The xx scores its highest charting album ever on the Billboard 200 chart, as the alternative band’s third studio album, I See You, debuts at No. 2. The set earned 46,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Jan. 19, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 36,000 were in traditional album sales.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new Feb. 4-dated chart (where I See You starts at No. 2) will be posted in full to Billboard’s websites on Tuesday, Jan. 24.

The xx had previously peaked as high as No. 5 in 2012 with Coexist, the act’s second album. It debuted at its peak, starting with 73,000 sold in its first week. The band has charted one other title, its self-titled debut effort, which reached No. 92 in 2010.

I See You’s 36,000 in traditional album sales enables the title to bow at No. 1 on the Top Album Sales chart, which ranks the week’s best-selling albums.

I See You is blocked from the No. 1 slot on the Billboard 200 by The Weeknd’s Starboy, which holds for a third straight week at No. 1, and collects a fourth week atop the list overall. (It debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated Dec. 17, then returned to the top on Jan. 21, where it has been since.) Starboy earned 61,000 equivalent album units in the latest tracking frame (down 3 percent). The bulk of those units were generated by streams of the songs from the album, as streaming equivalent album units for Starboy totaled 38,000 for the week (which translates to 57.2 million streams of the album’s tracks). The rest of Starboy’s overall units were powered by track equivalent album units (10,000) and traditional album sales (13,000 copies sold).

Starboy has now blocked three challengers for No. 1 in the last three weeks: the Moana soundtrack surged 6-2 on the Jan. 21 list; the La La Land soundtrack vaulted 15-2 a week ago, and this week the xx debuts in the runner-up slot. The last time one album blocked three successive ascending or debuting (at No. 2) titles from hitting No. 1 was Drake’s Views, which thwarted ScHoolboy Q’s Blank Face LP, NEEDTOBREATHE’s HARD LOVE and Gucci Mane’s Everybody Looking between July 30 and Aug. 13. (All three of those titles debuted at No. 2.)

As for the rest of the new top 10: La La Land dips one rung to No. 3 on the Billboard 200, with 42,000 units (up less than 1 percent), while Moana falls one slot as well, to No. 4, with 34,000 units (down 13 percent).

Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic falls one position to No. 5 with 33,000 units (down 10 percent), while the original Broadway cast recording of Hamilton: An American Musical, is steady at No. 6 with 28,000 units (down 4 percent). J. Cole’s 4 Your Eyez Only slips two slots to No. 7 with a little more than 27,000 units (down 10 percent), and Drake’s Views descends a spot to No. 8 with 27,000 units (down 4 percent). Post Malone’s Stoney is a non-mover at No. 9 with 25,000 units (up 7 percent), largely driven by streams (18,000 of the album’s units were generated by streams).

Rounding out the top 10 is the Trolls soundtrack, climbing four slots to No. 10 with 23,000 units (up 20 percent). The set had a big gain in traditional album sales, as it sold 14,000 for the week (up 40 percent). The album was sale-priced for $6.99 in the iTunes Store during the tracking period.

Source: billboard.com

Sheeran scores his first Hot 100 No. 1 as a performer & becomes the first act ever to debut in the top 10 with two titles simultaneously.

Ed Sheeran earns his first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 as a performer, as “Shape of You” starts atop the chart dated Jan. 28. The pop singer-songwriter also becomes the first artist ever to debut in the top 10 with two songs simultaneously, as “Castle on the Hill” follows with an entrance at No. 6.

Let’s run down the top 10 of the Hot 100, which blends sales, airplay and streaming data. All charts will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, Jan. 18 (a day later than usual, due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday having pushed back chart processing this week).

“Shape,” the 1,061st No. 1 in the Hot 100’s 58-year history, rockets in powered most heavily by sales, as it also bows atop the Digital Song Sales chart with 240,000 first-week downloads sold in the week ending Jan. 12, according to Nielsen Music. It launches at No. 4 on Streaming Songs with 20 million U.S. streams and soars 41-18 on Radio Songs with 57 million in airplay audience following its first full week of tracking.

Sheeran simultaneously starts at No. 6 on the Hot 100 with “Castle on the Hill,” which opens at No. 2 on Digital Song Sales (171,000 sold) and No. 11 on Streaming Songs (13 million U.S. streams). (With both debuts, Sheeran ups his career count to five Hot 100 top 10s.)

“Shape” and “Castle” were released Jan. 6 on Atlantic Records and preview Sheeran’s third studio album ÷ (pronounced “Divide”), due March 3. Each song is accompanied by an official lyric video so far. At radio, “Shape” being promoted to pop and adult pop formats and “Castle,” to the more niched alternative and adult alternative formats.

Upon Sheeran’s shining week, let’s look at the many feats that he achieves.

Sheeran’s first No. 1 as an artist: Sheeran tops the Hot 100 for the first time among 16 career entries, dating to his arrival with “The A Team” (on July 28, 2012). He previously peaked as high as No. 2 (for eight weeks) with “Thinking Out Loud” in 2015. (He’d debuted as high as No. 15 with “Sing” in 2014.) Still, Sheeran had topped the Hot 100 as a writer, having co-written Justin Bieber‘s “Love Yourself,” which spent two weeks at No. 1 in February 2016 and went on to become the top title on the 2016 year-end Hot 100.

Sheeran scores his second Hot 100 No. 1 as a writer, while “Shape” co-writers Steve Mac and Johnny McDaid each tally their first. Notably, Sheeran and McDaid co-penned Sheeran’s 2015 No. 10 hit “Photograph.” (Another note on Mac’s success follows below …)

First artist with simultaneous top 10 debuts: As pointed out above, until Sheeran on the new Hot 100, no act in the chart’s history had debuted with two titles in the top 10 in the same week. In 2016, two artists just missed the honor by one notch each: on the May 14 chart, Beyonce blasted in at No. 10 with “Formation” and No. 11 with “Sorry.” On the Dec. 31 chart, J. Cole debuted at No. 7 with “Deja Vu” and No. 11 with “Immortal.”

Started from the top: “Shape” is the 27th title to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100. It’s the first since Justin Timberlake‘s “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” on May 28, 2016. Speaking of Timberlake …

Solo success: “Shape” marks the first No. 1 by an artist unaccompanied by any featured acts since Timberlake’s “Feeling” debuted and spent its one week at No. 1. Sheeran’s new leader ends a Hot 100-record 34 consecutive weeks of No. 1s sporting featured acts, linked by Drake‘s “One Dance,” featuring WizKid and Kyla (nine weeks at No. 1); Sia‘s “Cheap Thrills,” featuring Sean Paul (four); The Chainsmokers‘ “Closer,” featuring Halsey (12); Rae Sremmurd‘s “Black Beatles,” featuring Gucci Mane (seven); The Weeknd‘s “Starboy,” featuring Daft Punk (one); and, the song that “Shape” dethrones, Migos‘ “Bad and Boujee,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert (one). (More on the four lattermost songs ahead …)

3 for ’17: “Shape” is already the third song to log its first week at No. 1 on the Hot 100 on charts dated in 2017, following The Weeknd’s “Starboy” and Migos’ “Bad and Boujee,” which climbed to No. 1 (for a week each) on the Jan. 7 and 21 charts, respectively. If that seems like quick a rate of turnover at the top, it is: since Nielsen data began powering the Hot 100 in November 1991, never before had three songs hit No. 1 for the first time each in January. Such turnover last occurred in January 1991, when Madonna‘s “Justify My Love” (Jan. 5), Janet Jackson‘s “Love Will Never Do (Without You)” (Jan. 19) and Surface‘s “The First Time” (Jan. 26) all reached No. 1.

What a production: With “Shape,” Sheeran scores his first Hot 100 No. 1 as a producer, while co-producer Steve Mac adds his third, and first since two American Idol-related leaders in the early 2000s: he co-produced Kelly Clarkson‘s “A Moment Like This” (two weeks at No. 1 in 2002, and the first Hot 100 topper by an Idol contestant) and Clay Aiken‘s “This Is the Night” (one, 2003). (More recently, Mac had reached No. 3 as producer and co-writer of The Wanted‘s “Glad You Came,” which hit No. 3 in 2012. He’s also currently scaling the Hot 100 as co-writer and co-producer of Clean Bandit‘s “Rockabye,” featuring Sean Paul and Anne-Marie, up 61-51 on the latest chart.)

Sheeran Nos. 1 and 2 in sales: As “Shape” and “Castle” start in the top two spots on Digital Song Sales, Sheeran is the first act to debut at Nos. 1 and 2 simultaneously in the chart’s history. (Other acts had ranked, but not debuted, at both Nos. 1 and 2 at the same time, most recently Prince, last May 14). Meanwhile, the 240,000 that “Shape” sold in its first week mark the most for a song since Timberlake’s “Feeling” roared in with 379,000 (May 28).

Notably, Sheeran’s U.S. chart success with “Shape” and “Castle” accompanies his similarly striking start in his native UK, as the songs arrive at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, on the Official UK Singles chart, making him the first artist ever to debut in the list’s top two simultaneously.

As Sheeran starts at No. 1 (and No. 6) on the Hot 100, Migos’ “Bad and Boujee” drops to No. 2 after reaching the summit a week ago, although it sweeps the chart’s top streaming, digital sales and airplay gainer awards for the biggest increases in all three metrics (among non-debuting songs). Having inspired numerous memes and tweets playing off the song’s “raindrop, drop top” lyrics, “Bad” tops Streaming Songs for a third week (38.7 million U.S. streams, the song’s highest weekly sum yet, up 10 percent). It also leads the audio subscription services-based On-Demand Streaming Songs chart for a third week (17.9 million on-demand clicks, up 13 percent).

“Bad” dips 2-3 on Digital Song Sales (below Sheeran’s two tracks), but with a 14 percent gain to 86,000 sold, and debuts on the Radio Songs chart at No. 34 (34 million in airplay audience, up 61 percent). It additionally rules Billboard‘s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts for a second week each.

Likely helping “Bad,” Donald Glover praised the song during his acceptance speech at the Golden Globes Jan. 8. With Migos having guested on the FX series Atlanta, created by and starring Glover, he said, “I really wanna thank the Migos, not for being in the show, but for making ‘Bad and Boujee.’ Like, that’s the best song ever.”

Rae Sremmurd’s “Black Beatles” slips 2-3 on the Hot 100 following its seven-week command and The Weeknd’s “Starboy” holds at No. 4 after its one week at No. 1.

Rounding out the Hot 100’s top five, The Chainsmokers’ “Closer” retreats 3-5, after spending 12 weeks at No. 1, and sets a record: having totaled all 24 of its weeks on the chart in the top 10, dating to its debut at No. 9 on Aug. 20, the collab with Halsey rewrites the mark for the most consecutive weeks tallied in the top 10 from a song’s debut week. It passes Bieber’s aforementioned Sheeran co-write “Love Yourself,” which logged its first 23 weeks on the Hot 100 in the top 10 (Dec. 5, 2015-May 7, 2016). “Closer” additionally leads the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart for a 22nd week.

(Looking ahead to next week, The Chainsmokers should make a lofty entrance with “Paris,” released Friday, Jan. 13. After its first three days of airplay, the follow-up radio single to “Closer” is already new at No. 24 on the Jan. 28-dated Pop Songs airplay chart.)

Below Sheeran’s “Castle” at No. 6 on the Hot 100, Bruno Mars‘ “24K Magic” descends 5-7 after peaking at No. 4; Maroon 5‘s “Don’t Wanna Know,” featuring Kendrick Lamar, drops from its No. 7 peak to No. 8, while topping Radio Songs for a fifth week (145 million, up 2 percent) and taking over atop Pop Songs (2-1); Ariana Grande‘s “Side to Side,” featuring Nicki Minaj, falls 6-9 on the Hot 100 after reaching No. 4; and Machine Gun Kelly and Camila Cabello‘s “Bad Things” keeps at No. 10 after hitting No. 9 three weeks earlier.

Find out more Hot 100 news in the weekly “Hot 100 Chart Moves” column later this week, and visit Billboard.com tomorrow (Jan. 18), 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 (20).

Source: billboard.com

The rap acts each earn their first Hot 100 No. 1 with the viral track. Plus, Bruno Mars’ “24K Magic” is the week’s top-selling song for the first time.

Migos‘ “Bad and Boujee,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert, rises 2-1 to crown the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Jan. 21), driven in part by viral online buzz.

As we do every Monday, let’s run down the top 10 of the Hot 100, which blends sales, airplay and streaming data. All charts will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, Jan. 10.

“Bad” is the first Hot 100 No. 1 for both hip-hop trio Migos (Quavo, Takeoff and Offset) and rapper Lil Uzi Vert (born Symere Woods). It’s also the first Hot 100 leader for the 300 Entertainment label, founded in 2014, as well as the first topper for the Quality Control imprint. (In the Hot 100’s 58-year history, the song is the 1,060th No. 1 all-time.)

As previously reported, “Bad” has inspired numerous memes and tweets playing off the song’s “raindrop, drop top” lyrics. A 60-second clip of Migos of performing “Bad” in Lagos, Nigeria, posted to Twitter Dec. 20, has also helped the song’s profile surge.

“Bad” tops the Streaming Songs chart for a second week with 35.3 million U.S. streams (up 9 percent) in the week ending Jan. 5, according to Nielsen Music. The majority of its streams stem from YouTube (19.3 million), followed by Spotify (9.2 million). The track also leads the audio subscription services-based On-Demand Streaming Songs chart for a second week (15.9 million on-demand clicks, up 7 percent).

“Bad” pushes 4-2 in Digital Song Sales (76,000 downloads sold, down 35 percent; most songs dropped significantly in sales in the tracking week, following a hearty prior sales frame that included Christmas-week shopping) and nears the Radio Songs chart, gaining by 34 percent to 20 million in airplay audience. On R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, it bounds 14-6 as the chart’s Greatest Gainer (up 31 percent to 16.2 million in audience at the format).

“Bad” additionally takes over atop Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts.

Looking ahead to next week, “Bad” could further gain thanks to Donald Glover’s shout-out of the song during his acceptance speech at the Golden Globes last night (Jan. 8). With Migos having guested on the FX series Atlanta, created by and starring Glover, he praised, “I really wanna thank the Migos, not for being in the show, but for making ‘Bad and Boujee.’ Like, that’s the best song ever.” (Any consumer reaction to the mention would count for next week’s Hot 100, which will cover streaming and sales from Jan. 6 through Jan. 12.)

As the act hits the Hot 100’s top spot, Migos has blasted past its previous best peak, No. 69, set by “Fight Night” in 2014. Meanwhile, Lil Uzi Vert’s second-highest-charting Hot 100 entry brings him more good news: “You Was Right” rises 42-40, reaching the top 40 at last in its 26th week on the list.

(And, good news for a Hot 100 No. 1 with “bad” in its title: Migos’ new leader is the first such song since Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood,” featuring Kendrick Lamar, on June 6, 2015. It’s also the first such topper by a group since 1988, when Bon Jovi reigned with “Bad Medicine.” Bon Jovi, in fact, had scored the last two Hot 100 No. 1s with “bad” in their titles among groups prior to “Bad and Boujee”: “You Give Love a Bad Name” ruled in 1986.)

“Bad” dethrones a song that likewise originally topped the Hot 100 fueled in part by viral action, Rae Sremmurd’s “Black Beatles,” featuring Gucci Mane, after seven nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1; “Beatles” had first led the Hot 100 dated Nov. 26, boosted by videos with the song’s audio serving as the soundtrack to Mannequin Challenge clips. “Beatles” rises 3-2 on Streaming Songs (24.7 million, down 13 percent); drops to No. 4 after seven weeks atop Digital Song Sales (66,000, down 52 percent); and keeps at its No. 8 high on Radio Songs (97 million, up 8 percent).

Notably, hip-hop-based rap tracks lead the Hot 100 for the first time in back-to-back weeks for the first time in more than eight years (considering titles that have hit the top 40 of R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay): on Nov. 15, 2008, T.I.’s “Live Your Life,” featuring Rihanna, replaced his own “Whatever You Like” at the Hot 100’s summit.

The Chainsmokers’ “Closer,” featuring Halsey, rebounds 4-3 on the Hot 100 after spending 12 weeks at No. 1. Having totaled all 23 of its weeks on the chart in the top 10, dating to its debut at No. 9 on Aug. 20, the collab ties the mark for the most consecutive weeks tallied in the top 10 from a song’s debut week. Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” likewise logged its first 23 weeks on the Hot 100 in the top 10 (Dec. 5, 2015-May 7, 2016), including two at No. 1; the ballad went on to become the top title on the 2016 year-end Hot 100.

The Weeknd‘s “Starboy,” featuring Daft Punk, descends 3-4 on the Hot 100 after crowning the Jan. 7 chart, becoming The Weeknd’s third leader and Daft Punk’s first. It leads the Hot R&B Songs chart for a 15th week. Meanwhile, follow-up “I Feel It Coming,” also featuring Daft Punk, jumps 34-25 on the Hot 100 (nearing its No. 22 high set last month).

Rounding out the Hot 100’s top five, Bruno Mars‘ “24K Magic” holds at No. 5 after peaking at No. 4, while becoming the best-selling song of the week for the first time. It lifts 7-1 on Digital Song Sales (77,000, down 27 percent). (The track received notable further attention after Mars appeared on CBS’ The Late Late Show With James Corden Dec. 13, and sang it in the coveted passenger seat, in the show’s “Carpool Karoake” segment.)

Ariana Grande‘s “Side to Side,” featuring Nicki Minaj, reverses course on the Hot 100, lifting 7-6 after reaching No. 4. It leads the top 40-based Pop Songs airplay chart for a fifth week, tying Sia’s “Cheap Thrills,” featuring Sean Paul, in August-September and Swift’s “Bad Blood” (five weeks, 2015) for the longest reign by a lead female since Swift’s “Blank Space” topped Pop Songs for six weeks in 2014-15.

Maroon 5‘s “Don’t Wanna Know,” featuring Lamar, returns to the Hot 100’s top 10, and its peak (11-7), while topping Radio Songs for a fourth week (142 million, up 9 percent).

DJ Snake‘s “Let Me Love You,” featuring Bieber, stays at No. 8 on the Hot 100, after peaking at No. 4; Drake’s “Fake Love” is likewise steady, at No. 9, its best rank; and Machine Gun Kelly and Camila Cabello’s “Bad Things” rebounds 12-10, after hitting No. 9 two weeks earlier.

Among moves just beyond the Hot 100’s top 10, Alessia Cara‘s “Scars to Your Beautiful” climbs 15-12, hitting a new highpoint; Zayn and Taylor Swift‘s “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)” jumps 22-14, boosted by interest in the Jan. 2 arrival of the Fifty Shades Darker extended trailer, as the duet reaches its best rank since it debuted at No. 6 three weeks ago; and Big Sean‘s “Bounce Back” bumps 21-18, reaching the top 20 for the first time.

And, further looking ahead to next week, Ed Sheeran should make a splashy start on the Hot 100 with two songs: “Shape of You” and “Castle on the Hill.” Both released Friday (Jan. 6), the tracks launched at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, on the Billboard + Twitter Trending 140. Already, on the new Jan. 21-dated Radio Songs chart, “Shape” (the single being promoted to radio) debuts at No. 41 with 29 million audience in its first three days of airplay. Check Billboard.com this week for projections of where the songs could debut on next week’s Hot 100 following their first full week of tracking.

Plus, find out more Hot 100 news in the weekly “Hot 100 Chart Moves” column later this week, and visit Billboard.com tomorrow (Jan. 10), when all charts, including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh.

After two weeks of Pentatonix ruling the Billboard 200 with its holiday effort A Pentatonix Christmas, the vocal group steps aside, to let The Weeknd return to the top slot with Starboy. The latter set climbs from No. 2 to No. 1 (for a second week in the penthouse) with 69,000 equivalent album units (down 26 percent) earned in the week ending Jan. 5, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 18,000 were in traditional album sales (down 46 percent).

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new Jan. 21, 2017-dated chart (where The Weekend jumps back to No. 1) will be posted in full to Billboard’s websites on Tuesday, Jan. 10.

The Weeknd’s Starboy debuted at No. 1 six weeks ago, fell to No. 2 in its second week, but has been within the top three of the list each week since. It’s the first album to return to No. 1 in three months, since Drake’s Views spent its 13th and (so far) final week at No. 1, jumping from No. 2 to No. 1 on the Oct. 8, 2016-dated list — after having spent the previous seven weeks not at No. 1.

Meanwhile, last week’s leader, Penatonix’s A Pentatonix Christmas, falls to No. 41 (12,000 units; down 88 percent). It is the only holiday album within the top 100 of the chart. The next highest-ranking seasonal set is Pentatonix’s previous holiday effort, That’s Christmas to Me, which falls from No. 9 to No. 112.

The Moana film soundtrack rises from No. 6 to No. 2 with 64,000 units (up 21 percent) and 44,000 in traditional album sales (up 37 percent — it is the best selling album of the week). It’s the only title in the top 10 to post a gain in either total units or sales, so, for the most part, albums with a small decline in units will rise up the list. That is typical for the first tracking week after the holiday shopping season and Christmas — when the chart adjusts to normal non-holiday business. And, soundtracks to music-heavy films popular at the beginning of the year ­— like Moana — tend to profit on the chart in January.

For example, two years ago this month, the soundtracks to both Into the Woods and the remake of Annie jumped into the top 15 for the first time. Back in January of 2013, the Les Miserables soundtrack rose to No. 1, while the Pitch Perfect soundtrack hit the top 10 for the first time (on its way to a No. 3 peak in February of that year). Other stunning January jumps for soundtracks include when Titanic sailed from No. 11 to No. 1 on the Jan. 24, 1998 chart and Dreamgirls zoomed from No. 31 on Jan. 6, 2007 to No. 1 just two weeks later.

Moana isn’t the only soundtrack basking in that post-holiday glow in the latest top 10: three more soundtracks populate the region: Sing (rising 21-8 with 28,000 units; though its down 9 percent), Suicide Squad (10-9 with 27,000 units; down 36 percent) and Trolls (14-10 with 26,000 units; down 28 percent). For Sing, the soundtrack hits a new peak, as it has climbed steadily since its debut at No. 113 on the Dec. 31, 2016-dated list. It then jumped to No. 70, then to No. 21 and now to No. 8. (While Moana, Sing and Trolls are all still currently in theaters, Suicide Squad was released in August and closed in November. However, the movie was issued on DVD and blu-ray on Dec. 13, which aids in its popularity this month.)

With four soundtracks inside the top 10, that’s the most concurrently charting soundtracks in the top tier in more than 18 years. It last happened on the Sept. 5, 1998-dated list when the soundtracks to Armageddon (No. 4), Dr. Dolittle (No. 7), How Stella Got Her Groove Back (No. 8) and City of Angels (No. 10) populated the top 10.

Farther up the top 10, Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic is steady at No. 3 with 45,000 units (down 44 percent) and Drake’s Views climbs 8-4 with 41,000 units (down 17 percent). J. Cole’s former No. 1, 4 Your Eyez Only, slips one rung to No. 5 with 39,000 units (down 48 percent), the original Broadway cast recording of Hamilton falls a step to No. 6 with 32,000 units (down 41 percent) and Twenty One Pilots’ Blurryface is a non-mover at No. 7 with 30,000 units (down 42 percent).

Source: billboard.com

“Black Beatles,” featuring Gucci Mane, rebounds for a seventh week at the summit, while Migos’ “Bad and Boujee,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert, vaults into the top 10.

Rae Sremmurd‘s “Black Beatles,” featuring Gucci Mane, rises 2-1 for a seventh week atop the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Jan. 14). Meanwhile, Migos‘ “Bad and Boujee,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert, blasts 13-2, driven in part by viral buzz and marking the first top 10 for each hip-hop act.

Let’s run down the top 10 of the Hot 100, which blends sales, airplay and streaming data. All charts will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, Jan. 4 (a day later than usual, due to the New Year’s Day holiday having pushed back chart processing this week).

“Beatles,” released on Interscope Records and 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), returns to the top after a week at No. 2. It adds a sixth week at No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales chart (rising 3-1) with a 120 percent gain to 136,000 downloads sold in the week ending Dec. 29, according to Nielsen Music. (All 50 titles on Digital Song Sales sport gains for the week, reflecting robust holiday shopping.) “Beatles” slips to No. 3 after seven weeks atop Streaming Songs (28.4 million U.S. streams, down 3 percent), while holding at its No. 8 high on Radio Songs (90 million in airplay audience, down 1 percent).

“Beatles” tops Billboard‘s Hot Rap Songs chart for an eighth week. As on the Hot 100, it rules Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for a seventh week.

“Beatles” had first topped the Hot 100 (dated Nov. 26) powered in large part by viral videos, with the song serving as the soundtrack to Mannequin Challenge clips, and the runner-up song on the new Jan. 14-dated tally similarly leaps with a viral assist. Migos’ “Bad and Boujee,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert, vaults 13-2 and becomes the most-streamed song of the week, surging 5-1 on Streaming Songs (32.5 million, up 86 percent). The majority (54 percent) of its streams stem from YouTube (17.6 million), followed by Spotify (7.9 million). The track also crowns the audio subscription services-based On-Demand Streaming Songs chart (3-1; 14.8 million on-demand clicks, up 32 percent).

As previously reported, “Bad” has inspired numerous memes and tweets playing off the song’s “raindrop, drop top” lyrics. A 60-second clip of Migos of performing “Bad” in Lagos, Nigeria, posted to Twitter Dec. 20, has also helped propel the song’s profile.

“Bad” easily marks the first Hot 100 top 10 for each act. Trio Migos had previously peaked as high as No. 69 in 2014 with “Fight Night,” its first of six entries on the chart. Rapper Lil Uzi Vert’s second-highest-charting Hot 100 hit (of five to date) is still climbing, as “You Was Right” jumps 52-42 (in its 25th week on the list).

Also notably, with “Beatles” and “Bad” at Nos. 1 and 2 on both the Hot 100 and Hot Rap Songs concurrently, the top two tracks on each chart match for the first time in more than a year-and-a-half; on May 30, 2015, Wiz Khalifa‘s “See You Again,” featuring Charlie Puth, and Fetty Wap‘s “Trap Queen” ranked at Nos. 1 and 2 on the tallies, respectively (for a third straight week).

The Weeknd‘s “Starboy,” featuring Daft Punk, descends to No. 3 on the Hot 100 after rising 2-1 on the Jan. 7 chart, becoming The Weeknd’s third leader and Daft Punk’s first. The track drops 3-4 on Streaming Songs (23.3 million, down 7 percent); 5-7 on Radio Songs (100 million, down 3 percent); and 1-11 on Digital Song Sales (although up 18 percent to 101,000; the song had topped the chart the week before partly due to 69-cent sale-pricing in the iTunes Store during the week ending Dec. 22). Still, “Starboy” leads the Hot R&B Songs chart for a 14th week.

The Chainsmokers‘ “Closer,” featuring Halsey, slides 3-4 on the Hot 100 after spending 12 weeks at No. 1. Impressively, the collab has spent all 22 of its weeks on the chart in the top 10, dating to its debut at No. 9 on Aug. 20. Only one song has logged more weeks in the top 10 from its debut week: Justin Bieber‘s “Love Yourself” (23 weeks, Dec. 5, 2015-May 7, 2016, including two at No. 1; the song went on to become the top title on the 2016 year-end Hot 100).

Rounding out the Hot 100’s top five, Bruno Mars‘ “24K Magic” retreats to No. 5 from its No. 4 peak.

Also each dropping a notch on the Hot 100, Zay Hilfigerrr & Zayion McCall’s “Juju on That Beat (TZ Anthem)” falls to No. 6 from its No. 5 peak; Ariana Grande‘s “Side to Side,” featuring Nicki Minaj, slips 6-7 after reaching No. 4 (and leads the top 40-based Pop Songs airplay chart for a fourth week); and DJ Snake‘s “Let Me Love You,” featuring Bieber, drops 7-8, after peaking at No. 4.

Drake‘s “Fake Love” hits a new high on the Hot 100, lifting 10-9. The track pushes 8-6 on Digital Song Sales (111,000, up 39 percent); bullets at No. 9 on Streaming Songs (14.7 million, up 4 percent); and dips 16-18 on Radio Songs but with a 3 percent gain to 51 million.

D.R.A.M.‘s No. 5-peaking “Broccoli,” featuring Lil Yachty, rebounds 15-10 on the Hot 100, led by its 21-5 hike on Digital Song Sales (114,000, up 281 percent), aided by a 69-cent iTunes sale price.

Just beyond the Hot 100’s top 10, Maroon 5‘s “Don’t Wanna Know,” featuring Kendrick Lamar, drops from its No. 8 peak to No. 11, although it leads Radio Songs for a third week (130 million, up 6 percent). Meanwhile, Machine Gun Kelly and Camila Cabello‘s “Bad Things” descends to No. 12 on the Hot 100 from its No. 9 high but hits the Radio Songs top 10 (11-10; 68 million, up 8 percent). Kelly and Cabello each earn their first Radio Songs top 10 (after Cabello had notched two while she was a member of Fifth Harmony).

Plus, three songs reach the Hot 100’s top 20 for the first time: Jon Bellion‘s “All Time Low” (jumping 24-16), Shawn Mendes‘ “Mercy” (28-17) and Niall Horan‘s “This Town” (37-20).

Find out more Hot 100 news in the weekly “Hot 100 Chart Moves” column later this week, and visit Billboard.com tomorrow (Jan. 4), when all charts, including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh. The Hot 100 and other rankings will also appear in the next issue of Billboard magazine, on sale Friday (Jan. 6).

Source: billboard.com

Pentatonix spends a second week atop the Billboard 200 with A Pentatonix Christmas, as the set earned 101,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Dec. 29, 2016 — the final tracking week of the calendar year.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new Jan. 14, 2017-dated chart (where Pentatonix holds at No. 1) will be posted in full to Billboard’s websites on Wednesday, Jan. 4 (one day later than normal, due to the New Year’s Day holiday on Jan. 1).

The closing tracking frame of 2016 includes the two days leading up to Christmas Day and the holiday itself, so it’s fitting that a Christmas album leads the tally. While A Pentatonix Christmas’ total units earned for the week were down by 51 percent, its traditional album sales were greater than any other album: it sold 82,000 copies (down 55 percent), far ahead of the No. 2 selling set of the week, Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic, with 55,000 copies (down 39 percent).

A Pentatonix Christmas‘ handsome sales, along with small declines in SEA and TEA (down 12 and 10 percent, respectively), helps keep the album ahead of the No. 2 set on the Billboard 200, The Weeknd’s former No. 1 Starboy. The latter climbs one rung with 94,000 units (down only 7 percent).

Mars’ 24K Magic dips one slot to No. 3 with 81,000 units (down 29 percent), while J. Cole’s 4 Your Eyez Only is steady at No. 4 with 75,000 units (down 16 percent).

The original Broadway cast recording of Hamilton: An American Musical climbs two positions to No. 5 with 54,000 units (down 7 percent). This is the highest rank for the title in five months, since it also placed at No. 5 on the Aug. 6, 2016-dated list. The album has so far peaked at No. 3 (July 2, 2016), following its 11 Tony Award wins on June 12.

The soundtrack to the animated film Moana jumps 10-6 on the new chart with 53,000 units (up 4 percent), while Twenty One Pilots’ Blurryface vaults 15-7 with 52,000 units (up 37 percent). The latter album benefits from a $5.99 sale price in the Apple iTunes store, as well as promotion generated by the release of Twenty One Pilots’ new EP with MuteMath, The MuteMath Sessions, on Dec. 20. Overall sales of Blurryface were up by 23 percent to 33,000, while its download sales increased by a whopping 268 percent to 20,000.

Drake’s Views also rises, thanks to sale pricing, as it steps 19-8 with 49,000 units (up 48 percent). The album was discounted to $6.99 in the iTunes Store.

Pentatonix’s first full-length holiday album, 2014’s That’s Christmas to Me, retreats 5-9 with 42,000 units (down 45 percent). In the previous tracking week, the album surpassed 2 million in U.S. sales. Its total sales now stand at 2.05 million.

Rounding out the top 10 is the Suicide Squad soundtrack, as it rises 21-10 with 42,000 units (up 25 percent). The set is goosed by sales of the album’s hit single “Heathens” by Twenty One Pilots, which is bolstered by Christmas-related purchases (consumers redeeming digital gift cards and filling up newly acquired devices, etc.), as well as a just-released version of the track (found on The MuteMath Sessions EP). Track equivalent album units for the Suicide Squad soundtrack rally by 164 percent to 14,000.

Source: billboard.com

The song reigns after eight weeks at No. 2, marking The Weeknd’s third No. 1 and Daft Punk’s first.

The Weeknd‘s “Starboy,” featuring Daft Punk, rises to No. 1, from No. 2, on the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Jan. 7, 2017), marking The Weeknd’s third Hot 100 No. 1 and Daft Punk’s first.

Let’s run down the top 10 of the Hot 100, which blends sales, airplay and streaming data as measured by Nielsen Music. All charts will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, Dec. 28 (a day later than usual, due to Christmas Day having pushed back chart processing this week).

“Starboy,” released on XO/Republic Records, and the title cut from his new album (which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 dated Dec. 17), reaches No. 1 in its 14th week on the Hot 100. It also crowns the Digital Song Sales chart for the first time (5-1), logging the chart’s greatest week-over-week sales gain (up 28,000), surging by 49 percent to 86,000 downloads sold in the week ending Dec. 22. Its coronation on both charts was boosted by 69-cent sale-pricing in the iTunes Store during the tracking week.

“Starboy” holds at No. 3 on Streaming Songs (25 million U.S. streams, down 2 percent) and dips 4-5 on Radio Songs (106 million in airplay audience, down 7 percent). It peaked at No. 2 on both lists.

Five fun facts about “Starboy” shining atop the Hot 100:

The Weeknd’s third Hot 100 No. 1: The Weeknd (aka Abel Tesfaye) adds his third Hot 100 leader. He first reigned with “Can’t Feel My Face” for three (nonconsecutive) weeks beginning Aug. 22, 2015. “The Hills” followed (directly dethroning “Face” after its last week on top) for six weeks beginning Oct. 3, 2015.

Daft Punk’s first Hot 100 No. 1: The acclaimed French EDM duo (Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter) celebrates its first Hot 100 topper. The pair had previously peaked at a No. 2 high (before “Starboy”) for six weeks with “Get Lucky,” featuring Pharrell Williams, in 2013.

Daft Punk first hit the Hot 100 on Aug. 30, 1997 with “Around the World,” which would peak at No. 61. (“One More Time” would follow in 2001, also with a No. 61 peak, marking the duo’s last Hot 100 entry until “Get Lucky.”) Thus, Daft Punk waited 19 years, four months and one week between its first Hot 100 appearance and its first No. 1. That’s the longest wait between a first Hot 100 visit and first No. 1 since Santana went a record two days shy of 30 years between its first entry (“Jingo,” which debuted Oct. 25, 1969) and first leader, “Smooth,” featuring Rob Thomas, which spent its first of 12 weeks at No. 1 on Oct. 23, 1999.

No. 1 After Eight Weeks at No. 2: “Starboy” tops the Hot 100 after eight nonconsecutive weeks at No. 2, tying for the most weeks spent at No. 2 before leading the list. It matches Justin Bieber‘s “Sorry,” which ruled at last on the Jan. 23, 2016, chart, and OutKast‘s “The Way You Move,” featuring Sleepy Brown (Feb. 14, 2004). (Of the three songs, only “Move” logged its eight weeks consecutively before hitting No. 1.)

No. 1 in Its 14th Week: By ascending to No. 1 in its 14th week, “Starboy” completes the longest trip to the top of the Hot 100 since Sia‘s “Cheap Thrills,” featuring Sean Paul, reached No. 1 in its 23rd week (Aug. 6). “Starboy” wraps the steadiest flight to the summit by a male since … The Weeknd’s own “The Hills” (17 weeks).

Next Up: As “Starboy” crowns the Hot 100, its follow-up single continues to climb. “I Feel It Coming,” also featuring Daft Punk, jumps 33-25, nearing its No. 22 high (set Dec. 17, when Starboy debuted atop the Billboard 200). “Feel” climbs 30-23 on Radio Songs (41 million, up 14 percent); 47-29 on Digital Song Sales (21,000, up 35 percent); and 40-37 on Streaming Songs (6.7 million, down 11 percent).

Meanwhile, “Starboy” leads the Hot R&B Songs chart for a 13th week and rebounds 2-1 for a seventh total week atop Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

“Starboy” nearly first topped the Hot 100 dated Dec. 17, narrowly held off that week by Rae Sremmurd‘s “Black Beatles” (featuring Gucci Mane), which was aided by viral Mannequin Challenge videos featuring the song’s audio (as it led that week for its fourth of six weeks at No. 1). On the new Jan. 7-dated Hot 100, “Beatles” drops to No. 2. Still, it spends a seventh week atop Streaming Songs (29.3 million, down 10 percent) and holds at No. 3 on Digital Song Sales (62,000, up 2 percent) and No. 8 on Radio Songs (92 million, down 1 percent). It leads the Hot Rap Songs chart for a seventh week.

Rounding out the Hot 100’s top five, The Chainsmokers‘ “Closer,” featuring Halsey, keeps at No. 3 after spending 12 weeks at No. 1; Bruno Mars‘ “24K Magic” holds at its No. 4 high; and Zay Hilfigerrr & Zayion McCall’s “Juju on That Beat (TZ Anthem)” rebounds to its No. 5 peak from No. 8, led most notably by its 4-2 advance on Streaming Songs (28.3 million, up 14 percent).

Ariana Grande‘s “Side to Side,” featuring Nicki Minaj, slips 5-6 on the Hot 100 after reaching No. 4 (and leads the top 40-based Pop Songs airplay chart for a third week); DJ Snake‘s “Let Me Love You,” featuring Bieber, reverses course, rising 9-7, after peaking at No. 4; and Maroon 5‘s “Don’t Wanna Know,” featuring Kendrick Lamar, likewise rebounds, climbing 10-8 after reaching No. 7. “Know” concurrently tops Radio Songs for a second week (124 million, down 1 percent).

Machine Gun Kelly and Camila Cabello‘s “Bad Things” returns to the Hot 100’s top 10 at a new peak, surging 14-9, after hitting No. 10 two weeks ago. Surely helped by buzz of the Dec. 19 announcement of Cabello’s departure from Fifth Harmony, “Things” charges 10-6 on Digital Song Sales (48,000, up 21 percent); bullets for a second week at No. 11 on Radio Songs (64 million, up 12 percent); and bounds 22-12 on Streaming Songs (12.3 million, up 12 percent).

Also returning to the Hot 100’s top 10, Drake‘s “Fake Love” lifts 12-10, matching its peak first set on the Nov. 19 chart. The track pushes 13-8 on Digital Song Sales (46,000, up 30 percent); 16-9 on Streaming Songs (14.1 million, essentially even from the week before); and 19-16 on Radio Songs (50 million, up percent). The track also zooms 10-1 for a second week atop the audio subscription services-based On-Demand Streaming Songs chart (13.9 million domestic on-demand clicks, essentially even from the week before).

In action just below the Hot 100’s top 10, Amine‘s “Caroline” climbs 16-11 and Migos‘ “Bad and Boujee,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert, roars 26-13, both hitting new highpoints. Plus, Young M.A’s “OOOUUU” jumps 47-19 and Rihanna‘s “Love on the Brain” rebounds 27-20, both revisiting their highest ranks.

Find out more Hot 100 news in the weekly “Hot 100 Chart Moves” column later this week, and visit Billboard.com tomorrow (Dec. 28), when all charts, including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh.

Source: billboard.com

“Black Beatles,” featuring Gucci Mane, rules for a sixth week, while Zayn & Swift’s “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” and Cole’s “Deja Vu” debut at Nos. 6 &7, respectively. Plus, Maroon 5’s “Don’t Wanna Know” takes over as the most-heard song on radio.

Rae Sremmurd leads the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Dec. 31) for a sixth week with “Black Beatles,” featuring Gucci Mane. Meanwhile, Zayn and Taylor Swift’s “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)” debuts at No. 6, marking Swift’s 20th Hot 100 top 10, and J. Cole‘s “Deja Vu” begins at No. 7. Plus, Maroon 5‘s “Don’t Wanna Know,” featuring Kendrick Lamar, is newly minted as the most-heard song on radio.

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 Interscope Records and 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 most-streamed song of the week for a sixth week, leading the Streaming Songs chart with 32.7 million U.S. streams (down 14 percent), according to Nielsen Music. It drops to No. 3 after five weeks atop Digital Song Sales with 61,000 sold (down 13 percent), while bulleting at its No. 8 high on Radio Songs (92 million in audience, up 6 percent).

As on the Hot 100, “Beatles” tops Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts for a sixth week each.

The Weeknd‘s “Starboy,” featuring Daft Punk, spends an eighth (nonconsecutive) week at its No. 2 Hot 100 peak. It slips 2-3 on Streaming Songs (25.6 million, down 17 percent); 2-4 on Radio Songs (113 million, down 6 percent); and 2-5 on Digital Song Sales (58,000, down 4 percent). Still, it commands the Hot R&B Songs chart for a 12th week.

Notably, “Starboy” becomes the 10th song in the Hot 100’s 58-year history to spend at least eight weeks at No. 2 without reaching the summit; it’s the first since Ed Sheeran‘s “Thinking Out Loud,” which peaked at No. 2 for eight weeks in 2015. Four songs have spent more time peaking at the runner-up spot: Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott’s “Work It” (10 weeks, 2003-03); Foreigner’s “Waiting for a Girl Like You” (10 weeks, 1981-82); Shania Twain’s “You’re Still the One” (nine weeks, 1998); and Donna Lewis’ “I Love You Always Forever” (nine weeks, 1996).

The Chainsmokers‘ “Closer,” featuring Halsey, holds at No. 3 on the Hot 100 after spending 12 weeks at No. 1, the longest rule of 2016. The song drops to No. 2 after 11 weeks at No. 1 on Radio Songs (125 million, down 7 percent); 4-7 on Streaming Songs (19.9 million, down 8 percent); and 7-11 on Digital Song Sales (38,000, down 12 percent). The track crowns the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart for an 18th week.

The Hot 100’s entire top five, in fact, stays in place from the previous week, as Bruno Mars‘ “24K Magic” holds at its No. 4 high and Ariana Grande’s “Side to Side,” featuring Nicki Minaj, keeps at No. 5 after reaching No. 4 (and leads the top 40-based Pop Songs airplay chart for a second week).

Zayn and Swift’s “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)” launches at No. 6 on the Hot 100 following its first full week of tracking. It bows as the week’s best-selling song, entering Digital Song Sales at No. 1 with 188,000 sold in the week ending Dec. 15 (thus, encompassing all the song’s first-week sales following its Dec. 9 release). Swift scores her 11th Digital Song Sales No. 1, tying Katy Perry for the second-most in the chart’s history; Rihanna leads with 14.

Zayn adds his second Digital Song Sales No. 1, following his debut solo single after leaving One Direction (with whom he notched two), as “Pillowtalk” likewise launched on top (Feb. 20).

“Live” also debuts at No. 26 on Radio Songs (39 million), drawing 3.5 million domestic streams for the week. Notably, the track, while available on Apple Music, Tidal and other subscription-only streaming services, was withheld from Spotify during the tracking week; however, it was made available on Spotify as of Dec. 16. Plus, the lack of an official video for “Live” kept it from bowing even higher on the Hot 100 (as YouTube clicks are often a major driver for songs’ streaming totals).

With the debut, Swift earns her 20th Hot 100 top 10, and Zayn, his second as a soloist (after four with 1D). She’s the 16th artist in the Hot 100’s archives to tally at least 20 top 10s, and the sixth woman; Madonna leads all acts with 38 top 10s. The other women to have reached the milestone: Rihanna, with 29; Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson, 27 each; and Whitney Houston, with 23. (Now with 20 top 10s, Swift matches the totals of Chicago and The Supremes.) “Live” is also Swift’s record-extending 13th top 10 Hot 100 debut.

“Live” is from Fifty Shades Darker, starring Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan. The film, the follow-up to 2015’s Fifty Shades of Grey, hits theaters Feb. 10, the same day that its soundtrack will be released.

Meanwhile, J. Cole achieves his first Hot 100 top 10, as “Deja Vu” debuts at No. 7. (He had reached a prior best peak of No. 13 with “Work Out” in January 2012.) “Deja Vu” is from Cole’s new album, 4 Your Eyez Only, which arrives as his fourth No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 492,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Dec. 15, marking the third-highest unit debut of 2016. The song starts at No. 2 on Streaming Songs (26.9 million) and No. 21 on Digital Song Sales (30,000). It launches at No. 1 on the audio subscription services-based On-Demand Streaming Songs chart (26.9 million on-demand clicks), where the rapper ranks at Nos. 1 through 7, an unprecedented lock on all those spots in a single week.

All 10 songs from 4 Your Eyez Only debut on the Hot 100, along with “Everybody Dies,” from Cole’s recently-released Eyez documentary. He charts 12 titles in all on the Hot 100, as “False Prophets,” also from the Eyez doc, bounds 93-54.

With “Live” and “Deja Vu” entering in the Hot 100’s top 10 simultaneously, two songs debut in the top 10 in the same week for the second time in 2016, and both frames have featured Zayn. On Feb. 20, when “Pillowtalk” premiered at No. 1, Drake’s “Summer Sixteen” started at No. 6.

Zay Hilfigerrr & Zayion McCall’s “Juju on That Beat (TZ Anthem)” retreats 6-8 on the Hot 100 after reaching No. 5, and DJ Snake‘s “Let Me Love You,” featuring Justin Bieber, drops 8-9, after peaking at No. 4.

Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Maroon 5’s “Don’t Wanna Know,” featuring Lamar, falls to No. 10 from its No. 7 high, while lifting 3-1 to crown Radio Songs (126 million, up 6 percent), where it’s the group’s fifth leader and Lamar’s second (following his featured turn on Swift’s five-week 2015 No. 1 “Bad Blood”). Dating to the inception of Radio Songs in December 1990, Maroon 5 ties Boyz II Men for the most No. 1s on the chart among groups. (Rihanna is the overall leader with 12 Radio Songs rulers.)

“Know” also takes over atop the Adult Pop Songs airplay chart (2-1), where it’s Maroon 5’s record-extending 12th No. 1. (Perry and P!nk follow with eight each.) Earlier this year, Maroon 5 earned the honor of the top act of the Adult Pop Songs chart’s first 20 years.

Find out more Hot 100 news in the weekly “Hot 100 Chart Moves” column later this week, and visit Billboard.com tomorrow (Dec. 20), when all charts, including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh.

Source: billboard.com

J. Cole’s 4 Your Eyez Only bounds in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, granting the rapper his fourth chart-topper and notching the third-largest debut of 2016, according to Nielsen Music. The set earned 492,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Dec. 15. Only the bows of Drake’s Views (1.04 million units) and Beyonce’s Lemonade (653,000) were larger this year.

Of J. Cole’s overall 492,000 unit start, 363,000 were in traditional album sales — the third-biggest weekly sales sum for a single album this year. Again, it trails only the arrivals of Views (852,000 sold in its first week) and Lemonade (a 485,000 sales launch).

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new Dec. 31-dated chart (where 4 Your Eyez Only opens at No. 1) will be posted in full to Billboard’s Websites on Tuesday, Dec. 20.

4 Your Eyez Only also logs a big streaming week as it tallied 118,000 in SEA units (equaling 51.7 million streams of the album’s songs), which is the second-largest streaming debut ever for an album. It trails only the bow of Drake’s Views, which launched with 163,000 streaming units in its opening frame (equating to 245.1 million streams of songs from the album that week). 4 Your Eyez Only is just the third album to surpass 100,000 streaming equivalent album units in a single week, following Views and The Weeknd’s Starboy (with its opening frame of 117,000 in SEA units). Views actually did it three times: during its debut week, along with its third (124,000) and fourth (111,000) frames.

4 Your Eyez Only is J. Cole’s fourth studio album, and all four have debuted at No. 1. He joins Drake and DMX as the only rap acts to debut at No. 1 with their first four full-length studio efforts. Drake did it with his first six, starting with 2010’s Thank Me Later (and including his collaborative set with Future, What a Time to Be Alive, in 2015). DMX saw his first five full-length studio sets all enter atop the list, between 1998 and 2003.

J. Cole first hit No. 1 with his debut album, Cole World: The Sideline Story, in 2011, when it launched with 217,000 copies sold. He followed it in 2013 with Born Sinner (297,000 sold in its first week) and then the following year with 2014 Forest Hills Drive (354,000 first week sales). Thus, J. Cole has achieved an infrequent feat: each of his successive albums has started with a larger debut sales week than the previous set, as his new album bows with 363,000 sold.

Other acts that have shown steady gains with the opening frames of their recent albums include Bruno Mars, Adele (both with their first three studio sets) and Taylor Swift (with her first five studio efforts).

At No. 2 on the new Billboard 200 is a surging Pentatonix, with A Pentatonix Christmas. The set earned 156,000 units for the week (up 22 percent). The group’s previous holiday album, That’s Christmas To Me, returns to the top five, as it climbs 8-5 with 65,000 units (up 24 percent). Pentatonix is the first act to chart a pair of albums concurrently in the top five since Prince on the May 21-dated chart, following an outpouring of support for his music following his death on April 21. Previous to Prince, both David Bowie and Whitney Houston also scored the feat, in 2016 and 2012, respectively — but again, only after their deaths. The last living act to notch a pair of albums in the top five at the same time was Adele on the March 3, 2012-dated chart. That week’s chart reflected impact from the 2012 Grammy Awards, where Adele’s 21 took home multiple trophies, including the award for album of the year. The set held at No. 1 on the list, while her previous album, 19, jumped 9-4.

Back on the new Billboard 200 chart, The Weeknd’s Starboy slips 2-3 with 109,000 units (down 28 percent in its third week) and Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic rises 6-4 with 74,000 units (up 27 percent).

Singer/songwriter/rapper Post Malone sees his debut studio album, Stoney, bow at No. 6 with 58,000 units (19,000 in album sales). The album had a particularly robust number of streams for the week (51.7 million streams, equating to 34,000 SEA units), as the set garnered the third-most streams for its tracks among any album on the chart for the week (behind 4 Your Eyez Only and Starboy).

Stoney features Post Malone’s breakthrough smash single “White Iverson,” which reached No. 3 on the Hot Rap Songs chart in January.

The original Broadway cast recording of Hamilton returns to the top 10, as it climbs 11-7 with 48,000 units (up 7 percent). Its rise comes as its spin-off album, The Hamilton Mixtape, tumbles 1-14 in its second week with 36,000 units (down 81 percent).

The Moana movie soundtrack slips one rung to No. 8 with 48,000 units (down 10 percent) and Michael Buble’s Christmas jumps 13-9 with a little more than 43,000 units (up 1 percent). The Rolling Stones’ Blue & Lonesome rounds out the top 10, as it descends 4-10 in its second week with 43,000 units (down 65 percent).

Source: billboard.com