Rae Sremmurd’s ‘Black Beatles’ Tops Hot 100 for Fab Fourth Week
The track, featuring Gucci Mane, continues to reign, helped again by the Mannequin Challenge.
Rae Sremmurd rules the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Dec. 17) for a fourth week with “Black Beatles,” featuring Gucci Mane.
As we do every Monday when the chart is compiled, let’s run down the top 10 of the Hot 100, which blends sales, airplay and streaming data. Highlights of the Hot 100 post on Billboard.com each Monday, with all charts updated each Tuesday.
“Beatles,” released on Eardrummer/Interscope Records, continues atop the Hot 100 with momentum again from its use in viral Mannequin Challenge videos (although it’s down 24 percent in overall Hot 100 chart points). 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), is the top-selling and most-streamed song of the week for a fourth week (and is the top gainer in airplay for a third frame).
“Beatles” leads the Digital Song Sales chart with 83,000 downloads sold in the week ending Dec. 1, down 40 percent, according to Nielsen Music, and rules Streaming Songs with 42 million U.S. streams, down 25 percent. Of its streams for the week, 25.6 million were from YouTube and 10.7 million from Spotify. The track dips to No. 2 after three weeks atop the audio subscription services-based On-Demand Streaming Songs chart (16.1 million on-demand streams, down 27 percent).
“Beatles” is also adding airplay, as it soars into the top 10 (14-9) on Radio Songs (73 million in audience, up 25 percent) and holds at No. 1 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (34 million in format audience, up 15 percent). The track tops Billboard‘s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts for a fourth week each.
The Weeknd‘s “Starboy,” featuring Daft Punk, returns for a sixth week at its No. 2 Hot 100 peak (from No. 3), as his album of the same name soars in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The track keeps at No. 2 on Radio Songs (125 million, down 2 percent) and rebounds 3-2 on both Streaming Songs (33.4 million, up 18 percent) and Digital Song Sales (53,000, down 28 percent); in the prior tracking week, it was helped by The Weeknd’s performance of it on the American Music Awards (AMAs) Nov. 20. “Starboy” reverses course (3-1) for a second week atop On-Demand Streaming Songs (20.4 million, up 38 percent), while crowning the Hot R&B Songs chart for a 10th week.
Additionally, all 18 songs from Starboy chart on the Hot 100; with 18 total tracks on the Dec. 17 chart, The Weeknd posts the second-most simultaneous entries in the Hot 100’s 58-year history; only Drake tallied more at the same time: 20 on the May 21 chart. (Drake also charts 18 at once on the June 4 ranking.)
The Chainsmokers‘ “Closer,” featuring Halsey, dips 2-3 on the Hot 100 after spending 12 weeks at No. 1, the longest rule of 2016. “Closer” tops Radio Songs for a 10th week (139 million, down 5 percent), passing OutKast’s “Hey Ya!,” which spent nine weeks at No. 1 in 2003-04, for the longest reign by a duo in the chart’s 26-year history. (Among all acts, Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” has spent the most time atop Radio Songs: 18 weeks, in 1998.) “Closer” is the second song in 2016 to lead Radio Songs for at least 10 weeks: Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” logged an 11-week command in February-May.
“Closer” holds at No. 4 on Streaming Songs (21.9 million, down 17 percent) and slips 4-5 on Digital Song Sales (46,000, down 37 percent; it was also boosted in the prior tracking week by The Chainsmokers and Halsey’s AMAs performance).
“Closer” additionally controls Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart for a 16th week and tops Pop Songs for an 11th week, tying four other hits for the second-longest domination in the airplay chart’s 24-year history; Ace of Base’s “The Sign” holds the record with 14 weeks at No. 1 in 1994.
Ariana Grande‘s “Side to Side,” featuring Nicki Minaj, returns to its No. 4 Hot 100 highpoint, from No. 6. It remains at No. 5 on Radio Songs (114 million, up 4 percent), while falling 6-7 on Streaming Songs (15.9 million, down 17 percent) and 6-8 on Digital Song Sales (39,000, down 37 percent).
Rounding out the Hot 100’s top five, Bruno Mars‘ “24K Magic” descends to No. 5 on the Hot 100 from its No. 4 peak, highlighted by its 4-3 push on Radio Songs 118 million, up 6 percent). It drops 2-4 on Digital Song Sales (46,000, down 41 percent) and 7-10 on Streaming Songs 13.5 million, down 21 percent). Like “Starboy” and “Closer,” “Side” and “Magic” were both helped in the prior week by Grande and Minaj’s, and Mars’, AMAs performances, respectively).
Zay Hilfigerrr & Zayion McCall backtrack to No. 6 on the Hot 100 after reaching No. 5 a week ago with “Juju on That Beat (TZ Anthem)”; DJ Snake‘s “Let Me Love You,” featuring Bieber, rises 8-7 after peaking at No. 4; Maroon 5‘s “Don’t Wanna Know,” featuring Kendrick Lamar, hits a new No. 8 high, up from No. 10; Twenty One Pilots‘ “Heathens” drops 7-9, after climbing to No. 2, and rules Billboard’s Hot Rock Songs chart for a 17th week; and D.R.A.M.‘s No. 5-peaking “Broccoli,” featuring Lil Yachty, slips 9-10.
Just beyond the Hot 100’s top 10, Hailee Steinfeld and Grey’s “Starving,” featuring Zedd, rises to a new peak (13-12); Machine Gun Kelly and Camila Cabello‘s “Bad Things” bounds 28-17, becoming the first top 20 entry for Kelly and the second, and highest-charting, for Cabello (apart from Fifth Harmony), following her No. 20-peaking “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” with Shawn Mendes, in January. Plus, Mariah Carey‘s seasonal classic “All I Want for Christmas Is You” re-enters at No. 23, while remaining atop the Holiday 100 chart.
Find out more Hot 100 news in the weekly “Hot 100 Chart Moves” column later this week, and visit Billboard.com tomorrow (Dec. 6), when all charts, including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh. The Hot 100 and a host of year-end rankings will appear in the next issue of Billboard magazine, while additional year-end tallies will post on Billboard.com later this week.