Billboard‘s two global charts, which began in September 2020 and recently marked their first year, rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by MRC Data. The Billboard Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the U.S.
Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.
‘Easy on Me’ Vaults 195-1 on Global 200
“Easy” by London-born Adele flies from No. 195, where it debuted, to No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200. The song drew 178.2 million streams and sold 136,300 downloads worldwide in the Oct. 15-21 tracking week.
The ballad boasts the second-biggest streaming week since the Global 200 began, after BTS’ “Butter” launched with 289.2 million streams on the June 5 chart. “Easy” scores the third-biggest sales frame, following “Butter” (248,600, June 5) and BTS’ “Permission to Dance” (138,600, July 24).
Adele is the third British act to top the Global 200, after Ed Sheeran, whose “Bad Habits” led the July 31 list, and Coldplay, whose “My Universe,” with BTS, rocketed in at No. 1 on the Oct. 9 chart.
“Easy” was released at 7 p.m. ET Thursday, Oct. 14, and entered the Global 200 dated Oct. 23 at No. 195 thanks to activity from its premiere through midnight ET Oct. 14, with that chart’s tracking week having spanned Oct. 8-14. It debuted with 7.7 million streams and 16,900 sold worldwide in its first five hours of availability.
Meanwhile, “Easy” is just the second song to register a 2-to-1 lead or better in Global 200 chart points over a runner-up, as it outpaces The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s “Stay,” down to No. 2 after 11 weeks on top, by a 2.5-to-1 margin. Previously, Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” held such an edge over its closest competition for four weeks in January-February, paced by a 3-to-1 domination, in its debut week, over The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” on the Jan. 23 chart.
Rounding out the Global 200’s top five, Nigeria’s CKay dips to No. 3 from his No. 2 high with “Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah)”; Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow’s “Industry Baby” slips 3-4 after reaching No. 2; and Sheeran’s “Shivers” holds at its No. 5 best.
‘Easy on Me’ No. 1, ‘Cold Heart’ Hits Top 5 on Global Excl. U.S.
Adele’s “Easy on Me” debuts atop the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart, with 125.6 million streams and 62,700 sold in territories outside the U.S. in the Oct. 15-21 tracking week.
In the previous tracking frame, “Easy” drew 4.6 million streams and sold 2,000 outside the U.S. in its first five hours of release.
As on the Global 200, Adele is the third British act to lead the Global Excl. U.S. chart, after Ed Sheeran, whose “Bad Habits” reigned for five weeks beginning upon its July 10 debut, and Coldplay, whose “My Universe,” with BTS, opened at No. 1 on the Oct. 9 tally.
The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s “Stay” slips to No. 2 after nine weeks atop the Global Excl. U.S. chart and CKay’s “Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah)” retreats to No. 3 from its No. 2 best.
“My Universe” makes an 8-4 Global Excl. U.S. rebound, up 24% to 43 million streams and 79% to 16,500 sold outside the U.S., as parent album Music of the Spheres by Coldplay was released Oct. 15.
Plus, Elton John and Dua Lipa’s “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)” reaches the Global Excl. U.S. top five, pushing 6-5 with 36.2 million streams (up 11%) and 23,600 sold (up 9%) outside the U.S. John logs his first top five hit on the chart and fellow British star Lipa earns her second, after “Levitating” reached No. 3 in May.
Note: Effective with the Oct. 30-dated Billboard charts, streams from Boomplay is added to the data that informs the Hot 100, Billboard 200, Artist 100 and Billboard Global 200, as well as other Billboard U.S. and global surveys that include streaming data. The plays represent audio streams from Boomplay’s subscription tier and logged-in streams from its ad-supported tier, with streams from each tier weighted differently.
The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated Oct. 30) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Oct. 26). For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard‘s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
