Chart Beat
Drake Retains Australian Chart Crown, Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber’s ‘Stuck With U’ Starts High
Drake’s Dark Lane Demo Tapes (Republic/Universal) enters a second week at No. 1 on Australia’s albums chart, while SAINt JHN’s “Roses” (Sony) scores a sixth week atop the national singles survey and “Stuck With U” (Universal), the Ariana Grande–Justin Bieber collaboration, is the week’s highest debut. “Stuck With U” opens at No. 3 on the ARIA Singles Chart, just behind The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” (Republic/Universal), to give Grande her first Australian chart entry for 2020 and Bieber his fourth. Proceeds from the single will benefit the First Responders Children’s Foundation, which funds scholarships for kids of frontline workers who’ve been affected by the health crisis. Over the past two weeks, DaBaby’s “Rockstar” (Interscope/Universal) has risen 14-9–4 and no...
NAV’s ‘Good Intentions’ Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart
Plus: Kehlani scores highest charting album yet, Lil Durk debuts in top five, and Bad Bunny’s surprise album starts in top 10. NAV nabs his second No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart, as Good Intentions starts atop the tally. The album was released on May 8 via XO/Republic Records, and earned 135,000 equivalent album units in the week ending May 14, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. Of its total starting unit sum, album sales comprise over half of that figure — 73,000, with nearly all of the sales driven by merchandise/album bundles sold via NAV’s official webstore. Also making news in the top 10: Kehlani tallies her highest charting and best week ever in units earned, as It Was Good Until It Wasn’t starts at No. 2 (83,000 units), Lil Durk’s Just Cause Y’all Waited 2 debuts at ...
Taeyeon Earns 15th Top 10 on World Digital Song Sales With ‘Happy’
The powerhouse vocalist has earned more than 30 top 10 hits as a soloist and in a group. We hope this week’s chart news can make Taeyeon a bit more “Happy.” The K-pop superstar returns to Billboard‘s World Digital Song Sales chart with “Happy” entering at No. 9 this week. The nostalgic R&B-pop track sold 1,000 downloads in the week ending May 8, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. The No. 9 debut for “Happy” marks Taeyeon’s 15th top 10 entry on World Digital Song Sales to date. Since making her first solo appearance in 2014 with the song “Breath,” sung alongside fellow K-pop singer Jonghyun, Taeyeon has been a consistent chart force. The star earned her highest-charting single in early 2016 with “Rain” ...
Erykah Badu and Jill Scott Streams Triple After ‘Verzuz’ Battle
The singer-songwriters’ combined streams rise from 2 million to 6 million after Saturday’s event. Erykah Badu and Jill Scott saw their combined streams more than tripled after the two contested in the first female battle of the popular Instagram Live #Verzuz series on Saturday night (May 9). The two singer-songwriters collectively pulled 6.7 million U.S. streams on Saturday and Sunday for their total song catalogs, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data, compared with a 2.1 million haul for the Thursday and Friday preceding the showdown. Badu and Scott’s livestream drew more than 700,000 attendees at its peak and set a new series viewership record, overtaking the nearly 525,000 who tuned in to see Babyface battle Teddy Riley on April 20. [embedded content] Badu’s best streaming track wa...
K-Pop Star IU Debuts on Emerging Artists Chart, Thanks to SUGA Collab ‘Eight’
The track launches at No. 1 on World Digital Song Sales. K-pop singer-songwriter IU (real name: Lee Ji-eun) debuts at No. 36 on Billboard‘s Emerging Artists chart (dated May 16), thanks to her new single “Eight,” featuring BTS member SUGA. The track debuts at No. 1 on the World Digital Song Sales chart and No. 13 on the all-genre Digital Song Sales survey with 7,000 downloads sold, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. The song marks IU’s first No. 1 on the former tally and her seventh top 10. The single also earns SUGA his first solo No. 1 on World Digital Song Sales. BTS boasts a record 19 No. 1s on the chart. [embedded content] Notably, “Eight” is the sixth song to debut at No. 1 on World Digital Songs this year, after Red Velvet’s “Psycho&...
Bad Bunny Aiming to Replace Himself at No. 1 on Top Latin Albums Chart
Bad Bunny is aiming to replace himself at No. 1, again, on the Top Latin Albums chart. His surprise release Las Que No Iban a Salir, could earn over 40,000 equivalent album units in the week ending May 14, according to industry forecasters. If it starts as projected, then it will bump his own YHLQMDLG from atop the tally next week, where it’s held for 10 straight weeks since its debut at No. 1 (chart dated March 14). The Top Latin Albums chart ranks the most popular Latin albums of the week based on multi-metric consumption, which comprises traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The May 23-dated Top Latin Albums chart (where Bad Bunny’s new album may debut at No. 1), is scheduled to be posted in full to Billboard’s websi...
Hayley Williams Leads Midweek U.K. Chart With Solo Debut ‘Petals For Armor’
Hayley Williams is out front in the race to the U.K. chart title. The Paramore frontwoman’s debut solo album Petals For Armor (Atlantic) leads the midweek chart, with an advantage of 1,100 chart sales over its nearest rival, D-Day Darlings’ I’ll Remember You (Sony Music CG), according to the Official Charts Company. Williams has tasted the high life on two previous occasions with her alternative rock outfit, bagging No. 1 with Brand New Eyes in 2009 and with Paramore’s self-titled 2013 set. Petals For Armor was the best-selling album in the U.K. on CD and vinyl over the weekend, the OCC reports. The most downloaded album at the midweek stage is I’ll Remember You, the debut LP from the Britain’s Got Talent alum D-Day Darlings. The set originally dropped in November 2018, peaking at No....
Uptown Records’ Biggest Billboard Hits: ‘Forever My Lady,’ ‘Real Love,’ ‘Candy Rain’ & More
Jodeci and Mary J. Blige, among others, gave the imprint its most successful singles. As both fans and leading industry figures mourn Andre Harrell, best known for founding the Uptown Records imprint, Billboard reveals and ranks the biggest hits from the label’s roster. Many of the tunes, from acts such as Mary J. Blige, Guy and Jodeci, bridged the gap between R&B and hip-hop as the genres surged in popularity in the 1990s. Harrell died at age 59 of an apparent cardiac arrest episode. The mogul founded Uptown in 1986, and it quickly became a home for some of the hottest emerging R&B and hip-hop artists. In addition to Blige, Guy and Jodeci, Uptown counted Heavy D & The Boyz, Soul For Real and Monifah as key players in its heyday. The organization kept its eye on industry talent...
Drake Snags No. 1 In Australia With ‘Dark Lane Demo Tapes’
Drake bags his third No. 1 album in Australia, with Dark Lane Demo Tapes (Republic/Universal). The Canadian hip-hop star’s new mixtape bows at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart, equaling the chart peaks of his 2016 release Views and 2018’s Scorpion. Dark Lane becomes Drake’s eighth title to impact the top 10 on the ARIA chart, and it opens at No. 2 in the U.K. and No. 1 in the U.K., where Drizzy does the chart double. The Australian top five is completed by former chart-leaders in Harry Styles’ Fine Line (Columbia/Sony), Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia (Warner), Birds Of Tokyo’s Human Design (EMI) and Billie Eilish’s When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (Interscope/Universal), respectively. Also new to the chart this week is Elevation Worship’s Graves Into Gardens (Live) (Sony), at ...
Ariana Grande And Justin Bieber Eye U.K. Singles Chart Crown, Dame Vera Lynn Set For Record
Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber’s blockbuster collaboration “Stuck With U” is set to explode atop the U.K. chart. The new single blasts to No. 1 on the Official Singles Chart: First Look, with a lead of 2,500 chart sales over its nearest rival, Drake’s “Toosie Slide”. “Stuck With U” is raising money for First Responders Children’s Foundation, a charity that will underwrite scholarships for children of frontline workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Should it hold on when the Official U.K. Singles Chart is published late Friday, the collab would be Grande’s sixth and Bieber’s eight U.K. No. 1. While the pop duo should claim the title, it won’t be the only feel-good chart story. Dame Vera Lynn is on track to become the oldest living person to score a U.K. top ...
Little Richard’s History on Billboard’s Charts: ‘Tutti Frutti,’ ‘Good Golly, Miss Molly’ & More
The late star scored over two dozen songs beginning in the ’50s. Little Richard was one of the most influential pioneers of modern music, shaping the evolution of rock and R&B and charting legendary songs on Billboard‘s charts. The icon, born Richard Penniman on Dec. 5, 1932, in Macon, Georgia, died Saturday morning (May 9) at age 87. The singer, songwriter and pianist sent over two dozen songs onto Billboard‘s charts, with his most of his beloved hits having predated the Billboard Hot 100, which began on Aug. 4, 1958. (Prior to the Hot 100’s inception, Billboard published various charts ranking store sales, radio airplay and jukebox selections). [embedded content] He first debuted on a Billboard chart in November 1955 , when “Tutti Frutti” debu...
Here’s How Billboard Reviewed Little Richard’s ‘Tutti Frutti’ in 1955
The song was Little Richard’s first entry on a Billboard chart in 1955. There wasn’t much else like “Tutti Frutti” when Little Richard premiered the song in 1955. The risqué song about sex and dancing, helped Richard land performing slots in clubs, and later established him as a certified hitmaker. The track also earned him his first career Billboard chart entry in 1955, debuting at No. 12 on the Best Sellers in Stores chart in November 1955, and later reaching No. 17 on the Most Played in Juke Boxes tally in 1956. Before that, though, Billboard reviewed the song in the October 29, 1955 issue of the magazine, calling it “A cleverly styled novelty with nonsense words.” Here’s the full mini-review from the magazine, alongside other by The Cadillacs, Piano Red, Margie Day and Rollee McG...
