Billboard Hot 100: 10/02/2021

[thegreatdivine]

Sept 23, 2021 12:01:19 GMT -5 kimberly said:

I remember seeing this last week and being very surprised. kind of odd that his chart success isn't on par with the overall consumption. he has several multiplatinum singles that peaked in the lower half of the Hot 100.

It's really something. For an artist with no real hit record to his name, he's somehow still managed to get:
3 RIAA-certified 3x Platinum songs.
5 RIAA-certified 2x Platinum songs.
18 RIAA-certified 1x Platinum songs.
27 RIAA-certified Gold songs.

He's a higher RIAA-certified singles artist than acts like Khalid, Billie Eilish, Sam Smith, Cardi B, Kendrick Lamar, Halsey, Travis Scott, Lil Baby, etc.

[jthentic]

AM will be on fire tomorrow

[Enigma.]

I didn't say he needs 200k, it was just a number that I think would secure him a placing among the "big guns". Meek Mill is releasing on Oct 1 and his previous did 225k or sth, so that could be a goal for YNBA status-wise.

We certainly agree that his status as a hitmaker is lower than the numbers suggest. But we have similar case in my country, an artist with several over 10 million streams on Spotify per song without significant album success or industry credit. (My country has population of 5.5 million)

[thegreatdivine]

Eh, YoungBoy is just 21 while Meek Mill is 34. YoungBoy has all the time in the world to become an even bigger artist.

YoungBoy's debut album, released in 2018, debuted with 43K units. His sophomore album, released last year, debuted with 126K units. We'll see what his album dropping tonight ends up doing but he's doing just fine imo. His fanbase and their support of his music only seems to be growing and that's without any sort of mainstream/label push.

[iHype.]

Sept 23, 2021 10:53:00 GMT -5 thegreatdivine said:

Sept 23, 2021 10:34:11 GMT -5 iHype. said:

I don’t see Youngboy getting much bigger than his current standing lol. He is not really a rapper who can crossover to the mainstream spotlight like Drake/Kendrick/Travis… he does not have any type of crossover appeal in his music. It’s very much for a specific Rap demographic and all those in that demo already know him at this point.

Once upon a time, people would have said the same thing about rappers like Young Thug, Future and Lil Uzi Vert. I'll even throw in Migos into that group of names — yet all those rappers had no issues crossing over when they were ready to do so. YoungBoy simply has too many things in his personal life preventing him from working on really building up his career but he's already more successful than each of the names I just mentioned were at his age. At 21, he has already built a loyal following and he's been outstreaming some of the biggest artists in the U.S. since 2018.

Most Streamed Artists of 2018

1. Drake - 10.4B

2. Post Malone - 6.8B

3. XXXTentacion - 5.9B

4. Eminem - 4.6B

5. Migos - 4.1B

6. YoungBoy Never Broke Again - 3.8B

7. Travis Scott - 3.6B

8. Ariana Grande - 3.3B

9. Lil Baby - 3.0B

10. Imagine Dragons - 3.0B

Most Streamed Artists of 2019
1. Post Malone - 6.6B
2. Drake - 6.3B
3. Billie Eilish - 4.9B
4. Ariana Grande - 4.9B
5. YoungBoy Never Broke Again - 4.8B
6. Juice WRLD - 3.9B
7. XXXTentacion - 3.6B
8. Taylor Swift - 3.5B
9. Eminem - 3.4B
10. Khalid - 3.2B

Most Streamed Artists of 2020
1. Drake - 5.9B
2. Juice WRLD - 5.5B
3. YoungBoy Never Broke Again - 4.7B
4. Lil Baby - 4.2B
5. Taylor Swift - 4.1B
6. Lil Uzi Vert - 4.1B
7. Post Malone - 3.9B
8. Pop Smoke - 3.7B
9. The Weeknd - 3.6B
10. DaBaby - 3.6B

So far this year, he's the 4th most streamed artist in the U.S with over 3B streams and he will likely surpass Morgan Wallen for the third spot before the year is over. Obviously, if he doesn't take certain steps/make similar efforts to go mainstream like the other names I mentioned did, it'll never happen for him but just the fact that he's already this established as a streaming force in the U.S. with none of the structure the biggest acts in the U.S have career-wise, says a lot about his potential.

Lol all those examples aren’t comparable. Again, Youngboy does not have mainstream crossover appeal.

Future, Uzi, etc make melodic raps. They are also played on Urban/Rhythmic radio as staples.

Youngboy can’t even get hits at Urban radio because his appeal is very limited.

[Enigma.]

Sept 23, 2021 12:51:32 GMT -5 thegreatdivine said:

Eh, YoungBoy is just 21 while Meek Mill is 34. YoungBoy has all the time in the world to become an even bigger artist.

But would he be YOUNGBoy then :kii:

8 kids with 7 different women will remain as his most impressive stat after the new album too I'd say.

[thegreatdivine]

iHype. how aren't they comparable? There was a time in the careers of each of those acts when they hadn't broken through mainstream-wise and their songs weren't getting played on radio but that eventually changed and if you're seriously saying YoungBoy's music isn't melodic in the same vein as those artists, then I know you've never heard any of his songs before (I'm not some huge fan myself but I've heard bits and pieces of his music and everything I heard could definitely be categorized as melodic).

Here are some examples I got from a search of his name on Twitter:

As for him not getting radio airplay, that simply boils down to his songs not getting pushed on radio. There are artists I listen to who are releasing music that's more catchy and radio-ready than a lot of the songs on Urban/Rhythmic radio right now that's aren't getting any steam on radio formats. It's not because they lack appeal. Their labels simply haven't pushed their songs yet/enough.

[singingrulebritannia]

Sept 23, 2021 13:07:25 GMT -5 iHype. said:

Youngboy does not have mainstream crossover appeal.

I think he could make the pivot if he keeps developing the sound he tried on his WUSYANAME verse

[thegreatdivine]

Sept 23, 2021 13:09:33 GMT -5 Enigma. said:

Sept 23, 2021 12:51:32 GMT -5 thegreatdivine said:

Eh, YoungBoy is just 21 while Meek Mill is 34. YoungBoy has all the time in the world to become an even bigger artist.

But would he be YOUNGBoy then

8 kids with 7 different women will remain as his most impressive stat after the new album too I'd say.

He's definitely challenging Future in that area of his life lol. I believe Future has 13/14 kids but only claims about 8 of them so far. Future is 37 and YoungBoy is 21 so at the rate he's going, he may have 40-50 kids by the time he's Future's age.

[iHype.]

Sept 23, 2021 13:16:32 GMT -5 thegreatdivine said:

iHype. how aren't they comparable? There was a time in the careers of each of those acts when they hadn't broken through mainstream-wise and their songs weren't getting played on radio

I’m not sure what you’re talking about because

Future had “Turn on the Lights” reach #1 on Urban radio & top 10 on Rhythmic radio in 2012. That was from his debut album.

Uzi had “XO Tour Life” which is self explanatory in 2017. Also from his debut album.

They got radio hits right from their debuts. Youngboy’s music certainly isn’t as commercially melodic and radio friendly as some of their singles. As I said, he appeals to a specific demo. People who don’t listen to Rap much, but like crossover rappers (ala Drake/Travis/Kendrick/Kanye) aren’t probably going to like NBA Youngboy. Most likely devoted core listeners of Rap and they already know him at this point.

An example of someone who doesn’t like Rap much but listens to crossover rappers would be 80% of Pulsemusic users. Do you see them listening to an NBA Youngboy album? Lmao.

[kcdawg13]

I do think it's crazy Youngboy has had so many charting singles but only one Top 10 ("Bandit" with Juice WRLD).

[thegreatdivine]

Sept 23, 2021 13:53:18 GMT -5 iHype. said:

Sept 23, 2021 13:16:32 GMT -5 thegreatdivine said:

iHype. how aren't they comparable? There was a time in the careers of each of those acts when they hadn't broken through mainstream-wise and their songs weren't getting played on radio

I’m not sure what you’re talking about because

Future had “Turn on the Lights” reach #1 on Urban radio & top 10 on Rhythmic radio in 2012. That was from his debut album.

Uzi had “XO Tour Life” which is self explanatory in 2017. Also from his debut album.

They got radio hits right from their debuts. Youngboy’s music certainly isn’t as commercially melodic and radio friendly as some of their singles. As I said, he appeals to a specific demo. People who don’t listen to Rap much, but like crossover rappers (ala Drake/Travis/Kendrick/Kanye) aren’t probably going to like NBA Youngboy. Most likely devoted core listeners of Rap and they already know him at this point.

An example of someone who doesn’t like Rap much but listens to crossover rappers would be 80% of Pulsemusic users. Do you see them listening to an NBA Youngboy album? Lmao.

So, now you've gone from his music not being melodic at all to it not being commercially melodic (whatever that means)? Lol.

You simply can't use radio as the only metric to measure the crossover/commercial viability of an artist. Once upon a time, the Weeknd made music that pop radio wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole. Today, he's one of the biggest popstars in the world. Who is to say, a few years from now, YoungBoy isn't crafting radio-ready tunes that start to take off on radio and other singles charts? He's only 21 years old. He has the music he makes for his fanbase but he has also appeared on several songs with other rappers that have shown that the potential to make more radio-friendly music is there (if it's something he should ever want to do).

We'll just have to agree to disagree but I think it's more a question of if he'll ever decide to become a commercial/radio-friendly artist and less about him lacking the ability to make that switch at all.

[iHype.]

Sept 23, 2021 14:26:13 GMT -5 thegreatdivine said:

Sept 23, 2021 13:53:18 GMT -5 iHype. said:

I’m not sure what you’re talking about because

Future had “Turn on the Lights” reach #1 on Urban radio & top 10 on Rhythmic radio in 2012. That was from his debut album.

Uzi had “XO Tour Life” which is self explanatory in 2017. Also from his debut album.

They got radio hits right from their debuts. Youngboy’s music certainly isn’t as commercially melodic and radio friendly as some of their singles. As I said, he appeals to a specific demo. People who don’t listen to Rap much, but like crossover rappers (ala Drake/Travis/Kendrick/Kanye) aren’t probably going to like NBA Youngboy. Most likely devoted core listeners of Rap and they already know him at this point.

An example of someone who doesn’t like Rap much but listens to crossover rappers would be 80% of Pulsemusic users. Do you see them listening to an NBA Youngboy album? Lmao.

So, now you've gone from his music not being melodic at all to it not being commercially melodic (whatever that means)? Lol.

You simply can't use radio as the only metric to measure the crossover/commercial viability of an artist. Once upon a time, the Weeknd made music that pop radio wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole. Today, he's one of the biggest popstars in the world. Who is to say, a few years from now, YoungBoy isn't crafting radio-ready tunes that start to take off on radio and other singles charts? He's only 21 years old. He has the music he makes for his fanbase but he appeared on several songs with other rappers that have shown that the potential to make more radio-friendly music is there (if it's something he should ever want to do).

We'll just have to agree to disagree but I think it's more a question of if he'll ever decide to become a commercial/radio-friendly artist and less about him lacking the ability to make that switch at all.

A casual person who does not listen to Rap much but likes crossover top names like Drake/Kendrick/Travis is probably most likely NOT going to be into Youngboy’s music. It’s not hard to understand or some crazy point like you’re trying to make it to be. He doesn’t have the crossover appeal they have.

But yes, this type of melodic rap would totally appeal to radio and a casual audience… (sarcasm)


And what is the point of saying “well maybe in 2026 or some other random year he will make completely different music”. Um.. sure that can apply to anyone. Ofcourse nobody can predict what music any artist will make years down the road. We can only base off of what we know now and hear in the year 2021 with predicting any artist growing bigger or not. Based on the current music… I’m not hearing potential to expand his base.

[thegreatdivine]

iHype. I don't know how anyone can make this kind of conclusion on a 21 YEAR-OLD artist whose numbers have ONLY shown that his fanbase has indeed grown over the years but sure, keep basing the fanbase growth of a rapper on airplay and what songs non-rap fans like lol.

YoungBoy doesn't even need radio airplay/crossover appeal to continue to grow his fanbase. He debuted with 43K units with his debut album and 126K units with his sophomore album. I can run off a list of names of artists who were rapping at his age/older and had 0 commercial viability based on the music they were making at the time but are rap stars now.

Someone like Tyler, the Creator has 0 radio hits and has never made music for the charts but has still managed to steadily grow his fanbase over the years. Same with J. Cole. I'll even say the same for Childish Gambino. All rappers not known for radio/smash hits but who can comfortably sell out arena tours (something many popular mainstream rappers with radio hits can't do) and who have amassed a large and loyal following (something YoungBoy has managed to do in a few short years). Radio and hit records don't hold nearly as much weight when it comes to fanbase growth as you think.

But again, like I said, let's just agree to disagree.

[bbdenney94]

This might be a silly question, but is it possible that Youngboy's team is just keen about submitting his songs to the RIAA for certification?

In theory, it'd be a good way to market an artist with relatively few long-lasting chart hits, yet very solid streaming numbers.

[Deleted]

i feel like youngboy could get on the right track if he’s released soon. he’s still young + only way to go is up especially since he had 4 top 2 projects in a one year span (3 going #1). his fans don’t seem to get tired of his music either.

all he needs is a RAPSTAR or something to add that smash chart hit he’s missing.

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

Sept 23, 2021 14:25:16 GMT -5 kcdawg13 said:

I do think it's crazy Youngboy has had so many charting singles but only one Top 10 ("Bandit" with Juice WRLD).

Not only that, but if I'm not mistaken, out of the 52 Hot 100 songs he has charted on, only 6 of them have managed to reach 10 weeks.

[firefox]

So it's a battle between Taylor Swift (Fearless TV signed CDs and Vinyls) and NBA YoungBoy on albums chart next week.

[Skibidi Bop Bop]

Harleys in Hawaii sudden resurgence.

[Clode]

Sept 23, 2021 20:44:47 GMT -5 Skibidi Bop Bop said:

Harleys in Hawaii sudden resurgence.

Yup this song has been gaining significant streams throughout this week and the previous, I do wonder how likely it is that "Harleys In Hawaii" will end up getting pushed as a US Single though. 

[kcdawg13]

Sept 23, 2021 20:59:44 GMT -5 Clode said:

Sept 23, 2021 20:44:47 GMT -5 Skibidi Bop Bop said:

Harleys in Hawaii sudden resurgence.

Yup this song has been gaining significant streams throughout this week and the previous, I do wonder how likely it is that "Harleys In Hawaii" will end up getting pushed as a US Single though. 

Yeah pretty much all of it's gains are from outside the US so I don't think Katy's label is gonna pursue radio here or go for a real push.

[dremolus - solarpunk]

Sept 23, 2021 8:14:18 GMT -5 iamsorare said:

Sept 23, 2021 6:38:21 GMT -5 Rose "Payola" Nylund said:

He did. You’re just dense.

he didn't.end of story..

It's alright to admit you don't understand queer art

[iamsorare]

Sept 24, 2021 2:20:41 GMT -5 dremolus - solarpunk said:

Sept 23, 2021 8:14:18 GMT -5 iamsorare said:

he didn't.end of story..

It's alright to admit you don't understand queer art

when lil nas will have an era without dancing in a pole, without sitting on the devil's legs, without dancing naked with other criminals in jail , without asking who streamed his album while showing his ass then yeah I will say that he stopped the controversy..but even with the controversy his numbers are mediocre.only 125k opening after two big hits..well it's not bad but it's not great either.

http://instagram.com/p/CT-h2Msh82h

[dremolus - solarpunk]

Sept 24, 2021 3:18:43 GMT -5 iamsorare said:

Sept 24, 2021 2:20:41 GMT -5 dremolus - solarpunk said:

It's alright to admit you don't understand queer art

when lil nas will have an era without dancing in a pole, without sitting on the devil's legs, without dancing naked with other criminals in jail , without asking who streamed his album while showing his ass then yeah I will say that he stopped the controversy..but even with the controversy his numbers are mediocre.only 125k opening after two big hits..well it's not bad but it's not great either.

http://instagr.am/p/CT-h2Msh82h

Take out all the controversy and any convo about sales and opening and you'd be left with one of the best albums of the year.

With all the "controversy" though, you end up with one of most outwardly proud and empowering queer performances of the year.

[kimberly]

if you look at Lil Nas X and your whole takeaway is "ass," I don't think you understand him... he isn't controversial for dancing in hell or in prison, he's controversial for being a Black gay male popstar. the more his art is discussed, the more he paves the way for a generation of artists to come, and hopefully the less people we'll have trying to write off queerness as "controversy" like you.

so cut it with the "he's only getting hits because he's controversial" bullshit. no one really talks about "Montero" video anymore and yet it's poised to be back in the Top 10 this week, and it's still Top 10 on pop radio. do you think the 963 million plays the song has amassed on Spotify were also for the pole-dancing? lol.

[iamsorare]

Sept 24, 2021 3:32:06 GMT -5 kimberly said:

if you look at Lil Nas X and your whole takeaway is "ass," I don't think you understand him... he isn't controversial for dancing in hell or in prison, he's controversial for being a Black gay male popstar. the more his art is discussed, the more he paves the way for a generation of artists to come, and hopefully the less people we'll have trying to write off queerness as "controversy" like you.

so cut it with the "he's only getting hits because he's controversial" bulls**t. no one really talks about "Montero" video anymore and yet it's poised to be back in the Top 10 this week, and it's still Top 10 on pop radio. do you think the 963 million plays the song has amassed on Spotify were also for the pole-dancing? lol.

the song became famous cause of the video..yeah, now people don't watch the video on YouTube anymore but they still remember and know what happens...

[Normi]

Yall need more of MONTERO in your lives

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

Sept 24, 2021 4:02:10 GMT -5 iamsorare said:

Sept 24, 2021 3:32:06 GMT -5 kimberly said:

if you look at Lil Nas X and your whole takeaway is "ass," I don't think you understand him... he isn't controversial for dancing in hell or in prison, he's controversial for being a Black gay male popstar. the more his art is discussed, the more he paves the way for a generation of artists to come, and hopefully the less people we'll have trying to write off queerness as "controversy" like you.

so cut it with the "he's only getting hits because he's controversial" bulls**t. no one really talks about "Montero" video anymore and yet it's poised to be back in the Top 10 this week, and it's still Top 10 on pop radio. do you think the 963 million plays the song has amassed on Spotify were also for the pole-dancing? lol.

the song became famous cause of the video..yeah, now people don't watch the video on YouTube anymore but they still remember and know what happens...

Still failing to see your point beyond your lack of getting anything so

[iamsorare]

Sept 24, 2021 7:19:06 GMT -5 Rose "Payola" Nylund said:

Sept 24, 2021 4:02:10 GMT -5 iamsorare said:

the song became famous cause of the video..yeah, now people don't watch the video on YouTube anymore but they still remember and know what happens...

Still failing to see your point beyond your lack of getting anything so

don't worry you will understand when his next era starts and he will probably underperform without controversy.. Miley Cyrus teas!!

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

Sept 24, 2021 8:04:09 GMT -5 iamsorare said:

Sept 24, 2021 7:19:06 GMT -5 Rose "Payola" Nylund said:

Still failing to see your point beyond your lack of getting anything so

don't worry you will understand when his next era starts and he will probably underperform without controversy.. Miley Cyrus teas!!

Underperform or not, as long as he doesn’t get straight-washed I’m sure whatever he puts out next will be as fun, interesting and epic as this so I’m not really worried.

You can go on loving music because it appeals to the masses (lemming/sheep/bandwagon teas!!!) and I’ll stick with music I connect with that speaks to me. 💋