Unless you’ve been under a rock for the last 10 days, you must be well aware of XL/Columbia’s Adele and her new single, “Hello.” Forget about the Hot AC and Top 40 arenas, where it’s another atmosphere. The plan was to hit all formats simultaneously. That being said, Adele’s only had moderate success in the past at Rhythm, and never in the beginning stages of the single being worked. Typically, a new record from her would grab a few stations each week in markets where crossover listening from their Top 40 and AC competition forced them to play it. But this song is not your typical Adele record; in its first full week of airplay at Rhythm it was up 430 spins! 430 spins on an Adele song at Rhythm?? We’ve all been on the Travi$ Scott, 2 Chainz & Dej Loaf train… not some lyric-driven, ballad-singing chick from the U.K. with no features, right? Well apparently not. This song, and her entire sound for that matter, transcends formats and genres. Adele sold over 1m iTunes singles first week. Early sales estimates put her forthcoming album’s first week as high as 2m. That is a career statistic for most Rhythm artists, and that’s not a slight on them. Adele is a once-in-a-generation artist, and it’s refreshing to see this format embrace such a talent. Ayelet Schiffman and James White at Columbia have done an amazing job in helping radio see the bigger scope of Adele. I could go on and on, but you get the picture.

Staying with Columbia, Dej Loaf’s “Back Up” has its best week yet, gaining 365 spins and climbing to #16. J. Cole’s “No Role Modelz” (Roc Nation) also has an incredible week, adding 290 spins and moving inside the Top 20. Calvin Harris + The Disciples’ “How Deep Is Your Love” is up 60 spins, landing at #26. They’re gearing up to impact The Chainsmokers f/ROZES’ “Roses” (Disruptor) in the next few weeks.

Def Jam’s Rick Sackheim, Noah Sheer and Scott Maness are the proud owners of the highest-debuting record, as Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” (RBMG) ramps up 750 spins and takes a giant leap from #62-#30. What’s even more impressive is that his first single, “What Do You Mean?,” is also still growing; that track inches up inside the Top 5 to #4 with an increase of 400 spins. Alessia Cara’s “Here” continues to build on her best week ever, as she sees another great increase, this time up 755 spins, to land at #6. Big Sean’s “Play No Games” (G.O.O.D.) takes the jump into the Top 20, landing at #18 after an increase of 360 spins. 2 Chainz’s “Watch Out” moves to #51, while Rick Ross f/Chris Brown’s “Sorry” climbs to #57.


The streak continues for Gary Spangler, Davey Dee and Stef Cole at Republic, as they drop Ariana Grande’s new single, “Focus.” In just three days, it was at 365 spins. It’ll surely debut this coming week. Drake’s “Hotline Bling” (YMCMB), meanwhile, holds steady at #1, up 100 spins. Post Malone’s “White Iverson” tacks on 495 spins, climbing #10-8 this week. Taylor Swift’s “Wildest Dreams” (Big Machine) continues to develop, as she gains 185 spins to ascend #24-21. They’ll debut Dawin f/Silento’s “Dessert” (Casablanca) this week at #33, up 190 spins. Adrian Marcel’s “Take Your Time” is growing steadily, with a 135+ spin gain this week.


RCA’s John Strazza, Inca and Lori G have Chris Brown’s “Zero” moving #16-13, adding 330 spins. Tinashe f/Chris Brown’s “Player” takes a big jump from #29-22, up 475 spins, and Shy Carter’s “Bring It Back” (Latium) just misses the chart this week at #43. They’re impacting G-Eazy f/Bebe Rexha’s “Me, Myself and I” (BPG/RVG) this week. There’s a great buzz on this record, so it should have a fantastic first week.


Epic’s Sujit Kundu continues to do a bang-up job with Future f/Drake’s “Where Ya At” (A1/Freebandz), which moves #15-11 this week, gaining 265 spins. Travi$ Scott’s “Antidote” (Grand Hustle) is also rolling, as it swells to an increase of 305 spins to join the Top 20. They also debut Meghan Trainor f/John Legend’s “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” at #38, up 150 spins.

Largest Increases:
1) Alessia Cara “Here” Def Jam
2) Justin Bieber “Sorry” RBMG/Def Jam
3) Post Malone “White Iverson” Republic
4) Tinashe f/Chris Brown “Player” RCA
5) Nelly f/Jeremih “The Fix” RECORDS

The Pulse:
1) Tinashe f/Chris Brown “Player” RCA
2) Travi$ Scott “Antidote” Grand Hustle/Epic
3) G-Eazy f/Bebe Rexha “Me, Myself, and I” RCA
4) Dawin f/Silento “Dessert” Casablanca/Republic
5) Adele “Hello” XL/Columbia