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Ed Sheeran & Beyonce’s ‘Perfect’ Tops Hot 100 for Third Week, G-Eazy’s ‘No Limit’ Hits Top Five
G-Eazy earns his first top five Hot 100 hit. Plus, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” spends its second week in the top 10.
Ed Sheeran and Beyoncé‘s “Perfect” rules the Billboard Hot 100 for a third week, remaining the top-selling song of the week and ranking as the most-streamed title for the first time.
Plus, G-Eazy‘s “No Limit,” featuring A$AP Rocky and Cardi B, surges from No. 10 to No. 5, marking G-Eazy’s first top five Hot 100 hit. Meanwhile, Mariah Carey‘s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” spends a second week in the Hot 100’s top 10, after reaching the region for the first time last week, 23 years after its 1994 release.
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 (Dec. 27). (The new Hot 100 is dated Jan. 3, marking a rare Wednesday-dated chart, instead of the usual Saturday, as Billboard is adjusting how it dates its charts and magazine issues.)
Sheeran and Beyoncé’s “Perfect,” released through Atlantic Records, and first as a solo song by Sheeran on his album ÷ (Divide), spends a fourth week at No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales chart, up 55 percent to 151,000 downloads sold in the week ending Dec. 21, according to Nielsen Music, good for the Hot 100’s top sales gain. Aiding its momentum: its new “Perfect Symphony” version with Andrea Bocelli (which accounts for 32 percent of the song’s total sales for the week).
“Perfect” also takes over atop the Streaming Songs chart, gaining by 9 percent to 43.4 million U.S. streams in the week ending Dec. 21. Sheeran scores his second Streaming Songs No. 1, following “Shape of You” (four weeks on top beginning March 25), as does Beyoncé, whose “Drunk in Love,” featuring JAY-Z, led for four weeks in 2014.
On Radio Songs, “Perfect” holds at its No. 2 high (125 million in audience, up 6 percent, in the week ending Dec. 24).
Post Malone’s “Rockstar,” featuring 21 Savage, ranks at No. 2 on the Hot 100 for a third week after eight weeks at No. 1. It dips to No. 2 after 11 weeks atop Streaming Songs (42.8 million, down 2 percent), although it leads the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts for an 11th week each.
Camila Cabello’s “Havana,” featuring Young Thug, keeps at No. 3 on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 2, while topping Radio Songs for a third frame (135 million, up 2 percent). The song commands the Pop Songs airplay chart for a fifth week and becomes Cabello’s second No. 1 (and Young Thug’s first) on Rhythmic Songs. She first led the latter list dated Feb. 25, 2017, with “Bad Things,” with Machine Gun Kelly.
Lil Pump’s “Gucci Gang” is steady at No. 4 on the Hot 100 after hitting No. 3.
G-Eazy’s “No Limit,” featuring A$AP Rocky and Cardi B, bounds 10-5 on the Hot 100, following the Dec. 19 premiere of its official video and as parent album The Beautiful & Damned debuts at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 (with 122,000 equivalent album units). Streaming is driving the song most heavily, as it surges 11-7 on Streaming Songs (29.1 million, up 37 percent, marking the Hot 100’s top gainer in streaming; the song in the video is a remix that additionally features French Montana, Juicy J and Belly).
G-Eazy earns his first top five Hot 100 hit, after previously peaking as high as No. 7 with his sole prior top 10, “Me, Myself & I,” with Bebe Rexha, in 2016. A$AP Rocky matches his Hot 100 best, first achieved as featured on Selena Gomez’s “Good for You” in 2015.
Cardi B earns her second top five Hot 100 hit, after her debut entry “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)” reigned for three weeks. As the songs mark her first two charted Hot 100 titles, she becomes the second female rapper to have reached the top five in her first two visits: Iggy Azalea’s introductory smash “Fancy,” featuring Charli XCX, spent seven weeks at No. 1 in 2014 and her second entry, Ariana Grande’s “Problem,” featuring Azalea, reached No. 2 the same year.
Imagine Dragons’ “Thunder” slips 5-6 on the Hot 100 after hitting to No. 4, while leading Hot Rock Songs for an eighth week. (A medley version of the song with Khalid’s “Young Dumb & Free” was released at midnight ET Dec. 20 and is being tracked as its own title. The song is a studio version of the medley that the group and Khalid performed on the American Music Awards Nov. 19. Khalid’s track bullets at No. 33 on the Hot 100 after reaching No. 22.)
Migos, Nicki Minaj and Cardi B’s “MotorSport” shifts into reverse, backing up 6-7 on the Hot 100; a week ago, it blasted from No. 15 following the first full week of tracking after the arrival of its official video, making Cardi B the first female rapper to reach the top 10 with her first three Hot 100 entries.
At No. 8 on the Hot 100, Sam Smith’s No. 4-peaking “Too Good at Goodbyes” drops a notch from No. 7.
Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” spends a second week at its No. 9 Hot 100 peak, after hitting the top 10 for the first time a week ago. Reflecting the tracking period leading up to Christmas Day, the 1994 holiday classic ranks at No. 8 on Streaming Songs (26.6 million, up 5 percent); No. 18 on Radio Songs (44 million, up 28 percent, marking the Hot 100’s top airplay gainer); and No. 20 on Digital Song Sales (20,000, up 5 percent).
As it’s Dec. 26 … No. 9 is likely the Hot 100 high for “Christmas,” at least for this season. As next week’s Hot 100 will cover the streaming and sales tracking weeks ending Dec. 28 and airplay ending Dec. 31, Carey’s hit and other holiday songs on the Hot 100 are likely to descend on (or depart) next week’s chart.
“Christmas” concurrently rules the Holiday 100 songs chart for a 30th cumulative week, dating to the chart’s December 2011 inception; no other song has led the list for more than two weeks.
Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Halsey’s “Bad at Love” descends to No. 10 from its No. 8 high. It becomes Halsey’s first No. 1 on the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart as a lead artist (following her record 20-week reign as featured on The Chainsmokers’ “Closer” beginning in September 2016).
One spot beyond the Hot 100’s top tier, Eminem’s “River,” featuring Ed Sheeran, debuts at No. 11. It launches at No. 2 on Digital Song Sales with 64,000 sold and No. 15 on Streaming Songs with 17.9 million U.S. streams. As previously reported, parent LP Revival roars onto the Billboard 200 at No. 1 (267,000 units), making Eminem the first artist in the chart’s history to debut eight consecutive titles at the summit.
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. And again, be sure to visit Billboard.com Tuesday (Dec. 27), when all charts, including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh.
Source: billboard.com