The Weeknd Nos. 1 & 2 on Hot 100 With ‘Can’t Feel My Face’ & ‘The Hills’
The Weeknd's "Can't Feel My Face" rebounds 2-1 for a third nonconsecutive week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Weeknd‘s “Can’t Feel My Face” rebounds 2-1 for a third nonconsecutive week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It replaces Justin Bieber’s “What Do You Mean?,” which falls 1-3 after debuting atop the chart last week. Meanwhile, The Weeknd claims the Hot 100’s top two spots, as “The Hills” rises 3-2, making him the first act to rank at Nos. 1 and 2 simultaneously, as a lead act on both songs, since 2009.
Plus, Ed Sheeran scores his third Hot 100 top 10, as “Photograph” rises 12-10.
It’s another big week for The Weeknd and more, so, as we do each Monday, let’s run down the top 10 (and beyond) on the Hot 100 (dated Sept. 26). Highlights of the airplay/sales/streaming-based Hot 100 post on Billboard.com each Monday, with all charts updated each Tuesday.
As The Weeknd’s “Face,” released on XO/Republic, returns to the Hot 100’s pole position, it remains the most-heard song on radio. It spends a sixth week at No. 1 on the Radio Songs chart (149 million in audience, down less than 1 percent, according to Nielsen Music). It drops 2-3 on Digital Songs (101,000 downloads sold, down 19 percent, in the week ending Sept. 10) and holds at No. 4 on Streaming Songs (17.5 million U.S. streams, down 3 percent). “Face” also leads Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for a ninth week.
“Face” rebounds to the top of the Hot 100 after first leading the Aug. 15 chart and returning to reign on Aug. 29 (and remaining in the lead on the Sept. 5 survey). It’s the first song to yo-yo for three separate runs at the apex since Bruno Mars’ “Grenade” in January-February 2011.
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Meanwhile, The Weeknd (born Abel Tesfaye) doubles up at Nos. 1 and 2 on the Hot 100, as “The Hills” lifts 3-2. He’s the first artist to boast the top two ranks simultaneously since Iggy Azalea on the July 5, 2014 chart. That week, Azalea’s “Fancy” (featuring Charli XCX) held at No. 1 and Ariana Grande’s “Problem,” featuring Azalea, stayed at No. 2.
The Weeknd is the 16th act in the Hot 100’s history (which dates to Aug. 4, 1958) to rank at Nos. 1 and 2 simultaneously. Even more impressively, he’s just the 10th act to hold the Hot 100’s top two with two tracks as a lead artist on both, and the first since the Black Eyed Peas, with “I Gotta Feeling” and “Boom Boom Pow,” in 2009. He’s the first solo male to achieve the feat, as a lead with both hits, since T.I. in 2008 (“Live Your Life,” featuring Rihanna, and “Whatever You Like”). The other seven acts to earn the honor as leads at Nos. 1 and 2 in the same week: Akon (2006), Mariah Carey (2005), Usher (2004), OutKast (2004), Nelly (2002), Bee Gees (1978) and the Beatles (1964). (The Fab Four controlled the top two for a record 10 weeks that year; on the April 4, 1964 chart, they ranked at Nos. 1-5, a top five dominance that no act has equaled.)
“The Hills” pushes 5-2 on Digital Songs (108,000 downloads sold, up 23 percent); 3-2 on Streaming Songs (21.1 million, up 1 percent); and 10-7 on Radio Songs (94 million, up 19 percent.
The Weeknd Spends Second Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart
One more sign that pretty much everything is working for The Weeknd: he tops the Billboard 200 for a second week with his album Beauty Behind the Madness (featuring “Face” and “The Hills”). He’s the first artist to lead the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 simultaneously since Taylor Swift, who did so for seven weeks late last year and early this year with both “Shake It Off” and “Blank Space,” from 1989.
The last male with the top Billboard 200 album and Hot 100 song at the same time? Robin Thicke, with his Blurred Lines set and title track, respectively, on Aug. 17, 2013. (Honorable mention for Wiz Khalifa’s’ “See You Again,” featuring Charlie Puth; when it led the April 25, 2015 Hot 100, parent album the Furious 7 soundtrack rose 2-1 on the Billboard 200.)
Despite a close race for No. 1 among the Hot 100’s top three, Bieber’s “Mean” dips to No. 3 after its No. 1 arrival last week (down by 30 percent in overall activity). Still, “Mean” is the best-selling song in the U.S. for a second week, holding atop Digital Songs (159,000 downloads sold, down 53 percent; such a steep second-week drop is typical for songs by star acts that begin with extremely lofty sales). “Mean” slips 2-3 on Streaming Songs (19.6 million, down 15 percent), but blasts 28-15 on Radio Songs (56 million, up 32 percent).
“Mean,” from Bieber’s Nov. 13 studio album, also leads the subscription services-based On-Demand Songs chart for a second week (9.5 million, down 7 percent).
(Canadian content: As noted in yesterday’s “Ask Billboard” mailbag, Canadian acts control the Hot 100’s top three, now for a second week. Both artists are from Ontario: Bieber, from London, and The Weeknd, from Scarborough.)
The Nos. 4-9 songs on the Hot 100 all maintain their ranks from last week, led by Silento’s “Watch Me,” at No. 4 for a second week after reaching No. 3. Still, “Watch Me” tops Streaming Songs (23.5 million, down 10 percent) and Hot Rap Songs for an eighth week each.
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Capping the Hot 100’s top five, OMI’s’ former six-week Hot 100 No. 1 “Cheerleader” keeps at No. 5. Last week, the pop/reggae smash was crowned Billboard’s top song of the summer.
Major Lazer and DJ Snake’s No. 4-peaking “Lean On,” featuring MO, holds at No. 6 on the Hot 100, while leading Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart for a ninth week; Selena Gomez’s “Good for You,” featuring A$AP Rocky, stays at No. 7 and, as previously reported, takes over atop the Pop Songs airplay chart; Fetty Wap’s “679,” featuring Remy Boyz, is static at No. 8 (down from its No. 7 high); and, R. City’s “Locked Away,” featuring Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, remains at No. 9 (beneath its No. 8 peak).
Wrapping the Hot 100’s top 10, Sheeran scores his third top 10 with “Photograph” (12-10). All three of his top 10s are from his album x; his latest follows “Thinking Out Loud,” which peaked at No. 2 for eight weeks earlier this year, and “Don’t” (No. 9, last November). Sheeran is the first solo male with three top 10s from an album since… well, The Weeknd, as “Face,” The Hills” and “Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)” (which hit No. 3 in May) are all on Beauty Behind the Madness.
Then again, “Earned It” was first released from the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack. The last male with three Hot 100 top 10s from a set other than The Weeknd? Sam Smith, who sent “Stay With Me,” “I’m Not the Only One” and “Lay Me Down” to Nos. 2, 5 and 8, respectively (2014-15). Those songs are from Smith’s debut full-length In the Lonely Hour.
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“Photograph” develops into a Hot 100 top 10 by climbing 4-2 on Radio Songs (119 million, up 6 percent) and 35-33 on Streaming Songs (5.3 million, up 3 percent). On Digital Songs, it rebounds 22-21, despite a 9 percent drop to 42,000. It also leads the Adult Pop Songs airplay chart for a third week.
Among jumps just outside the Hot 100’s top 10, Taylor Swift’s “Wildest Dreams” rises 15-12; Shawn Mendes’ “Stitches” sews up a 19-14 surge; and Drake’s “Hotline Bling” bounds 22-16 with dual top Digital and Streaming Gainer honors. Find out more noteworthy news below the top 10 in the weekly “Hot 100 Chart Moves” column to post later this week.
Visit Billboard.com tomorrow (Sept. 15), when all rankings, including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh, as they do each Tuesday. The Hot 100 and other charts will also appear in the next issue of Billboard magazine, on sale Friday (18).