The pop/R&B singer crowns the chart for the first time, while One Direction launches the highest debut of the year with ‘Drag Me Down.’
It’s a big week for The Weeknd, as the Hot 100 Music Festival headliner scores his first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Can’t Feel My Face,” which rises 2-1. The song dethrones OMI‘s “Cheerleader” after four weeks at No. 1.
Plus, One Direction blasts in at No. 3 with “Drag Me Down,” marking the Hot 100’s highest debut of 2015 and the boy band’s best sales week of its career.
As we do each Monday, let’s run down the top 10 and more on the Hot 100 (dated Aug. 22). As a reminder, highlights of the airplay/sales/streaming-based Hot 100 now post on Billboard.com each Monday, with all charts updated on Tuesday, following the July 10 adoption of the Friday retail global release date.
The Weeknd’s “Face,” released on XO/Republic Records, tops the Hot 100 after spending three weeks waiting at No. 2. It becomes the 1,045th No. 1 in the history of the chart, which began on Aug. 4, 1958. As on the Hot 100, “Face” takes over at No. 1 on the Radio Songs chart (2-1), up by 5 percent to 152 million audience impressions, according to Nielsen Music. Despite the July 28 premiere of its official video on Apple Music and its wider release the following day, the track drops 1-2 after a week atop the Digital Songs chart, with 134,000 downloads sold (down 9 percent) in the week ending Aug. 6. It jumps 5-4 on Streaming Songs (15.4 million, up 18 percent), good for the top Streaming Gainer award on the Hot 100.
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The Weeknd (born Abel Tesfaye) tallies his first Hot 100 No. 1 after three prior top 10s, all in the past year: “Love Me Harder,” with Ariana Grande, reached No. 7 in November; “Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)” hit No. 3 in May (and No. 1 on Radio Songs); and “The Hills” rolled to No. 10 three weeks ago.
Both “Face” and “The Hills” are from The Weeknd’s second studio album, Beauty Behind the Madness, due Aug. 28. The set is due to feature collaborations with Lana Del Rey, Labrinth and Ed Sheeran.
“Face” also leads Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for a fourth week and adds another No. 1 ranking: it rises 2-1 on the Pop Songs radio airplay chart.
Even with a new leader, turnover atop the Hot 100 in 2015 remains at a record-tying slow pace, as “Face” is just the fifth song to ascend to No. 1 this year. That equals three other years in which only five songs had also risen to No. 1 from Jan. 1 through charts dated Aug. 22: 1995, 1997 and 2005.
With The Weeknd’s ascension, OMI’s “Cheerleader” drops 1-2 on the Hot 100 after four weeks on top. Still, the pop/reggae smash rises 3-2 on Radio Songs (144 million, up 4 percent). It pushes 3-2 on Streaming Songs (16 million, down 1 percent) and descends 2-3 on Digital Songs (129,000 downloads sold, down 13 percent).
The Weeknd’s “Face” wins a tight race over “Cheerleader” atop the Hot 100, with the former up by 5 percent in overall activity and the latter down by 3 percent.
Rounding out a busy top three on the Hot 100, One Direction rockets in at No. 3 with “Drag Me Down,” which arrives as the highest debut this year. The song bests the No. 8 start of Maroon 5’s “Sugar” (which reached No. 2) in January. It’s the best opening since Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” became the 22nd song to debut at No. 1 nearly a year ago (Sept. 6, 2014).
“Drag” is 1D’s first recording released since former member Zayn Malik departed the then-quintet in March. The track is the lead single from the group’s forthcoming fifth studio album, due later this year.
Upon its Hot 100 debut, “Drag” becomes One Direction’s fifth top 10. Its introductory smash “What Makes You Beautiful” soared to No. 4 in 2012, followed by “Live While We’re Young” (No. 3, where it debuted, 2012), “Best Song Ever” (No. 2, also its debut, 2013) and “Story of My Life” (No. 6, 2013).
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“Drag” debuts atop Digital Songs as One Direction’s third No. 1 on the list, following “Live” and “Best.” With 349,000 first-week downloads sold, “Drag” tops the 341,000 that “Live” sold in its debut week (Oct. 20, 2012) for the act’s best sales week for a song. It also roars onto Streaming Songs at No. 12 (8.5 million in its first week), notably without the benefit of a proper official video, and enters as the group’s first No. 1 on the subscription services-based On-Demand Songs chart (7 million on-demand U.S. streams). It additionally boasts 17 million (up 51 percent) in radio audience.
Silento‘s “Watch Me” drops to No. 4 from its No. 3 peak, while leading Streaming Songs (20.7 million, up 8 percent) and Hot Rap Songs for a third week each.
Rounding out the Hot 100’s top five, Major Lazer and DJ Snake rise 6-5, reaching a new peak with “Lean On,” featuring MO. The collab adds top Airplay Gainer honors for a second week, lifting 7-5 on Radio Songs (99 million, up 16 percent). It climbs 10-7 on Streaming Songs (11.6 million, up 6 percent) and 10-9 on Digital Songs (71,000, essentially even with last week’s total).
“Lean” is the first top five Hot 100 hit for Major Lazer and MO and the second for DJ Snake, following “Turn Down for What” (with Lil Jon), which peaked at No. 4 last year. “Lean” additionally leads the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart for a fourth week.
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Capping the Hot 100’s top 10, Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood,” featuring Kendrick Lamar, drops 4-6, with the former Hot 100 No. 1 (on the chart dated June 6) falling 1-3 on Radio Songs after five weeks in the lead; Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song” hits a new high (9-7); Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again,” featuring Charlie Puth, slides 5-8 after the Furious 7 smash spent 12 weeks at the Hot 100’s summit, tying for the longest stay at No. 1 ever for a rap hit; and Fetty Wap again posts two songs in the top 10: his former No. 2 hit “Trap Queen” (7-9) and “My Way,” featuring Monty, down 8-10 after reaching No. 7.
In action just below the Hot 100’s top 10, The Weeknd’s “The Hills” bullets at No. 11; Selena Gomez’s “Good for You,” featuring A$AP Rocky, keeps at No. 13 (after debuting at its No. 9 high six weeks ago); and Sheeran’s “Photograph” hits a new high, rising 20-18 and snapping up a top 10 rank on Radio Songs (12-8; 83 million, up 8 percent). Find out more news of note beneath the top 10 in the weekly “Hot 100 Chart Moves” column to post later this week.
Visit Billboard.com tomorrow (Aug. 11), when all rankings, including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh, as they do each Tuesday. The Hot 100 and other charts will also appear in the next issue of Billboard magazine, on sale on Friday (Aug. 14).
