Billboard Hot 100: 02/06/2021

[fhas]

[jenglisbe]

I heard the 80s flashback today on Sirius, and "Look Away" was down in the 30s. It was the #1 song of 1989 but hit #1 in 1988 and was gone by February of 1989. Obviously the way Billboard's chart year works is part of it, but it still seems odd "LA" could have done enough in 2 months to be #1 for 1989.

[Gary]

32 #1's in CY 1989

The longest running #1 that fit into that chart year was 3 weeks Chicago hit for 2 weeks, so not really that unusual, The YE countdown introduced the song as a surprise #1 in the sense that Chicago was not one of the top acts of 1989 but not because of the chart run

[phieaglesfan712]

On the opposite end, we are about to witness the 2020 Year End #1 be a #1 hit in 2021.

Chicago's longevity is as impressive as Blinding Lights. The band started out in January 1967 as the Chicago Transit Authority, and later became Chicago. They did not have their first #1 hit until 1976 (If You Leave Me Now), and their biggest hit Look Away happened over 20 years after the band formed (and more than a decade after Terry Kath's death). When I saw them play in concert in August 2018 (over 50 years after the band formed), the band still had 4 original members.

[jenglisbe]

Jan 31, 2021 12:41:38 GMT -5 Gary said:

The longest running #1 that fit into that chart year was 3 weeks Chicago hit for 2 weeks, so not really that unusual, The YE countdown introduced the song as a surprise #1 in the sense that Chicago was not one of the top acts of 1989 but not because of the chart run

It's not about weeks at #1, it's about how a lot of its chart run was in the 1988 chart year. I don't know what specific chart year was used for 1989, but "Look Away" was #2 on the December 3, 1988 chart. It was its 11th week on the chart, so presumably its first 10 weeks or so didn't fall in the 1989 chart year. There were no recurrent rules then, and "Look Away" fell off after its 24th week when it was #99. So, it had maybe 15 weeks count. "My Prerogative" also had a lot of weeks prior to the 1989 chart year yet finished #2 for the year. Meanwhile Debbie Gibson's "Lost on Your Eyes" was #1 for 3 weeks in March of 1989 and had all 19 weeks of its chart run in the chart year. It finished down at #13 on the year-end chart. That seems odd, no?

[Groovy]

One of the worst constructed songs is now number 1 on Urban radio. 

[Gary]

Jan 31, 2021 13:31:01 GMT -5 jenglisbe said:

Jan 31, 2021 12:41:38 GMT -5 Gary said:

The longest running #1 that fit into that chart year was 3 weeks Chicago hit for 2 weeks, so not really that unusual, The YE countdown introduced the song as a surprise #1 in the sense that Chicago was not one of the top acts of 1989 but not because of the chart run

It's not about weeks at #1, it's about how a lot of its chart run was in the 1988 chart year. I don't know what specific chart year was used for 1989, but "Look Away" was #2 on the December 3, 1988 chart. It was its 11th week on the chart, so presumably its first 10 weeks or so didn't fall in the 1989 chart year. There were no recurrent rules then, and "Look Away" fell off after its 24th week when it was #99. So, it had maybe 15 weeks count. "My Prerogative" also had a lot of weeks prior to the 1989 chart year yet finished #2 for the year. Meanwhile Debbie Gibson's "Lost on Your Eyes" was #1 for 3 weeks in March of 1989 and had all 19 weeks of its chart run in the chart year. It finished down at #13 on the year-end chart. That seems odd, no?

I don't know just offering another perspective
32 #1's in calendar year 1989
So chart points competition may have been low


I personally am a fan of YE charts as much as anyone here at year end but I don't spend as much time reviewing them as others here when not year end. So I probably won't be able to offer much more

[imbondz]

Jan 31, 2021 12:27:27 GMT -5 jenglisbe said:

I heard the 80s flashback today on Sirius, and "Look Away" was down in the 30s. It was the #1 song of 1989 but hit #1 in 1988 and was gone by February of 1989. Obviously the way Billboard's chart year works is part of it, but it still seems odd "LA" could have done enough in 2 months to be #1 for 1989.

I always thought it was strange it finished the YE chart at #1. Something seemed fishy cuz it wasn’t at all the most popular song of 88 or 89. I’d love to see sales and radio figures for that song compared to others that year.

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

Regarding the 1989 Year-End Hot 100: "All records ascending on the Dec. 3, 1988 Hot 100 Singles Chart have been included in the 1989 Year-End Chart and have been credited for their entire lifespan. All records descending on the Dec. 2, 1989 chart have projected points included in their totals to estimate their remaining chart life, while those ascending on Dec. 2, 1989 have been held OR the 1989 Year -End Chart and will have their entire lifespan included in the 1990 Year-End Chart." Another case of creative accounting by Billboard.

[phieaglesfan712]

Jan 31, 2021 14:08:19 GMT -5 imbondz said:

Jan 31, 2021 12:27:27 GMT -5 jenglisbe said:

I heard the 80s flashback today on Sirius, and "Look Away" was down in the 30s. It was the #1 song of 1989 but hit #1 in 1988 and was gone by February of 1989. Obviously the way Billboard's chart year works is part of it, but it still seems odd "LA" could have done enough in 2 months to be #1 for 1989.

I always thought it was strange it finished the YE chart at #1. Something seemed fishy cuz it wasn’t at all the most popular song of 88 or 89. I’d love to see sales and radio figures for that song compared to others that year.

According to this thread, it can be argued that Look Away is the biggest song of 1988/1989: pulsemusic.proboards.com/thread/179723/last-complete-1985-2017-charts?page=4

The only 2 songs bigger than Look Away were Another Day In Paradise and Red Red Wine. ADIP reached #1 in late December 1989 (over a full year after Look Away went to #1) and RRW had a part of its chart run in 1984.

[waluigionascooter]

Jan 31, 2021 13:33:09 GMT -5 Groovy said:

One of the worst constructed songs is now number 1 on Urban radio. 

that song fell off the charts months ago, whos still listening to it

[mzumii]

Jan 31, 2021 8:26:35 GMT -5 GP said:

the way I barely streamed BL since like March, who is left that hasnt streamed the song yet... or who is streaming it for the millionth time

I've listened to it about 5 times personally, radio plays it a lot though so I've listened to it a good amount against my will 

[Groovy]

I've never seen a song this consistent for as long as it's been and it's shown no signs of slowing down, I strongly believe that will end in the year in the top 10 again.

[GP]

Jan 31, 2021 16:02:38 GMT -5 mzumii said:

Jan 31, 2021 8:26:35 GMT -5 GP said:

the way I barely streamed BL since like March, who is left that hasnt streamed the song yet... or who is streaming it for the millionth time

I've listened to it about 5 times personally, radio plays it a lot though so I've listened to it a good amount against my will 

You were unable to change station?

[mzumii]

Jan 31, 2021 17:18:41 GMT -5 GP said:

Jan 31, 2021 16:02:38 GMT -5 mzumii said:

I've listened to it about 5 times personally, radio plays it a lot though so I've listened to it a good amount against my will 

You were unable to change station?

I don't dislike the song, it's decent but I just don't get the urge to listen to it on my own... plus some other people in the car usually like the song so I let it play 

[jayhawk1117]

Bl that good huh lol?. It's been a year. Move on radio, do that challenge

[thirddegree50123]

"Levitating" peaking higher than "New Rules" makes me uncomfortable

[rosalina4812]

Jan 31, 2021 20:49:06 GMT -5 jayhawk1117 said:

Bl that good huh lol?. It's been a year. Move on radio, do that challenge

Not until the Grammys when I will blast that in protest

[𝕡𝕙𝕖𝕖𝕓𝕤]

Jan 31, 2021 21:47:59 GMT -5 rosalina4812 said:

Jan 31, 2021 20:49:06 GMT -5 jayhawk1117 said:

Bl that good huh lol?. It's been a year. Move on radio, do that challenge

Not until the Grammys when I will blast that in protest

BL’s success is bigger than all of us now

No matter how tired i am of it I must root for it. I stream the rosalia & chromatics remixes instead so the original doesn’t burn on me too hard.

Edit: BL’s bullet at pop radio has already shrunk down to -43, SMASH

[jenglisbe]

Jan 31, 2021 14:08:19 GMT -5 imbondz said:

Jan 31, 2021 12:27:27 GMT -5 jenglisbe said:

I heard the 80s flashback today on Sirius, and "Look Away" was down in the 30s. It was the #1 song of 1989 but hit #1 in 1988 and was gone by February of 1989. Obviously the way Billboard's chart year works is part of it, but it still seems odd "LA" could have done enough in 2 months to be #1 for 1989.

I always thought it was strange it finished the YE chart at #1. Something seemed fishy cuz it wasn’t at all the most popular song of 88 or 89. I’d love to see sales and radio figures for that song compared to others that year.

That's the thing; there are no sales and radio figures for that time period. Billboard used store reports and radio playlists or whatever, so the method of tabulation wasn't the same. I think - but someone correct me if I'm wrong - for the year-end charts they used a points system based on chart placements. That's why makes "Look Away" being the year-end #1 so confusing because it didn't even have its full run in the chart year, whereas other big songs did. If it was compiled like it is now you could just assume "Look Away" had a huge week at #1 or something, but that's not how it worked.

Having said that Baby Yoda Hot100Fan provided information that makes it make sense. The entire run of "Look Away" counted in 1989 since it was still ascending on the first chart of the chart year. So, it had its weeks from the 1988 chart year count for it. That likely explains the year-end placements for the previous years as well. They clearly changed it by 1990/1991 because Mariah's "Love Takes Time" made the year-end chart for both years, but in the lower portions. If its full run had counted for one of them, it would have placed much higher.

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

^Just to complete the discussion, the 1990s year-end charts had this explanation: "CHART EXPLANATION The 1990 Year-End Charts were compiled by computer from Billboard's weekly and biweekly charts during the eligibility period, which is Nov. 18, 1989 through Nov. 17, 1990 for all the charts. Final year-end chart positioning is based on a point system. Points are given to each record (single or album) for each week on the chart, in a complex inverse relation to the chart position. The year-end charts represent the accumulation of all points -based on the number of weeks on the chart plus positions attained that respective artists, labels, publishers, etc., have received for their charted recordings during the eligibility period. Each chart has its own unique point system, with points assigned to each rank on a chart based on the actual average number of points a record receives at that position on the computer worksheet for the chart. (These point totals are not shown on the charts printed in the magazine.)

[kcdawg13]

Crazy that Blinding Lights is so close to Mood in points, it may be #2 next week

[forg]

Mood's longevity is also impressive, I was thinking when it first hit #1 that it was just pure luck that it got there but went to stay on top for 8 weeks

[atg]

If 24k, Abel and Post were to make a song together, it would probably stay on the charts for all of eternity. Longevity > Position

[jebsib]

Sean Ross - the famous Radio Consultant - was working for Billboard in late 1989 and said that the chart staff all assembled in a board room in December 1989 and the room collectively GROANED when it was revealed that "Look Away" was the #1 song of the year. They all knew it looked fishy.

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

kworb's Billboard Radio Songs Estimates 2021/02/01

1(=) Chris Brown & Young Thug - Go Crazy 135.50(+0.52) +
2(=) 24kGoldn - Mood (feat. iann dior) 123.58(+0.02)
3(+1) Ariana Grande - positions 113.00(-0.05)
4(-1) Justin Bieber - Holy (feat. Chance the Rapper) 112.00(-1.18)
5(=) The Weeknd - Blinding Lights 93.93(+0.66) +
6(=) Justin Bieber & benny blanco - Lonely 91.09(+1.23)
7(=) Ariana Grande - 34+35 89.44(+1.64)
8(=) Dua Lipa - Levitating (feat. DaBaby) 88.25(+0.63)
9(+1) Billie Eilish - Therefore I Am 79.16(+0.62)
10(-1) AJR - Bang! 77.44(-1.45)

13(+6) Olivia Rodrigo - drivers license 60.72(+4.12)

15(=) Megan Thee Stallion - Body 60.19(+0.82)

16(=) Pop Smoke - What You Know Bout Love 60.00(+1.00)

28(=) Tate McRae - you broke me first 44.78(+0.72)

29(=) Ritt Momney - Put Your Records On 43.42(+0.74)

30(+1) Bad Bunny & Jhay Cortez - DÁKITI 43.35(+0.75)

34(+2) The Weeknd - Save Your Tears 39.20(+0.70)

44(+3) CJ - Whoopty 36.32(+0.73)

80(+5) Yung Bleu & Drake - You're Mines Still 19.67(+0.85)

-(-) Black Eyed Peas & Shakira - GIRL LIKE ME 15.09(+0.93)

-(-) Erica Banks - Buss It 14.78(+1.64) +

-(-) Jason Derulo - Lifestyle (feat. Adam Levine) 9.16(+1.13)

-(-) Ava Max - My Head & My Heart 7.98(+1.18) +

-(-) Fat Joe, DJ Khaled & Amorphous - Sunshine (The Light) 7.30(+3.00) +

-(-) 50 Cent - Part Of The Game 6.19(+2.20) +

-(-) Nav - Young Wheezy f/Gunna 3.22(+1.03) +

[suzcruz7]

Feb 1, 2021 9:39:07 GMT -5 Baby Yoda Hot100Fan said:

kworb's Billboard Radio Songs Estimates 2021/02/01

 

28(=) Tate McRae - you broke me first 44.78(+0.72)

29(=) Ritt Momney - Put Your Records On 43.42(+0.74)

Tate, girl, I'm gonna need you to stand your ground.

[thegreatdivine]

[Ernesto]

[kacpi]

Feb 1, 2021 13:22:41 GMT -5 thegreatdivine said:

pls not them putting The Weeknd in a title column and listing Blinding Lights as an artist