Did you happen to catch SNL this past Weeknd? (See what I did right there?) The XO crooner, aka Abel Tesfaye, performed “The Hills” with surprise guest Nicki Minaj, who’s also currently featured on “The Hills” remixes along with Eminem. Needless to say, they killed it and the new versions should give the track some fresh fire. As if it needed it… The song’s been #1 for the last six weeks. Coming for the top next week, however, is Drake‘s “Hotline Bling” (YMCMB). Republic’s Gary Spangler, Davey Dee and Stef Cole remain red-hot, charging up a 1240-spin increase for Drake. I don’t see anything behind this that has enough momentum to overtake “Hotline Bling” for the next three to four weeks. Post Malone‘s “White Iverson” had its best week ever, increasing 430 spins and climbing to #19. Taylor Swift’s “Wildest Dreams” (Big Machine) is at #28, up 125 spins, and Nick Jonas’ “Levels” (Island/Safehouse) comes in at #34, up 95 spins. They’re impacting Dawin f/Silento’s “Dessert” (Casablanca New) this week; the song’s already at #50, up 50 spins. Coming from the Top 40 side, Shawn Mendes’ “Stitches” (Island) is up 140 spins and moves to #54. It’s now Top 5 at Pop and should be very familiar in your market.
Warner Bros.’ Lee L’Heureux takes a nice leap with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Downtown,” moving #11-6 and gaining 235 spins.
Def Jam’s Rick Sackheim, Noah Sheer and Scott Maness have Justin Bieber‘s “What Do You Mean” up 250 spins and knocking on the door of the Top 10; naked pics be damned! Alessia Cara’s “Here” had an amazing week, as she sees an increase of 420 spins and moves up to #17. YG’s “Twist My Fingaz” (CTE) sits at #23, while Big Sean's “Play No Games” (G.O.O.D.) climbs to #29 with an increase of 230 spins. They’re gearing up to impact 2 Chainz’s “Watch Out,” already Top 30 at Urban, this week.
At Columbia, Ayelet Schiffman and James White have Dej Loaf f/Big Sean’s “Back Up” climbing to #26, up another 125 spins. Right behind is J. Cole’s “No Role Modelz” (Roc Nation), which earned a healthy 120-spin gain. Calvin Harris & Disciples’ “How Deep Is Your Love,” meanwhile, is at #32, up 145 spins. They debut Empire f/Jussie Smollett & Pitbull’s “No Doubt About It” at #40, posting a 125 spin increase.
Sujit Kundu and Epic are firing on all cylinders with Future f/Drake’s “Where Ya At” (A1/Freebandz). It rises to #22, up 180 spins this week. Travi$ Scott’s viral monster “Antidote” (Grand Hustle) has its biggest spin gain thus far, tacking on 195 spins. The buzz continues to grow on that one. Meghan Trainor f/John Legend’s “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” slides up to #55, up 60 spins, and her sales continue to remain strong. Team Epic is doing a double-impact this week, with Puff Daddy & The Family f/Pharrell Williams’ “Finna Get Loose” (Bad Boy), as well as Deep Cotton f/Jidenna’s “Lets Get Caught” (Wondaland).
The crew of John Strazza, Inca and Lori G at RCA are impacting Tinashe f/Chris Brown’s highly anticipated “Player,” which looks to be Most Added this week. The song’s off to a fast start, with 140 spins before they even put the hammer down. R. City f/Adam Levine‘s “Locked Away” (Kemosabe) holds at #12 this week with an increase of 90 spins. Chris Brown’s “Liquor” cracks the Top 20 with an increase of 50 spins. His newer track “Zero” is not far behind; it’s already at #25 and was up 410 spins this week! Shy Carter’s “Bring It Back” (Latium) just misses charting this week at #42.
Meanwhile, RECORDS’ own Christine Chiappetta continues to grind out Nelly f/Jeremih’s “The Fix.” It was up 220 spins this week and climbs to #16. She’ll also see ILOVEMEMPHIS’ “Hit The Quan” (PalmTree/RushHour) leaping #38-30 this week with a 285 spin increase. “The Quan” should build very quickly at Rhythm, so you better “throw a flag on the play man, somebody get the ref!”
Largest Increases:
1) Drake “Hotline Bling” YMCMB/Republic
2) Post Malone “White Iverson” Republic
3) Alessia Cara “Here” Def Jam
4) Chris Brown “Zero” RCA
5) ILOVEMEMPHIS “Hit The Quan” PalmTree/RushHour/RECORDS
The Pulse:
1) Tinashe f/Chris Brown “Player” RCA
2) ILOVEMemphis “Hit The Quan” Palmtree/Rushhour/RECORDS
3) Big Sean “Play No Games” G.O.O.D/Def Jam
4) Future f/Drake “Where Ya At” A1/Freebandz/Epic
5) Chris Brown “Zero” RCA
The set up RCA did on Tinashe's “Player” f/Chris Brown was flawless, and they secured 40 adds this week as a result—nearly tripling the numbers of the next closest record. Bravo! Dawin's “Dessert” (Casablanca/Republic) came in with 14, Chris Brown's “Zero” (RCA) grabbed 11 more, while Republic’s Post Malone nabbed 9 new stations. Def Jam had a solid first week with “Watch Out” from 2 Chainz with 8 adds, and Big Sean's “Play No Games” (G.O.O.D. Music) with 6 commitments.
Hot new releases this week including a Vine star from Brooklyn who just nabbed his first record deal, an American funk duo based in Atlanta who are part of Janelle Monae's Wondaland Arts Society, a rap mogul who loves Vodka and cable channels and a hot new collaboration between two label mates.
Dawin f/ Silento, “Dessert” (Casablanca New/Republic)
Deep Cotton, “Let’s Get Caught” (Wondaland/Epic)
Puff Daddy & The Family f/Pharrell, “Finna to Get Loose” (Bad Boy/Epic)
Tinashe f/ Chris Brown, “Player” (RCA)
Like the Orange properties on a Monopoly board, Republic continues to corner the market at the top. The Weeknd will remain at #1 with "The Hills" (XO/Republic) while Drake's "Hotline Bling" (YMCMB/Republic) sits at #2 ready to pounce next, tacking on another 1000+ spin increase. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' "Downtown" (Macklemore/Warner Bros.) will finally crack the Top 10. Big movers include Alessia Cara's "Here" (Def Jam), Post Malone's "White Iverson" (Republic), and Chris Brown's "Zero" (RCA). The artist FKA @iHeartMemphis— now iLoveMemphis (RECORDS) will debut on the chart this week with the viral phenom "Hit The Quan," along with JR Castro's "Get Home" (Global Entertainment) and the Empire Cast feat. Jussie Smollet & Pitbull's "No Doubt About It" (Columbia).
