Chart Beat
Double Win for Fuerza Regida: The Band’s 2 New Albums Debut in Top 10 on Latin Albums Chart
Fuerza Regida kicks off the year with a double win, scoring two top 10s on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart: Pa Que Hablen and Sigan Hablando debut at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, on the Jan. 14-dated ranking. The Mexican corridos group becomes the first act to have two projects bow in the top 10 in the same chart week since 2016. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “We worked on every track like if it was a single,” Jesús Ortiz Paz, the act’s lead singer, who goes by JOP, tells Billboard. “We spent more than 24 hours on each track, we worked on it with our heart and that is something that I remember a lot.” Both Pa Que Hablen and Sigan Hablando were released Dec. 30 through Street Mob/Rancho Humilde/Sony Music Latin. While the former w...
1 of Every 25 Vinyl Albums Sold in U.S. in 2022 Was by Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift was the queen of vinyl albums in 2022, as the superstar sold more vinyl LPs in the U.S. than any other act by far last year: 1.695 million across her entire catalog of releases, according to the U.S. 2022 Luminate Year-End Music Report. In fact, she sold more vinyl LPs last year than the next two biggest-sellers on vinyl combined: Styles with 719,000 and The Beatles with 553,000. Swift loomed so large on vinyl in 2022, nearly one of every 25 vinyl LPs sold last year in the U.S. was a Swift album (1.695 million of 43.46 million total vinyl albums sold by all artists). Swift’s latest release, Midnights, was the top-selling vinyl album of 2022 in the U.S., with 945,000 copies sold across all of its vinyl variants and editions. The album has the largest yearly sales total for a vi...
U.S. Cassette Tape Album Sales Grew 28% in 2022
In 2022, sales of albums on cassette tape in the U.S. increased by 28% to 440,000 (up from 343,000 in 2021), according to the U.S. 2022 Luminate Year-End Music Report. While 440,000 a mere fraction of the total album sales market (0.44% to be more precise), it’s a robust figure for a format that was mostly non-existent a few years ago. In 2015, for example, cassettes sold just 74,000. In 2022, total album sales across all formats — digital and physical — numbered 100.09 million. Physical album sales totaled 79.89 million — thus giving cassettes a 0.55% share of the physical album market last year. (Physical albums include CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes and other niche physical formats.) While cassettes are now a niche offering marketed to superfans, they were once the leading format for album p...
Taylor Swift’s ‘Midnights’ on Track For Fifth Week at No. 1 In U.K.
Taylor Swift’s Midnights (via EMI) is set to extend its reign in the U.K. Based on midweek data published by the Official Charts Company, Swift’s tenth and latest studio album is on track for a fifth non-consecutive week at No. 1. It’s already Swift’s longest-reigning album in the U.K., overtaking the three-week lead for 2020’s Folklore. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Meanwhile, SZA holds at No. 2 on the midweek chart with SOS (RCA/Top Dawg), while The Weeknd’s The Highlights (Republic Records/XO) should complete the podium. The highest debut on the next chart would appear to be Gabrielle Aplin’s Phosphorescent (Never Fade), the English singer-songwriter’s fourth LP. Phosphorescent lights up the Official Chart Update at No. 4, and should give ...
Raye, Taylor Swift Reign Over U.K. Charts
Raye ascends the U.K. singles chart for the very first time with “Escapism,” while Taylor Swift snags another albums chart crown. A teary Raye celebrated her spectacular result on social media. It’s a moment that carries extra significance for an artist who, in 2021, publicly cut ties with her major label after claiming she’d been shelved and overlooked for years. Released through Human Re Sources, J. Erving’s distribution and artist services company, “Escapism” is one of several singles Raye has dropped in recent months ahead of her upcoming debut album My 21st Century Blues, alongside “Hard Out Here,” “Black Mascara” and “The Thrill Is Gone.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The most-streamed song for the latest chart U.K. chart week, wit...
Lewis Capaldi Challenges Raye In Tight U.K. Chart Race
A star is born in Raye, whose “Escapism” is the first U.K. No. 1 of 2023 – and the first of her career. Based on early chart data, “Escapism” is heading for a second week in the box seat, though Lewis Capaldi could stage an upset. Featuring U.S. rapper 070 Shake, “Escapism” leads the Official Charts Company’s First Look survey, which ranks singles based on the first 48 hours in the cycle. “Escapism” is lifted from Raye’s upcoming debut album My 21st Century Blues, alongside “Hard Out Here,” “Black Mascara” and “The Thrill Is Gone,” and is released independently through Human Re Sources, after she cut ties with Polydor, part of Universal Music Group, in 2021. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “We are Number 1 in the U.K.! It’s the...
SZA’s ‘SOS’ Makes It a Month at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart
SZA’s SOS makes it a month at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, as the album spends a fourth straight and total week atop the list (dated Jan. 14). It earned 125,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Jan. 5 (down 2%), according to Luminate. SOS is the first album by a woman to spend its first four weeks at No. 1 in a year, since Adele’s 30 ruled for its first six weeks (Dec. 4, 2021 through Jan. 8, 2022-dated charts) and is the first album by a woman to have four consecutive weeks at No. 1 since 30’s six week-run at No. 1. SOS is also the first R&B album by a woman to have four weeks at No. 1 since February of 2008, when Alicia Keys’ As I Am notched a fourth and final nonconsecutive week atop the list (Feb. 16, 2008). More strikingly, SOS is the first R&B album ...
RAYE Scores First U.K. No. 1 With ‘Escapism,’ Feat. 070 Shake: See Her Tearful Reaction
RAYE landed her very first No. 1 hit in the U.K. on Friday (Jan. 6) with her latest single “Escapism,” featuring 070 Shake. “This is proof [you should] back yourself, no matter what,” the indie artist said through tears in a video posted to her socials of her accepting the award from the U.K.’s Official Charts Company. “Thank you, this is mad. These are happy tears!” The pop-rap collab with 070 Shake is just one of several singles the British singer-songwriter has dropped in recent months ahead of her upcoming debut album My 21st Century Blues, alongside “Hard Out Here,” “Black Mascara” and “The Thrill Is Gone.” In tandem with its chart-topping success in her native U.K., “Escapism” also became RAYE’s first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, so far peaking at No. 72 (chart dated Dec...
Sam Smith and Kim Petras Return to No. 1 In Australia With ‘Unholy’
It’s a New Year, Christmas songs perform their disappearing act for another time, and “Unholy” is back on top in Australia. Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ global hit lifts 13-1 on the ARIA Chart, published Jan. 6, for its fifth non-consecutive week at No. 1. The 2023 rebirth of “Unholy” (Capitol/EMI) closely follows the announcement that Petras will headline Sydney WorldPride’s closing concert, Rainbow Republic, on March 5, and comes ahead of Smith’s intimate performance at McLaren Vale’s d’Arenberg Cube in Adelaide. “Unholy” leads a fresh top 10 on the ARIA Singles Chart, as Xmas tunes tumble out of sight. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news SZA‘s “Kill Bill” (RCA/Sony) vaults 12-2, while former leader “I’m Good (Blue)” (Warner) by David Gu...
Harry Styles’ ‘As It Was’ Named U.K.’s Biggest Single In 2022
In the year that saw King Charles ascend the throne, it was Harry Styles who was crowned on the U.K. charts. The pop superstar rules 2022’s year-end singles and albums charts, with “As It Was” and its parent, Harry’s House, respectively, according to new data published by the Official Charts Company. Released in April 2022, “As It Was” reigned over the Official U.K. Singles Chart for 10 weeks, and went on to shift 1.57 million combined units, the OCC reports. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “As It Was” also finished the year as the most-streamed song in the U.K., with more than 180.9 million audio and video streams, and it was the best-seller across combined physical and digital formats, raking-in 65,000 units. The former One Direction singer l...
Harry Styles Unlocks 2022 Best-Seller In U.K. With ‘Harry’s House’
Harry Styles really did own the keys to 2022. The British pop singer’s third studio album Harry’s House was the biggest LP of the year in the U.K., according to new data published by the Official Charts Company. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The ex-One Direction singer leads the year-end albums survey with Harry’s House, which shifted north of 460,000 U.K. chart units over the year, including 160,000 sales (150,000 physical and 10,000 downloads), the OCC reports. Harry’s House logged six non-consecutive weeks atop the Official U.K. Albums Chart in 2022, more than any other album, and the lead single from it, “As It Was,” tops the U.K.’s year-end singles survey. Compatriot Ed Sheeran comes in at No. 2 on the year-end albums list with = (Equals...
Zach Bryan Scores His First Hot Country Songs No. 1 With ‘Something in the Orange’
Zach Bryan notches his first No. 1 on Billboard’s streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Country Songs chart (dated Jan. 7) with “Something in the Orange.” In its 36th week on the survey, the song ascends from No. 2 with 15 million official streams (up 2%) and 4,000 downloads sold (up 11%) Dec. 23-29, according to Luminate. “Orange” debuted on the survey dated May 7, 2022, at No. 11 and reached the top 10 in June. Being promoted to country radio by Warner Music Nashville, the song marks Bryan’s first entry on the Country Airplay chart, where it ranks at No. 31 in its 26th frame with 2.4 million in reach. Meanwhile, Bryan’s new live album, All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster (Live From Red Rocks), arrives on Top Country Albums at No. 14. Released Dec. 25, it earned 12,000 equivalent album uni...
