USA
Billboard Report (excerpt)
Morgan Wallen leads both major hitlists again
Tuesday, May 30, 2023
by Keith Caulfield & Gary Trust, Los Angeles

Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” adds an eighth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. Released on Big Loud / Mercury / Republic Records, drew 65.4 million radio airplay

audience impressions (up 3%) and 32.7 million streams (down 1%) and sold 9,000 downloads (up 1%) in the May 19-25 tracking week, according to Luminate. The song, which first led the Hot 100 in March, becoming Wallen’s initial leader on the list, notches a 10th week at No. 1 on the Streaming Songs chart; drops 2-5 on Digital Song Sales, following a week on top; and keeps at its No. 5 best on Radio Songs. Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” rebounds 3-2 on the Hot 100, after eight weeks at No. 1 beginning upon its debut in January. It posts a 15th week atop Radio Songs (89.7 million in audience, down 2%). SZA’s “Kill Bill” lifts 4-3 on the Hot 100, after it became her first No. 1, for a week in April. Rema and Selena Gomez’s “Calm Down” reaches a new Hot 100 high, rising 6-4. Toosii’s “Favorite Song” pushes 8-5 to hit the Hot 100’s top five for the first time. Aided by a new remix with Future, released May 19, to go along with a previously-available version with Khalid and

sped-up and instrumental options, plus a “Midnight Session” mix, the track surges 17-1 on Digital Song Sales (17,000 sold, up 471%), as Toosii reigns in his initial appearance on the chart. The track also climbs 8-5 on Streaming Songs (22.4 million, up 12%) – as it wins the Hot 100’s top Sales and Streaming Gainer awards – and 17-14 on Radio Airplay (36.4 million, up 15%). Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma’s “Ella Baila Sola” recedes 5-6 on the Hot 100, after hitting No. 4 – the best rank ever for a regional Mexican song. The collaboration claims an eighth week at No. 1 on the multi-metric Hot Latin Songs chart. Lil Durk’s “All My Life,” featuring J. Cole, falls to No. 7 on the Hot 100, a week after it soared in at No. 2. Bad Bunny’s “Where She Goes” bounds onto the Hot 100 at No. 8, with 23.4 million streams, 2.9 million in radio reach and 2,000 sold in its first full week (May 19-25), following its May 18 release. The Spanish-language song arrives as the star’s 10th top 10, and second this year, after “Un x100to,” with Grupo Frontera, hit No. 5 earlier in May. “Where She Goes” marks Bad Bunny’s first Hot 100 entry with no accompanying artists since he released his LP Un Verano Sin Ti, which controlled the Billboard 200 for 13 weeks in May-October 2022 and generated four Hot 100 top 10s. Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10: Metro Boomin, The Weeknd and 21 Savage’s “Creepin’ ” slides 7-9, after hitting No. 3, and Luke Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” backs up from No. 9 to No. 10 a week after it reached the region, although it takes top Airplay Gainer honors (19.8 million, up 52%). Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time spends a 12th week in a row, and in total, atop the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated June 3) – the most weeks at No. 1 for a country album in over 30 years. As the album surpasses the 11-week reign of Taylor Swift’s Fearless in 2008-09, Wallen’s set has the most weeks at No. 1 for a country album since Billy Ray Cyrus’ Some Gave All, which notched 17 weeks, all consecutively, atop the list (June 13-Oct. 3, 1992-dated charts). One Thing at a Time earned 129,000 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending May 25 (down 4%), according to Luminate. One Thing at a Time continues to have the most weeks in a row at No. 1 since the Titanic soundtrack ruled at No. 1 for 16 consecutive weeks in 1998 (its entire run at No. 1, Jan. 24-May 9 of that year). The last album to spend at least 12 weeks in total at No. 1 was Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti, which notched 13 nonconsecutive weeks atop the list in May-October 2022. Of One Thing at a Time’s 129,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending May 25, SEA units comprise 121,000 (down 3%, equaling 162.52 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 36 songs), album sales comprise 6,000 (down 30%) and TEA units comprise 2,000 (up less than 1%). SZA’s chart-topping SOS jumps 5-2 with 77,000 equivalent album units earned (up 52%) following the album’s release on CD and vinyl on May 19. The set sold 29,000 copies across all formats (physical and digital) – up 22,963% from a negligible sum the previous week. SOS was released on Dec. 9, 2022, via streaming services and to purchase as a digital download album. Taylor Swift’s Midnights falls 2-3 with 58,000 equivalent album units (down 4%), while Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous climbs 6-4 with 47,000 units (down 2%). Dave Matthews Band achieves its 14th top 10-charting album on the Billboard 200 as its new studio effort Walk Around the Moon debuts at No. 5. It’s the act’s first new studio set since 2018. The new album earned 44,000 equivalent album units in its first week. Of that sum, album sales comprise 40,000 (making it the top-selling album of the week), SEA units comprise 4,000 (equaling 5.45 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum. The album’s first-week sales were supported by multiple vinyl editions, including exclusive color variants for the band’s fan club and webstore, Barnes & Noble, independent record stores and Target. Taylor Swift’s former No. 1 Lover jumps 10-6 with 38,000 equivalent album units earned (up 1%). That’s the highest rank for the 2019 set since that December, sparked by Swift performing songs from it live for the first time on her ongoing juggernaut The Eras Tour. Ghost’s five-song covers project Phantomime debuts at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 with 36,000 equivalent album units earned. It’s the fourth top 10 for the band, and second in a little over a year, following Impera, which debuted and peaked at No. 2 (March 26, 2022-dated chart). Of Phantomime’s 36,000 units earned, album sales comprise 34,000, SEA units comprise 2,000 (equaling 2.67 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum. The set’s first-week sales were bolstered by its availability across a variety of physical formats, including multiple vinyl LPs (including exclusives color variants for independent record stores, Target and Urban Outfitters) and even a cassette tape. Luke Combs’ Gettin’ Old rises 12-8 on the Billboard 200 with 34,000 equivalent album units earned (down 3%), Bad Bunny’s former No. 1, Un Verano Sin Ti, ascends 11-9 with nearly 34,000 (down 4%) and Zach Bryan’s American Heartbreak bumps 15-10 with 32,000 (up 5%).

Record Of The Month
Never before in history a regional Mexican song was such a great success globally:
'Ella Baila Sola' by Eslabon Armado with guest vocalist Peso Pluma

United Kingdom
Music Week Report (excerpt)
Lewis Capaldi storms atop the album list
Monday, May 29, 2023
by Alan Jones, London
 
With memories of Eurovision fading, only one of the four songs that gate-crashed the Top 10 last week remains in the top tier, and it poses no challenge to Miracle, which secures a comfortable fifth week in a row (seventh in total) at No.1 for Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding, on consumption of 44,291 units

(1,359 digital downloads, 42,932 sales-equivalent streams) – an increase of 4.51%. The sole survivor of those Eurovision songs is Tattoo – but a 22.83% dip in consumption of the Loreen track see it fall 2-4 (29,992 sales). Nevertheless, it is the first Eurovision entry to have two consecutive weeks in the Top 5 since Gina G’s Ooh Ahh…Just A Little Bit in 1996. Taking advantage of the situation, David Kushner’s debut Top 10 hit, Daylight, returns to runners-up spot, despite itself suffering a 2.22% dip in consumption to 35,153 units. Moving 3-2-2-2-3-2 since release, it has seen its overall consumption fall four weeks in a row. The highest of eight Top 75 debuts is Say Yes To Heaven, a brand new Lana Del Rey song that opens at No.9 (22,828 sales), becoming her 26th hit in all, and sixth Top 10 entry. It is her first Top 10 entry in a solo capacity since 2012. Remaining at No.1 in Ireland, Dublin singer/songwriter Jazzy scores her second UK Top 10 hit, with Giving Me

jumping 14-8 (23,975 sales), having previously fronted Belters Only’s 2022 No.4 hit, Make Me Feel Good. After slipping 7-8 last week, React recovers for Switch Disco & Ella Henderson, climbing to a new peak at No.6 (27,056 sales). No.1 on debut for Lewis Capaldi five weeks ago, Wish You The Best rallies 5-3 (30,026 sales) following the release of his runaway No.1 album, Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent. The album also generates its fifth hit (Capaldi’s 10th) in the form of Haven’t You Ever Been In Love Before? (No.28, 13,063 sales), while his maximum of three tracks as primary artist is completed by How I’m Feeling Now, which reached No.24 in April, and is now a re-entry at No.48 (10,273 sales). A further seven tracks by Capaldi are ‘starred-out’ of the Top 75. The rest of the Top 10: Calm Down (7-5, 27,778 sales) by Rema, Eyes Closed (4-7, 26,145 sales) by Ed Sheeran and As It Was (12-10, 22,808 sales) by Harry Styles. In the Top 75 for the 58th straight week since debuting at No.1, As It Was is one of three Styles songs climbing the chart as his UK tour continues, the others being former No.2 hit Late Night Talking, a re-entry at No.37 (11,808 sales), and latest single, Satellite (71-49, 10,030 sales). Only three weeks after it first surpassed 27 million in a week, singles consumption breaches the 28 million mark. Overall singles sales are up 1.73% week-on-week to 28,312,109 units – 13.13% above same week 2022 consumption of 25,026,460 units. Paid-for sales are down 4.20% week-on-week at 290,202 – 14.14% below same week 2022 sales of 339,196. Four years to the week since his first album, Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent, debuted at No.1, Lewis Capaldi repeats the feat with second release, Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent. Home to three No.1 singles – Forget Me, Pointless and Wish You The Best and How I’m Feeling Now, which reached No.24 – Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent’s first week consumption of 95,882 units is the highest weekly tally for any album thus far in 2023 and 7.12% above the first week tally of 89,506 that Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent achieved in 2019. Surpassing the previous 2023 best 76,263 copies that Ed Sheeran’s Subtract sold opening at No.1 a fortnight ago, Broken By Desire… achieves the best first frame since Taylor Swift’s Midnights bowed at No.1 on consumption of 204,501 copies 30 weeks ago. Consumed more than eight times as much as any other album, and the rest of the Top 10 combined, Broken By Desire… sold 58,421 CDs, 18,308 vinyl albums, 2,418 cassettes, 4,834 digital downloads and 11,901 sales-equivalent streams (to be pedantic, it actually sold more than the rest of the Top 14). Twenty-six year-old Glaswegian Capaldi co-wrote every track on Broken By Desire…, which racks up the highest weekly sale by a Scottish act since Paolo Nutini’s Caustic Love topped the chart in April 2014, on first week sales of 109,011. Masked chart marauders: Not one but two acts who try to preserve their anonymity by wearing masks are in the Top 10 this week. The first of these, Sleep Token, are becoming big business, and the last of their conceptual trilogy of albums, Take Me Back To Eden, makes a big splash this week, debuting at No.3 (11,611 sales), with a single CD, seven vinyl double albums and 12 cassette variants helping to bulk up its physical sales to 7,789. Their 2019 debut album, Sundowning, failed to chart but has racked up to-date consumption of 13,494 units, just shy of 2021 follow-up, This Place Will Become Your Tomb, which reached No.39 and has to-date consumption of 14,045 units. There’s much speculation about Sleep Token’s line-up but the only ones I can nail down for sure are 31-year-old drummer Adam Pedder from Swindon, and Bristolian singer Leo Faulkner, whose band IDs are Vessel and II, respectively, and who write all their songs. Also possessing a penchant for masks to conceal their identities, Swedish band Ghost’s Phantomime EP debuts at No.8 (6,133 sales). Ghost’s fourth Top 75 success and third Top 10 entry, it has five tracks – covers of songs by Television, The Stranglers, Genesis, Iron Maiden and Tina Turner – and a playing time of less than 24 minutes. Their last full-length album, Impera, debuted and peaked at No.2 (14,021 sales) a mere 61 weeks ago. With to-date consumption of 43,709 copies, it is on track to become their biggest seller ahead of current leader, Prequelle, which reached No.10 in 2018, and has to-date consumption of 47,570 units. Depending on how you regard it, Drastic Symphonies (No.4, 10,183 sales) is either Def Leppard’s highest-charting studio album since Adrenalize became their second and last No.1 in 1992 or their highest-ranked compilation since Vault: Greatest Hits (1980-1995) reached No.3 in 1995. In either scenario, Drastic Symphonies is their 9th Top 10, their 19th Top 75 album in a chart career spanning more than 43 years and their highest-charting set for a very long time. The band’s website notes that the album features some of their well-known tracks alongside “hidden gems” which, “by and large” have intertwined original audio with “symphonic arrangements” by the co-credited Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, along with “new vocals and guitars” some of which feature lead singer Joe Elliott, “dueting with his younger self”. It is new ground for Def Leppard to have orchestral augmentation but a familiar chore for the RPO, who have previously sprinkled symphonic sweetening to provide new chart life to old recordings by Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, The Carpenters, Rod Stewart, The Beach Boys and Elvis Presley, among others. Although they were fully credited on those albums, not all record companies opted to give them a credit on the OCC chart. As the Renaissance tour continues, Beyonce’s album of the same name registers strong growth for the fourth week in a row, and climbs 13-7 (6,841 sales), breaching the Top 10 for the first time in 32 weeks. Let’s get physical: 23 weeks after it debuted at No.2 on digital sales and streaming alone, SZA’s third album, SOS, has finally dropped on CD and vinyl, helping to propel it from its lowest position yet (No.19) all the way up to No.9, with overall consumption of 6,061 units in the week (including 462 CDs and 1,335 vinyl sets) and to-date consumption of 168,112 units, of which digital downloads account for 1,034. The first 2023 album to spend two weeks at No.1, Ed Sheeran’s – Subtract now dips to No.2 (11,653 sales). The rest of the Top 10: Harry’s House (9-5, 8,644 sales) by Harry Styles, The Highlights (4-6, 7,439 sales) by The Weeknd and Midnights (7-10, 6,053 sales) by Taylor Swift. Styles’ album is being helped by his current UK tour, which also triggers a 29-16 jump (4,611 sales) for his last album, 2019’s Fine Line. Overall album sales are up 5.19% week-on-week at 2,382,921, 11.69% above same week 2022 sales of 2,133,592, and their highest level since they hit 2,422,995 the week before Christmas in 2020, some 128 weeks ago. Physical product accounts for 337,063 sales, 14.14% of the total.