When Justin Bieber, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Nicki Minaj dropped their much anticipated singles three weeks ago, we all imagined they’d have tremendous success. They were, for the most part, all given full time slots and were off to the races to see who would reach the top the quickest. While this was happening, Drake was in a heated battle with Meek Mill. They fired back and forth at one another, trading jabs. Many weren’t sure what the outcome would be, with different tracks being dropped. Then Drake dropped “Back to Back” (YMCMB), which quickly grabbed radio’s attention. It rocketed to the Top 25. Then came “Hotline Bling” (YMCMB), and it was GAME OVER. It’s already shot past the others, and was Most Increased this week with more than 1000 spins. In just two weeks on the chart, it’s #12. It’s also a monster at Urban, and I’m sure Top 40 won’t be too far behind.

Without a doubt, Gary Spangler, Davey Dee and Stef Cole at Republic have cornered the market these days. They have The Weeknd’s “The Hills” (XO) at #1 again, up 560 spins; that one’s showing no signs of slowing down. Post Malone’s “White Iverson” is up 200 spins and moves to #28. Nicki Minaj’s “Trini Dem Girls” (YMCMB) debuts at #36, gaining 360 spins. Just off the chart is Taylor Swift’s “Wildest Dreams” (Big Machine), which was up 230 spins this week and climbs to #47; it’s looking like it’ll chart this coming week. The Top 40 profile is amazing, and it’s most certainly already being played in your market.

Over at Def Jam, Rick Sackhiem, Noah Sheer and Scott Maness welcome Jeremih f/J. Cole’s “Planes” into the Top 10. While it’s truly only on the chart for 11 weeks, the record’s been out there for over seven months! Justin Bieber’s “What Do You Mean?” grabbed another 640 spins, and lands at #22. And right behind is Alessia Cara’s “Here,” which climbs to #23, up 90 spins. YG’s “Twist My Fingaz,” meanwhile, had a super week, gaining 130 spins and planting itself at #26. By the way, Noah tells me to be on the lookout for new songs from Big Sean, 2 Chainz and August Alsina.


RCA’s John Strazza, Inca and Lori G continue to build R. City f/Adam Levine’s “Locked Away” (Kemosabe). It was up another 350 spins this week and is now at #13. Chris Brown’s “Liquor” has broken into the Top 25, after gaining 185 spins this week. Nicky Jam’s “Forgiveness” and Pitbull f/Jason Derulo’s “Drive You Crazy” (Mr. 305/Polo Grounds) are at #45 and #46, respectively, and Shy Carter f/Aleon Craft’s “Bring It Back” (Latium) moves to #57, up 50 spins.

Columbia’s Ayelet Schiffman and James White officially have Rita Ora f/Chris Brown “Body on Me” (Roc Nation) inside the Top 15. It was up a cool 500 spins, and continues to build. J. Cole’s “No Role Modelz” (Roc Nation) was up 105 spins, and climbs to #35, and Dej Loaf f/Big Sean’s “Back Up” holds at #37, gaining 50 spins. Calvin Harris & Disciples’ “How Deep Is Your Love”—which impacted last week— is up 90 spins, and looks to be a few weeks away from debuting.

Warner Bros. and Lee L’Heureux have Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Downtown” at #14, after just two weeks on the chart. It just saw an increase of 885 spins.

Epic’s Sujit Kundu takes Future f/Drake’s “Where Ya At” inside the Top 30 this week with an increase of 80 spins. Meanwhile. Travis Scott’s “Antidote” sits at #56, up 60 spins. His LP Rodeo just earned 85k in first week sales. And FYI, they’re impacting Casey Veggies’ “Wonderful” this week.


RECORDS’ Christine Chiappetta and Paula Tuggey continue to run Nelly f/Jeremih’s “The Fix” up the chart. It’s now at #21, with an increase of 360 spins.

Largest increases:
1) Drake “Hotline Bling” YMCMB/Republic
2) Macklemore & Ryan Lewis “Downtown” Warner Bros.
3) Justin Bieber “What Do You Mean?” Def Jam
4) The Weeknd “The Hills” XO/Republic
5) Rita Ora f/Chris Brown “Body On Me” Roc Nation/Columbia

The Pulse:
1) Drake “Hotline Bling” YMCMB/Republic
2) Justin Bieber “What Do You Mean?” Def Jam
3) Macklemore & Ryan Lewis “Downtown” Warner Bros.
4) Rita Ora f/Chris Brown “Body On Me” Roc Nation/Columbia
5) R. City f/Adam Levine “Locked Away” Kemosabe/RCA

The Weeknd's “The Hills” (XO/Republic) will hold strong at #1 this week, with Def Jam’s Jeremih climbing into the Top 10 with his J. Cole collabo, "Planes." R. City's “Locked Away” (RCA) will have another strong week, inching closer to the Top 10. Drake's “Hotline Bling” (YMCMB/Republic) will post a 900+ spin increase and Rita Ora's “Body On Me” f/ Chris Brown (Roc Nation/Columbia) will make its way into the Top 15 with a 400+ increase. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' “Downtown” (Macklemore/Warner Bros.) will be up over 750 spins, vaulting into the Top 15. Nelly's “The Fix” (RECORDS) and Justin Bieber's “What Do You Mean?" (RBMG/Def Jam) will both have significant increases while Nicki Minaj's “Trini Dem Girls” (YMCMB/Republic) debuts on the chart this week.

I hope everyone had a safe and relaxing Labor Day Weekend. The kids are now officially back in school, summer is over and it’s time to focus on the fourth quarter. Days are getting shorter, and college football has begun (NFL starts Thursday). Even if you’re a Browns, Niners or Bears fan, you’re not out of the playoffs (yet).

Republic, on the other hand, is one team that’s definitely winning right now. Gary Spangler and Davey Dee (pictured right with The Weeknd) have had quite an impressive year, and it continues as The Weeknd’s “The Hills” (XO) goes #1 this week. It jumps from #5, adding 980 spins. This is his third #1 record in a row. His LP, Beauty Behind the Madness, meanwhile, was the #1 album this week, selling north of 325k. At #3, lead single “Can’t Feel My Face” remains positive on the chart as well. Another red-hot artist, Drake, has the highest debuting track at the format this week with “Hotline Bling” (YMCMB). It lands at #21, up 875 spins. Demi Lovato’s “Cool for the Summer” (Safehouse/Island/Hollywood) is at #30, and Post Malone’s “White Iverson” moves to #35, up 145 spins. Nicki Minaj f/LunchMoney Lewis’ “Trini Dem Girls” (YMCMB) comes in at #48, gaining a cool 280 spins this week. Nick Jonas’ “Levels” (Safehouse/Island) is a big record at Pop, and it’ll be crossing here in the next few weeks. They’re impacting Avicii’s “Pure Grinding” (PRMD/Island) today. And based on the success of Taylor Swift’s last track, “Bad Blood,” it’ll be interesting to see how she fares with “Wildest Dreams” (Big Machine). It’s a monster at Top 40, and was up 110 spins this week at Rhythm.


At Def Jam, Rick Sackhiem, Noah Sheer and Scott Maness are really ramping things up as well. Jeremih f/J. Cole’s “Planes” moves to #12, adding an additional 265 spins, and Alessia Cara’s “Here” moves into the Top 25 with an increase of 150 spins, while YG’s “Twist My Fingaz” comes in at #29, up 75 spins. After one week of airplay, Justin Bieber’s “What Do You Mean?” (RBMG) debuts at #32. On the heels of his Skrillex/Diplo collaboration, radio fully embraces him to the tune of a 760-spin increase!

RCA’s John Strazza, Inca and Lori G rocket R. City f/Adam Levine’s “Locked Away” into the Top 15 this week, up 385 spins. Chris Brown’s “Liquor” was up 210 spins and moves to #31. Nicky Jam’s “Forgiveness” moves to #48, while Pitbull f/Jason Derulo’s “Drive You Crazy” climbs to #50. Shy Carter f/Aleon Craft’s “Bring It Back” (Latium) is just getting started, and moves to #61 this week.


Columbia’s Ayelet Schiffman and James White have Rita Ora f/Chris Brown’s “Body on Me” leaping #24-18, up a whopping 400 spins. They also get a double debut this week, as Dej Loaf f/Big Sean’s “Back Up” lands at #37 and J. Cole’s “No Role Modelz” is right behind at #38, gaining 85 spins. They impact Calvin Harris & Disciples’ “How Deep Is Your Love” this week; it’s already got 285 spins at the format, and is Top 30 at Pop. Next week, OMI’s “Hula Hoop” (Ultra) impacts, so be ready.

Epic’s Sujit Kundu has Future f/Drake’s “Where Ya At” moving to #33, up 45 spins. Travi$ Scott’s “Antidote” adds 65 spins, and the sales projections look very impressive.


Warner Bros.’ Lee L’Heureux makes quite a splash with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Downtown,” which debuts at #22, up 937 spins. That was the #2 Most Increased record this week.

RECORDS’ Christine Chiappetta and Paula Tuggey continue the upward ascent on Nelly f/Jeremih’s “The Fix,” as it bounds #31-23, gaining another 410 spins. This one’s really looking and feeling real.

Largest increases:
1) The Weeknd “The Hills” XO/Republic
2) Macklemore & Ryan Lewis “Downtown” Warner Bros.
3) Drake “Hotline Bling” YMCMB/Republic
4) Justin Bieber “What Do You Mean?” RBMG/Def Jam
5) Nelly f/Jeremih “The Fix” RECORDS

The Pulse:
1) Justin Bieber “What Do You Mean?” RBMG/Def Jam
2) Macklemore & Ryan Lewis “Downtown” Warner Bros.
3) Drake “Hotline Bling” YMCMB/Republic
4) Rita Ora f/Chris Brown “Body On Me” Roc Nation/Columbia
5) R. City f/Adam Levine “Locked Away” Kemosabe/RCA

With a three-day holiday causing a number of stations to freeze, it was slower than usual this week for new music. The Most Added records were primarily close-outs from the superstar debuts we had last week. In the top spot is Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' “Downtown” (Macklemore/Warner Bros.) tallying 14 more adds, followed by RBMG/Def Jam’s Justin Bieber, who pulled in 13 for “What Do You Mean?." Avicii's “Pure Grinding” (PMRD/Island/Republic) and Calvin Harris' “How Deep Is Your Love” (Columbia) both nab 11 adds, while Drake's “Hotline Bling” (YMCMB/Republic) collects 8 new commitments.