USA
Billboard Report (excerpt)
Morgan Wallen hits sixth week at No.1
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
by Keith Caulfield & Gary Trust, Los Angeles

Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album snares a 6th total week, all in a row, at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart (dated Feb. 27), capturing the most weeks atop the list for a

male artist’s album since Drake’s Views logged 13 nonconsecutive weeks in the lead in 2016 (May 21-Oct. 8, 2016-dated charts). Dangerous earned 93,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Feb. 18 (down 38%), according to MRC Data. Dangerous bowed atop the list five weeks ago, on the chart dated Jan. 23. Only three albums have spent at least six weeks at No. 1 in the last five years: Dangerous, Taylor Swift’s Folklore (eight nonconsecutive weeks, 2020) and Drake’s Views (13). Of Dangerous’ 93,000 equivalent album units earned in the tracking week ending Feb. 18, SEA units comprise 81,000 (down 24%, equaling 112.11 million on-demand streams of the album’s songs), album sales comprise 10,000 (down 74%) and TEA units comprise 2,000 (down 64%). At No. 2 on the Billboard 200, The Weeknd’s After Hours surges 37-2 with 42,000 equivalent album units earned (up 183%). It’s the first of two albums in the top 10 by

The Weeknd, as his best-of package The Highlights dips 2-8 in its second week with 31,000 units (down 65%). The two albums share a pair of songs, “Blinding Lights” and “Save Your Tears.” On the latest chart, the TEA and SEA units for both songs contribute to After Hours, as a song’s activity is assigned to the artist’s album with the most sales in a week. (After Hours sold 6,000 copies in the latest tracking week, while The Highlights sold 4,000.) A week ago, the TEA and SEA for both songs was directed to The Highlights (which in that frame outsold After Hours 10,000 to 6,000). In turn, with the songs’ activity reverting back to After Hours, the album vaults from 37-2. Lil Durk’s The Voice climbs 5-3 on the Billboard 200 with 40,000 equivalent album units earned (down 20%), while Pop Smoke’s former No. 1 Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon rises 6-4 with 38,000 units (down 8%) and Pooh Shiesty’s Shiesty Season falls 4-5 in its second week with 37,000 units (down 40%). Taylor Swift’s former No. 1 Evermore bumps back into the top 10 with an 11-6 rise (33,000 equivalent album units earned; up 16%). Of that sum, 12,000 are in album sales -- up 70%. The album had a robust sales bump thanks to the release of the cassette edition of the album, as well as buzz and promotion generated by Swift’s Feb. 10 announcement that she would be re-recording her chart-topping 2008 Fearless album. Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia surges back into the top 10 for the first time in 10 months, as the album jumps 21-7 with 32,000 equivalent album units earned (up 58%). Its big gain is owed to the album’s deluxe reissue on Feb. 12 with six additional songs, including its new radio hit “We’re Good.” The cut debuted at No. 31 on the most recently published Pop Airplay chart (dated Feb. 20). Future Nostalgia debuted and peaked at No. 4 on the April 11, 2020-dated chart, and has now spent a total of four weeks in the top 10. Rounding out the rest of the top 10 on the latest Billboard 200: The Weeknd’s The Highlights at No. 8, Ariana Grande’s Positions (7-9 with 30,000 equivalent album units earned; down 7%) and Juice WRLD’s Legends Never Die (8-10 with 28,000 units; down 5%). Olivia Rodrigo's "Drivers License" rolls to a sixth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, encompassing its entire run on the chart so far after it debuted atop the chart five weeks ago. "License" was released Jan. 8 on Geffen / Interscope Records and debuted atop the Jan. 23-dated Hot 100, marking Rodrigo's first No. 1. The song from the singer-songwriter and actress, who broke through with roles on Disney Channel's Bizaardvark and Disney+'s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, totaled 22.4 million U.S. streams (down 19%) and 10,000 downloads sold (down 42%) in the week ending Feb. 18, according to MRC Data. It also drew 59.1 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 11%) in the week ending Feb. 21. The track holds at No. 2 after four weeks atop the all-genre Streaming Songs chart, reaches the Radio Songs top five, pushing 7-5, and retreats 4-8 after three weeks atop Digital Song Sales. Ariana Grande's "34+35" surges 6-2 on the Hot 100 after first reaching the rank four weeks earlier, when it was sparked by the Jan. 15 release of its remix featuring Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion. Now, the song returns to its high following the Feb. 12 premiere of its official video starring all three artists, and the release that day of the deluxe edition of parent album Positions. "34+35" ascends with 60.2 million in airplay audience (up 2%), 18.1 million streams (up 35%) and 16,000 sold (up 863%), the latter two metrics good for the song's dual wins for top Streaming and Sales Gainer on the Hot 100. Lil Tjay's "Calling My Phone," featuring 6LACK, bounds onto the Hot 100 at No. 3, after buzz for the song built via previews on TikTok. Released in full Feb. 12, it opens with 34 million streams, 1.4 million in radio reach and 3,000 sold. The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" dips 3-4 on the Hot 100. The song spent four weeks at No. 1 last April-May (eventually finishing as the Hot 100's top hit of all of 2020) and logs its 63rd total week on the chart. It adds a record-extending and landmark 50th week in the top 10 and record-furthering 41st week in the top five. The track also claims a record-padding 47th frame atop the multi-metric Hot R&B Songs chart. Cardi B's "Up" drops to No. 5 a week after it debuted at No. 2 on the Hot 100, and The Weeknd's "Save Your Tears" falls to No. 6 from its No. 4 high. 24kGoldn's "Mood," featuring Iann Dior, descends 5-7 on the Hot 100, after eight nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 in October through mid-January. It leads the multi-metric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Alternative Songs charts for a 25th week each. Chris Brown and Young Thug's "Go Crazy" backtracks 7-8 on the Hot 100, after hitting No. 5, as it adds a sixth week atop Radio Songs (79.1 million in audience, down 1%). Rounding out the Hot 100's top 10, Dua Lipa's "Levitating," featuring DaBaby, slips 8-9, after reaching No. 5, and Ariana Grande's "Positions" falls 9-10, after spending its first week on the chart at No. 1 in November.

Record Of The Month

United Kingdom
Music Week (excerpt)
Rapper Tyron 'Slowthai' Frampton shoots at number one
Monday, February 22, 2021
by Alan Jones, London

For the 26th week running, the No.1 album changes hands as last week's champions Foo Fighters are eclipsed by yet another new release. The 25th different album to top the charts in the last six months is Tyron, the second full-length release from British rapper Tyron "Slowthai" Frampton. Two years on from his notoriety-forging

Mercury Prize nomination and a No.9 peak for his debut album Nothing Great About Britain (which has 52,681 lifetime sales to its name) the 26-year-old from Northampton has far and away the most-purchased album of the week. 10,840 of Tyron's total chart sale of 16,940 came via physical copies, the kind of proportions we expect to see from rock rather than rap albums. Three of the album's cuts make the singles chart in tandem with its release. In order they are Cancelled (featuring Skepta) at No.39 (8,676 sales), Terms (No.71, 5,482 sales) and Mazza (No.72, 5,440 sales). Shedding over 80% of its first week sales Medicine At Midnight still moves 8,338 copies second time out to hold second place for The Foo Fighters. It means they finish narrowly ahead of the second-most in demand release of the week, Who Am I from Pale Waves whose 8,195 sales take it to No.3. The second album from the Manchester group, it beats the chart run of 2018 debut

My Mind Makes Noises which topped out at No.8. The deluxe Moonlight Edition of Dua Lipa's much lauded Future Nostalgia album adds b-sides, collaborations and some token new recordings to its tracklisting and the resultant renewed interest means the near year-old release more than doubles its consumption week on week. A sale of 6,730 propels Future Nostalgia to No.4 and takes its lifetime sales to a pleasingly symmetrical 296,296. Dua's self-titled debut still leads the way in sales with a total of 707,015 to its name. The Top 5 is rounded out by The Weeknd's The Highlights which drifts to No.5 (6,347 sales). It is a new era in several ways for Taylor Momsen and The Pretty Reckless, their fourth album Death By Rock And Roll not only their first for a new American label but their first new material since longtime producer and collaborator Kato Khandwala passed away in 2018. No.6 with 5,119 is enough to match the chart peak of their 2010 debut Light Me Up as their biggest hit album to date. That album remains their biggest seller, accumulating 110,972 sales since release. Album sales overall remain reassuringly steady, this week's total of 1,794,554 representing a 0.6% week on week rise. Physical sales however dip 9.63% to 304,273 and are down to just 16.96% of the market, their lowest share for six weeks. Vulnerable to a challenge for the first time since release, Drivers License by Olivia Rodrigo had a genuine fight on its hands this week to enjoy a sixth week at No.1. It does so by the narrowest margin so far, its chart sales falling to 52,305 (a mere 2,155 of these from paid downloads), just 1,688 ahead of its closest challenger. All eyes next week will be on whether the track can become the first in over a year to enjoy seven straight weeks at the top of the charts. For the first time that is by no means a certainty. Leading the race for most of the week was newcomer Calling My Phone by Lil Tjay and 6lack, but the heartfelt Drake-inspired hit settles into second place, its 50,617 sales the highest accumulated by any No.2 single far this year. It is the biggest hit of the six to date for US star Lil Tjay, best known on these shores for his turn on Mood Swings by the late Pop Smoke which peaked at No.5 last summer. His companion on the single, 28-year-old Ricardo Valentine Jnr, has been waiting patiently in the wings for some time. His only previous British chart outing was a cameo role on the Khalid track OTW, a No.60 entry back in May 2018. A sales increase to 39,648 still cannot stop Wellerman from Nathan Evans sliding a place to No.3. Don't Play from Anne-Marie / KSI / Digital Farm Animals is locked in place at No.4 even as the release of a new acoustic remix boosts its consumption to 32,224. Kid Laroi's Without You is also up in sales to 31,147 but down a chart place to No.5. There are also new peaks inside the Top 10 for Tiesto with The Business up to No.6 (29,208 sales) and Goosebumps by HVME (No.9, 22,391) while Friday by Riton x Nightcrawlers arrives in the Top 10 for the first time at No.10 (22,360 sales). A sudden surge in streaming (romantic tracks for Valentine’s night perhaps) sends singles sales soaring 4.23% week on week to their highest level since Christmas, totalling 21,916,096. Paid sales rise 2.31% to stand at 444,536.