Month: March 2023

Taylor Swift’s surprise four-pack should have an immediate impact on the U.K. singles chart.

The U.S. pop superstar last Friday (March 17) dropped a batch of recordings, including “All The Girls You Loved Before” a previously-unreleased song that didn’t make the final pressing of 2019’s Lover LP.

Perhaps it should have made the cut. “All The Girls” is on track for the week’s highest debut, at No. 7, for what would be Swift’s 22nd top 10 appearance, according to the Official Charts Company’ first chart blast of the week.

Swift’s fresh four songs included re-recordings of Swift’s The Hunger Games tracks, plus “If This Was a Movie (Taylor’s Version),” all dropping on the eve of her The Eras Tour opener.

At the top end of the First Look chart, which captures sales and streaming data from the first 48 hours in the cycle, Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” is on target for a 10th consecutive week at No. 1.

Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding could have a say in that. The pair’s latest collaboration, the ‘90s rave-channeling “Miracle” is set to lift 3-2 in its second week. Meanwhile, Pinkpantheress appears to have missed the chance for a maiden No. 1 with “Boy’s a liar,” which, after several weeks at No. 2, slips to No. 8 on the chart blast.

Further down the list, BTS’ Jimin could snag his debut solo top 20 with “Set Me Free Pt. 2.” It’s new at No. 14 on the chart blast, coming soon after bandmate J-Hope cracked the top 40 (and made chart history) with his J. Cole collaboration, “On The Street.”

Finally, Lewis Capaldi could crack the top 20 with his new tear-jerker, “How I’m Feeling Now,” set to arrive at No. 19, while Irish singer-songwriter Hozier is hovering just outside the top 20 with his comeback single “Eat Your Young.” It’s new at No. 21 on the chart blast, the OCC reports, and is expected to become the “Take Me To The Church” singer’s third first top 40 single and first in eight years — since “Someone New” hit No. 19 in 2015.

All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Singles Chart is published late Friday.

Miley Cyrus nabs a rare U.K. chart double as Endless Summer Vacation (via Columbia) debuts at No. 1 on the national albums survey and “Flowers” extends its streak atop the singles tally.

Endless Summer Vacation, Cyrus’ eighth studio album, had led the midweek chart by a wide margin and finishes the chart week in first place.

It’s the U.S. pop star’s second U.K. albums chart leader, following 2013’s Bangerz, and sixth career top 10 appearance. Also, it’s the second time Cyrus has simultaneously led both main charts, which did she with Bangerz and “Wrecking Ball.” Cyrus is the first artist to complete the double in 2023, and the first since Taylor Swift did it in October 2022 with “Anti-Hero” and Midnights.

As previously reported, “Flowers” enters a ninth consecutive week at No. 1 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, published March 17.

Meanwhile, The Weeknd’s hits collection The Highlights (Republic Records/XO) lifts 3-2 for an equal high position in its 110^th week on the chart.

Coming in at No. 3 on latest albums tally is Sleaford Mods’ UK GRIM (Rough Trade), the indie electronic duo’s 13^th studio album. UK GRIM becomes the pair’s fourth top 10 LP, and a career-best position, going one better than 2021’s Spare Ribs, which peaked at No. 4.

Further down the list, legendary Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison lands his 43^rd U.K. top 40 album with Moving on Skiffle (Exile), new at No. 16. It’s the followup to 2021’s Latest Record Project, Volume 1, which peaked at No. 5.

And finally, Ward Thomas earns a fourth top 40 with Music in the Madness (WTW Music), the country-pop duo’s fifth studio album. It’s new at No. 31.

Miley Cyrus takes the plaudits once again on the U.K. singles survey with “Flowers” (via Columbia), while a throwback rave tune roars to a fast start.

Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding grab the highest new entry on the Official U.K. Singles Chart with “Miracle” (Columbia), their latest collaboration.

The trance track bows at No. 3, for Harris’ 29th and Goulding’s 12th top 10 hit. Also, it’s their third — and peak position — as a duo following 2012’s “I Need Your Love” (No. 4) and 2014’s “Outside” (No. 6).

Meanwhile, a string of singles score top 10 peaks this week — Rema’s “Calm Down” (up 6-5 via Mavin), Lizzy McAlpine’s “Ceilings” (7-6 via Harbour Artists & Music), Libianca’s “People” (8-7 via 5K), and Strandz’s “Us Against The World” (Relentless), which gives the London rapper his first-ever U.K. top 10 entry.

Further down the list, British hip-hop artist Digga D lands his 13th top 40 with “Energy” (Black Money), new at No. 19.

Mae Muller, the U.K. entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, is enjoying positive early feedback from her homeland. Muller’s “I Wrote A Song” (Capitol) debuts at No. 30, for her highest chart position as a solo artist. According to the Official Charts Company, it’s the first U.K. Eurovision entry to debut inside the top 40 since Blue’s “I Can,” which peaked at No. 16 back in 2011.

At the top of the tally, published March 17, “Flowers” secures a ninth week at No. 1. Its parent album Endless Summer Vacation starts at the summit of the Official U.K. Albums Chart, giving the U.S. pop star a rare chart double. Album tracks “River” (No. 16) and “Jades” (No. 27) mark their entries on the national singles survey.

Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time spends a second week atop the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated March 25), as the set earned 259,000 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending March 16, according to Luminate. That’s down 48% compared to its debut week sum of 501,000 units a week ago.

One Thing at a Time logs the largest second-week for an album since Taylor Swift’s Midnights collected 342,000 units in the week ending Nov. 3, 2022 (chart dated Nov. 12), after debuting a week earlier with 1.578 million units.

One Thing at a Time’s second week is nearly as large as the opening week of Wallen’s last album, Dangerous: The Double Album, which launched with 265,000 units (week ending Jan. 14, 2021, chart dated Jan. 23).

One Thing at a Time is the first album by a male act to spend its first two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 since Harry Styles’ Harry’s House tallied its first two weeks atop the list on the charts dated June 4 and 11, 2022. It’s also the first country album to log its first two weeks at No. 1 since Dangerous spent its first 10 weeks at No. 1 (Jan. 21-March 27, 2021 charts). (Country albums are considered those that have hit or are eligible for Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart.)

Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200 albums chart, TWICE and Miley Cyrus debut at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, with their latest efforts, Ready to Be and Endless Summer Vacation. Both acts earn their largest weeks by units earned since the chart began measuring by units in December 2014.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new March 25, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on March 21. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of One Thing at a Time’s 259,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending March 16, SEA units comprise 234,000 (down 39%, equaling 308.06 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 36 songs), album sales comprise 21,000 (down 81%) and TEA units comprise 4,000 (down 53%). Notably, the album’s haul of 308.06 million streams for its songs tallies the second-biggest streaming week ever for a country album, after the set’s debut frame (498.28 million).

TWICE scores a career-high placing on the Billboard 200, as the pop ensemble’s new album Ready to Be debuts at No. 2 with 153,000 equivalent album units earned – the act’s biggest week ever. It’s the fourth top 10-charting effort for the South Korean group. Previously, the act went as high as No. 3 with its last two charting sets, Between 1&2: 11th Mini Album and Formula of Love: O+T=<3, The 3rd Full Album, both in 2021.

Of Ready to Be’s 153,000 equivalent album units earned, album sales comprise 145,500, SEA units comprise 7,000 (equaling 10.28 on-demand official streams of the set’s seven tracks) and TEA units comprise 500.

Like many K-pop releases, Ready to Be was issued in collectible physical format packages (11 different CDs [including exclusives for Barnes & Noble, Target and the group’s official webstore] and two vinyl LPs [one exclusive to Target and one exclusive to the act’s webstore). 86% of the album’s first-week sales came from its CD editions. CD variants of Ready contain a standard set of items and randomized elements (such as a postcards, photo cards, etc.).

Unusually, Ready to Be had a vinyl version of the album available on the same wide release date as the CD edition of the album, as most major K-pop titles in the past were initially available only as a physical album on CD – on no other physical formats (like vinyl or cassette).

TWICE recently scored its second charting hit on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, with the new album’s “Moonlight Sunrise,” spending one week on the list at No. 84 (Feb. 4, 2023 dated chart).

Miley Cyrus’ Endless Summer Vacation debuts at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with 119,000 equivalent album units earned – her biggest week since the chart began measuring by units in December of 2014. Endless Summer Vacation marks Cyrus’ 14th top 10-charting effort, including her releases billed to her Disney Channel character Hannah Montana.

Of Endless Summer Vacation’s 119,000 equivalent album units earned, SEA units comprise 61,000 (equaling 80.61 on-demand official streams of the set’s 13 tracks – Cyrus’ biggest streaming week ever for an album), album sales comprise 55,000, and TEA units comprise 3,000. Aiding first-week sales for Endless Summer Vacation were four vinyl LP variants (including one exclusive to Target and two exclusive to her webstore) and two deluxe boxed sets (one with a puzzle and a CD, the other with a beach towel and a CD) sold exclusively through her webstore. 44% of Endless’ first week sales came from its vinyl editions.

Endless Summer Vacation was ushered in by the smash single “Flowers,” which has spent six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (through the most recently published chart, dated March 18). It marks her second No. 1 on the list, following 2013’s “Wrecking Ball.”

As Ready to Be and Endless Summer Vacation both launch with over 100,000 units, it’s the first time the chart has housed two debuting albums each with over 100,000 units since the Sept. 10, 2022-dated chart – when TWICE also factored in. That week, DJ Khaled’s God Did debuted at No. 1 with 107,000, while TWICE’s Between 1&2 debuted at No. 3 with just over 100,000.

Both Ready to Be and Endless Summer Vacation arrive with first weeks so significant that had either arrived on the chart in the four weeks before Wallen’s One Thing at a Time debuted (March 18-dated chart), and posted the same opening-numbers, either could have been No. 1. Here are the five weeks at No. 1 leading up to One Thing at a Time’s arrival: March 11-dated chart: 94,000 units (the debut week of Karol G’s Mañana Sera Bonito); March 4: 87,000 (SZA’s 10th week at No. 1 with SOS); Feb. 24: 93,000 (SOS’ ninth week at No. 1) and Feb. 18: 100,000 (SOS’ eighth week at No. 1).

The rest of the new top 10 on the Billboard 200 consists entirely of former No. 1s. SOS falls 2-4 (76,000 equivalent album units earned; down 8%), Mañana dips 3-5 (52,000; down 13%), Midnights descends 5-6 (47,000; down 3%), Dangerous is down a spot to No. 7 (39,000; a decline of 6%), Metro Boomin’s Heroes & Villains moves 7-8 (39,000; down 4%), Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti falls 8-9 (36,000; down 5%) and Drake and 21 Savage’s Her Loss is a non-mover at No. 10 (34,000; down less than 1%).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

It’s nearly 9:30 p.m. in Austin, Texas and Kx5 — the electronic dance music supergroup of Kaskade and deadmau5 — quietly take the stage. They hardly go unnoticed, though, as the fans packed on the lawn at the Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park begin to scream for the legends.

“Austin!” Kaskade yells into his mic, showing the city some love before returning his full attention back to his deck, as he and deadmau5 perform with precision a steady stream of syrupy and hypnotic hits beginning with set opener “Bright Lights.”

With lyrics like, “There’s a place… we can go… for a feeling…” the pair set the tone for the third and final night (Saturday, March 18) of Billboard’s South By Southwest concert series. And together, the two deliver a much-needed communal dance party to cap off what was, for most, a nonstop week.

The headlining set could not come at a better time for Kaskade and deadmau5, either, as just 24 hours earlier Kx5 released its self-titled debut album — over a decade after the two first partnered up. Rightfully so, the night is a celebratory culmination of all of the above.

Throughout the set — which clocks in at just over an hour long and utilizes over 50 lights and frequent fog blasts — Kaskade and deadmau5 deliver sky-high drops tailor made for roller coaster enthusiasts — especially on new track “Eat Sleep,” which blends into a snippet of an industrial, deconstructed remix of “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.”

Later, during the atmospheric album cut “When I Talk” deadmau5 lights up — creating his own personal mini fog machine — while “Sacrifice,” which features Sofi Tukker, prompts Kaskade to yell “C’mon!” while reclining his upper body into a small standing backbend. 

As the show reaches its halfway point, the soaring drops and bursts of fog seem to occur in more rapid succession as the show builds, The crowd reacts accordingly, with one devoted fan dancing along holding two circular press-down night lights that in this environment more resemble floating orbs. 

To prepare for the set’s peak, the pair dive into “Escape,” a melodic daydream off Kx5 on which British singer-songwriter Hayla questions: “What if I escape?” For most in attendance, this show offered just that — even if only for a brief while.

During the song, deadmau5 shows Kaskade something on his phone, to which the two react with wide eyes and jaws dropped before honing in with laser focus for their final minutes on stage. And just then, the Kx5 logo that opened the show reappears onscreen, indicating they are indeed coming full circle.

The ride is ending. 

But not before one final hit. The one, of course, that started it all: “I Remember.”

“This song is old enough to vote!” deadmau5 declares with a wide smile. He then hops down from the platform which has housed him and Kaskade for the last 60-plus minutes, bringing his beer with him, to take a well-deserved bow and applaud his partner, who stays glued to his deck until the last resounding note reaches the final row of fans.

And as the two begin to walk off the stage, the anticipated chant for an encore begins. But after a closer like that, Kx5 made sure to give a performance no one will forget.

Even so, one bawling fan could be heard telling friends: “I need to see this again.”

“Kelsea Ballerini is all of us,” fans commented on TikTok this weekend, when the country singer stopped her show to ask if anyone was keeping tabs on Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour on Saturday night (March 17) — while Ballerini was in the middle of her own performance.

“Can I just level with you for a minute?” Ballerini asked an Atlantic City, New Jersey, crowd. “Is anyone stalking The Eras Tour? Has it started?”

“I’m gonna stalk it after this,” she promised, “but I have one question. Is ‘Cruel Summer’ on the setlist?”

Fans of both artists — who must’ve had one eye on Ballerini’s stage and one eye on their phones, watching for live updates from Swift’s tour kickoff — delivered the good news: “Cruel Summer” is finally getting its time to shine on The Eras Tour. The Lover favorite had never before been publicly performed live by Swift, who last toured before the album was released. Swift debuted the song live at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

“Wow,” Ballerini said in celebration. “That’s my Super Bowl, I gotta be honest.”

Billboard‘s review of the show notes that “Cruel Summer” got “the full, stadium-show treatment, complete with a raised platform, backup dancers and Swift unveiling a diamond-encrusted one-piece with matching tall boots. For both the fans in attendance and Swift herself, the song seemed to represent an exhalation — this tour was finally happening, and this immaculate song, three-and-a-half years old at this point, was finally being performed.”

Watch Ballerini’s “Cruel Summer” check-in via TikTok.