The Contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week, for the Billboard Hot 100 dated Aug. 31, we look at the closest race for No. 1 in weeks, as Shaboozey’s long-running No. 1 looks to maintain its throne the same week a new Post Malone album and a new Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars duet are released.
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Shaboozey, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” (American Dogwood/EMPIRE/Magnolia Music) : In this summer of massive releases and new superstars, “A Bar Song” has emerged as the little pop-country-hip-hop song that could. Not only was Shaboozey’s genre-blending breakout hit able to keep building on its early momentum long enough for it to capture the Hot 100’s No. 1 spot, but it has led for six nonconsecutive weeks now – tying it with one of its primary competitors on next week’s Hot 100 for the longest-reigning No. 1 within this calendar year.
What’s more, its dominance has been total: For the last two weeks, “A Bar Song” has reigned simultaneously on each of the Hot 100’s three component charts: Streaming Songs, Radio Songs and Digital Song Sales. It becomes the only song this decade to hold that triple-crown achievement for multiple weeks; Adele’s “Easy on Me” (2021) was the only other song to rule concurrently on all three rankings even for a single frame.
It seems unlikely that “A Bar Song” will hit the chart trifecta for a third consecutive week: It has been No. 2 on the iTunes realtime sales chart for the great majority of this tracking week, and has fallen out of the top three on both the Spotify and Apple Music daily rankings. But radio remains incredibly strong for the crossover smash, as it remains atop the Pop Airplay and Country Airplay charts this week, and continues climbing the Adult Pop Airplay chart, up 5-3.
Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen, “I Had Some Help” (Mercury/Big Loud/Republic): Falling right behind “A Bar Song” for all six of Shaboozey’s weeks atop the Hot 100 has been “I Had Some Help,” itself also a six-week No. 1. While the song trails “Bar Song” on all component charts this week, the reigning Song of the Summer frontrunner remains in the top three of each – never more a stone’s throw away from recapturing the edge on Shaboozey’s smash, should it receive a slight uptick in momentum from somewhere.
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That help has arrived this week, in the form of Post Malone’s full-length country album F-1 Trillion . The set, which is likely to debut atop the Billboard 200 next week, has blanketed the charts at DSPs with its 18 tracks (27 in its subsequently released Long Bed deluxe edition) since its release last Friday (Aug. 16) — with “Help” naturally leading the way. The Morgan Wallen teamup rebounded to the top of both Spotify and Apple Music’s daily charts in the days following the album’s drop. Though it has since been passed on both listings, it remains a real challenger to pass “A Bar Song” on next week’s chart – perhaps in a photo finish.
Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars, “Die With a Smile” (Streamline/ Interscope /Atlantic/ICLG) : The much-hyped duet between these two longtime hitmakers – combined Hot 100 No. 1s tally: 13 – did not initially seem like a real challenger for the top spot when it debuted at No. 13 on Spotify’s Daily Top Songs USA chart upon its Friday release, a strong but modest bow. But in the days since, Gaga and Bruno’s teamup has continued to climb, and as of Wednesday (Aug. 21) it is now No. 1 on both the Spotify and Apple Music daily charts – in addition to ruling the realtime iTunes chart essentially since it was released.
The duet’s strong presence in sales and late surge on streaming should have it in the mix for a top five debut at the least – though it will still be fighting something of an uphill battle to claim the top spot, as it obviously trails on the airwaves to the long-dominant “A Bar Song” and “I Had Some Help.” It is off to a strong start there, however, as it is set to debut on the Adult Pop Airplay and Adult Contemporary (top 20) charts, as well as on Pop Airplay (top 30).
Billie Eilish, “Birds of a Feather” (Darkroom/Interscope/ICLG) : Don’t forget about Billie Elish, whose “Birds of a Feather” officially ties its Hit Me Hard and Soft albummate “Lunch” by rising to a new No. 5 peak on the Hot 100 this week, while rising in streams, radio airplay and sales. The boost it got from Eilish’s performance at the Olympics’ closing ceremonies the prior Sunday might level off a bit, but the song continues to gain on the airwaves – it could go top 10 on Radio Songs next week, and is already top 10 on Pop Airplay — while remaining strong on iTunes and streaming, which means “Birds” may be flying even higher in the weeks to come.
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