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Harry Styles’ ‘As It Was’ Launches at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100
Styles scores his second Hot 100 leader, after “Watermelon Sugar” in 2020.
Harry Styles‘ “As It Was” soars in at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart.
The track opens as Styles’ second Hot 100 leader, and his first to debut at No. 1, after “Watermelon Sugar” rose to the top for a week in August 2020.
“As It Was” is also the first song to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100 by any act in 2022, and bows with the biggest streaming week tallied this year.
The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data. All charts (dated April 16, 2022) will update on Billboard.com Tuesday (April 12). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
“As It Was” was released Thursday, March 31, at 7 p.m. ET on Erskine/Columbia Records. It’s the first single from Styles’ third album, Harry’s House, due May 20. His eponymous first LP debuted atop the Billboard 200 albums chart in June 2017 and Fine Line likewise launched at No. 1 in December 2019 and led for two weeks.
“As It Was” becomes the 1,135th No. 1 in the Hot 100’s 63-year history, and the 59th to enter on top.
Streams, airplay, & sales: “As It Was” debuts with 43.8 million streams, 27.2 million radio airplay audience impressions and 10,300 downloads sold in the April 1-7 tracking week, according to Luminate, formerly MRC Data. (On its March 31 release day, the song drew 3 million streams and 1.4 million in radio reach and sold 3,500.)
The track opens at No. 1 on Streaming Songs, where it’s Styles’ first leader (and first top 10), with the best streaming week tallied in 2022. It lands the biggest frame since Brenda Lee’s chestnut “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” topped the Jan. 1 tally (encompassing the Dec. 17-23, 2021, tracking week) with 47.5 million streams. “As It Was” boasts the most streams for a song in its first full week since Adele’s “Easy on Me” drew 53.9 million in its first full frame, as reflected on the Oct. 30, 2021, chart.
“As It Was” posts the biggest streaming week for a song by a male since Drake’s “Way 2 Sexy,” featuring Future and Young Thug, roared in with 67.3 million (atop the Sept. 18, 2021, ranking).
“As It Was” leaps 16-2 on Digital Song Sales, marking Styles’ fifth top 10, and debuts at No. 19 on Radio Songs. On the latter list, the bow is the best since “Easy on Me” made a record arrival at No. 4. It’s the highest for a male in a lead role since Eminem’s “Just Lose It” charged in at No. 17 on the Oct. 9, 2004, chart.
Styles’ second No. 1: “As It Was” follows “Watermelon Sugar” as Styles’ second Hot 100 No. 1. The latter completed a 20-week trip to the top on the Aug. 15, 2020, chart.
Styles adds his fourth Hot 100 top 10. “Sign of the Times” bounded in at No. 4 (his previous best starting point), its peak, in April 2017 and “Adore You” climbed to No. 6 in April 2020.
1D solo No. 1s: Thanks to “As It Was” and “Watermelon Sugar,” Styles is the first member of One Direction to tally multiple Hot 100 No. 1s. He one-ups Zayn, whose “Pillowtalk” ruled in its debut week (Feb. 20, 2016).
Sparking history, Styles and Zayn make One Direction the first group with two members that have debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 with solo songs.
One Direction, which Zayn departed in 2015 and is on an indefinite break, has charted six Hot 100 top 10s, reaching a No. 2 high with “Best Song Ever” in August 2013. The group has scored four No. 1s on the Billboard 200.
Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves” descends to No. 2 after five weeks atop the Hot 100. The track adds a fifth week at No. 1 on Radio Songs (63.3 million, down 2%); dips from its No. 3 high to No. 4 on Streaming Songs (15 million, up 1%); and jumps 24-13, returning to its best rank, on Digital Song Sales (4,100, up 45%, good for the Hot 100’s top Sales Gainer award), after the band was nominated for best new artist at the Grammy Awards, held April 3.
Back-to-back British No. 1s: Notably, Styles — born in Redditch, Worcestershire, England — and Glass Animals, who formed in Oxford, England, combine for the first set of back-to-back Hot 100 No. 1s by British acts in lead roles in over 30 years. They follow George Michael and Elton John, whose “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down Me” topped the Feb. 1, 1992, chart and was supplanted by Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy,” which began a three-week reign on the Feb. 8 survey.
British acts at Nos. 1 and 2: Meanwhile, British acts add more highlights, holding the top two spots on the Hot 100 simultaneously for the first time in over five years, with the last such occurrence also invoking a One Direction member gone solo. On the March 4, 2017, chart, Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” notched its fourth of 12 weeks at No. 1 and Zayn’s “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker),” with Taylor Swift, rose to its No. 2 peak.
“Heat Waves” concurrently rules the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Alternative Songs charts, both of which use the same multi-metric methodology as the Hot 100, for a 29th week each.
Latto’s “Big Energy” holds at its No. 3 Hot 100 high. It becomes her first No. 1 on Digital Song Sales (12,600, down 2%) and surges 6-3 on Radio Songs (58.3 million, up 12%) and 14-6 on Streaming Songs (11 million, up 16%), as it wins the Hot 100’s top Airplay and Streaming Gainer ribbons for a second straight week. The April 1-7 tracking week reflects the first full frame following the March 28 arrival of the song’s remix with Mariah Carey and featuring DJ Khaled. (Carey and DJ Khaled remain not listed on “Big Energy” on the Hot 100, as the remix did not account for the majority of the song’s overall consumption during the tracking week.) Carey sings a portion of her 1995 eight-week No. 1 “Fantasy” in the remix; both songs interpolate Tom Tom Club’s classic “Genius of Love,” which hit No. 31 on the Hot 100 in April 1982.
“Big Energy” also crowns the multi-metric Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts for a second week each.
The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s “Stay” slips 2-4 on the Hot 100, after seven weeks at No. 1. As the track has spent all 39 of its weeks on the Hot 100 in the top 10, dating to its entrance at No. 3 on the July 24, 2021, chart, it passes Post Malone’s “Circles” for the longest consecutive run in the top 10 from a debut; “Circles” logged its first 38 weeks on the list in the tier in 2019-20.
Imagine Dragons and JID’s “Enemy” keeps at its No. 5 Hot 100 high; Kodak Black’s “Super Gremlin” drops 4-6 after reaching No. 3; and Justin Bieber’s “Ghost” retreats 6-7 after hitting No. 5.
Doja Cat’s “Woman” rises 10-8 for a new Hot 100 best. It leads the multi-metric Hot R&B Songs chart for a sixth week.
Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, GAYLE’s “abcdefu” falls 7-9, after reaching No. 3, and Lil Nas X’s “Thats What I Want” backtracks 9-10, after hitting No. 8.
Again, for all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram and all charts (dated April 16), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (April 12).
Source: billboard.com