Chart Beat
Normani & Cardi B’s ‘Wild Side’ Tops Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay Chart
Normani achieves her first No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart as “Wild Side,” featuring Cardi B, ascends from the runner-up spot to lead the list dated Jan. 1. The single climbs despite a 2% drop in plays in the week ending Dec. 26 to become the most played song on U.S. monitored mainstream-centered R&B/hip-hop radio stations, according to MRC Data. (The previous week’s No. 1, Drake’s “Girls Want Girls,” featuring Lil Baby, falls to No. 2 with a 7% decline in plays.) Notably, “Wild Side” completes its slow-but-steady trek to No. 1 in its 22nd week on the chart, tying for the fifth-longest march to the top slot since the chart began in 1992. Here’s a look at the tracks with the most weeks to No. 1: Weeks to No. 1, Song Title, Artist, Date Reached No. 125, “Bef...
Roddy Ricch’s ‘Live Life Fast’ Debuts at No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart
Roddy Ricch bags his second No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart as Live Life Fast debuts at No. 1 on the list dated Jan. 1. The set starts with 62,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Dec. 23, according to MRC Data. As with most hip-hop releases, streaming powers the majority of Live Life Fast‘s first-week activity. Just under 57,500 of the 62,000 units derive from streaming-album equivalents — representing 76.5 million on-demand streams of the set’s tracks. Traditional album sales comprise 3,500 units and the remaining 1,000 units come through track-equivalent units. (One unit equals the following levels of consumption: one album sale, 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and vi...
Anne Wilson’s ‘I Still Believe in Christmas’ Crowns Christian Airplay Chart
Anne Wilson notches her second leader on Billboard‘s Christian Airplay chart as “I Still Believe in Christmas” bounds from No. 9 to No. 1 on the list dated Jan. 1. The single drew 2.6 million audience impressions in the tracking week ending Dec. 26, according to MRC Data. Wilson wrote the ballad with Jeff Pardo and Matthew West, the same triumvirate that penned Wilson’s debut hit, “My Jesus,” which ruled Christian Airplay for six weeks starting in August. It also logged four frames atop the streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Christian Songs list. “‘I Still Believe in Christmas’ means so much to me,” the 19-year-old Wilson, from Lexington, Ky., tells Billboard. “After losing my brother Jacob in a car accident four years ago, Christmas became the hardest time of year for me. I wan...
Frank Sinatra, Eartha Kitt, Eagles & More: Here Are All 37 Holiday Songs on This Week’s Hot 100
As previously reported, Mariah Carey‘s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” holds at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Plus, Wham!’s “Last Christmas hits a new No. 7 high and The Ronettes’ 1963 classic “Sleigh Ride” makes the top 10, at No. 10, for the first time. The carols are among 37 holiday hits on the latest Hot 100 (dated Jan. 1, 2022). That’s the second-most ever in a week over the chart’s history, after 39 seasonal songs decorated the ranking a year ago this week. Here’s a look at each holiday song on this week’s Hot 100, with many granting artists notable personal achievements, including for Frank Sinatra, Eartha Kitt, Vince Guaraldi Trio, the Eagles, Kelly Clarkson and more. No. 1, Mariah Carey, “All I Want for Christmas Is You”No. 2, Brenda Lee, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”No...
Ghost Scores Fourth Mainstream Rock Airplay No. 1 With ‘Hunter’s Moon’
Ghost‘s “Hunter’s Moon” becomes the band’s fourth leader on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, rising to No. 1 on the tally dated Jan. 1. The song follows the group’s first three No. 1s, all earned consecutively: “Square Hammer” (for two weeks, beginning in January 2017), “Rats” (seven, July 2018) and “Dance Macabre” (two, February 2019). Between that streak and “Moon,” Ghost hit No. 6 in September 2019 with “Faith.” Concurrently, “Moon” rises 10-8 on the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart with 2.4 million audience impressions, up 5%, according to MRC Data. It’s Ghost’s first top 10 on the tally. On the multi-metric Hot Hard Rock Songs chart, “Moon” bullets at No. 8 after peaking at No. 2 in October. In the Dec. 17-23 tracking period, in addition t...
Weekly U.S. Vinyl Album Sales Break Modern-Era Record, Fueled by Holiday Shopping
Weekly U.S. vinyl album sales hit a modern-era record high, as 2.11 million vinyl albums were sold in the week ending Dec. 23 according to MRC Data. It’s the single-largest sales week for vinyl albums since MRC Data began tracking music sales in 1991. It’s the first time that weekly vinyl album sales have exceeded 2 million in the MRC Data era. The previous single-week high, since 1991, came a year ago, when 1.84 million vinyl LPs were sold in the week ending Dec. 24, 2020. Vinyl LP sales surged in the week ending Dec. 23 – by 45% compared to the previous week (1.46 million) – fueled by holiday shopping leading up to Christmas Day on Dec. 25. The top-selling vinyl album in the week ending Dec. 23 was Adele’s 30, with 59,000 copies sold. It ranks at No. 1 on Billboard’s weekly Vinyl Albums ...
Bo Burnham & Kid Cudi Vinyl Releases Spur Big Gains on Top Album Sales Chart
The vinyl releases of Bo Burnham’s Inside (The Songs) and Kid Cudi’s Man On the Moon III: The Chosen pushes both albums back onto Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated Jan. 1, 2022) — and straight into the top five. On the Top Album Sales chart, Inside (The Songs) re-enters at No. 3 (a new high, and its first week in the top 10) with 44,000 copies sold in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 23 (up 15,220%; and easily the album’s best sales week). The album was released on vinyl and CD for the first time on Dec. 17. Of its 44,000 sold for the week, vinyl sales comprised 36,000; CD sales comprised 8,000 and digital download sales comprised a negligible sum. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Inside (The Songs) was initially released on June 10...
Ed Sheeran & Elton John’s ‘Merry Christmas’ Jingles to No. 1 on Adult Contemporary Chart
Ed Sheeran and Elton John‘s “Merry Christmas” dashes to No. 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary radio airplay chart (dated Jan. 1, reflecting play in the Dec. 20-26 tracking week, according to MRC Data). The coronation is historic for John, as he notches his record-extending 17th AC No. 1. The carol previously became his record-padding 41st top 10 and 75th entry overall on the tally. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news John extends his lead over the Carpenters, who logged 15 AC No. 1s in 1970-81. Next up: Barry Manilow (13), Celine Dion, Lionel Richie (11 each), Whitney Houston and Olivia Newton-John (10 each). Here’s a recap of John’s 17 AC chart-toppers: “Daniel,” two weeks at No. 1, beginning May 12, 1973“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” with Kiki...
LadBaby Cooks-up U.K. Christmas No. 1 With ‘Sausage Rolls’
LadBaby lands the coveted U.K. Christmas No. 1 with “Sausage Rolls For Everyone” (FRTYFVE) featuring Ed Sheeran and Elton John, setting a new chart record in the process. “Sausage Rolls” accumulates 136,000 chart sales, the OCC reports, and is LadBaby’s fourth consecutive Christmas leader, an effort that surpasses the previous record of three, jointly held by The Beatles and Spice Girls. Of its one-week total, 85% of the “Sausage Rolls” total is made up of digital downloads, with proceeds benefiting foodbank charity The Trussell Trust. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Before now, LadBaby (the YouTuber husband-and-wife duo of Mark Hoyle and his wife Roxanne) has had top spot at Christmas with “We Built This City” (in 2018), “I Love Sausage Rolls”...
Adele Unwraps U.K.’s Christmas No. 1 With ’30’
Adele’s 2021 Christmas present is a No. 1 in her homeland. The pop superstar’s latest album 30 retains top spot to rule the Official U.K. Albums Chart over Christmas, her second festival leader after 25 took the trophy in 2015. For its fifth straight frame at No. 1, 30 rakes in 70,800 full-week chart sales including 62,000 physical copies, the OCC reports. With that achievement, 30 draws level with Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour as the longest-running No. 1 album of the year, though Sour’s reign was completed in several stints. Adele’s fourth album holds off former leaders from Ed Sheeran (equals via Asylum), ABBA (Voyage via Polar) and Michael Buble (Christmas via Reprise), respectively, while Andre Rieu & his Johann Strauss Orchestra’s Happy Together (Decca) lifts 6-5, for a new peak. Explore...
Adele’s ‘30’ Continues Hot Streak on Billboard 200, Spends Fifth Week at No. 1
Adele’s 30 continues its hot streak on the Billboard 200 albums chart, as the set locks in a fifth consecutive, and total, week at No. 1 on the tally (dated Jan. 1, 2022). The set earned 212,000 equivalent album units (up 16%) in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 23, according to MRC Data. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news 30 bowed at No. 1 on the chart dated Dec. 4 with 839,000 units earned. It then saw its second, third, fourth and fifth weeks tally 288,000, 193,000, 183,000 and 212,000 units, respectively. 30 logs the biggest fifth week for any album in over three years, since Adele’s last album, 25, was No. 1 in its fifth week, on the Jan. 9, 2016-dated chart, with 1.19 million units earned. Plus, 30 is the first album to tally three weeks of ...
Daft Punk Returns to No. 1 on Top Dance/Electronic Albums Chart With ‘Tron: Legacy’
Daft Punk re-enters Billboard‘s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart (dated Dec. 25) at No. 1 with its Tron: Legacy soundtrack, following the release of its Target exclusive blue/clear vinyl edition. The set registered 10,000 equivalent album units in the Dec. 10-16 tracking week, up 1,364%, with nearly all (94%) from physical sales, according to MRC Data. It’s the 11th total week at No. 1 for Tron, and its first since April 30, 2011. In its first chart run, the soundtrack to the hit 2010 sci-fi film debuted atop the chart dated exactly 11 years ago this week (Dec. 25, 2010). Among 10 career entries on the chart, the now-defunct French duo owns six No. 1s, the most of any duo or group, and trails only Louie DeVito and Lady Gaga, each with seven toppers, dating to the chart’s 2001 inception. [...
