Chart Watch: ‘Despacito’ Ties One Record, Eyes Another

Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” (featuring Justin Bieber) tops the Hot 100 for the fifth consecutive week. This equals Ricky Martin’s 1999 smash “Livin’ La Vida Loca” as the longest-running No. 1 hit in chart history by a Puerto Rican artist. (Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, and Martin were all born in San Juan, the commonwealth’s capital city.) Among other notable hits by Puerto Rican artists, Jose Feliciano’s 1968 cover version of the Doors’ “Light My Fire” reached No. 3.

“Despacito” sold 141K digital copies this week, which puts it at No. 1 on Top Digital Songs for the sixth week. The song tops the 1 million mark in digital sales this week.

“Despacito” is the early frontrunner to become the Song of the Summer for 2017. This would be the third time that a song recorded in a foreign language has come out on top. Domenico Modugno’s “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)” (recorded in Italian) was the Song of the Summer for 1958. Los Del Rio’s “Macarena” (recorded mostly in Spanish, as is “Despacito) was the 1996 champ.

“Despacito” is on track to become the 10th collaboration to wind up as the Song of the Summer. The first was “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” a 1976 smash by Elton John & Kiki Dee. “Despacito” would be the second all-male collabo to take Song of the Summer honors. The first was “Blurred Lines,” the 2013 champ by Robin Thicke featuring T.I. + Pharrell.

Bieber has a second song in the top three on the Hot 100 for the fifth week in row. DJ Khaled’s “I’m the One” (featuring Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, and Lil Wayne) holds at No. 3 in its sixth week. The song debuted at No. 1. Bieber had two songs in the top three (“Love Yourself” and “Sorry”) for eight weeks early last year. This gives him a career total of 13 weeks with two of the top three songs. Billboard‘s Gary Trust reports that that’s more than anyone else in chart history. The Beatles had two (or more) of the top three songs for a total of 12 weeks.

Bieber may well have three songs in the top 10 next week. “2U,” his collaboration with David Guetta, is expected to make a potent debut.

“Despacito” also tops the Official U.K. Singles Chart for the fifth straight week. “I’m the One” dips to No. 3 on that chart.

Top Songs

Bruno Mars’s “That’s What I Like” holds at No. 2 for a sixth week in its 21st week on the chart. The song hit No. 1. The peppy tune is also No. 1 for the 10th week on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” inches up from No. 5 to No. 4 in its 22nd week. The song logged 12 weeks at No. 1. It’s the first song in Hot 100 history to spend its first 22 weeks in the top five.

Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble.” dips from No. 4 to No. 5 in its 10th week. The song reached No. 1.

Future’s “Mask Off” holds at No. 6 in its 16th week. The song has climbed as high as No. 5.

Lil Uzi Vert’s “XO TOUR Llif3” jumps from No. 9 to No. 7 in its 11th week. This is the song’s highest ranking to date.

“Something Just Like This” by the Chainsmokers and Coldplay holds at No. 8 in its 16th week. The song peaked at No. 3. This is the 58th consecutive week that the Chainsmokers have had one or more songs in the top 10. Only Katy Perry has had more continuous weeks in the top 10 — 69 in 2010-11.

“Stay” by Zedd & Alessia Cara drops from its No. 7 peak to No. 9 in its 15th week.

Post Malone’s “Congratulations” (featuring Quavo) holds at No. 10 in its 24th week.

Shawn Mendes lands his fifth consecutive top 20 hit as “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back” jumps from No. 22 to No. 18 in its seventh week.

Fifth Harmony’s “Down” (featuring Gucci Mane) is the top new entry on the Hot 100 at No. 42. It’s the group’s first single following Camila Cabello’s departure in December.

DJ Khaled’s “To the Max” (featuring Drake) is the second-highest new entry at No. 53. It’s the third single from Khaled’s 10th studio album, Grateful, which is due June 23.

Ariana Grande’s “One Last Time” reenters Top Digital Songs at No. 19 in the wake of her performance of the song at the One Love Manchester concert. The song sold 28K copies this week, bringing its total to 854K. The song was rereleased as a charity single in the wake of the concert. It was originally released as the fifth single from Grande’s sophomore album, My Everything. It reached No. 13 on the Hot 100. The song reenters the Official U.K. Singles Chart at No. 2, becoming Grande’s fifth top 10 hit in the U.K.

Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” tops the 3 million mark in digital sales this week. The feel-good smash debuted at No. 1 and won a Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media.

Keith Urban’s “Blue Ain’t Your Color” tops the 1 million mark in digital sales this week. The tender ballad reached No. 24 on the Hot 100 and spent 12 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on Hot Country Songs. It was the fourth single released from Urban’s ninth album, Ripcord.

Top Albums

Halsey’s Hopeless Fountain Kingdom enters the Billboard 200 at No. 1. It’s the first album by a female solo artist to top the chart since Lady Gaga’s Joanne eight months ago. This is Halsey’s sophomore album. Her debut album, Badlands, debuted and peaked at No. 2. The lead single from the new album, “Now or Never,” is Halsey’s first top 40 hit as a lead artist on the Hot 100.

Halsey became a household name when she teamed with the Chainsmokers for their smash “Closer.” The song spent 12 weeks at No. 1 and brought them a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. In the past two months, both the Chainsmokers and Halsey have landed their first No. 1 albums.

Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. holds at No. 2 in its eighth week. The album spent its first three weeks at No. 1.

EPIC AF (Yellow/Pink) rebounds from No. 11 to No. 3 in its sixth week (after the compilation was reissued with three bonus tracks). This is the album’s highest ranking to date.

The Beatles’ Sgt. Peppers’ Lonely Hearts Club Band dips from No. 3 to No. 4 in its 196th chart week. This 50-year old album is the oldest album ever to appear in the top 10. The album is No. 1 on Top Catalog Albums for the third nonconsecutive week. It’s also the oldest album ever to top the catalog chart. The album has sold 4,934,000 copies in traditional album sales since Nielsen began tracking U.S. sales in 1991.

Luke Combs’s first full-length album, This One’s for You, debuts at No. 5. It enters Top Country Albums at No. 1, displacing Chris Stapleton’s From a Room: Volume 1.

Drake’s More Life drops from No. 4 to No. 6 in its 12th week. It spent its first three weeks on top.

Ed Sheeran’s ÷ inches up from No. 8 to No. 7 in its 14th week. It spent its first two weeks at No. 1. The album returns to No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart. This is its 11th week on top in that country.

Summer Latin Hits 2017 inches up from No. 9 to No. 8 in its second week.

All Time Low lands its fifth top 10 album as Last Young Renegade debuts at No. 9.

Bruno Mars’s 24K Magic drops from No. 6 to No. 10 in its 29th week. The album has yet to fall out of the top 10. It logged four weeks at No. 2.

Bryson Tiller’s True to Self drops from No. 1 to No. 13 in its second week. This is the second week in a row that an album has dropped from No. 1 out of the top 10 in its second week. Linkin Park’s One More Light tumbled from No. 1 to No. 30. Three other albums drop out of the top 10 this week. Lil Yachty’s Teenage Emotions dives from No. 5 to No. 29. Chris Stapleton’s From a Room: Volume 1 drops from No. 8 to No. 15. Harry Styles’s eponymous debut album drops from No. 10 to No. 18.

Roger Waters’s Is This the Life We Really Want? debuts at No. 11. It’s the highest-charting of Waters’s four solo studio albums. It’s his first solo studio album in nearly 25 years. At 73, Waters is the oldest solo artist in this week’s top 20. (The two surviving Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, are older.)

U2’s The Joshua Tree rebounds from No. 127 to No. 16 in its 114th chart week, in the wake of the release of a deluxe 30th anniversary edition. It’s No. 2 on Top Catalog Albums, behind Sgt. Pepper’s. Both albums had long runs at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Both won the Grammy for Album of the Year. (The Joshua Tree has sold 3,710,000 copies in traditional album sales.)

The Moana soundtrack dips from No. 18 to No. 19 in its 29th week. The album peaked at No. 2. The album returns to No. 1 on the Top Soundtracks chart. This is its 10th week on top of that chart. It has been bumped out of the top spot three times—by La La Land, Beauty and the Beast and Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, but it has outlasted them all. The movie concluded its theatrical run in April, having grossed nearly $249 million.

Coming Attractions: Look for Katy Perry’s Witness to debut at No. 1 next week. Also headed for top 10 debuts: Lady Antebellum’s Heart Break and SZA’s CTRL.