Rae Sremmurd’s ‘Black Beatles’ to Battle The Chainsmokers’ ‘Closer’ for No. 1 on Hot 100 Next Week
As Mannequin Challenge videos continue to use the song's audio, "Beatles" should blast in streams and sales, while "Closer" should continue to rule radio.
Rae Sremmurd‘s “Black Beatles,” featuring Gucci Mane, looks primed to challenge The Chainsmokers‘ “Closer,” featuring Halsey, for the No. 1 spot on next week’s Billboard Hot 100 chart (dated Nov. 26).
On the current, Nov. 19-dated Hot 100, “Closer” spends a 12th week at No. 1, while “Beatles” ranks at No. 9 in its first week in the top 10, up from No. 16.
As previously reported, sparking the growth of “Beatles” is its usage in videos soundtracking the viral Mannequin Challenge online … including one by an actual Beatle, Paul McCartney, who joined in on the craze Thursday (Nov. 10) via a video posted to his Twitter account with the text, “Love those Black Beatles #MannequinChallenge.”
The Mannequin Challenge appears to have originated in an Oct. 26 tweet showing students at Jacksonville, Florida’s Edward H. White High School in mannequin poses; while that clip didn’t feature music, “Beatles” has found synchs in a multitude of subsequent videos. Rae Sremmurd then staged its own version of the challenge in concert Nov. 3; the Nov. 26-dated Hot 100, where “Beatles” should battle “Closer,” will reflect the sales and streaming tracking week of Nov. 4-10.
Based on industry forecasts, “Beatles” should soar to more than 120,000 downloads sold in the week ending Nov. 10, while “Closer” should sell more than 50,000. In the prior frame (ending Nov. 3), “Beatles” sold 34,000 and “Closer” sold 72,000, according to Nielsen Music.
Per Billboard projections according to preliminary Nielsen Music data, “Beatles” should also vault, and overtake “Closer,” in streaming, as the songs could draw more than 35 million and 25 million U.S. streams, respectively, in the week ending Nov. 10. In the prior tracking week, “Beatles” garnered 19 million streams and “Closer,” 29 million.
While “Beatles” could be the top-selling and most-streamed song of the week, “Closer” should continue to be the most-heard at radio, and with a significant lead over “Beatles,” with the songs trending toward weekly totals of more than 150 million and 15-20 million audience impressions, respectively.
All those figures look to add up to a fight to the finish for No. 1 on the Hot 100, which blends sales, airplay and streaming data.
Check Billboard.com Monday (Nov. 14), when highlights of the new Hot 100’s top 10 will post. The entire chart, and all rankings, will update the following day.
More From Pro
