top 10 came on the March 7, 2009-dated Billboard 200, when The Fame rose 26-10.

With Love for Sale’s top 10 arrival, Bennett has a 59-year span of top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 – the longest span of top 10s for a living artist.

Only Nat “King” Cole, who died in 1965, has a greater span of top 10s among all acts: a 63-year and eight-month span between his first top 10, Love Is the Thing, in April of 1957 and his most recent top 10, The Christmas Song, in January of 2021.

The 95-year-old Bennett made his Billboard 200 debut with the simply-titled Tony on Feb. 23, 1957 (when the chart was known as Best Selling Pop Albums).

Rounding out the new top 10 on the Billboard 200 is a pair of former No. 1s: Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album falls 7-9 (40,000 equivalent album units; up 2%) and Kanye West’s Donda drops 4-10 (39,000; down 20%).

Source: billboard.com

Plus, Elton John and Dua Lipa’s “Cold Heart” hits the Global Excl. U.S. top 10.

The sky’s the limit for Coldplay and BTS, as their collaborative new single “My Universe” debuts at No. 1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts.

Plus, Elton John and Dua Lipa’s “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)” reaches the Global Excl. U.S. top 10, climbing 11-9.

Billboard‘s two global charts (the latest of which are dated Oct. 9) began in September 2020 and rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by MRC Data. The Billboard Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the U.S.

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.

‘Universe’ Rules the World

Britain’s Coldplay and South Korea’s BTS blast off at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 with “My Universe.” Released Sept. 24, the single, sung mostly in English with some lyrics in Korean, starts with 95.4 million streams and 142,400 downloads sold worldwide in the Sept. 24-30 tracking week. It’s BTS’ record-extending sixth leader on the list and Coldplay’s first over the chart’s year-plus archives.

The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s “Stay” slips to No. 2 on the Global 200 after nine weeks on top, the most for any song so far. The track drew 106.2 million streams (down 8%) and sold 17,200 downloads (down 17%) and, notably, pushes its unprecedented run to eight consecutive weeks with over 100 million global streams, after tallying 115.6 million (Oct. 2), 115.7 million (Sept. 25), 119.8 million (Sept. 18), 125.7 million (Sept. 11), 124.9 million (Sept. 4), 123.7 million (Aug. 28) and 108.5 million (Aug. 21).

Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow’s “Industry Baby” backtracks to No. 3 on the Global 200, from its No. 2 high.

Nigeria’s CKay surges 8-4 on the Global 200 with “Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah).” In its third week on the chart, the Afrobeat song sports gains of 36% to 68.9 million streams and 76% to 4,500 sold worldwide. It’s the first entry by an artist from Africa to hit the top five (after becoming the first such top 10) on the chart.

Rounding out the Global 200’s top five, Ed Sheeran’s “Bad Habits” drops 3-5, following a week at No. 1.

Collabs Likewise Top Two on Global Excl. U.S.; John & Lipa Hit Top 10

Coldplay and BTS’ “My Universe” bounds onto the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart at No. 1 with 84.4 million streams and 90,500 downloads sold in territories outside the U.S. in the Sept. 24-30 tracking week. BTS earns its fifth No. 1 on the tally and Coldplay achieves its first.

The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s “Stay” descends to No. 2 after seven weeks atop the Global Excl. U.S. chart, with 84.2 million streams (down 8%) and 8,800 sold (down 13%).

CKay’s “Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah)” rises 4-3 for a new high on the Global Excl. U.S. ranking; Ed Sheeran’s “Bad Habits” dips 3-4, after five weeks at No. 1; and Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow’s “Industry Baby” retreats to No. 5 from its No. 2 best.

Elsewhere in the Global Excl. U.S. chart’s top 10, Elton John and Dua Lipa’s “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)” ascends to the tier, climbing 11-9 with 25.9 million streams (up 10%) and 17,900 sold (up 1%) beyond the U.S. John logs his first top on the ranking and Lipa lands her third.

In the mash-up, John sings part of his 1990 hit “Sacrifice” and Lipa reprises his 1972 classic “Rocket Man,” as well as his 1983 single “Kiss the Bride” (while the single’s coda interpolates John’s 1976 track “Where’s the Shoorah?”) Joining the two British stars, Australian trio Pnau sports co-writing and co-production credit on “Cold Heart.”

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated Oct. 9) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Oct. 5). 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 Twitter and Instagram.

Source: billboard.com

He’s the first hip-hop artist to have a No. 1 album in each of the last three years: 2021, 2020 & 2019.

YoungBoy Never Broke Again achieves his fourth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart, as his latest release, Sincerely, Kentrell, debuts atop the list dated Oct. 9. The set earned 137,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Sept. 30, according to MRC Data.

With Sincerely, Kentrell’s debut, the rapper becomes the second act, and only hip-hop artist, with a No. 1 album in each of the last three years: 2021, 2020 and 2019. The prolific artist has charted a total of 18 albums on the Billboard 200 since making his debut on the list in August of 2017. The 21-year-old previously hit No. 1 with Top and 38 Baby 2 (both in 2020, that September and May, respectively) and AI YoungBoy 2 (in October 2019).

The only other act with a No. 1 album in 2021, 2020 and 2019 is Taylor Swift, who also tallied four chart-topping releases in those years: Fearless (Taylor’s Version) in 2021, Evermore and Folklore in 2020 and Lover in 2019.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multimetric consumption as measured in equivalent album units. 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 Oct. 9, 2021-dated chart (where Sincerely, Kentrell debuts at No. 1) will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Oct. 5. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of Sincerely, Kentrell’s 137,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Sept. 30, SEA units comprise 125,000 units (equaling 186.29 million on-demand streams of the album’s 23 tracks), album sales comprise 10,000 and TEA units comprise 1,000 units. (The album was initially released as a 21-track standard album on Sept. 24, and then was reissued on Sept. 28 with two additional tracks.)

YoungBoy (whose real name is Kentrell Gaulden) has been awaiting his trial at the St. Martin Parish Correctional Center in Louisiana since April, after being charged with drug and weapon related offenses.

Drake’s Certified Lover Boy moves down to No. 2 on the Billboard 200 after a three-week reign at No. 1. Certified earned 135,000 equivalent album units in its fourth week on the list (down 21%).

Lil Nas X’s Montero slips from No. 2 to No. 3 in its second week with 58,000 equivalent album units earned (down 54%). Kanye West’s former No. 1 Donda is a non-mover at No. 4 with 47,000 units (down 17%), while the Nos. 5-9 titles are all stationary as well. Olivia Rodrigo’s chart-topping Sour is No. 5 (46,000; down 10%), Doja Cat’s Planet Her is No. 6 (44,000; down 8%), Morgan Wallen’s former leader Dangerous: The Double Album is No. 7 (39,000; up 1%), The Kid LAROI’s chart-topping F*ck Love is No. 8 (35,000; down 8%) and Billie Eilish’s former No. 1 Happier Than Ever is No. 9 (31,000; down 4%).

Closing out the top 10 is Rod Wave’s former No. 1, SoulFly, which steps 11-10 with 27,000 equivalent album units (down 7%).

Source: billboard.com