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Post Malone & 21 Savage Earn First Hot 100 No. 1 With ‘Rockstar’
The track is the fifth rap No. 1 of 2017, tying for the most in a single year. Plus, Portugal. The Man’s “Feel It Still” is the top radio hit & Sam Smith returns to the top 10.
Congratulations are in order for Post Malone, whose “Rockstar,” featuring 21 Savage, hits No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (dated Oct. 28), marking the first leader for each artist. Plus, Portugal. The Man‘s “Feel It Still” reaches the Hot 100’s top five, and takes over atop the Radio Songs chart, while Sam Smith returns to the Hot 100’s top 10 with “Too Good at Goodbyes.”
As we do every Monday, let’s run down the top 10 of the Hot 100, which blends all-genre streaming, airplay and sales data. All charts will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Oct. 17).
“Rockstar,” released on Republic Records, becomes the 1,068th No. 1 in the Hot 100’s 59-year history. Post Malone (born Austin Richard Post) had previously peaked at a No. 8 high with “Congratulations,” featuring Quavo, in July, while 21 Savage (Shayaa Bin Abraham-Joseph) had hit a No. 12 best with “Bank Account.”
No. 1 in Streaming: After spending its first three weeks on the Hot 100 at No. 2, “Rockstar” reigns as it logs a third (nonconsecutive) week at No. 1 on the Streaming Songs chart with 51.3 million U.S. streams, up 3 percent, in the week ending Oct. 12, according to Nielsen Music (without the benefit so far of an official proper video, for that matter). It rises 5-3 on Digital Song Sales (which it led for a week), up 11 percent to 48,000 downloads sold in the week ending Oct. 12, and debuts at No. 38 on Radio Songs with 35 million in all-format audience, up 36 percent, in the week ending Oct. 15.
(Post-poned: As noticed by reader @Loago96, “Rockstar” is the third song to spend at least its first three weeks on the Hot 100 at No. 2 and then rise to No. 1. Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby” logged its first four weeks at No. 2 in April 1996, before topping the chart for two weeks that May, while Eminem’s “Love the Way You Lie,” featuring Rihanna, waited patiently at No. 2 for its first three weeks in July 2010 before beginning a seven-week reign. Plus, per reader Pablo Nelson, 21 Savage hitting No. 1 on the Hot 100 is something that twenty one pilots have yet to do … although Savage Garden has.)
“Rockstar” also becomes the first No. 1 for both Post Malone and 21 Savage on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts.
Rap-“rock”: Notably, five of the 10 songs to ascend to No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 2017 have been rap songs, tying for the most in any year. “Rockstar” dethrones Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)” after three weeks atop the Hot 100. Previously, DJ Khaled’s “I’m the One,” featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper and Lil Wayne; Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble.”; and Migos’ “Bad and Boujee,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert, led this year.
Comparatively, in 2016, two of 10 Hot 100 No. 1s doubled up were rap (Desiigner’s “Panda” and Rae Sremmurd’s “Black Beatles,” featuring Gucci Mane). They followed one such No. 1 in 2015 (Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again,” featuring Charlie Puth), two in 2014 and three in 2013.
Further, all five rap Hot 100 No. 1s this year mark the first chart champs for all five lead acts (Post Malone, Cardi B, DJ Khaled, Kendrick Lamar and Migos).
2017 marks the first year that as many as five rap hits have topped the Hot 100 since 2006, when D4L’s “Laffy Taffy”; Nelly’s “Grillz,” featuring Paul Wall, Ali and Gipp; Sean Paul’s “Temperature”; Chamillionaire’s “Ridin’,” featuring Krayzie Bone; and Ludacris’ “Money Maker,” featuring Pharrell, all reigned. Five rap hits also ruled the Hot 100 in 2004 and 2003.
“Rock” era: Meanwhile, the word “rock” appears in the title of a Hot 100 No. 1 for the 12th time (dating to the first, Elton John’s “Crocodile Rock,” in 1973). In another sign of hip-hop’s growth, the last two such leaders haven’t actually been rock songs: before “Rockstar,” LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” ruled in 2011 (and features Lauren Bennett and another rock-er: GoonRock).
(The song renowned for kicking off the rock era, Bill Haley and His Comets’ “Rock Around the Clock,” was originally a hit in 1955, three years before the Hot 100’s inception. It eventually hit No. 39 in 1974, sparked by its usage as the theme for both the movie American Graffiti and, via a rerecording, the hit TV show that the film helped inspire, Happy Days.
Cardi B‘s “Bodak Yellow” drops to No. 2 on the Hot 100. In ceding the summit, it remains tied for the longest-leading Hot 100 No. 1 by a female artist in 2017, matching the three-week rule of the song it supplanted at the top spot, Taylor Swift‘s “Look What You Made Me Do.” (No song by a lead female has led for more than three weeks since Sia’s “Cheap Thrills,” featuring Sean Paul: four frames in August 2016.)
“Bodak” holds at No. 2 on Streaming Songs (46.1 million, down 3 percent). It drops 4-6 on Digital Song Sales with 40,000 downloads sold (down 13 percent) and 10-11 on Radio Songs (75 million, although up 4 percent).
Logic’s “1-800-273-8255,” featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid, returns to its No. 3 Hot 100 peak, from No. 4. It’s steady at No. 3 on Streaming Songs (31.2 million, down 5 percent) and reaches the Radio Songs top 10 (12-8; 76 million, up 11 percent). Logic and Khalid each earn their first Radio Songs top 10, while Cara collects her fourth.
Swift’s “Look” rebounds 4-3 on the Hot 100 and, as previously reported, hits No. 1 on the Pop Songs airplay chart.
New airplay No. 1: Portugal. The Man pushes 6-5 for its first top five Hot 100 hit, “Feel It Still,” which also crowns Radio Songs (2-1; 110 million, up 3 percent). Hip-hop isn’t ruling fully at rock’s expense, as “Feel” is the first rock hit (defined as a title that has appeared on the Hot Rock Songs chart) to top Radio Songs in nearly four years, since Lorde’s “Royals” ruled Radio Songs for six weeks in November-December 2013.
The last rock band to top Radio Songs before Portugal. The Man? fun., for six weeks in April-May 2012 with “We Are Young,” featuring Janelle Monae. (Maybe the key is to put a period in your name? fun. … Portugal. The Man … Before fun. no rock band had led Radio Songs since Lifehouse, with “Hanging by a Moment,” back in 2001.)
As on the Hot 100, “Feel” rises 6-5 on Digital Song Sales (42,000, up 1 percent), while lifting 37-33 on Streaming Songs (14.1 million, up 3 percent). It tops Hot Rock Songs for a third week. On the Alternative Songs airplay chart, “Feel” leads for a 17th week, the third-longest domination in the list’s history; Muse’s “Madness” leads with 19 weeks at No. 1 in 2012-13.
(Another “Post” man: in a week in which Post Malone posts a new No. 1 on the Hot 100, it’s worth repeating that “Feel” interpolates The Marvelettes’ “Please Mr. Postman,” which stamped itself at No. 1 on the Hot 100 dated Dec. 11, 1961.)
J Balvin and Willy William‘s “Mi Gente,” featuring Beyonce, drops 3-6 on the Hot 100 after surging from No. 21 the week before, sparked last week by the first full week of tracking for its new remix featuring Beyonce. This week, it falls 1-17 on Digital Song Sales (26,000 sold, down 67 percent); holds at No. 5 on Streaming Songs (27.7 million, down 4 percent); and bounds 29-22 on Radio Songs (55 million, up 20 percent). “Mi Gente” spends a second week at No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs.
Sam Smith’s “Too Good at Goodbyes” soars 13-7 on the Hot 100 after he performed the ballad on NBC’s Saturday Night Live Oct. 7. The song, which debuted at its No. 5 Hot 100 high (Sept. 30), charges 11-7 on Digital Song Sales (39,000, up 30 percent, good for the Hot 100’s top sales gain); 14-12 on Streaming Songs (20.6 million, up 7 percent); and 20-19 on Radio Songs (59 million, up 5 percent).
Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Imagine Dragons‘ “Thunder” slips to No. 8 from its No. 7 high, although with the Hot 100’s top gain in airplay (59 million, up 19 percent); Demi Lovato‘s “Sorry Not Sorry” descends to No. 9 from No. 8, her best career rank; and French Montana‘s “Unforgettable,” featuring Swae Lee, keeps at No. 10, after reaching No. 3.
Find out more Hot 100 news in the weekly “Hot 100 Chart Moves” column and by listening (and subscribing) to Billboard‘s Chart Beat Podcast and Pop Shop Podcast, all posting this week. And again, be sure to visit Billboard.com tomorrow (Oct. 17), 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 (Oct. 20).
Source: billboard.com