Right now, it’s Pluto’s world and we’re just living in it. According to the weekly Tuesday Billboard chart update, Future is having quite the first week debut for MIXTAPE PLUTO. His third 2024 project was projected to go number one on the Hot 200 and it did just that thanks to 129,000 equivalent units. With that, the Atlanta legend is the first act to have a trio of albums go number one in a six-month span since The Beatles about 60 years ago.
He’s also now tied for fourth for the most albums to debut at the top with 11. But that isn’t all of the success for MIXTAPE PLUTO, though. If you head on over to the Hot 100 you will see that all 17 tracks from the September 20 release are spread throughout the list. The best performing cut is the intoxicating “TEFLON DON” which is just outside of the top 20 at number 21.
ATLANTA, GA – JANUARY 18: Rapper Future attends Future Presents Hotlanta’s “Life is Good” on January 18, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia.(Photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage)
The lowest entry is “MADE MY H*E FAINT” at 85. Overall, for this being a solo project, this is highly remarkable. It is especially so when you consider the level of hype for the songs that were supposed to have features. They weren’t smaller artists either. Travis Scott and Gunna are two of the most in-demand rappers right now and even though their contributions were removed pretty last minute, Future still managed to hold his own on them.
What are your thoughts on all 17 tracks from Future’s MIXTAPE PLUTO debut on the Billboard Hot 100? Are you shocked about this, why or why not? What is your overall opinion on his third project of the year? We would like to hear what you have to say, so leave your thoughts in the comments. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest news surrounding Future. Finally, stay with us for everything else going on in the world of music.
Every week, Billboard unveils the top 10 songs on the latest Hot 100 chart. The most recent rankings, for the chart dated August 31, are out now, so let’s run down who had this week’s biggest hits.
10. Teddy Swims — “Lose Control”
After leading for a week in March, Swims is starting to lose control of his top-10 status as “Lose Control” rounds out this week’s rank.
9. Sabrina Carpenter — “Please Please Please”
June was major for former No. 1 single “Please Please Please,” and Carpenter’s hit still doing fine in August as it hangs around the top 10.
8. Tommy Richman — “Million Dollar Baby”
In addition to sticking around in the top 10, “Million Dollar Baby” is No. 1 on the Hot R&B Songs chart for a 17th week.
7. Sabrina Carpenter — “Espresso”
“Espresso” experienced a bit of a caffeine crash this week, dipping from No. 4 to No. 7.
6. Chappell Roan — “Good Luck, Babe!”
Roan’s hit previously hit a high of No. 1, and after falling down to No. 7, it’s back at its personal best rank.
5. Billie Eilish — “Birds Of A Feather”
“Birds Of A Feather” previously topped out at No. 5, a spot it hangs onto this week.
4. Kendrick Lamar — “Not Like Us”
Lamar’s hit Drake diss is No. 1 on the Hot Rap Songs chart for a 15th week and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for a 13th week.
Last week, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” tied “I Had Some Help” for the longest chart-topping reign of 2024 so far. Well, Shaboozey is No. 1 again this week, so it’s now the longest-running No. 1 single of 2024 as of this week.
Every week, Billboard unveils the top 10 songs on the latest Hot 100 chart. The most recent rankings, for the chart dated August 24, are out now, so let’s run down who had this week’s biggest hits.
10. Hozier — “Too Sweet”
“Too Sweet” enjoyed a week at No. 1 back in April, but it’s still dominating the Hot Rock Songs chart, which it leads for a 20th week.
9. Teddy Swims — “Lose Control”
You might think a week at No. 9 isn’t that special for a former No. 1 single, but this is the song’s 31st week in the top 10, which puts it tied with the eighth-most top-10 weeks this decade. (It has a way to go to catch up to The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” at No. 1 with 57 weeks.)
8. Sabrina Carpenter — “Please Please Please”
It was announced last week that Carpenter will perform at this year’s MTV VMAs, where she’ll perhaps bust out this former chart-topper.
7. Chappell Roan — “Good Luck, Babe!”
Speaking of 2024 VMAs performers: “Good Luck, Babe!” was at its all-time high of No. 6 last week, and it’s taken a slight slide this time around.
6. Tommy Richman — “Million Dollar Baby”
“Million Dollar Baby” may end up topping out at No. 2, but the viral hit is still chugging along respectfully in the top 10.
5. Billie Eilish — “Birds Of A Feather”
Here’s a new milestone for Eilish: “Birds Of A Feather” is now her fifth top-5 song, following “Bad Buy,” “Therefore I Am,” and “Lunch.” This makes Hit Me Hard And Soft her first album to generate multiple top-5 hits.
“Not Like Us” is still crushing it, as it’s atop the Hot Rap Songs chart for a 14th week and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for a 12th total week.
2. Post Malone — “I Had Some Help” Feat. Morgan Wallen
Country has been dominating the charts in recent weeks as Malone’s Wallen collab is once again in the top 2 after a six-week run at No. 1.
1. Shaboozey — “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” is not only an undeniable hit, but it’s one of the biggest of the year so far. This is the song’s sixth week at No. 1, which ties with with “I Had Some Help” for the most weeks on top in 2024.
In the 1994 movie Airheads, Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi, and Adam Sandler play members of a rock band with big dreams. The story of the film is that the three decide to hijack a radio station in an effort to get their demo played on the air.
The idea was that fame and riches would follow, presumably. To be frank, I haven’t seen the film (sorry not sorry, my movie backlog is packed and Airheads is not above Air). I’m just aware of the general premise. Regardless, it sets up the point I’m about to get to: That movie synopsis reads as very ’90s and alien in relation to the music industry in 2024. Things are different now, both in terms of music itself and the ecosystem that surrounds it.
In times of change, it’s important to self-reflect and reconsider the things we value, what’s working and what isn’t. As I’ve aged, I’ve come to realize that one serving of vegetables per week isn’t part of a successful plan to remain alive, for example. I’ve also reached this question: Is landing a No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart today going the way of getting a demo on the radio in 1994?
My answer, to an extent, is yes: Getting a No. 1 single doesn’t matter like it used to. That’s a big-sounding claim and I don’t want to present it without nuance, so let’s look at some information.
In 2023, 19 songs were No. 1 on the Hot 100. In 2013, that number was only 12. The figures are shaping up similarly for this year, too: We already have 15 chart-toppers so far in 2024 with so much time left, versus just 10 in 2014.
A simple lesson in supply and demand: The more there is of something, the less valuable it is. Please indulge me briefly as we go back to 1953, when Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first two people to summit Mount Everest. It was a big deal! Since then, over 6,000 other people have done it, too. Climbing Everest is still a noteworthy challenge, especially when you consider the 200 or so people who didn’t make it and whose bodies are still frozen on the mountain right now. But, the gravity of the feat is definitely diminished. That chilling detour was to illustrate that as the distinction of having a No. 1 single becomes less rare, it becomes less impressive.
There are some external factors that impact the perceived value of a Hot 100 No. 1, too, that have nothing to do with the Billboard charts themselves (or Mount Everest).
For one, more ways of measuring a song’s success are available to us now, and these metrics can have different significance to different audiences. For example, perhaps fans who live their musical lives on Spotify care less about chart placement and more about streaming numbers, which have increasingly come to indicate the music many people most spend their time with.
Well, according to data from Luminate (as shared by Billboard), the most-streamed song in the US of the first half of 2024 was Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things,” with 448.7 million plays. Yet, despite being early 2024’s most popular song by a widely valued and impactful metric, “Beautiful Things” never wore the Hot 100 crown. It spent many weeks in the top 10 and even some time at No. 2, but never in the captain’s seat.
More anecdotally speaking, Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” is a contender for the 2024 song of the summer. But, it never hit No. 1, despite consistently out-performing, for example, Taylor Swift and Post Malone’s No. 1 hit “Fortnight” on the weekly US Spotify charts after the collaboration’s first week (half-fortnight, if you will). It could be the year’s biggest song so far, but it’s not a No. 1 single in the US.
Then there’s TikTok. That’s a world that’s beyond me (aside from seeing viral TikToks on Instagram three weeks after they’ve already blown up), but I won’t diminish the impact it has on music culture and the value of musical success on the platform. Songs like Tinashe’s “Nasty,” Artemas’ “I Like The Way You Kiss Me,” and, somehow, Pharrell’s Despicable Me 4 song “Double Life” have all gotten major attention on one of the internet’s most-trafficked spaces. None of them have hit even the top 10 on the Hot 100.
To music fans who are mostly on TikTok and aren’t paying attention to the big Spotify favorites (a valid type of person that I’m guessing isn’t uncommon among the app’s users), those are the biggest songs, not some Hot 100 hit they stopped listening a hundred trends ago.
To be clear, this isn’t Billboard‘s fault. They haven’t passively rotted away as the world blooms around them. They regularly tweak the Hot 100 rules as they deem necessary, like they did with major changes in 2013 and 2018. But, it’s seemingly just impossible to keep up, to perfectly quantify and represent how consumers interact with the always-changing music industry.
I don’t mean to diminish the value of a No. 1 single. It’s still a tremendous achievement: Of the thousands and thousands of songs that have been released this year, only 15 of them have gone No. 1. 15! My point is more so that with how diverse and splintered the infrastructure around music consumption has become, the Hot 100 is no longer the singular, be-all-end-all authority on what the biggest songs are. It’s not the metric anymore.
Like getting a demo on the radio, it doesn’t mean what it used to.
Eminem knows how to move units. He’s the best-selling rap artist of all time for a reason. He’s also the first rapper to win an Oscar for Best Original Song, and the first to have ten consecutive albums top the charts. We’d list more accomplishments but we’d be here all day. The bottom line is, Eminem continues to be historically popular. Which makes his latest Billboard record impressive, if not altogether surprising. The rapper has notched another achievement by having the second-shortest-ever song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The song? “Trouble,” which is an interlude on his new album The Death of Slim Shady.
You’d be forgiven for not knowing “Trouble” off the top of your head. The song is only 42 seconds long. It serves as a plot point for the Death of Slim Shady concept than an actual song. That being said, it has connected with enough fans that it somehow managed to crack the Billboard singles chart. The record holder for shortest song on the Billboard Hot 100 still belongs to Kid Cudi. The rapper managed to crack the charts with his 2020 intro “Beautiful Trip,” which was only 37 seconds in length. Fortunately, for Em, several other cuts from The Death of Slim Shady have cracked the Billboard Hot 100. “Houdini” peaked at number two, while his Big Sean and BabyTron collab, “Tobey,” peaked at number 27.
Eminem may not have been able to overthrow Kid Cudi for the shortest song, but he did stop another pop icon from achieving a record. The Death of Slim Shady claimed the top spot on the Billboard 200, aka the album charts. This not only reinforced Em’s stature as a superstar, but it kept Taylor Swift from securing an 11th consecutive week at number one with her latest album. If Eminem hadn’t booted Swift from the top spot, The Tortured Poets Department would have tied the record for longing-running pop album atop the Billboard charts. As it stands, Stevie Wonder’s Songs In the Key of Life (1976) still holds the record.
Impressively, The Death of Slim Shady has boosted the streaming numbers of Eminem’s older songs as well. Forbes reported that the success of “Houdini” has led to a renewed interest in Em’s 2002 smash hit “Without Me.” The new single samples and pays homage to “Without Me” in its music video, so it makes sense that fans would get him with the nostalgia bug. That being said, the numbers are nothing short of staggering. “Without Me” sold 1,250 copies in the U.S. during the second week of June. That marked a 309% increase from the previous tracking period. Eminem has still got it.
Every week, Billboard unveils the top 10 songs on the latest Hot 100 chart. The most recent rankings, for the chart dated July 20, are out now, so let’s run down who had this week’s biggest hits.
10. Teddy Swims — “Lose Control”
Swims might be starting to lose control, as he breakout his is on the verge of leaving the top 10 on the latest chart.
9. Benson Boone — “Beautiful Things”
“Beautiful Things” unfortunately never quite found its way up to No. 1 (peaking at No. 2), but its lengthy run of success continues with another week in the upper region of the Hot 100.
8. Hozier — “Too Sweet”
Hozier’s biggest single to date is still crushing it in the top 10 after becoming the “Take Me To Church” singer’s first No. 1 song.
7. Morgan Wallen — “Lies Lies Lies”
“Lies Lies Lies” is a new top-10 hit for Wallen as it debuts at No. 7 this week. It’s his milestone tenth top-10 song.
6. Sabrina Carpenter — “Please Please Please”
Here’s some specific trivia: Carpenter’s “Please Please Please” and Wallen’s “Lies Lies Lies” are the first pair of songs with titles consisted of three repeated words to be ranked back-to-back on the Hot 100, or to even be in the top 10 together at all.
5. Sabrina Carpenter — “Espresso”
“Espresso” might end up being the song of the summer, and it’s still going strong by maintaining its top-5 status this week.
4. Tommy Richman — “Million Dollar Baby”
In addition to climbing up a spot this week, “Million Dollar Baby” is No. 1 on the Hot R&B Songs chart for an 11th week.
3. Post Malone — “I Had Some Help” Feat. Morgan Wallen
After spending six total weeks at No. 1, and then hanging out at No. 2 last week, Malone and Wallen’s hit country collab slips to No. 3. Wallen, by the way, and Carpenter are the only two artists this week with multiple top-10 songs.
Sorry, Drake: “Not Like Us” is No. 1 again after spending last week at No. 3. This is the song’s second week at No. 1 and its first time on top in a whopping nine weeks. It’s only the third non-holiday song to ever go at least that long between No. 1 weeks, after Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” in 2013 and Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire” in 2023 (also nine weeks for both).
Eminem did not pull off a magic trick number’s wise with “Tobey” like he did with “Houdini”, but the latest single still earns a spot on the Billboard Hot 100. According to the latest refresh of the charts on Tuesday, The Death of Slim Shady cut barely cracks the list at #95. In comparison, “Houdini” debuted at number two. That made it the highest charting single for Em since his 2013 collab with Rihanna, “The Monster”. While you could argue that “Tobey” is a better track overall than its predecessor, the former does possess some key traits.
For starters, the track in nearly a minute shorter, with the lead-off track clocking in at 3:47. Typically, songs around that length do better on the charts overall. Additionally, “Houdini” is a catchier tune, especially on the chorus. While BabyTron’s on “Tobey” is still very good, it comes across clunkier flow wise. Regardless, though, Eminem charting consecutively is a great accomplishment, and it would not be surprising if it climbed up higher once the album drops Friday, July 12.
Speaking of the project, things are really falling in place for it. Over the last couple of days, Eminem has given us the symbolic cover art, as well as the official tracklist. The latter was leaked prior on Apple Music, showing off the potential features. However, it has since been replaced with song titles and hidden guests. Some call back to previous tracks during the peak of the Slim Shady era and there are 19 in total.
What are your thoughts on “Tobey” by Eminem, Big Sean, and BabyTron placing at #95 on the Billboard Hot 100? Are you surprised by its initial ranking, why or why not? Do you expect the single to climb up the list as the days progress? Is it your favorite of the two album cuts we have? We would like to hear what you have to say, so leave your thoughts in the comments. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest news surrounding Eminem. Finally, stay with us for everything else going on in the music world.
Every week, Billboard unveils the top 10 songs on the latest Hot 100 chart. The most recent rankings, for the chart dated July 13, are out now, so let’s run down who had this week’s biggest hits.
Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control” remains at No. 9 for the fourth consecutive week. The song peaked at No. 1 to end March, and it has charted for nearly 50 weeks total.
8. Benson Boone — “Beautiful Things”
Like Teddy Swims, Benson Boone remains at No. 8, and “Beautiful Things” previously peaked at No. 2 on the chart dated March 30.
7. Hozier — “Too Sweet”
Sorry, another week-to-week repeater.
6. Sabrina Carpenter — “Please Please Please”
Sabrina Carpenter landed his first-career No. 1 on the Hot 100 with “Please Please Please” on the chart dated June 29. Last week, “Please Please Please” slid to No. 5, and now, it’s at No. 6.
5. Tommy Richman — “Million Dollar Baby”
Richman’s “Million Dollar Baby” swapped places with Carpenter’s “Please Please Please” from last week.
4. Sabrina Carpenter — “Espresso”
How “Espresso” wasn’t Carpenter’s first-ever No. 1 is beyond me, but it’s steady at No. 4 week-over-week. Its peak was No. 3 on the chart dated June 22.
3. Kendrick Lamar — “Not Like Us”
Thank you, Drake. Kendrick Lamar hasn’t been this visible between album cycles in ages. Lamar’s ruthless Drake diss track debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart dated May 18, and “Not Like Us” jumped from No. 6 to No. 3 last week. This week, it’s back at No. 3. The song isn’t going away anytime soon, as Lamar released the video on July 4.
2. Post Malone Feat. Morgan Wallen — “I Had Some Help”
At last! Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” has steadily climbed the Hot 100 since its April arrival. The unbelievably catchy country-pop tune leapfrogged from No. 3 (chart dated June 29) to No. 2 (July 6) and now, finally, No. 1. This is Shaboozey’s first-career No. 1 on the Hot 100.
According to Billboard, Shaboozey is now the first-ever Black male artist “to top both the Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs” and second Black artist overall behind only Beyoncé. The publication also relayed “A Bar Song (Tipsy) is the first song ever to chart in the top 10 across Country Airplay, Pop Airplay, Adult Pop Airplay, and Rhythmic Airplay. TLDR: It’s everywhere.
Tinashe is having a moment. A decade after her breakout single, “2 On,” the singer has broken through with the viral smash “Nasty.” It’s absolutely blown up on TikTok, and the popularity of the earworm song has carried over to the Billboard charts. “Nasty” debuted at number 90 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the first time in Tinashe’s career in which she cracked the pop charts as a solo artist. This is extremely impressive given how long the singer has been at it.
Tinashe dropped her first mixtape, In Case We Die, in 2012. She had her aforementioned breakthrough with “2 On,” which peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains the singer’s biggest hit to date. The song did feature a verse from ScHoolboy Q, however, and was later remixed by Drake. “2 On” was eventually certified platinum, but it didn’t pave the way for much more radio success. Tinashe failed to have any of her singles chart over the next ten years. This, despite releasing well-received albums like Joyride (2018) and Songs for You (2019).
The singer is keenly aware of the rarity of scoring a hit a decade into a career. She told TIME Magazine that the success of “Nasty” has been rewarding, given how hard she’s worked on her craft. “This is what you wait and hope for,” she explained. “I’ve been grinding in the music industry for 10 years at this point. I’ve come to the place where I’ve accepted my path and I don’t really need more validation.” Despite the surprise success of the sing, Tinashe remains committed to her core fans. “I am super thankful for my core fanbase because they’ve been there from the jump,” she explained. “It’s exciting to see how it’s affecting the numbers of all my other songs too.”
The thing that separates the success of “Nasty” from “2 On,” however, is the fact that the latter is an independent release. Tinashe was signed to RCA when the first hit dropped, but now she’s releasing everything through Tinashe Music. “It’s amazing, it really validates all of my hard work,” she told the outlet. “Also taking that risk to go independent, it felt a little bit scary. I think staying true to myself and being able to make music that I love… has just propelled me to be a different human being that is much more confident. I’m so much more sure of myself and my path.”
Last week, Eminem released “Houdini,” the first single from his upcoming album The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup de grâce). The track, which revives the trollish persona for comedic effect, wasn’t as well-received by some rap fans online due to its treatment of some of its subjects, but that isn’t stopping the hardcore Eminem faithful from giving it strong streaming numbers. Are those numbers enough to pull it to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for the sixth No. 1 hit of his career?
According to Forbes (for some reason), many of the predictors of such things point to at least a top 5 showing for the self-declared Rap God, with social media accounts like Talk Of The Charts billing it for as high as a No. 2 debut. However, even the might of Eminem’s army of loyalists is meager when compared to the onslaught of support from country fans and the pop appeal of Post Malone. His country-leaning new single “I Had Some Help” with resurgent crooner Morgan Wallen is trending toward yet another appearance at No. 1.
It’s kind of ironic, when you consider the accusations of cultural appropriation that have been leveled at both artists, that it’s Post Malone, who upsets Eminem — and with a non-hip-hop song, no less.
You can check out the video for Eminem’s “Houdini” above.
