Billboard Hot 100: 1/19/2019

[Gary]

The Hot 100 Success of 'Sunflower' Is Validation For Swae Lee's Solo Stardom (And Potentially Bad News For Rae Sremmurd)

1/15/2019 by Andrew Unterberger

Scott Garfitt/REX/Shutterstock
Swae Lee of Rae Sremmurd performs at Wireless Festival in Finsbury Park in London on July 8, 2018.

This week, a new pop solo star was unofficially minted, as Swae Lee -- one half of hitmaking hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd-- notched his first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, as a co-lead with Post Malone on "Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)."

It feels a long time coming, since Lee already seemed poised to become a breakout star on his own over a year ago. After enjoying the biggest crossover hit of his career along with Rae partner (and real life brother) Slim Jxmmi with the Gucci Mane-featuring, Billboard Hot 100-topping "Black Beatles" in late 2016-17, Lee stole the stage on his own in 2017, as the hook singer on French Montana's unavoidable dancehall-flavored smash "Unforgettable," a No. 3 Hot 100 Hit in August 2017.

Then last May, Rae Sremmurd released SR3MM, a three-disc set which included one-disc solo spotlights for both for both Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi. Though the set's lead single was "Powerglide" -- a relatively traditional trap banger co-produced by longtime mentor Mike WiLL Made-It and featuring both rappers in lead roles, which peaked at No. 28 on the Hot 100 -- the most interesting material on SR3MM was largely found on Lee's Swaecation disc. The nine-track LP-within-an-LP continued followed in the path of "Unforgettable" on widescreen, irresistible and often internationally minded pop/hip-hop hybrids like "Hurt to Look," "Touchscreen Navigation" and "Guatemala." It seemed like all it would take was for one of them to catch on with radio and streaming audiences to establish Lee as a pop star in his own right.

But none of them did. "Guatemala" peaked at No. 84 on the Hot 100, but that was the only Swaecation track to even grace the chart -- and the overall SR3MM set also posted underwhelming numbers, becoming the first of the duo's three albums to miss the top five of the Billboard 200 albums chart (it debuted at No. 6), despite its 27 overall tracks providing a seeming boon for its streaming totals. Swae Lee's true breakout as a solo star looked like it would have to wait at least another year.


Turns out, it wouldn't even quite take that long. In October, "Sunflower" notched a resounding No. 9 debut on the Hot 100, easily making it Lee's biggest hit (with or without his brother) since "Unforgettable." While "Sunflower" receded on the chart from there, it caught a second life in December, aided by its rise on radio, and climbed to No. 4 before the calendar turned over. This week, it hits No. 1 in its 12th week on the Hot 100, besting even the No. 3 peak of "Unforgettable."

And if you just heard the song removed from any context, you'd certainly be forgiven for thinking it was a Swaecation deep cut you'd forgotten about. The song has the same combination of sunny melodies and romantic drama ("Thinkin' in a bad way, losin' your grip/ Screamin' at my face, baby, don't trip") as the highlights from that set, with a gently knocking beat that suggests Island vibes with its relaxed tempo and warm synth bass, even though it mostly stays away from any specific dancehall or reggae signifiers. Drop it in a set along with "Guatemala" and "Hurt to Look" and many fans would never know the difference.


So what put "Sunflower" over the top where Swaecation failed to break through? Well, there are two fairly obvious answers to that question. The first would be its association with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which has not only become a box office smash -- raking in over $300 million worldwide since its December release -- but is now also quickly becoming an awards season fixture, taking in best animated feature honors at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards, the Critics' Choice Movie Awards and the Golden Globes. The branding has also extended to its popular lyric video, a clip based on footage from the Spider-Man movie, which has already racked up over 200 million views on YouTube.

But likely even more important to the growth of "Sunflower" is the presence of Post Malone. The genre-splicing hip-hop star born has already notched two prior No. 1s as a lead artist (2017's "Rockstar," featuring 21 Savage, and 2018's "Psycho," featuring Ty Dolla $ign), and charted all 20 tracks off his Beerbongs & Bentleys album last year. While the track feels more in line with Lee's solo work than Malone's traditionally darker, woozier productions, the two artists are co-billed as leads on the track -- and also get roughly equal mic time, both delivering one verse and one chorus. Thus, it's hardly surprising to see the song follow along Malone's more established chart trajectory.

It's not just Post Malone that Lee appears with on the Hot 100 this week, either. Not only does he have the No. 1 song in the country this week, he also pops up on two other Hot 100 entries -- as a guest on the No. 31-and-climbing "Close to Me," by Diplo and Ellie Goulding, and on the No. 55-stationed "Arms Around You," by XXXTENTACION and Lil Pump (also featuring Maluma), which peaked at No. 28 late last year. He's also an uncredited guest on Travis Scott's "Sicko Mode" -- a No. 1 hit in 2018, still hanging around the chart's top five -- and is building a pretty strong case for being the most reliable hook singer on radio.



This is all undoubtedly great news for Swae Lee, who is well on his way to becoming a household name among pop fans as a solo artist. It's perhaps less-great news for fans of Rae Sremmurd as a duo, however. The split sets of SR3MM had long sparked buzz that there was discord between the brothers Rae, and those rumors were only fed further fuel over the weekend, as Slim Jxmmi delivered a series of (since-deleted) tweets that seemed to suggest he was feeling isolated from Rae Sremmurd as a group, and overshadowed by Lee's success. Lee himself seemed to deny any split with his own Twitter response, and reps for the group confirmed the duo were staying together, but the timing of Swae's first solo No. 1 perhaps comes at a non-optimal time for fans hoping the two remain equal partners in Rae Sremmurd. The echoes of another iconic southern rap duo, who were never the same after releasing solo projects within the same mutli-LP -- particularly after one of the solo sets spawned one of the biggest hits of the decade -- are hard to ignore.

In any event, whether Rae Sremmurd ends up further splintering from here or remains one of the country's most popular hip-hop duos well into the 2020s, it's clear at this point that Swae Lee's commercial potential is pretty formidable on its own. By the time of his next Swaecation-type set -- which may be coming soon, as he teased a solo project for late January or February in a Billboard interview late last year -- his solo stardom should officially be in full blossom.

[Gary]

R. Kelly Returns to Social 50 Chart After 'Surviving R. Kelly' Premiere, Aaliyah Debuts

1/14/2019 by Kevin Rutherford


R. Kelly reaches the Social 50 for the first time in five years.

In the wake of the Lifetime's documentary Surviving R. Kelly, the singer returns to Billboard’s Social 50 chart for the first time in five years, while the late Aaliyah makes her debut on the tally dated Jan. 19.

The Social 50 is powered by data tracked by music analytics company Next Big Sound and ranks the most popular artists on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Wikipedia and Tumblr. The chart's methodology blends weekly additions of friends/fans/followers along with artist page views and engagement. The chart’s latest tracking week ended Jan. 10.

R. Kelly returns to the Social 50 at No. 11 on the strength of 290,000 hits to his Wikipedia page, according to Next Big Sound, a 2,132 percent increase over the previous week. In addition, he was mentioned 85,000 times on Twitter, 83,000 more times than the preceding frame.

Lady Gaga arrives to the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 6, 2019.
Read More
Lady Gaga's 'Do What U Want' Sales Surge After Her Statement Against R. Kelly

The boosts, of course, stem from the premiere of Surviving R. Kelly, a six-episode Lifetime documentary about the singer that aired Jan. 3-5. The doc discussed sexual abuse allegations against Kelly that go back over two decades and gradually grew in ratings throughout its run time, eventually snagging 2.29 million viewers for its final episode.

All the while, the series was oft-discussed in the news and on social media, and on Jan. 10, the office of Kim Foxx, Cook County, Ill.’s state’s attorney, said it was investigating some of the claims made in the documentary.

Kelly reaches the Social 50 for the first time since the list dated Jan. 4, 2014, when he reached a new peak of No. 43. At the time, Kelly was promoting the December 2013 release of his album Black Panties. He had also been experiencing pop chart success thanks to his feature on Lady Gaga's "Do What U Want," which rose 10-8 on the Pop Songs airplay chart dated Jan. 4, 2014. (Gaga herself, for the record, moves 14-9; on Jan. 10, the tail end of the tracking week for the Social 50, she released a statement about Kelly's appearance on the song.)

I stand by anyone who has ever been the victim of sexual assault: pic.twitter.com/67sz4WpV3i
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) January 10, 2019

Related to Kelly’s return to the chart is the debut of Aaliyah at No. 36. The late R&B singer reaches the list thanks to 202,000 Wikipedia views, a gain of 822 percent. Aaliyah returned to the news due to the premiere of Surviving R. Kelly, which partially covered her relationship and subsequent marriage to Kelly in the mid-1990s; their marriage was annulled in 1995.

[Gary]

Dustin Lynch Lands Sixth No. 1 On Country Airplay Chart With 'Good Girl'

News

By Jim Asker | January 15, 2019 11:37 AM EST

It's also his first No. 1 as a writer.

Dustin Lynch's "Good Girl" ascends 2-1 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart (dated Jan. 19), up 11 percent to 41.2 million audience impressions in the tracking week ending Jan. 13, according to Nielsen Music.

The song becomes Lynch's sixth Country Airplay No. 1 and first as a writer. He co-penned it with Justin Ebach, who earns his second No. 1 as a writer, and Andy Albert, who achieves his first.

"Shout-out to all of you who continue to support and believe," Lynch tells Billboard. "Before we even had the lyric finished on this song, I knew it was a special one, and, man, it has been. What a way to kick off 2019."

"Good Girl" is Lynch's first Country Airplay No. 1 since "Small Town Boy," which led for four weeks starting in September 2017. Before that, he reigned with "Seein' Red" (February 2017, one week); "Mind Reader" (2016, one); "Hell of a Night" (2015, one); and "Where It's At (Yep, Yep)" (2014, two).

Lynch first reached the Country Airplay top 10 with his debut hit, the No. 2-peaking "Cowboys and Angels" in 2012.

As "Girl" reaches the Country Airplay penthouse in its 37th week on the chart, Lynch completes his second-longest trip to No. 1. "Hell of a Night" rose to the top in its 44th frame.

"Good Girl," the lead single from Lynch's forthcoming fourth full-studio album, concurrently climbs 10-8 for a new peak on the airplay-, streaming- and sales-based Hot Country Songs chart.

DAN + SHAY ROLL ON Atop Hot Country Songs, Dan + Shay's "Speechless" leads for an eighth week, while the duo's previous single "Tequila" resides at its No. 2 peak for an 18th week, extending its mark for the most weeks peaking at the runner-up spot. Dan + Shay place at Nos. 1 and 2 simultaneously for a fifth week, the most among duos or groups and second only to Luke Bryan, who controlled the top two spots on Hot Country Songs simultaneously for nine weeks in 2014.

"Speechless" scores a 10th week atop Country Digital Song Sales (14,000 sold, down 13 percent); holds at its No. 2 high on Country Streaming Songs (11.3 million U.S. streams, up 8 percent); and dips to No. 2 after four weeks atop Country Airplay (38.4 million audience impressions).

LUKE "MAKES" TOP 10 Luke Bryan's "What Makes You Country" (Capitol Nashville) rises 11-10 on Country Airplay, increasing by 4 percent to 26.6 million audience impressions.

Bryan banks his 27th Country Airplay top 10, a total that includes 20 No. 1s. He ties Carrie Underwood for 15th place among all acts for the most top 10s, dating to the chart's launch 29 years ago this week (Jan. 20, 1990). George Strait leads with 61 top 10s.

Bryan is working on a streak of 13 straight Country Airplay leaders, the longest active run among all artists. His previous single, "Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset," topped the chart for two weeks in September.

HERE'S DOLLY Finally, legend Dolly Parton achieves her 44th Top Country Albums top 10, as her 2003 album Ultimate Dolly Parton re-enters the chart for the first time since 2004, surging by 172 percent to 8,000 equivalent album units. The set debuted at its former No. 20 peak in June 2003.

Why the boost? The album includes Parton's 1977 five-week Hot Country Songs No. 1 "Here You Come Again," which is being used to promote all-you-can-eat riblets, shrimp and chicken tenders in a TV commercial for Applebee's Grill & Bar. The song surges by 39 percent to 3,000 downloads sold in the tracking week.

Parton extends her record for the most Top Country Albums top 10s among women and ranks second overall only to Willie Nelson, with 51.

[jenglisbe]

Jan 15, 2019 11:22:45 GMT -5 Gary said:

Jan 15, 2019 11:10:12 GMT -5 jenglisbe said:

It may not mean you internally support R Kelly as a person or condone his actions, but it does mean you directly enable to artist to continue his career. It also means you contribute to that artist maintaining some sense of celebrity, which gives them leverage to take advantage of people in all kinds of ways. An artist having success gives them a psychological advantage in terms of seeking out victims, but it also gives them a financial/status advantage to where they have more ways to keep people silent.
*And to be clear, I am not writing about passively "liking" a song here, I mean by streaming, downloading, etc.

He has multiple actions, not singular.

I downloaded a Chris Brown song just today. Because I want to hear the song. The 3 or 4 cents that he pockets from that download I am sure will help him pay for his next car or whatever and greatly improve his financial status.

What do you make of people who don't vote because their 1 vote doesn't matter?

I don't know the intent of your reply, but it comes across as you being very proud of contributing money to a serial statutory rapist.

[Gary]

Jan 15, 2019 13:19:04 GMT -5 jenglisbe said:

Jan 15, 2019 11:22:45 GMT -5 Gary said:

I downloaded a Chris Brown song just today. Because I want to hear the song. The 3 or 4 cents that he pockets from that download I am sure will help him pay for his next car or whatever and greatly improve his financial status.

What do you make of people who don't vote because their 1 vote doesn't matter?

I don't know the intent of your reply, but it comes across as you being very proud of contributing money to a serial statutory rapist.

I vote on issues I care about.

As you know, my personal enjoyment of music is about the music. If I like the song I will listen. In my opinion, my $1.29 supports personal music enrichment and nothing more.

Mixing music and politics is not something I care about. I understand you and a few others do. You are entitled to that.

As the Chris Brown song debuted at #35 this week, it seems that if the song is good, people will listen.

[jenglisbe]

Jan 15, 2019 13:45:41 GMT -5 Gary said:

Jan 15, 2019 13:19:04 GMT -5 jenglisbe said:

What do you make of people who don't vote because their 1 vote doesn't matter?

I don't know the intent of your reply, but it comes across as you being very proud of contributing money to a serial statutory rapist.

I vote on issues I care about.

The parallel for me being people who don't vote because they think their 1 vote doesn't matter is aking to people downloading a song because their $1.29 isn't sustaining someone's lifestyle.

As you know, my personal enjoyment of music is about the music. If I like the song I will listen. In my opinion, my $1.29 supports personal music enrichment and nothing more.

Mixing music and politics is not something I care about. I understand you and a few others do. You are entitled to that.

As the Chris Brown song debuted at #35 this week, it seems that if the song is good, people will listen.

I know you believe that and it's how you process it internally, but my point is that internal process doesn't exist in a vacuum. Your support of these musicians has external affects, whether you want to consider them or not.

[Gary]

I support the music, always have and always will.

You believe that supporting the music in turn supports anything and everything the artist does outside the recording studio. I do not.

I disagree that the 8 cents that Chris Brown receives from my $1.29 sustains his lifestyle.

[sam8432]

Yikes, Tequila would be anywhere from #26 to #32 this week if it hadn't gone recurrent... I generally don't mind Billboard's recurrent rules, but the fact that it hasn't re-entered is ridiculous.

[Gary]

Probably lower than 26 since it is the #2 recurrent.

[Exclusive]

Jan 15, 2019 15:07:35 GMT -5 sam8432 said:

Yikes, Tequila would be anywhere from #26 to #32 this week if it hadn't gone recurrent... I generally don't mind Billboard's recurrent rules, but the fact that it hasn't re-entered is ridiculous.

If it didn't re-enter that means it didn't have enough points to reach the required position.

[sam8432]

Jan 15, 2019 15:16:52 GMT -5 Exclusive said:

Jan 15, 2019 15:07:35 GMT -5 sam8432 said:

Yikes, Tequila would be anywhere from #26 to #32 this week if it hadn't gone recurrent... I generally don't mind Billboard's recurrent rules, but the fact that it hasn't re-entered is ridiculous.

If it didn't re-enter that means it didn't have enough points to reach the required position.

It's ahead of "She Got the Best of Me" on Hot Country Songs, which is currently #32 on the Hot 100. So it does have enough points, it just isn't re-entering due to Billboard's rules.

[Gary]

If it is above #50 and GAINS in two metrics

[Exclusive]

Jan 15, 2019 15:23:40 GMT -5 sam8432 said:

Jan 15, 2019 15:16:52 GMT -5 Exclusive said:

If it didn't re-enter that means it didn't have enough points to reach the required position.

It's ahead of "She Got the Best of Me" on Hot Country Songs, which is currently #32 on the Hot 100. So it does have enough points, it just isn't re-entering due to Billboard's rules.

Wouldn't it have to be at least top 25 for it to re-enter though? (I don't remember the full specifics) If that's the case it just didn't have enough points to reach that spot.

[Gary]

Down nine spots in sales. Flat in streaming. Already recurrent in radio

[sam8432]

Jan 15, 2019 15:31:04 GMT -5 Exclusive said:

Jan 15, 2019 15:23:40 GMT -5 sam8432 said:

It's ahead of "She Got the Best of Me" on Hot Country Songs, which is currently #32 on the Hot 100. So it does have enough points, it just isn't re-entering due to Billboard's rules.

Wouldn't it have to be at least top 25 for it to re-enter though? (I don't remember the full specifics) If that's the case it just didn't have enough points to reach that spot.

Nah, that's only after 52 weeks. Positionwise it'd be high enough, but it can't re-enter because it doesn't have gains in multiple metrics.

[Exclusive]

Jan 15, 2019 15:33:09 GMT -5 sam8432 said:

Jan 15, 2019 15:31:04 GMT -5 Exclusive said:

Wouldn't it have to be at least top 25 for it to re-enter though? (I don't remember the full specifics) If that's the case it just didn't have enough points to reach that spot.

Nah, that's only after 52 weeks. Positionwise it'd be high enough, but it can't re-enter because it doesn't have gains in multiple metrics.

I see, my mistake. I just saw Gary's post as well. Glad that's cleared up

[Gary]

The Glorious Sons Score First Mainstream Rock Songs No. 1 With 'S.O.S.'

1/15/2019 by Kevin Rutherford

The track is the Canadian rockers' initial entry on the list, making them the first chart-topping rookie act since Bad Wolves last year.

The Glorious Sons ring in the new year with their first No. 1 on a U.S. Billboard chart, as "S.O.S. (Sawed Off Shotgun)" blasts its way to the top of the Mainstream Rock Songs airplay list dated Jan. 19.

"S.O.S." rises 2-1 to become the band's first leader on a tally powered by U.S. data after the Ontario-based act previously led charts in Canada.

The quintet reigns with its first entry on Mainstream Rock Songs, becoming the first act to lead the list with a maiden title since Bad Wolves, whose cover of The Cranberries' "Zombie" reached No. 1 in May 2018.

"S.O.S." concurrently climbs 30-28 on the Alternative Songs airplay chart, where it's the band's first top 30 effort, following the No. 32 peak of "Everything Is Alright" a year earlier (Jan. 13, 2018). On the all-rock-format Rock Airplay ranking, "S.O.S." holds at its No. 7 peak, with 6.4 million audience impressions, according to Nielsen Music.

The song is the second single from Young Beauties and Fools, The Glorious Sons' second studio album, released in October 2017. Last year, the LP won the rock album of the year Juno Award.

[thebops]

Jan 14, 2019 14:57:47 GMT -5 Au$tin said:

Jan 14, 2019 14:49:16 GMT -5 Choco said:

"Sunflower" is to the Rap Songs chart what "We Are Never Getting Back Together" was to the Country Songs chart.

Billboard doesn't seem to think that Post Malone can make anything other than rap just like Taylor Swift was just a country singer until she requested to be classified as Pop with 1989.

Just like "High Hopes" is the biggest Alternative hit in years... but the same exact recording could be credited to Maroon 5 and it wouldn't chart on Alternative just because.

This has been the main criticism towards Billboard's genre charts since the first day they restructured them a few years back. (2011? 2012? Somewhere in there.) Genres are incredibly difficult to classify because of how subjective it is and allowing a company to make such a decision resulted in, well, obvious problems like these. "Sunflower" can easily fit into a hip-hop playlist, but it's completely devoid of any rap elements. "We Are Never" had a few country elements in it, but mostly borrowed from pop. "High Hopes" is the same, but alt rock instead of country. The big difference here, though, is "High Hopes" legitimately is a #1 for alternative rock radio. *shrug*

I have no idea how Billboard should fix their genre charts*, but it's clear they way it is now is more convoluted than it should be.

*Well, I do have a way I would personally like to see it done, but it's based on radio formats, not actual genres, and is completely and totally a personal thing I'd like to see because it's interesting to me. It's certainly not anything that should be the definitive answer.

Fully agree. The Billboard powers-that-be just decide amongst themselves what genre a song is. I also would like to see some kind of criteria based on radio play. For example, just throwing out numbers, say a song would be considered Country only if 20% or more of the Country music panel was actively playing that song. Otherwise it isn't considered Country. Same for the other genre charts.

[Enigma.]

Jan 13, 2019 20:47:09 GMT -5 ddlz said:

Sooo where's this? :sip2:

[Gary]

R. Kelly's 'Ignition' & 'I Believe I Can Fly' Return to Charts After 'Surviving R. Kelly'

1/18/2019 by Trevor Anderson

Plus: One of his greatest-hits collections re-enters Top R&B Albums & debuts on the Billboard 200.

In the wake of Lifetime’s six-part Surviving R. Kelly documentary series, which aired on the network from Jan. 3-5, two of the titular artist’s most popular recordings -- “Ignition” and “I Believe I Can Fly” -- return to the R&B Digital Song Sales chart.

R. Kelly's “Ignition” lands at No. 12 on R&B Digital Song Sales with a 191 percent surge in week-over-week purchases. The single registered 2000 downloads sold in the week ending Jan. 10, according to Nielsen Music, its best sales week in nearly two years, since it also moved 2,000 copies in the week ending Jan. 12, 2017.

In terms of chart performance, the current No. 12 “Ignition” position is the track’s best showing since it ranked at No. 9 for two straight weeks in April 2013.

“Ignition” served as the lead single for R. Kelly’s 2003 album, Chocolate Factory. The song spent five weeks at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 that spring, blocked from the top by 50 Cent’s “In Da Club.”

Though “Ignition” does not return to the R&B Streaming Songs chart, U.S. clicks of the track also rose sharply following the documentary’s premiere. “Ignition” pulled 3.1 million U.S. on-demand streams in the week ending Jan. 10, according to Nielsen Music, up 37 percent compared with the previous frame.

Meanwhile, another Kelly hit, “I Believe I Can Fly” also experiences a resurgence. The track debuts at No. 16 on R&B Digital Song Sales with 2000 copies sold, its highest sales week since the seven-day window ending Feb. 25, 2016.

“Fly,” which featured on the soundtrack to the 1996 film Space Jam, reached No. 2 on the Hot 100 for four weeks -- behind Toni Braxton’s “Un-Break My Heart” -- and won Kelly three Grammy Awards, including best R&B song.

Beyond the pair, two other Kelly catalog cuts scored noteworthy streaming gains in the tracking window. “Trapped in the Closet,” first released in 2005, clocked 2.7 million U.S. streams (up 194 percent), while the former Hot 100 No. 1, 1994’s “Bump N’ Grind” notched 2.3 million clicks (a 58 percent boost).


The songs’ activity gains help the album The Essential R. Kelly rally to a No. 19 re-entry on the Top R&B Albums chart. It revisits the list for the first time since 2015 and at its highest position since June 2014. Essenitial also debuts at No. 144 on the Billboard 200 and No. 46 on the Top Catalog Albums chart. The two-disc greatest hits collection earned 7,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Jan. 10, according to Nielsen Music.

“Ignition” and “Fly” are both given detailed mentions in the Surviving R. Kelly documentary, which examines many physical and sexual abuse allegations surrounding the R&B hitmaker in the past 25 years.

[Gary]

R&B Digital Songs


This Week Last Week Two Weeks Ago Weeks Title, Artist Peak
1 0 New 1 #1 1 wks Undecided , Chris Brown 1
2 1 1 17 Better , Khalid 1
3 0 New 1 Juice , Lizzo 3
4 2 4 23 Trip , Ella Mai 1
5 3 6 43 Boo'd Up , Ella Mai 1
6 0 New 1 Unshaken , D'Angelo 6
7 5 5 12 Arms Around You , XXXTENTACION x Lil Pump Featuring Maluma & Swae Lee 2
8 8 7 10 You , Jacquees 4
9 6 11 29 Best Part , Daniel Caesar Featuring H.E.R. 3
10 4 3 43 Changes , XXXTENTACION 1
11 12 16 255 All Of Me , John Legend 1
12 0 Re-Entry 5 Ignition , R. Kelly 9
13 7 – 24 Level Up , Ciara 1
14 13 19 11 Talk To Me , Tory Lanez & Rich The Kid 2
15 10 23 107 24K Magic , Bruno Mars 1
16 0 New 1 I Believe I Can Fly , R. Kelly 16
17 18 – 45 September , Earth, Wind & Fire 1
18 0 New 1 Nights Like This , Kehlani Featuring Ty Dolla $ign 18
19 14 – 38 All The Stars , Kendrick Lamar & SZA 2
20 9 – 27 I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) , Whitney Houston 9
21 11 25 48 Finesse , Bruno Mars & Cardi B 1
22 20 – 192 Happy , Pharrell Williams 1
23 16 – 28 Billie Jean , Michael Jackson 15
24 22 24 37 OTW , Khalid, Ty Dolla $ign & 6LACK 1
25 21 – 87 That's What I Like , Bruno Mars 1

[Gary]

In related R. Kelly news



R. Kelly's Former Manager Arrested, Accused of Threatening Savage Family

News

By Ryan Parker | January 18, 2019 1:32 PM EST


The former manager for R. Kelly turned himself in to authorities Friday morning on a warrant for allegedly making threats to the family of a young woman who is believed to be involved with the singer.

Henry James Mason, 52, surrendered to Atlanta authorities on a warrant for felony terroristic threats, according to multiple reports.

Mason is accused of making threats to the family of Joycelyn Savage, one of the women who Kelly is allegedly holding against her will. Savage was shown in the Lifetime documentary, Surviving R. Kelly, which detailed alleged abuse against the singer dating back decades. Savage has maintained she is with R. Kelly of her own free will; her family, who participated in the documentary, are fighting for her return.

"Let this be a message to R. Kelly’s staff that we won’t be bullied or threatened. We will continue to pursue legal action against any and all threats to the safety of the Savage family,” said Gerald Griggs, attorney for the Savage family, in a statement to WSB-TV 2 in Atlanta.

Mason was released on a $10,000 bond, according to WSB-TV reporter Mark Winne.

Kelly could not be reached for comment, but after the documentary premiered in early January, the singer has denied all allegations of abuse. On Friday, Billboard exclusively reported that Kelly and his longtime label, Sony Music, have agreed to part ways.

Prosecutors in New York, Chicago and Atlanta are seeking information about R. Kelly in light of the accusations made in Surviving R. Kelly.

This story originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.

[Gary]

and finally.....



Sony, R. Kelly Agree To Part Ways: Exclusive

NewsRecord Labels



Sony and R. Kelly have agreed to part ways, sources tell Billboard. The news comes on the heels of the Lifetime documentary Surviving R. Kelly, which detailed allegations of sexual misconduct against the singer.

Reps for Sony and R. Kelly could not be immediately reached. Kelly has also now been removed from the RCA website.

Kelly had been signed to Jive since the beginning of his career in the early 1990s, and when Jive became part of Sony BMG, he became part of the Sony umbrella. He has been under contract at RCA, a Sony subsidiary, since 2012.

After the debut of the Lifetime series, protests against Kelly began to ramp up, with #MuteRKelly protests outside the Sony building in Manhattan on Wednesday, and artists such as Lady Gaga, Chance The Rapper and Phoenix apologizing for collaborating with the singer. (Gaga removed her Kelly collaboration, "Do What U Want," from streaming services and digital retailers last week.) His music had also reportedly been banned from two Dallas-area radio stations, while some community organizers had begun to call on iHeartRadio and Radio One to ban his music from their playlists.

Kelly's catalog will remain with RCA/Sony and his music is still available on digital retailers and streaming services.

Allegations against Kelly have been around for well over a decade, and he was acquitted on child pornography charges in 2008. But they have resurfaced repeatedly in recent years, with the latest arriving this month. Kelly has repeatedly denied all allegations of misconduct.

Last May, Spotify unveiled a new hateful conduct policy, under which the streaming service removed all of Kelly's music from their owned and operated playlists. While the move was praised by many, it also drew concern from some in the music industry who were worried it would represent a slippery slope, given Kelly has never been convicted of a crime. (The move also affected the music of the late XXXTentacion.) Spotify ultimately reversed the decision.