The song scores a second week at No. 1, while A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera surge into the top five
Eminem and featured artist Rihanna tally a second week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “The Monster,” which holds off Pitbull and Ke$ha’s “Timber” at No. 2 for a second frame. Meanwhile, A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera soar into the top five with “Say Something.”
As we do each Wednesday, let’s dig deeper into the numbers behind this week’s top 10. (Please see below for adjustments to our online chart coverage the next two weeks due to the holidays.)
After becoming Rihanna’s 13th No. 1 and Eminem’s fifth leader last week, “The Monster” holds at the Hot 100’s summit. It notches a second week atop Radio Songs, gaining by 6% to 143 million in all-format audience impressions, according to Nielsen BDS, and posts a fifth week atop the On-Demand Songs chart (2.3 million U.S. streams, according to BDS, down 5%). It rises 3-2 on Streaming Songs (6.1 million, up 14%), while making the opposite move (2-3) on Digital Songs (after three weeks at No. 1) with 175,000 downloads sold (down 6%), according to Nielsen SoundScan.
“The Monster” is living up to its name, concurrently spending a seventh week at No. 1 on both the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Rap Songs charts. It leads the Rhythmic radio-based list for a third week and Pop Songs and Rap Airplay for a second week each.
The song fends off Pitbull’s “Timber,” featuring Ke$ha, for a second week, although the latter collaboration claims the Hot 100’s top Airplay Gainer award after the former had won the honor for five straight weeks. “Timber” jumps 8-7 on Radio Songs (91 million, up 19%), while rising 5-3 on Streaming Songs (5.4 million, up 18%). It dips to No. 2 on Digital Songs (187,000, down 3%) after crowning the chart the past two weeks.
The race for No. 1 between the two titles was closer this week than last week. A week ago, a 20% difference in overall Hot 100 points separated the songs. This week, with “The Monster” up by 3% and “Timber” climbing by 8%, the margin lessens to 15%.
The Hot 100’s top three remains stationary, in fact, as OneRepublic’s “Counting Stars” bullets at No. 3 for a second week. “Stars” shoots 5-2 on Radio Songs (126 million, up 7%) and stays at No. 4 on Digital Songs (145,000, down less than 1%) and No. 6 on Streaming Songs (4.4 million, up 3%).
A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera’s “Say Something” roars into the Hot 100’s top five, blasting 8-4 with Digital and Streaming Gainer honors. (In its sixth week, it’s the youngest title in the chart’s top 25). The ballad returns to the top of Digital Songs (3-1; 233,000, up 41%) for the first time since it debuted at No. 1 five weeks ago (following the acts’ performance of it on NBC’s “The Voice” on Nov. 5). The song simultaneously bounds 15-7 on Streaming Songs (3.9 million, up 41%) and 38-29 on Radio Songs (39 million, up 30%).
Lorde’s former nine-week Hot 100 No. 1 “Royals” dips 4-5. It keeps at No. 4 on Streaming Songs (5.2 million, up 2%) and No. 8 on Digital Songs (98,000, down 9%) and falls 4-5 on Radio Songs (109 million, down 9%). The track tops Hot Rock Songs for a 16th week.
In the bottom half of the Hot 100’s top 10, Imagine Dragons’ “Demons” rebounds to its peak (7-6), switching spots with Avicii’s No. 4 hit “Wake Me Up!” (6-7); Miley Cyrus’ former three-week No. 1 “Wrecking Ball” drops 5-8; Passenger’s “Let Her Go” holds at its No. 9 peak; and One Direction’s “Story of My Life,” which debuted at its No. 6 high point six weeks ago, returns to the top 10 (11-10).
Outside the Hot 100’s top tier, notable action includes jumps for Katy Perry’s new single “Dark Horse,” featuring Juicy J (36-22, as prior single “Unconditionally” slips from its No. 14 peak to No. 17, down 11% in points); Lorde’s “Team” (32-23), her follow-up to “Royals”; American Authors’ “Best Day of My Life” (64-35); Avicii’s “Hey Brother” (78-66), his next single after “Wake Me Up!”; and, Kelly Clarkson’s carol “Underneath the Tree” (92-80).
Debuts include Justin Bieber’s “Confident,” featuring Chance the Rapper (No. 41), which begins on Digital Songs at No. 10 with 77,000. The song previews Bieber’s “Journals” release (due Dec. 23), which is set to include his series of “Music Mondays” singles releases plus five new tracks. “Confident” marks his first top 10 Digital Songs hit since “Hold Tight” (No. 7) early last month; in between, six “Music Mondays” songs peaked between No. 11 and 17 on the sales survey.
Also among songs new to the Hot 100: freshly-crowned winner of “The Voice” Tessanne Chin with “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (No. 64); “Glee” star Lea Michele’s solo debut “Cannonball” (No. 75), making her the first main “Glee” cast member to chart as a lead soloist on the Hot 100. The song previews “Louder,” her debut solo album, due March 4 on Columbia Records; and Aloe Blacc, the uncredited vocalist on Avicii’s “Wake Me Up!,” at No. 85 with “The Man.”
Visit Billboard.com tomorrow (Dec. 19), when all rankings, including the Hot 100 in its entirety and Digital Songs, Radio Songs, Streaming Songs and On-Demand Songs will be refreshed, as they are each Thursday. (Note: With Christmas and New Year’s Day affecting chart processing schedules, all charts will update on Billboard.com on Friday of each of the next two weeks (Dec. 27 and Jan. 3). Look for this usual weekly Wednesday Hot 100 recap, as well as the Billboard 200 rundown, on Thursday for those two weeks.)
