Features
Post Malone Conquers Elite 100 Artists Chart
Arthur Mola / Invision / AP – Post Malone
Post Malone performs during iHeartRadio Jingle Ball North at Air Canada Centre in Toronto Dec. 9.
Our friends at Buzz Angle Music have been working tirelessly to work out some technical issues with their database and this week we once again have an Elite 100 Artists chart, which highlights the release of a new album from Post Malone.
Posty is in the top slot for the week ending May 3 thanks to 7,200 album sales; 48,500 song sales; and 44.9 million on demand streams. The big numbers all coincide with the April 27 release of his latest album Beerbongs & Bentleys, which include the hit singles “Bank Account” and “Psycho.”
The usual suspects of Drake, The Weeknd, Migos and Ed Sheeran round out the top five. This week Drake’s strongest metric was a massive 31,200 song sales, many of which are likely his latest single, “Nice For What,” even as he still rides the success of “God’s Plan.” Drake’s ability to dominate spins charts simply remains unmatched.
Drizzy was featured on the song “Look Alive” with BlocBoy JB in February and now the 21-year-old BlocBoy is at the No. 36 position on the chart.
Another artist ascending the charts is Kanye West, whose return to social media and controversial comments have once again brought him into headlines. Yeezy is promising lots of new music in June, but he released two songs for the chart period in question, one of which, titled “Life Yourself,” which features some solid sampling but nonsensical lyrics. Kanye had 15.5 million streams and 9,100 song sales tracked for the week.
Other artists making waves on the chart are newcomer Ella Mai, whose single “Boo’d Up” is likely responsible for her 7,200 song sales and 6 million streams. She came in at No. 58.
Rapper Lil Dicky is on at No. 41, largely thanks to his single “Freaky Friday” in which he and Chris Brown act as though they have swapped bodies. While the song is meant to be a joke, some of Lil Dicky’s fans caught heat for recording themselves repeating Chris Brown’s lyrics.
Another newcomer on the chart is Lil Baby, who came in at No. 88, largely thanks to 6.2 million streams.
Willie Nelson is back on the chart at No. 76 with 3,500 album sales and 3,700 song sales. Willie released a new project, Last Man Standing April 27.
Finally, the late Avicii is back on the chart at No. 31, as his death was followed by an outpouring of appreciation for his music and his life. Avicii had 16,800 song sales and 7.8 million streams.
Projects from Rae Sremmurd, Swae Lee, Slim Jxmmi, Rob $tone, Royce Da 5’9, Styles P, BlocBoy JB, Belly, Shakey Graves, and Lake Street Dive all dropped May 4, so we will see who makes it onto next week’s chart.
Look out for new projects from Charlie Puth, Arctic Monkeys, Ski Mask The Slump God, Tee Grizzley, Beach House, and Sevendust on May 11.