Billboard Hot 100: 04/23/2022

[mms82]

Apr 11, 2022 7:14:24 GMT -5 Groovy said:

Apr 11, 2022 7:09:36 GMT -5 mms82 said:

Ccm? What’s that stand for?

Contemporary Christian Music

Have there been any other big Christian hits this century other than You Say and the songs off of Jesus is King?

[thegreatdivine]

Apr 11, 2022 0:14:23 GMT -5 dremolus - solarpunk said:

Oh great, just what the charts needed: CCM....

Embrace diversity on the charts! We need all types of music doing damage.

[Golden Bluebird]

Apr 11, 2022 1:15:11 GMT -5 dremolus - solarpunk said:

Apr 11, 2022 0:56:58 GMT -5 atg said:

If First Class does end up being #1, what are some other songs that hit the top spot, that also had the song that they sampled also hit #1? I think the most recent example is Drake’s Way 2 Sexy sampling I’m Too Sexy by Right Said Fred and both of them peaked at #1, but besides that i can’t think of anything else right now.

Look What You Made Me Do (also sampled I'm Too Sexy)
In My Feelings (sampled Lollipop)
I'll Be Missing You (sampled Every Breath You Take)

Don't forget Biggie's "Hypnotize", which samples Herb Alpert's "Rise"

[thegreatdivine]

[Groovy]

Apr 11, 2022 7:27:48 GMT -5 mms82 said:

Apr 11, 2022 7:14:24 GMT -5 Groovy said:

Contemporary Christian Music

Have there been any other big Christian hits this century other than You Say and the songs off of Jesus is King?

I can't think of any off the top of my head besides Mary Mary who had a Shackles back in 2000 and God in Me charted in 2010 as well as Stacie Orrico's (There's Gotta Be) More to Life which was in the top 30 back in 2003. 

[dremolus - solarpunk]

Apr 11, 2022 7:42:57 GMT -5 thegreatdivine said:

Apr 11, 2022 0:14:23 GMT -5 dremolus - solarpunk said:

Oh great, just what the charts needed: CCM....

Embrace diversity on the charts! We need all types of music doing damage.

I'd rather have nothing happen than have one of the biggest hits this year be CCM.

[phieaglesfan712]

Apr 11, 2022 7:44:38 GMT -5 Golden Bluebird said:

Apr 11, 2022 1:15:11 GMT -5 dremolus - solarpunk said:

Look What You Made Me Do (also sampled I'm Too Sexy)
In My Feelings (sampled Lollipop)
I'll Be Missing You (sampled Every Breath You Take)

Don't forget Biggie's "Hypnotize", which samples Herb Alpert's "Rise"

And if not for I Gotta Feeling, Drake would’ve had another one with “Best I Ever Had”, which samples “Fallin In Love”.

[gikem]

Apr 11, 2022 7:27:48 GMT -5 mms82 said:

Apr 11, 2022 7:14:24 GMT -5 Groovy said:

Contemporary Christian Music

Have there been any other big Christian hits this century other than You Say and the songs off of Jesus is King?

Most of the ones I know were from Christian rock bands in the 2000s, namely Meant To Live by Switchfoot and Face Down by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. You could also count You Found Me by The Fray, which did cross over to Billboard’s Christian Songs chart even though The Fray doesn’t consistently market themselves to the CCM crowd.

[thegreatdivine]

Apr 11, 2022 8:32:18 GMT -5 phieaglesfan712 said:

Apr 11, 2022 7:44:38 GMT -5 Golden Bluebird said:

Don't forget Biggie's "Hypnotize", which samples Herb Alpert's "Rise"

And if not for I Gotta Feeling, Drake would’ve had another one with “Best I Ever Had”, which samples “Fallin In Love”.

Crazy that Drake's first entry on the Hot 100 peaked at #2. I wonder how many other examples there are of artists whose first Hot 100 entry peaked in the top 10.

[dremolus - solarpunk]

US Spotify - 04/10/22

1(=) Jack Harlow - First Class 3,071,092 (-1,025,129)
2(=) Harry Styles - As It Was 2,201,093 (-219,888)
3(=) Glass Animals - Heat Waves 847,370 (-87,301)
4(=) Lil Nas X - INDUSTRY BABY 645,817 (-95,756)
5(=) The Kid LAROI - STAY 592,779 (-75,028)
6(+1) Olivia Rodrigo - good 4 u 574,340 (-64,774)
7(+1) Imagine Dragons - Enemy 558,021 (-59,004)
8(+1) Carolina Gaitán - La Gaita, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz, Encanto Cast - We Don't Talk About Bruno 540,504 (-69,883)
9(+1) Kodak Black - Super Gremlin 533,590 (-72,741)
10(+2) Doja Cat - Woman 533,024 (-61,464)

Others:
11(-5) Jack Harlow - Nail Tech 523,233 (-126,259)
12(-1) Lil Baby - Right On 492,479 (-110,851)
13(=) Justin Bieber - Ghost 491,693 (-67,720)
14(=) Lil Tjay - In My Head 483,615 (-65,222)
15(=) Doja Cat - Need to Know 476,284 (-50,720)
18(-1) Lil Nas X - THATS WHAT I WANT 466,355 (-50,075)
19(+3) The Walters - I Love You So 440,656 (-19,872)
20(+4) Arctic Monkeys - 505 434,540 (-17,370)
21(-3) Camila Cabello - Bam Bam 432,502 (-70,497)
22(-1) Dove Cameron - Boyfriend 429,104 (-40,546)
23(-3) Elton John, Dua Lipa - Cold Heart (PNAU Remix) 423,054 (-64,625)
25(+6) Steve Lacy - Dark Red 413,780 (-12,670)
28(+8) Tyler the Creator - See You Again 402,086 (-2,581)
29(+3) WILLOW - Wait a Minute! 398,512 (-24,397)
30(-2) Yeat - Monëy so big 398,345 (-31,456)
31(-6) Gunna, Future - pushin P 387,190 (-57,038)
32(-6) Ed Sheeran - Shivers 384,127 (-54,271)
34(=) GAYLE - abcdefu 367,965 (-41,265)
37(=) Lil Durk - Broadway Girls 360,828 (-42,301)
38(-5) Shawn Mendes - When You're Gone 360,504 (-57,540)
39(+2) Morgan Wallen - Wasted On You 357,551 (-26,559)
40(+3) Frank Ocean - Lost 356,274 (-23,060)
41(-6) Becky G, KAROL G - MAMIII 351,489 (-55,516)
42(-4) Charlie Puth - Light Switch 350,649 (-49,593)
44(+6) Elley Duhé - MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT 334,566 (-26,410)
45(-1) Jessica Darrow - Surface Pressure 332,360 (-43,499)
46(+1) Adele - Easy On Me 332,075 (-32,887)
47(+8) Tyler the Creator - NEW MAGIC WAND 329,563 (-21,113)
50(+2) Em Beihold - Numb Little Bug 326,027 (-30,960)
51(-6) Post Malone - One Right Now 320,030 (-54,925)
52(-3) Dua Lipa - Levitating 318,759 (-42,329)
53(+9) Nirvana - Something In The Way 318,710 (-12,010)
55(+2) AnnenMayKantereit, Giant Rooks - Tom's Diner 314,176-347,635 (-33,459)
57(-15) BIA, J. Cole - LONDON 308,604 (-73,354)
58(+13) The Rare Occasions - Notion 308,196 (-10,413)
59(-8) Yahritza Y Su Esencia - Soy El Unico 308,132 (-49,512)
64(-4) Megan Thee Stallion, Dua Lipa - Sweetest Pie 293,403 (-42,165)
66(-8) Latto - Big Energy 291,135 (-53,271)
68(+2) Tate McRae - she's all i wanna be 287,938 (-32,510)
70(+6) Doja Cat, The Weeknd - You Right 284,232 (-27,327)
75(-2) Doja Cat - Get Into It (Yuh) 280,778 (-33,444)
77(-8) Tiësto, Ava Max - The Motto 279,196 (-41,858)
78(-6) Ed Sheeran - Bad Habits 278,901 (-37,364)
81(-33) Charlie Puth - That's Hilarious 273,429 (-90,892)
84(+7) Lauren Spencer-Smith - Fingers Crossed 270,651 (-21,577)
85(-5) Lil Durk - What Happened To Virgil 270,582 (-33,448)
88(-4) lil Shordie Scott - Rocking A Cardigan in Atlanta 268,307-300,829 (-32,522)
92(+18) Ruth B. - Dandelions 267,154 (-11,721)
93(+22) Beach House - Space Song 267,039 (-6,450)
94(=) 4*TOWN (From Disney and Pixar’s Turning Red), Jordan Fisher, Finneas O'Connell, Josh Levi, Topher Ngo, Grayson Villanueva - Nobody Like U 265,642-288,850 (-23,208)
95(+3) SZA - I Hate U 265,444 (-20,159)
100(+9) The Weeknd - Save Your Tears 259,046 (-20,321)

101(-6) Gunna - Banking On Me 256,621 (-30,250)
103(-20) Kevin Gates - Thinking with My Dick 255,737-301,279 (-45,542)
104(+25) The Neighbourhood - Softcore 254,678-264,832 (-10,154)
105(+2) Cody Johnson - 'Til You Can't 254,374 (-25,805)
106(-27) Camila Cabello, WILLOW - psychofreak 254,280 (-52,407)
107(+10) Morgan Wallen - Sand in My Boots 253,776 (-17,546)
108(+10) Playboi Carti - Sky 253,516 (-17,639)
109(+17) BoyWithUke - IDGAF 253,168 (-13,979)
111(-30) Lil Baby - In a Minute 250,588 (-53,243)
114(-9) Gunna - P power 247,061 (-33,793)
118(+12) ERNEST - Flower Shops 244,871 (-19,452)
120(=) Nardo Wick - Me or Sum 241,519 (-27,291)
128(-6) The Weeknd - Save Your Tears Remix 239,123 (-29,078)
131(+29) Vundabar - Alien Blues 237,276 (-5,711)
132(DEBUT) Cafuné - Tek It 236,474
138(-30) Jack Harlow, jetsonmade - I WANNA SEE SOME ASS 233,565 (-46,299)
139(-14) Anitta - Envolver 233,519 (-33,699)
140(-6) Tyler the Creator - Come On, Let's Go 231,045 (-30,011)
141(+4) Pharrell Williams - Just a Cloud Away 229,900 (-23,063)
148(-13) Foo Fighters - Everlong 228,142 (-32,787)
149(+3) Yeat - Poppin 228,059 (-20,055)
152(-66) CORPSE, OmenXIII - POLTERGEIST! 226,737 (-70,195)
156(-56) Russ - HANDSOMER Remix 226,188 (-58,367)
162(-18) Rauw Alejandro, Chencho Corleone - Desesperados 218,807 (-34,302)
168(-64) Fivio Foreign, Vory, Polo G - Changed On Me 216,805 (-64,809)
175(-4) Labrinth - Mount Everest 213,879 (-21,490)
176(+3) The Weeknd - Out of Time 212,957 (-19,394)
182(re-entry) Vacations - Young 210,592
186(re-entry) JVKE - this is what falling in love feels like 209,481
190(-71) Pusha T, JAY-Z, Pharrell Williams - Neck & Wrist 208,549 (-62,344)

Total Streams for Save Your Tears: 498,169

[thegreatdivine]

Apr 11, 2022 8:13:51 GMT -5 dremolus - solarpunk said:

Apr 11, 2022 7:42:57 GMT -5 thegreatdivine said:

Embrace diversity on the charts! We need all types of music doing damage.

I'd rather have nothing happen than have one of the biggest hits this year be CCM.

Well, damn. You sure don't care for CCM songs. I know they can border on generic most of the time but I've definitely heard a lot of CCM songs that were great listens.

[Enigma.]

First Class might be fading a bit too fast to be #1 on Hot 100 but it's going to be a close battle.

[lazer]

I mean it's still at 3 million streams.

[Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ]

Apr 11, 2022 9:07:35 GMT -5 thegreatdivine said:

Apr 11, 2022 8:32:18 GMT -5 phieaglesfan712 said:

And if not for I Gotta Feeling, Drake would’ve had another one with “Best I Ever Had”, which samples “Fallin In Love”.

Crazy that Drake's first entry on the Hot 100 peaked at #2. I wonder how many other examples there are of artists whose first Hot 100 entry peaked in the top 10.

not counting one-hit wonders, Ariana Grande (#9), Katy Perry (#1), Britney Spears (#1), Lady Gaga (#1), Rihanna (#2), Jennifer Lopez (#1), Mariah Carey (#1), Bruno Mars (#1)...

[dremolus - solarpunk]

Apr 11, 2022 9:28:18 GMT -5 Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ said:

Apr 11, 2022 9:07:35 GMT -5 thegreatdivine said:

Crazy that Drake's first entry on the Hot 100 peaked at #2. I wonder how many other examples there are of artists whose first Hot 100 entry peaked in the top 10.

not counting one-hit wonders, Ariana Grande (#9), Katy Perry (#1), Britney Spears (#1), Lady Gaga (#1), Rihanna (#2), Jennifer Lopez (#1), Mariah Carey (#1), Bruno Mars (#1)...

Lil Nas X as well

[Au$tin]

Apr 11, 2022 9:34:23 GMT -5 dremolus - solarpunk said:

Apr 11, 2022 9:28:18 GMT -5 Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ said:

not counting one-hit wonders, Ariana Grande (#9), Katy Perry (#1), Britney Spears (#1), Lady Gaga (#1), Rihanna (#2), Jennifer Lopez (#1), Mariah Carey (#1), Bruno Mars (#1)...

Lil Nas X as well

Avril Lavigne, P!nk, Vanessa Carlton, Meghan Trainor, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Lorde, Leona Lewis, Kesha...

The list is huge, honestly. It even includes Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron lol.

[After Minutes]

Apr 11, 2022 9:17:03 GMT -5 Enigma. said:

First Class might be fading a bit too fast to be #1 on Hot 100 but it's going to be a close battle.

This is slightly more than Harry had on his third (well, fourth but you know what I mean) day. I think it'll come down to AM. I expect First Class to stabilise around 2,8-2,6 mil on Spotify for the rest of the week, with AUW doing around 2,2-2,0, but we'll see

[dremolus - solarpunk]

Apr 11, 2022 9:08:43 GMT -5 thegreatdivine said:

Apr 11, 2022 8:13:51 GMT -5 dremolus - solarpunk said:

I'd rather have nothing happen than have one of the biggest hits this year be CCM.

Well, damn. You sure don't care for CCM songs. I know they can border on generic most of the time but I've definitely heard a lot of CCM songs that were great listens.

I'm sure there's some pleasant CCM songs out there and that CCM acts are nice, sweet people but I really do not want to hear the musical equivalent of God's Not Dead

[Au$tin]

Apr 11, 2022 10:11:08 GMT -5 dremolus - solarpunk said:

Apr 11, 2022 9:08:43 GMT -5 thegreatdivine said:

Well, damn. You sure don't care for CCM songs. I know they can border on generic most of the time but I've definitely heard a lot of CCM songs that were great listens.

I'm sure there's some pleasant CCM songs out there and that CCM acts are nice, sweet people but I really do not want to hear the musical equivalent of God's Not Dead

Tack on that it's coming from Morgan Wallen. A person I will continue to not support in any shape or fashion because at this point he relishes in his MAGA approved branding instead of condemning his followers and apologizing for his racist remarks.

If CCM is going to be a hit, let it be from someone that actually practices what the preach and lives a good Christian lifestyle, not one that uses religion as an excuse for their bigotry and only acts Christian when it benefits them.

For good CCM from genuinely good people, see for KING & COUNTRY. "Together" with Tori Kelly and Kirk Franklin is a good song. "Joy" is a bop.

[Baby Yoda Hot100Fan]

Billboard Radio Songs Estimates « 2022 » / « 04 » / « 11 »

1(=) Glass Animals - Heat Waves 86.90(+0.17)
2(=) Latto & Mariah Carey - Big Energy (Remix) [feat. DJ Khaled] 79.80(+0.68)
3(=) Lil Nas X - THATS WHAT I WANT 78.03(-0.20)
4(+1) Imagine Dragons - Enemy From League Of Legends 77.44(+1.03)
5(-1) Doja Cat - Woman 77.37(-0.86)
6(=) The Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber - Stay 74.59(-0.78)
7(=) Justin Bieber - Ghost 72.37(-0.14)
8(=) Post Malone & The Weeknd - One Right Now 56.94(-0.15)
9(=) Ed Sheeran - Bad Habits 55.73(-0.02)
10(=) GAYLE - abcdefu 53.91(-1.31)

24(+5) Harry Styles - As It Was 35.64(+2.65)

36(+2) Jnr Choi - To The Moon 30.44(+0.74)

67(+6) Em Beihold - Numb Little Bug 18.03(+0.70)

80(+12) Shawn Mendes - When You're Gone 15.44(+1.32) +

-(-) J Balvin & Ed Sheeran - Sigue 11.91(+1.09)

-(-) Pusha T - Neck & Wrist (feat. JAY-Z & Pharrell Williams) 4.63(+1.54) +

-(-) Vince Staples - MAGIC f/Mustard 3.93(+1.30) +

-(-) Daddy Yankee - X Ultima Vez f/Bad Bunny 1.22(+0.76) +

[enwhy]

Interesting that First Class doesn't have any sort of radio deal. I suspect his label was as blindsided by this massive debut as we were.

[phieaglesfan712]

I think it’s time to accept that Out of Time isn’t going anywhere and the Dawn FM era is just about over. If OoT was ever going to take off on streaming or radio, it would have already done so by now. Instead, OoT’s position on Spotify is lower than it was the day the video was released. Not to mention, it’s radio numbers are stagnant, while songs by Shawn Mendes and J Balvin/Ed Sheeran are showing healthy gains.

[Myth X]

Apr 11, 2022 9:17:03 GMT -5 Enigma. said:

First Class might be fading a bit too fast to be #1 on Hot 100 but it's going to be a close battle.

He had the same spotify streams that Harry last week. Both did arould 3 million on sunday. And Jack should be doing better numbers on Apple Music.

[thegreatdivine]

Apr 11, 2022 10:21:34 GMT -5 Au$tin said:

Apr 11, 2022 10:11:08 GMT -5 dremolus - solarpunk said:

I'm sure there's some pleasant CCM songs out there and that CCM acts are nice, sweet people but I really do not want to hear the musical equivalent of God's Not Dead

Tack on that it's coming from Morgan Wallen. A person I will continue to not support in any shape or fashion because at this point he relishes in his MAGA approved branding instead of condemning his followers and apologizing for his racist remarks.

If CCM is going to be a hit, let it be from someone that actually practices what the preach and lives a good Christian lifestyle, not one that uses religion as an excuse for their bigotry and only acts Christian when it benefits them.

For good CCM from genuinely good people, see for KING & COUNTRY. "Together" with Tori Kelly and Kirk Franklin is a good song. "Joy" is a bop.

Oh, wow. I had no idea the person releasing the CCM song was Morgan Wallen. What a crazy turnaround. I hope people don't bite.

[thegreatdivine]

First Class should manage to debut at #1 but As It Was with it's healthy gains on radio and it's stability on streaming might as well go back to #1 the following week.

[kcdawg13]

Apr 11, 2022 11:03:29 GMT -5 phieaglesfan712 said:

I think it’s time to accept that Out of Time isn’t going anywhere and the Dawn FM era is just about over. If OoT was ever going to take off on streaming or radio, it would have already done so by now. Instead, OoT’s position on Spotify is lower than it was the day the video was released. Not to mention, it’s radio numbers are stagnant, while songs by Shawn Mendes and J Balvin/Ed Sheeran are showing healthy gains.

I didn't know the Blinding Lights simp was such a Weeknd hater

Again, the song is just starting on radio, give it some time. After Delicate's run I don't write songs off so quickly anymore, because they can chart for months before reaching a high threshold.

[rainygirl]

Apr 11, 2022 11:10:26 GMT -5 thegreatdivine said:

First Class should manage to debut at #1 but As It Was with it's healthy gains on radio and it's stability on streaming might as well go back to #1 the following week.

wouldn’t be surprised if Jack dropped a remix a few weeks later with Fergie on it

[areyoureadytojump]

www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/no-2022-hits-harry-styles-1235057576/

Why Are There So Few New Hits in 2022?
By Andrew Unterberger
04/11/2022

Prior to Harry Styles' "As It Was" hitting the Billboard Hot 100, only a handful of songs released this year have made a major impact on the chart.

If you’ve been looking to catch up on the hottest new songs released in 2022, you wouldn’t find them towards the top of the Billboard Hot 100 lately. While the Hot 100 measures the biggest songs in the country every week, recently the chart has been absolutely dominated by holdovers from 2021 — some of which didn’t begin their chart runs in 2022, some of which have only hit their peaks in 2022, and some of which have just continued to hang around the listing many months (a couple even close to a year) after reaching their chart apex.

In fact, if you look at last week’s chart, dated April 9, more than three months into the calendar year, you’ll find more songs in the both the top 10 (Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves,” No. 1) and top 20 (Dua Lipa’s “Levitating,” No. 15) that were released in 2020 than in 2022 — with the latter year only represented by Yahritza y Su Esencia’s brand new “Soy El Unico,” a debut entry at No. 20. (The Weeknd’s “Save Your Tears,” at No. 17, also began its chart journey a full two years earlier, in April 2020, though the Ariana Grande remix it’s currently credited for did not impact the chart until May 2021.)


“We’ve been seeing this trend develop over quite a few years now,” says John Fleckenstein, chief operating officer at RCA, who believes the contemporary predominance of streaming is simply more accurately reflecting the way listeners have likely always consumed music. “I would imagine, if you looked at someone’s consumption, it looks a little bit like a bell curve, where they start to discover the song, and they start to get excited about it, and they listen to it A LOT for a period of time. But I think when you do that across millions of people, you see this very long tail, and you see songs last a very long time. And I think that’s what you’re seeing on the charts.”

Still, streaming has been the major driving force in the music industry for over a half-decade now, and the lack of brand new major hits in 2022 stands in stark contrast to even just a year earlier. Look back at the Hot 100 dated April 10, 2021, and not only are each of the chart’s top five — Lil Nas X’s “Montero (Call Me by Your Name),” Justin Bieber’s “Peaches,” featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon, Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open,” Cardi B’s “Up” and Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” — all releases from that year, they were all long-lasting (and ultimately chart-topping) hits, three of them even debuting at No. 1. By comparison, only two 2022 songs had even debuted in the Hot 100’s top 10 as of the April 9 Hot 100 — Nicki Minaj & Lil Baby’s “Do We Have a Problem?” and Gunna and Future’s “Pushin P,” featuring Young Thug, neither of which have topped the chart. (“We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” the Hot 100-topping smash from the ubiquitous Encanto soundtrack, did not debut on the chart until 2022, but it was released in late 2021 and went viral after the film came to Disney+ late last December.)


Though streaming may be supreme in the marketplace right now, the top of the Hot 100 this year has arguably looked more reflective of the radio landscape, where the biggest songs are staying stronger for longer, as dictated by audience research — a trend that largely kicked off during the comfort-seeking early days of the pandemic, but which is even more the case now. “Songs just aren’t dying — they’re lasting forever,” says Erik Bradley, assistant program director/music director at Chicago’s CHR station WBBM-FM (B96). “I mean, ‘Save Your Tears’ will not stop researching. You just think, ‘It’s gotta be gone, it’s gotta be gone…’ And every week, it still sits up there in the top two or three positions. [‘Woman’ by] Doja Cat, same thing… They’re still among [our audience’s] very, very favorite songs that we can possibly play.”

While radio support is lasting longer than ever, it’s also currently taking a while to kick in for songs that have already proven through other metrics to be culturally impactful — which Epic Records evp and head of A&R Ezekiel Lewis believes is contributing to the current dearth of 2022 hits from 2022. “As time goes on, we’re increasingly in more of a kind of ‘show-and-prove’ era of record releases,” he says, “whereby the gatekeepers are increasingly looking to the digital space to see the cultural relevance of a track. So you put a record out, you become sticky in the digital space… and then things that really help affect the Billboard chart, like radio audience — they kinda lag behind.” It’s not until you get “synchronicity between the digital and cultural aspects of a record,” Lewis says, that its chart potential is fully realized.

That explanation is certainly borne out by looking at some of the hits currently occupying space in the Hot 100’s top 10 — like GAYLE’s “abcdefu,” Imagine Dragons and J.I.D.’s “Enemy,” and Kodak Black’s “Super Gremlin” — which started to take off on TikTok (which does not currently contribute its totals to Billboard‘s charts) and crossed over to streaming services in late 2021, but only climbed to their current chart peaks after radio support started to kick in this calendar year. But it’s also telling that, for as much impact as viral platforms like TikTok have to create immediate interest in a song, it hasn’t resulted in the same volume of instant smashes (like “Soy El Unico,” a rare top 20 debut from a relatively unknown artist) that it might have even a couple years earlier.


“TikTok is [still] throwing up [hits], but the question is, ‘Is it going to the level that it went to before?'” muses another A&R source. “I mean, Arizona Zervas, [Lil] Nas X – there was this run, from 2019 to mid-12020, where when something went on that platform, it went. And I think, to a large extent, you can still attribute most new breakthroughs to TikTok. I just don’t know if they’re as ubiquitous, or so dominant on the platform that they translate in the same way that they were before.”

Part of the issue might be that the impact of TikTok is more spread out now — not just in terms of minting new hits, but resurrecting old ones, and also discovering catalog in-betweeners that were never really hits in the first place, and are now embraced by listeners as if they were brand new. While a TikTok video from user doggface208 famously propelled Fleetwood Mac’s classic “Dreams” back to the Hot 100’s top 15 in 2020, in the years since, such revitalized catalog entries (Arctic Monkeys’ “505,” Frank Ocean’s “Lost,” Pharrell Williams’ “Just a Cloud Away”) are increasingly un-tethered to any one clip or cultural moment. Instead, their rise in the streaming space comes as gradually and nearly as unstoppably as modern hits by Dua Lipa and The Weeknd, and then lasts for nearly as long — occupying space that might have previously belonged to more traditional new releases.

“It’s taking longer and longer for people and songs to get to critical mass, so I think these resurgent records… we’re going to see more and more of that stuff,” says the A&R source. “Where songs are out, it’s a great song, it got a marketing push, it maybe even was worked to radio, didn’t quite work… It didn’t find the cultural context, or the awareness, or the right trend for people to engage with it and discover it. And they’re gonna pop back up.”


The industry’s search for such quick-fire hits has also come, sources interviewed for this article say, at the cost of long-term artist development. “There’s one end of the business right now that’s very focused on that algorithmic hit play, like finding songs that are moving because audiences are being served up that particular sound on a repeat basis, and trying to chase that,” says Fleckenstein, whose RCA artists claim several of the biggest success stories of the past year (Doja Cat’s unstoppable Planet Her blockbuster, Latto’s current Hot 100 top 10 hit “Big Energy,” SZA’s enduring R&B hit “I Hate U,” Lucky Daye’s currently rising “Over”). “From an RCA perspective – we are, and we have been, and we will always be, a principal artist development machine. And our successes, when you look at our artists, whether it’s H.E.R., or Doja, or Khalid or SZA, you’re talking about projects that were in development for years.”

And part of the lack of brand-new 2022 hits in 2022 is simply the relative lack of those previously developed A-listers releasing new music. That previously mentioned 2021 top five included releases by a handful of proven hitmakers in Cardi B, Justin Bieber and Bruno Mars (of Silk Sonic) — the type of superstars who we just haven’t seen much new music from in 2022, with only a handful of exceptions over the year’s first three months. Even in some of those rare cases, radio superstars like The Weeknd (who dropped his new Dawn FM album in January) and Dua Lipa (whose Megan Thee Stallion collab “Sweetest Pie” debuted in March) have faced the additional challenge of competing with themselves — with both artists still having multiple hits from 2020 and 2021 still hanging around the top 40.

A new run of instant smashes by proven A-listers may be on its way, though — as potentially heralded by the arrival of the first true runaway hit to be released in 2022, Harry Styles’ “As It Was.” The much-anticipated lead single from the global superstar’s upcoming third album Harry’s House, “As It Was” was an instant mega-success on streaming services and a rapturously received addition to radio playlists upon its March 31 release. Not far behind may be ascendant rapper Jack Harlow, who topped the Hot 100 for the first time last in 2021 alongside Lil Nas X on “Industry Baby,” and even passed Styles’ debut numbers on Spotify over the weekend with the release of his TikTok-hyped “First Class” single.


The influx of big releases, combined with some calendar catch-up, could mean the paucity of brand new 2022 hits may not last for much longer. “I think in two or three months, we’re going to be having a different conversation [about 2022 hits],” Lewis predicts. “Because first of all, you’re going to have more big names dropping. But secondarily, some of these songs that have dropped top of this year will have caught up to themselves, in terms of all the different metrics that need to be firing on 100 percent for you to really see [their impact] on the chart.”

And perhaps, as the weather warms, some of the persistent hits from 2021 and 2020 will also finally start to melt away. “I feel like [those older hits] are starting to kinda slow a little bit,” Bradley says. “I’m hoping that that is what happens. Because y’know, as a music fan, and a person who loves new artists and new projects and all of that, I wanna see some fresh new life coming into play, too — but at the same time, I also wanna make sure that my brands are playing hit songs, y’know? So I’m in a little bit of a pickle in the whole thing. But I feel like there’s a lot of great material on the horizon. So I’m very optimistic.”

[kindofbiased]

I really think the spring is gonna be a battle between As It Was and First Class for #1 for the foreseeable future, both of them should have multiple chances to go back to #1 (the album release weeks, First Class music video, etc)

[Music Fan]

Apr 11, 2022 10:21:34 GMT -5 Au$tin said:

Apr 11, 2022 10:11:08 GMT -5 dremolus - solarpunk said:

I'm sure there's some pleasant CCM songs out there and that CCM acts are nice, sweet people but I really do not want to hear the musical equivalent of God's Not Dead

Tack on that it's coming from Morgan Wallen. A person I will continue to not support in any shape or fashion because at this point he relishes in his MAGA approved branding instead of condemning his followers and apologizing for his racist remarks.

If CCM is going to be a hit, let it be from someone that actually practices what the preach and lives a good Christian lifestyle, not one that uses religion as an excuse for their bigotry and only acts Christian when it benefits them.

For good CCM from genuinely good people, see for KING & COUNTRY. "Together" with Tori Kelly and Kirk Franklin is a good song. "Joy" is a bop.

To be fair, lets stop with the narrative that he didn't apologize, nor that he hasn't tried to right his wrongs: www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2021/09/22/morgan-wallen-kept-his-pledge-donate-money-black-serving-groups/5788855001/.

Whether you want to accept that or not is, of course, your prerogative.