USA
Billboard Report (excerpt)
'Choosin' Texas' breaks all-time Hot 100 record
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
by Keith Caulfield & Gary Trust, Los Angeles

Ella Langley's “Choosin’ Texas” rewrites the record for the longest run ever achieved atop the Billboard Hot 100 as it scores a 23rd week at No. 1. The smash one-ups the command of

Mariah Carey’s perennial “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” which has topped the chart many Yuletide seasons since the classic 1994 carol first led. Here’s an updated look at the longest-leading hits, ranked by most weeks spent at No. 1 on the Hot 100, since the chart began in August 1958: 23 weeks (to date), “Choosin’ Texas,” Ella Langley, 2026; 22, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Mariah Carey, 2019-26; 19, “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Shaboozey, 2024; 19, “Old Town Road,” Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus, 2019; 16, “Last Night,” Morgan Wallen, 2023; 16, “Despacito,” Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee feat. Justin Bieber, 2017; 16, “One Sweet Day,” Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men, 1995-96. “Choosin’ Texas” debuted on the Hot 100 dated Nov. 1, 2025, as Langley’s fifth career entry on the chart. It became her first top 10 in January and initially led in February, on its way to setting multiple chart records. “Choosin’ Texas,” on Sawgod / Columbia Records,

with Triple Tigers having promoted it to country radio, totaled 21.8 million official streams (down 9% week over week), 58.3 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 2%) and 6,000 sold (up 4%) in the United States Sept. 11-17. The track holds for a 23rd week at No. 1 on Streaming Songs and bounds 6-2 for a new high on Radio Songs, as it bullets at its highs in the top 10 on Adult Pop Airplay (No. 4), Pop Airplay (No. 7) and Adult Contemporary (No. 9). It continues for an 18th week atop Digital Song Sales — where it ties BTS’ “Dynamite,” from 2021, and “Butter,” from 2020, for the longest reign in the chart’s history. Stella Lefty’s “Boston” holds at its No. 2 Hot 100 best and Morgan Wallen’s “Been by Now” bumps 4-3, after it debuted at its No. 2 high. Country songs (defined as releases that have hit Hot Country Songs) have now held the Hot 100’s top three, top four or top five 16 times over the chart’s history — with 12 having occurred since July. Ariana Grande’s “Hate That I Made You Love Me” rebounds 5-4 on the Hot 100, after it led in its debut week in June. Tame Impala and Jennie’s “Dracula” lifts a spot back to its No. 5 Hot 100 peak. Taylor Swift’s “I Knew It, I Knew You” falls 3-6, after it spent its first two weeks on the Hot 100 at No. 1 in June. Karol G’s “Bby Wow,” with Judeline and rusowsky, jumps 10-7 a week after it reached the Hot 100’s top 10. Karol G ties her best rank with her second song to make the tier, after “TQG,” with fellow Colombian star Shakira, debuted at its No. 7 peak in March 2023. Olivia Dean’s “So Easy (To Fall in Love)” slips 7-8 on the Hot 100, after hitting No. 5, while her “Man I Need” drops 8-9, after reaching at No. 2. Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Langley’s “Be Her” backtracks 9-10, after peaking at No. 2. Jhené´Aiko achieves her first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart as Westside Whimsy debuts atop the tally dated Sept. 26. The set earned 74,000 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending Sept. 17, according to Luminate. It’s the first R&B album by a woman to lead the chart in 2026, and the first to rank at No. 1 since SZA’s SOS was tops for a 13th and final week in May of 2025. The only other R&B set to hit No. 1 in 2026 was Bruno Mars’ The Romantic (March 14 chart). Westside Whimsy was released on Sept. 11, after it was announced on Sept. 8. The project boasts collaborations with Ab-Soul, Larry June, Kendrick Lamar, Ohma and Tyga. Westside Whimsy marks the singer-songwriter’s sixth top 10 overall on the Billboard 200, dating to her first chart entry and top 10, Sail Out, which debuted and peaked at No. 8 in November 2013. The new set is Aiko’s first full-length studio album since 2020’s Chilombo, which debuted and peaked at No. 2 and was later nominated for album of the year at the Grammy Awards. Of Westwide Whimsy’s 74,000 first-week equivalent album units, SEA units comprise 70,000 (equaling 71.33 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs — it debuts at No. 1 on the Top Streaming Albums chart), album sales comprise 3,500 (it debuts at No. 25 on Top Album Sales; it was only available to purchase digitally, as physical editions are due in January) and TEA units comprise 500. Aiko is the second act in 2026 to wait at least 10 years from a Billboard 200 chart debut to a first No. 1. Aiko went 12 years and 10 months from her debut with Sail Out (Nov. 30, 2013-dated chart) until her first leader. Earlier this year, Megadeth landed its first No. 1 with its self-titled set — nearly 40 years after the metal act’s chart debut in 1986. The last soloist to wait longer for a first No. 1 was Andrea Bocelli in 2018: a little more than 20 years for his first leader, Sì. The last woman to wait longer than Aiko was Solange: 13 years and eight months between her chart debut in February 2003 and her first leader with A Seat at the Table in October 2016. As for the rest of the top 10 on the latest Billboard 200, it’s a quiet week, as Westside Whimsy is the only debuting title in the region. The Nos. 2-8 titles are all former No. 1s: Ella Langley’s Dandelion falling to No. 2 with a little more than 60,000 equivalent album units earned (down 11%). Olivia Rodrigo’s you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love dips 2-3 (60,000, down 7%); Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem is down 3-4 (57,000, down 5%); Noah Kahan’s The Great Divide is a non-mover at No. 5 (46,000, down 1%); Drake’s Iceman rises 9-6 (35,000, down 4%); Ariana Grande’s petal slips a spot to No. 7 (34,000, down 24%); and Rod Wave’s Don’t Look Down falls 7-8 (nearly 34,000, down 20%). Rounding out the top 10: Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving climbs 10-9 (33,000 equivalent album units, down 4%) and Noah Kahan’s Stick Season is up 13-10 (nearly 33,000, down 1%).

Record Of The Month
'SaWaDiKa' is the new smash by Thai rapper and singer Lisa.
It's an homage to her home country Thailand, with the title translation to 'hello' in Thai.

United Kingdom
Music Week Report (excerpt)
Sienna Spiro holds tight at number one
Monday, September 21, 2026
by Alan Jones, London
 
Five of six solo No.1s this year by female soloists spent just one week at the summit but Sienna Spiro’s Great Expectation does something only Taylor Swift’s I Knew It, I Knew You has managed thus far in 2026 by spending a second week on top. It does so comfortably, despite its consumption falling 3.31%

week-on-week to 27,216 units (711 digital downloads and 26,505 sales-equivalent streams) as former incumbent, Choosin’ Texas by Ella Langley suffers a greater 9.45% diminution to 24,043 units, even as it holds at No.2. Spiro’s only previous Top 10 hit, Die On This Hill peaked at No.9 last November but has attracted a lot of new admirers in the wake of Great Expectation’s success, and improves its chart position for the sixth week in a row, as it climbs 11-10 (15,684 sales), returning to the Top 10 after an absence of 33 weeks. Six years after her introductory hit, Moral Of The Story, peaked at No.31, Californian singer/songwriter Ashe’s second, Stop The Wedding!, climbs for the fifth straight week, and is the only new entry to this week’s Top 10, moving 16-9 (16,344 sales). No.4 on debut in 2024, Dua Lipa’s Training Season achieves its highest chart placing since. Its ongoing viral revival sees the track improve 7-5 (19,243 sales), while becoming the singer's

16th song to achieve consumption in excess of a million units, with a to-date tally of 1,008,526. The rest of the Top 10: Movin’ To The Sun (3-3, 23,865 sales) by Hugel, Imael Angel & Ultra Naté, Boston (4-4, 23,451 sales) by Stella Lefty, The Cure (6-6, 19,051 sales) by Olivia Rodrigo, Rein Me In (5-7, 18,946 sales) by Sam Fender & Olivia Dean, and Man I Need (8-8, 17,035 sales) by Olivia Dean. Handicapped on the main chart by ACR, Rein Me In is, in reality, the most-consumed track for the 13th week in a row, and 22nd week in total, with unadjusted consumption of 37,641 units, with Man I Need (33,883 units) following in its wake. Overall singles consumption is up 0.81% week-on-week to 29,447,675 units, 1.31% below same week 2025 sales of 29,839,208 units. It is the sixth week in a row they have been below same week 2025 levels. Paid-for sales are down 1.76% week-on-week at 245,834, 4.03% below same week 2025 sales of 256,170. The culmination of more than a decade of gigging, including selling out Wembley Arena; a solid back catalogue; MOBO, Mercury Prize and BRIT Awards; and its own rave reviews all coalesce to catapult Here Because Of Hope, the fourth full-length album by Ezra Collective, to a No.1 debut. The 12th album to open at the summit in as many weeks, it racked up first week consumption of 13,181 units (6,457 CDs, 5,004 vinyl albums, 106 cassettes, 723 digital downloads and 891 sales-equivalent streams) to become their first No.1 album. Ezra Collective’s 2019 debut You Can’t Steal My Joy, peaked at No.70, 2022 follow-up Where I’m Meant To Be reached No.24 and last album, Dance, No One’s Watching, gave them their highest chart placing and highest previous first week sale, opening and peaking at No.7 on consumption of 9,966 units in 2024. The latter album is marginally their biggest seller, with to-date consumption of 42,090 units, followed by Where I’m Meant To Be (41,601 units) and You Can’t Steal My Joy (19,070 units). A London-based quintet comprising 31-year-old drummer and bandleader Olufemi (Femi) Koleoso, 30-year-old bassist Toyosi (TJ) Koleoso (his brother), 26-year-old trumpeter Ifeoluwa (Ife) Ogunjobi, 33-year-old keyboards player Joe Armon Jones and 33-year-old saxophonist James Mollison, Ezra Collective’s eclectic blend of music is jazz-based, and largely instrumental, with Here Because Of Hope featuring guest vocals from rapper Pa Salieu, Cameroonian singer Libianca and X Factor alumnus Leona Lewis. The album is the first No.1 categorised as jazz by OCC since Dutch singer Caro Emerald topped with The Shocking Miss Emerald in 2013 (none of Michael Bublé’s No.1s since then met the criteria for jazz) – but has the lowest consumption for a No.1 album since Ed Sheeran’s +-=÷× Tour Collection topped for the second and last time on consumption of 9,908 units, 67 weeks ago. Indie rock veterans’ Bloc Party’s first album in more than four years, Anatomy Of A Brief Romance (No.6, 7,950 sales) is their eighth to chart, and sixth to make the Top 10. After releasing a number of uncharted singles and EPs, some under her real name of Roxanne Emery, alt-pop singer/songwriter and producer Røry reached No.10 last year with her debut album, Restøration. The 41-year-old from Southampton tops that with follow-up Bloodletting (No.8, 7,310 sales). The release of their new documentary Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger last week, and the announcement this week of their Live ’27 tour dates combine to give a major boost to Oasis’ back catalogue for the second week in a row, with Time Flies: 1994-2009 (15-5, 8,045 sales), (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? (24-12, 6,458 sales) and Definitely Maybe (49-17, 4,516 sales) increasing consumption 51.55%, 50.60% and 58.13%, respectively. The rest of the Top 10: The Essential (4-2, 10,358 sales) by Michael Jackson, You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love (3-3, 10,276 sales) by Olivia Rodrigo, Visitor (6-4, 8,162 sales) by Sienna Spiro, The Art Of Loving (7-7, 7,637 sales) by Olivia Dean, 50 Years: Don’t Stop (8-9, 7,263 sales) by Fleetwood Mac and The Highlights (9-10, 6,991 sales) by The Weeknd. Overall album sales are down 1.58% week-on-week to 2,317,536 units, their lowest level for 88 weeks, and 6.91% below same week 2025 sales of 2,489,509. Physical product accounts for 245,334 sales, 10.59% of the total.