Chart Watch: 'Despacito' ties 'Macarena' record, but gets no VMAs love

Records are made to be broken, but I figured “Macarena” would always be the longest-running No. 1 hit sung primarily in another language (Spanish). Los Del Rio’s single was a phenomenon in 1996, topping Billboard‘s Hot 100 for 14 weeks. But this week, Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” (featuring Justin Bieber) equals its stay at No. 1.

The two records are very different in character. “Macarena” was practically a novelty record, the soundtrack to a goofy dance craze. “Despacito” is a more credible, mainstream pop/Latin crossover hit. It has a good chance of landing a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year. (“Macarena” wasn’t nominated in any categories.)

By logging its 14th week at No. 1, “Despacito” also ties Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk!” (featuring Bruno Mars) for the longest run at No. 1 by any single so far in this decade.

However, the video for “Despacito,” the most-viewed clip in YouTube’s history, won’t be up for any accolades at Aug. 27’s MTV Video Music Awards — because, according to an MTV statement provided to the Associated Press, it “was not submitted for consideration.”

The hit song’s video has actually not aired on MTV or MTV2, though it had been played on MTV’s Latin channel, MTV Tres. The network’s spokesperson did not explain why MTV has not played “Despacito” on its main channel, but noted that the song (not the video) will be nominated in the VMAs’ “Song of Summer” category. That category’s other nominees will be officially announced the week of Aug. 21. (“Despacito” recently made chart history as the most-streamed song of all time.)

“Despacito” this week becomes the second song to top the 2 million mark in U.S. digital sales in 2017. The first was Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You,” which is up to 2,303,000. It sold 82K digital copies in the U.S. this week, which puts it on top of Top Digital Songs for the 15th week. That’s the longest run at No. 1 in the history of that chart (which dates to October 2004).

You may remember that DJ Khaled’s “I’m the One,” which also features Bieber, interrupted “Despacito’s” reign at No. 1 on Top Digital Songs for one week. Thus, this is the 16th consecutive week that Bieber has been featured on the week’s top-selling digital hit—an unprecedented occurrence.

If “Despacito” stays on top of the Hot 100 for two more weeks, it will tie the 1995-96 Mariah Carey/Boyz II Men collabo “One Sweet Day” as the longest-running No. 1 hit in Hot 100 history.

Top Songs

DJ Khaled’s “Wild Thoughts” (featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller) logs its fifth week at No. 2. The song includes a prominent sample from Santana’s “Maria, Maria” (featuring the Product G&B), which logged 10 weeks at No. 1 in 2000. Will “Wild Thoughts” also reach No. 1? Probably — but will it hold off long enough to let “Despacito” tie “One Sweet Day”? Stay tuned.

French Montana’s “Unforgettable” (featuring Swae Lee) holds at No. 3 in its 18th week.

Imagine Dragons’ “Believer” inches up from No. 5 to No. 4 in its 27th week.

Charlie Puth lands his first top five hit as a lead artist as “Attention” jumps from No. 7 to No. 5 in its 16th week.

Shawn Mendes’s “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back” jumps from No. 8 to No. 6 in its 16th week.

Bruno Mars’s “That’s What I Like” drops from No. 4 to No. 7 in its 31st week. The song hit No. 1.

Cardi B lands her first top 10 hit as “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)” jumps from No. 14 to No. 8 in its sixth week. Cardi B is the first female rapper to reach the top 10 with her debut Hot 100 entry since Iggy Azalea scored with “Fancy” (featuring Charli XCX) in May 2014. Cardi B got her big break in 2015, when she became a regular cast member of the VH1 reality television series Love & Hip Hop: New York.

Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” holds at No. 9 in its 31st week. The song logged 12 weeks at No. 1. The song is one of only four singles in Hot 100 history to spend 31 or more weeks in the top 10. It follows LeAnn Rimes’ “How Do I Live” and The Chainsmokers’ “Closer” (featuring Halsey), both of which spent 32 weeks in the top 10, and Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk!” (featuring Bruno Mars), which spent 31.

DJ Khaled’s “I’m the One” (which features Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper and Lil Wayne) drops from No. 6 to No. 10 in its 15th week. The song hit No. 1.

Sam Hunt’s “Body Like A Back Road” drops out of the top 10 this week. The smash tops Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart for a record-extending 27th week.

Calvin Harris’s “Feels” (featuring Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry and Big Sean) holds at No. 21 in its eighth week. The song jumps to No. 1 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, displacing “Despacito,” which held the top spot for 11 weeks. It’s Harris’s eighth No. 1 in the U.K., Williams’s fourth, Perry’s fifth, and Big Sean’s first.

Glen Campbell’s sublime version of Jimmy Webb’s “Wichita Lineman” was his top-selling track in the week that he died. It sold 11K copies. The single rose to No. 3 on the Hot 100 and was a 1968 Grammy nominee for Record of the Year. The rest of Campbell’s top five tracks in the week of his death: “Rhinestone Cowboy” (10K), “Gentle on My Mind” (8K), “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” (5K) and “Galveston” (5K).

Top Albums

Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. returns to No. 1 in its 17th week on the Billboard 200. This is the album’s fourth week at No. 1. DAMN. moved fewer than 47K units in total consumption units. That’s the second-lowest weekly total for a No. 1 album since the chart began ranking albums by overall consumption in late 2014. The only time the No. 1 album had a smaller total was on the chart dated Aug. 22, 2015, when the Descendants soundtrack bowed at No. 1 with 42K units.

It gets worse: DAMN. sold just 11K in traditional album sales this week. That’s the lowest traditional album sales tally for an album at No. 1 since Nielsen began tracking album sales in 1991. The previous low was set earlier this year when the Weeknd’s Starboy scored its fifth and final week at No. 1 with traditional album sales of 12K.

Country star Brett Eldredge lands his highest-charting album to date as Brett Eldredge debuts at No. 2. It surpasses Eldredge’s last non-holiday album, Illinois, which debuted and peaked at No. 3 in October 2015. (Brett Eldredge outsold DAMN. more than three-to-one in traditional album sales, but lost out when streaming and digital track sales were factored in.)

Brett Eldredge also enters Top Country Albums at No. 1, displacing Chris Stapleton’s Traveller, which has amassed 29 weeks at No. 1 since late 2015. It’s Eldredge’s second No. 1 album on the country chart. The first was Illinois.

DJ Khaled’s Grateful inches up from No. 4 to No. 3 in its seventh week. The album spent its first two weeks at No. 1.

Meek Mill’s Wins & Losses dips from its No. 3 peak to No. 4 in its third week.

Now 63 debuts at No. 5. That puts the franchise back in the top 10 after the last edition, Now 62, debuted and peaked at an inglorious No. 11.

21 Savage’s Issa Album holds at No. 6 in its fifth week. The album debuted and peaked at No. 2.

Ed Sheeran’s ÷ inches up from No. 8 to No. 7 in its 23rd week. The album spent its first two weeks at No. 1. The album returns to No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart. This is its 15th week on top. That’s the longest run by any album since Adele’s 21 had 23 weeks on top in 2011-12. It’s the longest run by a male solo artist since Elvis Presley’s Blue Hawaii soundtrack had 18 weeks on top in 1962.

Imagine Dragons’ Evolve dips from No. 7 to No. 8 in its seventh week. The album debuted and peaked at No. 2.

SZA’s Ctrl rebounds from No. 13 to No. 10 in its ninth week. The album debuted and peaked at No. 3. SZA, 26, is nominated for a VMA for Best New Artist. She has a good chance of landing a Grammy nom in the same category.

Khalid’s American Teen inches up from No. 11 to No. 10 in its 23rd week. The album has climbed as high as No. 9. Khalid, 19, is nominated for a VMA for Best New Artist. He has a good chance of landing a Grammy nom in the same category. (Is there an echo in here?)

Arcade Fire’s Everything Now plummets from No. 1 to No. 38 in its second week. That’s the third-steepest numerical fall from No. 1 in chart history. Only two albums have fallen further from No. 1—Bon Jovi’s This House Is Not for Sale, which tumbled from No. 1 to No. 43 last November, and Pentatonix’s A Pentatonix Christmas, which dove from No. 1 to No. 41 in January. (The Pentatonix album has an excuse: Once Christmas is over, it’s over.) Everything Now is Arcade Fire’s first album to log just one week in the top 10 since its 2007 breakthrough, Neon Bible.

Three other albums drop out of the top 10 this week. Jay-Z’s 4:44 drops from No. 5 to No. 11. The soundtrack toDescendants 2 drops from No. 9 to No. 20. Lana Del Rey’s Lust for Life drops from No. 10 to No. 23.

The Moana soundtrack dips from No. 14 to No. 15 in its 38th week. The album peaked at No. 2. The album returns to No. 1 on Top Soundtracks, displacing Descendants 2. This is the 16th week at No. 1 on that chart for Moana.

Eminem’s greatest hits album, Curtain Call: The Hits, rebounds from No. 87 to No. 41 in its 353rd chart week. The album spent its first two weeks at No. 1 in December 2005. The album finally reaches No. 1 on Top Catalog Albums, displacing Linkin Park’s debut album, Hybrid Theory. It’s the first rap album to top the catalog chart since N.W.A’s Straight Outta Compton two years ago.

Barbra Streisand’s 2014 album Partners tops 1 million in traditional album sales this week.

Coming Attractions: Look for Kesha’s Rainbow to debut at No. 1 next week.