Derek Talks Music Charts (DTMC) Volume 1.2
Hello there!
It is Wednesday, June 12, 2021, and since my last entry, I had a lot on my plate. Now that it is summer, I hope to formally continue this as much as I could. Now, it’s not Monday, which is when Billboard releases their preview (except for one odd week I will get to in a bit), but better late than never right? Let’s break down the top 10 most consumed songs across radio, streaming sites (Apple Music, Spotify, etc.), and sales (iTunes Store, physical CDs, etc.), one by one!
10. MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) — Lil Nas X
It’s pride month, so it’s only appropriate that this defiantly gay single returns to the top ten after weeks of downward movements. Debuting at no. 1 in April, the song itself is quite good! The music video, however…, that’s up to you to decide. My two cents? It’s not as scandalous as people say, but it’s definitely weird.
9. Astronaut In The Ocean– Masked Wolf
My description of this song? A trash song that’s only here because of Tik Tok. Not to discredit Masked Wolf and the message behind the song, but I personally don’t like the way this song sounds. But hey, to each their own I guess?
8. deja vu — Olivia Rodrigo
The middle child of Olivia’s three singles from her debut, this is personally my least favorite single, but that’s like saying my least favorite Lady Gaga single is Bad Romance (that’s a lie, but it’s to emphasize the quality of both songs). What’s interesting is that this single is the only one of the three from SOUR that didn’t hit number one, debuting at number eight and peaking only at number three because of the album release; this week, it returns to its previous peak. Talk about middle child syndrome.
7. Kiss Me More — Doja Cat featuring SZA
The lead single from Doja Cat’s just-announced upcoming album PLANET HER, this disco-infused pop/R&B song continues to showcase Doja’s ability to capture the audience’s attention. Not only is her lyricism cheeky, but the way she’s able to switch from the soft voice in the chorus to the badass girl she is in the verses is such a sweet spot. SZA sounds amazing here too. Did you know that this is SZA’s highest-peaking single? “Kiss Me More” has been pretty stable in the top ten, peaking at number five, thanks to its strong streaming power, but unless the competition starts clearly its way, it’s unlikely that the song will reach a new peak.
6. Peaches — Justin Bieber featuring Daniel Caesar & Giveon
Look, my bias against Justin Bieber aside (and his extremely uncalled use of an MLK quote in his latest album, JUSTICE), “Peaches” is a solid tune. At the same time, I feel like Justin is the weakest part of his own song as the vibes and the sound fits so well with both Daniel Caesar and Giveon, but it doesn’t quite mesh with Justin’s somewhat piercing and nasally voice. Nevertheless, a great tune, deserved the number one peak, and kudos to its stability, although in the last few weeks, the song has been mostly bolstered by its high radio numbers.
5. Save Your Tears (Remix) — The Weeknd and Ariana Grande
Save Your Tears was great on its own, but the addition of Ariana Grande (and thereby making it a duet) elevated this song to the next level. While the song only reached number one because of the remix, a great marketing move on The Weeknd and Grande’s teams (it previously peaked at number four because of the Super Bowl), this single is phenomenal and continues The Weeknd’s reign following his smash “Blinding Lights” (which is still, amazingly, on the charts). Also, can Ariana use her lower register more? I know she’s famous for the whistle and high notes, but her sultry vocals are so good here.
4. Leave The Door Open–Silk Sonic, Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak
It’s been so long since we’ve had a Bruno Mars song and boy does he deliver. This R&B/soul duet between the two singers is phenomenal and so so good. What’s more is there to say? It deserves its number one peak, although I have some reservations about it being at number one for two weeks (see the next entry), and I hope to hear more from Silk Sonic soon.
3. Levitating– Dua Lipa featuring DaBaby
If you have read my last entry, then you might have noticed that “Levitating” is the only song in the top ten that has not budged. After a slight decline in February, this song has an unprecedented comeback following the Grammys performance, and the single was given new life. Not only did it reenter the top ten the week following the Grammys, but it reached all the way to number two, tying with “Don’t Start Now” as Dua Lipa’s highest-peaking single in the US. Pop radio even had to change its rules to allow “Levitating” to rechart after being designated as “recurrent” (a practice done often by charts to prevent the chart from being clogged up by old songs past their prime). However, I have mentioned twice about some reservations and this is where I expand on this.
A few weeks back, “Levitating” was predicted to go to number one by many chart prediction accounts, especially Talk of The Charts (a highly reliable chart prediction account as they use numbers from Billboard’s formulas and many data sources). On May 17th, that week’s top ten was supposed to be revealed, but as we found out, there were no top ten. Billboard said they delayed the charts on the 18th, but once again delayed it again with no explanation. Finally, on May 19th, the charts were revealed…and Dua Lipa landed at number two. Why? Billboard deleted around 4,000 sales from the reported number in the Digital Sales Chart from counting in the Billboard 100. We were not given a reason why, but the delay was so they could verify “the authenticity” of the numbers, but we weren’t given any further details. In addition, Billboard recalibrated the radio numbers without warning, giving “Leave The Door Open” (that week’s competition with “Levitating”) an open door for the number one spot.
tl;dr– Dua Lipa deserved her first number one, and unless the next two entries start declining rapidly, it looks like Dua has suffered once again with the number two curse.
On the bright side, this song is in its 9th month of charting. Talk about longevity. It is currently predicted to be the number one song on the year-end chart.
2. good 4 u– Olivia Rodrigo
My personal favorite single from SOUR, “good 4 u” is immaculate. It’s like “Blank Space” but pop punk. Everything about this is so amazing and I can see this song being the spiritual successor of the success that “drivers license” got (it also helps that this song has streaming numbers similar to “drivers license”, which were ASTRONOMICAL). It appears that this song is competing for the number one spot again next week with this week’s number one, but no worries, it has already peaked at number one last week (aka its debut week, once again following the steps of “drivers license,” which also debuted and peaked at number one).
1.Butter– BTS
BTS’ second all-English single slaps hard. I’ll be the first to say that I like “Dynamite” better (something about the chorus doesn’t really work for me), but it seems that BTS and co. learned their lesson about releasing a fun pop tune at the right time. “Dynamite” sounded like a summer song, but it was released in August. This time, they released “Butter” in May, and with lyrics like “hot like summer” as V sings, BTS knows what they’re doing: capitalizing on their Western rise with quality music and a strong fanbase (and also a BTS meal collaboration with McDonald’s).
Thanks for tuning in! What is your favorite song out of these 10? Which song do you hate the most? Let me know down in the comments (or not, that’s fine too) and I’ll catch you around. I hope I can actually publish these regularly now haha. Till next time.
I can be contacted by email at dpwong2@gmail.com. If you have any questions, inquiries, or suggestions, don’t hesitate in contacting me. I read all emails, even if I don’t reply to them (though 99% of the time I will reply). Thanks again and have a lovely day, wherever you are on this planet.
-Derek
