Morgan Wallen “Last Night” spends 1st of 25 weeks atop country chart

Last Night Morgan Wallen

Writer(s): John Byron, Ashley Gorley, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Ryan Vojtesak (see lyrics here) Released: January 31, 2023 First Charted: February 11, 2023 Peak: 116 BB, 11 DG, 119 ST, 13 AC, 5 A40, 1256 CN, 18 AU, 17 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 7.0 US, 0.6 UK, 8.93 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 215.74 video, 1075.17 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Country singer/songwriter was born in 1993 in Sneedville, Tennessee. He gained attention competing on the TV talent show The Voice in 2014. He signed a deal with Panacea Records and released his debut EP, Stand Alone, the following year. His debut album, If I Know Me, came out in 2018 and produced three songs which topped the country airplay chart. His next album, 2021’s Dangerous: The Double Album, topped the country and Billboard 200 album charts and went six times platinum. It also gave him two top-10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Anticipation was high for his third album, 2023’s One Thing at a Time. Two singles from 2022 preceded the album, both reaching #1 on the country chart and the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Even so, it would have been hard to predict just how successful Wallen would be with his next single. “Last Night” was the third single from One Thing at a Time. It vaulted itself into history with 25 weeks atop the country chart and 16 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100. It was the 20th time a song topped both charts. SF In the history of the latter chart, only one song – Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” – spent more weeks on top (19). Two other songs – Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito” and Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day” – also logged 16 weeks at #1. The last time a solo male country artist had topped the Billboard Hot 100 was all the way back in 1981 – when Eddie Rabbitt did it with “I Love a Rainy Night.” WK “Last Night” also became the first song in history to be #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 during six consecutive months. WK It was also the first song to land one billion on-demand streams in the United States in a single year. WK Lyrically, the song explores a relationship plagued by ongoing issues. The protagonist sings about “a difficult conversation with his romantic partner, fueled by alcohol, from the previous night…[but] he still desires her love and strives to keep their union going.” SF Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Morgan Wallen SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia First posted 1/2/2024; last updated 10/14/2024.

Jack Harlow “First Class” hit #1

First Class Jack Harlow

Writer(s): Jackman Harlow, Jasper Harris, Douglas Ford, Rogét Chahayed, José Velazquez, Micaiah Raheem, Nickie Jon Pabón, Ryan Vojtesak, Stacy Ferguson, Jamal Jones, Will Adams, Elvis Williams, Christopher Bridges (see lyrics here) Released: April 8, 2022 First Charted: April 21, 2022 Peak: 13 BB, 14 BA, 11 DG, 13 ST, 11 RR, 17 A40, 110 RB, 2 UK, 11 CN, 12 AU (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.6 UK, 3.91 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 168.11 video, 853.51 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Rapper Jack Harlow was born in Kentucky in 1998. He released several mixtapes and EPs before his debut album, That’s What They All Say, came out in 2020 and was a top-five, million-selling album. He experienced his first chart success with the album’s single “What’s Poppin’,” which reached #2 on the pop and R&B charts on its way to being certified seven times platinum. In 2021, Harlow reached #1 as a guest artist on Lil Nas X’s “Industry Baby.” Th next year, he topped the charts on his own with “First Class,” the second single from his sophomore album, Come Home, the Kids Miss You. It appeared first on TikTok, going viral and gaining 28.8 million views before it was officially released. WK Harlow uses the song to brag about his lifestyle changes since making it big with “What’s Poppin’.” He can now afford to fly his friends and family first class, “treat his lady to the finer things in life, and upsize his mom and dad’s property.” SF The song heavily samples Fergie’s “Glamorous,” a #1 song from 2007. He said the song “was one of the biggest and most important songs of my childhood. It influenced my whole style.” SF NPR’s Reanna Cruz said the song finds Harlow “dabbling in the space between the dorky and affable – perhaps the key to his success. You can’t help but root for him.” NPR “He knows what he’s doing and…he games the Gen-Z algorithm to great effect.” NPR Billboard magazine named “First Class” the #1 R&B/rap song of the year. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Jack Harlow NPR NPR.org (4/14/2022). “Jack Harlow, ‘First Class’” by Reanna Cruz SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia First posted 1/7/2024; last updated 10/15/2024.

Glass Animals “Heat Waves” hit #1 after 59 weeks

Heat Waves Glass Animals

Writer(s): Dave Bayley (see lyrics here) Released: June 29, 2020 First Charted: November 14, 2020 Peak: 15 US, 16 BA, 11 AC, 12 A40, 17 AA, 13 MR, 5 UK, 12 CN, 15 AU, 3 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, 3.0 UK, 18.29 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1024.82 video, 3157.87 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves” set some of the most significant chart records in the history of the Billboard Hot 100. It entered the chart in January 2021 at #100 and, 42 weeks later, had climbed into the top 10 – the longest any song had taken to reach those heights. On March 12, 2022, the song ascended to the pinnacle in its 59th week on the chart – a record for most weeks before hitting #1. It wasn’t finished, though. The song stuck around for more than 30 more weeks to land another landmark chart achievement – more weeks on the Hot 100 than any other song in history (surpassing The Weekend’s 90-week chart run with “Blinding Lights”). The indie rock band formed in Oxford, England, in 2010. They released their first album, Zaba, in 2014 and their sophomore effort, How to Be a Human Being, two years later. It got all the way to #20 in the US and #23 in the UK, but didn’t have any chart success when it came to the singles’ front. However, 2020’s Dreamland became the group’s first top-10 album in the UK and United States, thanks to the success of “Heat Waves.” The song is “about a man who’s failing at a romantic relationship. He doesn’t feel like he’s giving his partner the life that she deserves. It differs from the typical heartache song in that all of the angst is directed inwardly. Frontman Dave Bayley never blames or condemns his partner – only himself.” SF He explained it “is about loss and longing, and ultimately realizing you are unable to save something.” WK He also said,it “is about memories and it’s very nostalgic…Maybe that’s part of the reason this song’s hung around for so bloody long.” WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Glass Animals SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia First posted 10/13/2022; last updated 10/13/2024.

The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” spent 26th week atop the airplay chart

Blinding Lights The Weeknd

Writer(s): Abel Tesfaye, Ahmad Balshe, Jason Quenneville, Max Martin, Oscar Holter (see lyrics here) Released: November 29, 2019 Peak: 14 US, 126 BA, 14 DG, 11 ST, 17 RR, 135 AC, 120 A40, 111 RB, 18 UK, 17 CN, 18 AU, 3 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, 4.2 UK, 20.79 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 3.75 radio, 1941.20 video, 4209.20 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The grandaddy of charts is the Billboard Hot 100 which tracks the top songs in the U.S. every week across all genres. The chart pulls information from radio airplay, digital sales, and streaming data. On April 4, 2019, The Weeknd topped the Hot 100 with “Blinding Lights.” Two weeks later, it landed atop the airplay chart where it spent 26 weeks. Those six months at #1 were more than any other song in the history of the charts from 1890 to present has spent atop any of the major pop charts. See the DMDB page “USA: Biggest #1 Pop Songs” for more detail. The song also set a record for more weeks in the top 5 than any other song in the history of the Hot 100 when it eclipsed the 28 weeks spent in the upper regions by the Chainsmokers’ “Closer” and Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You.” SF In November 2021, Billboard ranked it the #1 song in the history of its Hot 100 chart. In the chart’s 63-year history, close to 30,000 songs have charted. BB See the top 100 list here. “Blinding Lights” topped the chart in 34 countries. It was the fifth #1 song in the United States for Canadian R&B singer Abel Tesfaye, better known as the Weeknd. In January 2023, “Blinding Lights” became Spotify’s most-streamed song of all-time, surpassing Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You.” HB The song is about the rekindling of a relationship in which the Weeknd sings about how he isn’t at peace unless he’s with his woman. He’s likely referring to model Bella Hadid, who he broke up with in 2016, but reunited in 2019. SF The Weeknd collaborated with Swedish songwriter and producer Max Martin, who’d worked with Katy Perry, Britney Spears, and Taylor Swift. The pair had worked together before, most notably on the Weeknd’s #1 hit “Can’t Feel My Face.” Consequence of Sound, which named it the best song of 2020, praised its “melodic romance waxed over a blockbuster riff.” WK The Evening Standard’s David Smyth called it a “glorious blast of air punching Eighties synth pop.” WK Rolling Stone’s Kory Grow called it “the best New Wave song this side of Duran Duran.” WK Resources: BB Billboard (11/23/2021). “The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ Is the New No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 Song of All Time” by Gary Trust HB Hypebot.com (1/2023). “The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ is Spotify’s most-streamed track ever” by Stacy Simons Santos SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 12/7/2020; last updated 5/3/2024.