USA
Billboard Report (excerpt)
'Choosin' Texas' adds landmark 18th week at No. 1
Tuesday, August 18, 2026
by Keith Caulfield & Gary Trust, Los Angeles

Ella Langley's “Choosin’ Texas” notches an 18th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, moving to within a week of potentially tying for the longest command among non-holiday songs in the

survey’s history. The smash first led the list in February and has already set multiple chart records.
Meanwhile, country music continues its strong showing even beyond “Choosin’ Texas,” as the genre takes four of the chart’s top five spots. “Choosin’ Texas,” on Sawgod / Columbia Records, with Triple Tigers having promoted it to country radio, totaled 25 million official streams (up 1% week over week), 54.6 million radio airplay audience impressions (essentially even) and 8,000 sold (down 14%) in the United States Aug. 7-13. Langley’s first Hot 100 leader holds for an 18th week at No. 1 on Streaming Songs and a 15th week atop Digital Song Sales and keeps at No. 6, after reaching No. 4, on Radio Songs. Below “Choosin’ Texas” at No. 1 on the Hot 100, Taylor Swift’s “I Knew It, I Knew You” rebounds 5-2 after it spent its first two weeks on the chart at No. 1 in June; Morgan Wallen’s “Been by Now” holds at No. 3, two weeks after it debuted at No. 2; and Stella

Lefty’s “Boston” rolls 6-4 after reaching No. 3. Country adds another dominant week, two weeks after the genre monopolized the entire top five on the Hot 100 for the first time. Of the 11 weeks all-time with country songs at either Nos. 1-3, 1-4 or 1-5, all have occurred since August 2023, powered, in part, by country’s growth in streaming, among other factors. Elsewhere in the Hot 100’s top 10, Ariana Grande’s “Hate That I Made You Love Me” falls 2-5 after it led in its debut week in June. Wallen and Langley’s “I Can’t Love You Anymore” rises 7-6 on the Hot 100 after reaching No. 4. Olivia Dean’s “So Easy (To Fall in Love)” lifts 9-7 on the Hot 100, after hitting No. 5, and her “Man I Need” rebounds 11-9, after peaking at No. 2. Tame Impala and JENNIE’s “Dracula” hovers at No. 8 after reaching No. 5 on the Hot 100. Plus, Langley’s “Be Her” is steady at No. 10 on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 2. Stray Kids land their ninth No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart as THIS & THAT debuts atop the list dated Aug. 22. The set earned 369,000 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending Aug. 13, according to Luminate, marking the group’s biggest week by units. Of that sum, traditional album sales comprise 357,000, landing the act its best sales week ever. All nine of the group’s Billboard 200 chart entries have debuted at No. 1, beginning with Oddinary in 2022. In 2024, when HOP launched at No. 1, Stray Kids became the first act to debut its first six entries all at No. 1. They have since extended that record to nine with the arrival of This & That. The Billboard 200 began publishing on a regular, weekly basis in March 1956. With a ninth No. 1, Stray Kids extend their record for the most No. 1s among groups this century (since 2000). Further, the act ties The Rolling Stones for the second-most No. 1s on the Billboard 200 among groups. The Beatles lead all acts with 19 No. 1s. Of This & That’s 369,000 first-week equivalent album units, album sales comprise 357,000 (it debuts at No. 1 on the Top Album Sales chart), SEA units comprise 11,000 (equaling 12.21 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs) and TEA units comprise 1,000. This & That nets the sixth-largest week for an album, by units earned, in 2026. In traditional album sales, the album logs the second-largest week of 2026, behind only the debut of BTS’ Arirang (532,000). Ariana Grandes' petal falls to No. 2 after debuting at No. 1 a week ago. It earned 82,000 equivalent album units in its second week (down 72%). Four more former No. 1s are Nos. 3-6: Olivia Rodrigo’s you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love is a non-mover at No. 3 (72,000, down 3%); Ella Langley’s Dandelion is stationary at No. 4 (just over 70,000, down 2%); Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem falls 2-5 (70,000, down 6%); and Noah Kahan’s The Great Divide dips 5-6 (56,000, down 4%). Pooh Shiesty gets his second top 10 on the Billboard 200 as All Eyes on Shiest starts at No. 7. The rapper released the project while in jail, awaiting trial on robbery and kidnapping charges. The set begins with 51,000 equivalent album units. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 49,500 (equaling 51.59 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs; it debuts at No. 6 on Top Streaming Albums), album sales comprise 1,500 (it was only available to purchase only as a digital download) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum. Karol G collects her fourth top 10-charted project on the Billboard 200 as No Me Arrepiento de Sentir Tanto enters at No. 8 with 50,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 48,000 (equaling 49.52 million on-demand official streams of the album’s songs; it debuts at No. 7 on Top Streaming Albums), album sales comprise 1,500 (it was available to buy only as a digital download) and TEA units comprise about 500. Drake’s former leader ICEMAN falls 6-9 with 46,000 equivalent album units earned (down 5%). Rounding out the top 10 is Role Model’s Chuck Timely & The Hourglass, starting at No. 10 with 38,500 equivalent album units earned. It’s the first top 10 and largest week by units for the singer-songwriter. Of that sum, album sales comprise 24,000 (the act’s best sales week; it debuts at No. 2 on Top Album Sales), SEA units comprise 14,500 (equaling 14.73 million on-demand streams of the set’s songs) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum. The album’s first-week sales were aided by its availability across 12 physical variants (CD, vinyl and cassette, including signed editions), alongside a pair of download variations.

Record Of The Month
While on his international headline tour for his fourth album,
Oliver Tree and five other people died in a helicopter crash in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
Now, some of his songs are experiencing a resurgence on the charts, most notably 'Life Goes On'.

United Kingdom
Music Week Report (excerpt)
'Rein Me In' sets a historic record
Monday, August 17, 2026
by Alan Jones, London
 
The drought continues but so does the reign – the reign, that is, of Rein Me In, which spends an historic 21st week atop the chart for Sam Fender & Olivia Dean, moving further ahead of the field as the longest-running No.1 of all-time. On the eighth week of its fourth run at No.1, its 33rd consecutive week in

the Top 10, and 60th straight week in the Top 40, Rein Me In may, however, have started its terminal descent. Its consumption dips 6.40% week-on-week to 43,509 units (694 digital downloads and 42,815 sales-equivalent streams), extending to 26 the number of weeks in a row it has exceeded 40,000 units. Its runner-up for the fourth consecutive week, Dai Dai by Shakira & Burna Boy, also suffers a fall in consumption dipping 4.11% to 35,540 units. Its chances of reaching No.1 seem to have passed, especially as it is a week closer to ACR than Rein Me In. While these two remain frozen ahead of the pack, two artists make their Top 10 debuts with their very first hits, and two veteran campaigners return with a collaboration. The highest of five new entries to the Top 75 is Love Sensation – a track from Madonna’s Confessions 2 album re-cast as a duet with Kylie Minogue. Debuting at No.8 (19,707 sales), it earns its position largely due to pure sales

 of 15,171 – 10,993 CDs and 4,178 digital downloads. It is Madonna’s 75th Top 75 and 62nd Top 10 hit; Minogue’s 65th Top 75 and 36th Top 10 hit – those Top 10 tallies being the highest for any female soloists, with Madonna trailing only Cliff Richard (68 hits) among all acts. For all their success, the pair usually work alone – Love Sensation is only Madonna’s fifth Top 10 collaboration, and Minogue’s fourth. The track is Madonna’s first Top 10 entry since The Weeknd & Playboi Carti collaboration Popular reached No.10 in 2023, and her highest-charting song since Celebration reached No.3 in 2009. Madonna – 68 on Sunday (16 August) and 58-year-old Kylie are the oldest female duo ever to chart, and the most hit-laden. OCC incidentally, spin the ‘most Top 10 hits’ battle differently, giving Elvis Presley 76, Cliff Richard 68 and Madonna 65. That is because they count a song as a hit every time in charts. They therefore count 14 2005 re-issues of former Top 10 songs as new hits, and a trio of Madonna songs. To be clear, counting unique recordings only, Cliff has 68 (including two versions of The Young Ones), Madonna has 62 and Elvis has either 61 or 62 – although I discount the 2005 Presley reissues, I’m not sure what should be done about the 1971 reissue which combines two earlier hits – Heartbreak Hotel and Hound Dog. UK garage artist Silva Bumpa’s introductory smash, On 2Nite has stalled a couple of times but jumps 13-10 (19,630 sales) this week, while Stella Lefty’s Boston has recovered from decline four times, doing so again this week, and securing just two sales more than On 2Nite to jump 17-9 (19,632 sales). Matching 1997 No.4 hit Free as her highest charting hit, Movin’ To The Sun jumps 7-4 (26,604 sales) for Ultra Naté, accompanied by first time hitmakers Hugel and Imael Angel. Meanwhile Sienna Spiro’s second Top 10 hit, Great Expectation (10-7, 20,728 sales), usurps her first – the No.9 single, Die On This Hill – to become her highest-charting record. Choosin’ Texas rallies 5-3(26,802 sales) to return to peak for Ella Langley, who also secures her second Top 40 hit with Be Her (42-28, 10,351 sales). Ariana Grande had two songs in the Top 10 and three in the Top 15 last week. Hate That I Made You Love Me (3-6, 24,060 sales) continues in the Top 10 but Petal (4-12, 19,370 sales) does not. Kiss Me, which completed her trio of eligible tracks under primary artist rules last week at No.15 takes such a dive that it is now ‘starred-out’, with Like I Do (No.48, 8,693 sales) replacing it and becoming her 58th hit. All of the above are tracks on her new album, Petal. Completing the Top 10: Stupid Song (6-5, 24,719 sales) by Olivia Rodrigo. Overall singles consumption is down 1.61% week-on-week to 29,955,001 units, their lowest level for 31 weeks, and 1.11% below same week 2025 sales of 30,289,802 units. Paid-for sales are up 2.79% week-on-week at 273,499, 2.91% above same week 2025 sales of 265,775. Choosing when to release an album can be tricky, with major artists generally avoiding head-to-head battles, and less stellar but still strong acts scheduling their releases in weaker weeks in pursuit of the No.1 slot. In this respect, The Reytons chose the right one in which to release their A Love Letter To A Broken Town, which duly debuts at No.1 this week, on consumption of 15,031 units (4,395 CDs, 7,307 vinyl albums, 2,582 cassettes, 289 digital downloads and 458 sales-equivalent streams). Their second No.1, fourth Top 10 entry and seventh Top 30 entry (including EPs and a live album) since 2021 – the latter tally the highest in that timeframe of any act apart from Taylor Swift, who has 10 – a Love Letter To A Broken Town is The Reytons’ fourth studio album, and consists of a dozen new tracks, all crediting the Rotherham quartet jointly as writers. Proudly independent – ‘‘No backing. No label. All Reytons”, they proclaim on their website - The Reytons comprise 40-year-old singer Jonathan ‘Jonny’ Yerrell, 38-year-old lead guitarist Joe O’Brien, 39-year-old bassist Lee Holland and 42-year-old drummer, Jamie Todd. The seventh album to debut at No.1 in as many weeks, A Love Letter To A Broken Town opens with higher consumption than the 12,252 start The Reytons’ first No.1, What’s Rock And Roll?, achieved on its 2023 debut but marginally lower than the 15,062 tally posted by its immediate predecessor Ballad Of A Bystander, when it opened at No.2 behind James Arthur’s Bittersweet in 2024. The last time an album was No.1 on lower consumption than A Love Letter To A Broken Town was 17 weeks ago, when Olivia Dean’s The Art Of Loving topped on consumption of 12,585 units, and the last new studio album to debut at No.1 with a lower tally was 60 weeks ago, when James Marriott’s Don’t Tell The Dog occupied pole position with 14,528 units. Two years after London female R&B trio Flo’s first full length album Access All Areas, debuted at No.3 on consumption of 9,501 units. Follow-up Therapy At The Club – on which one or more of the group co-wrote every track, aside from the title track – opens at No.5 on consumption of 10,659 units. They are the first British female R&B group to make the top five with their first two albums – both Eternal and Mis-Teeq made it with their first, and reached No.6 with their second albums. Debuting at No.6 (8,446 sales), Chuck Timely & The Hourglass is the third album and first Top 75 entry for 29-year-old American singer/songwriter Tucker Pillsbury as Role Model. His 2022 debut, Rx, failed to make the Top 200, and his 2025 second album, Kansas Anymore, reached No.92. The rest of the Top 10: The Essential (2-2, 12,812 sales) by Michael Jackson, You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love (3-3, 12,057 sales) by Olivia Rodrigo, Petal (1-4, 11,169 sales) by Ariana Grande, The Art Of Loving (4-7, 8,417 sales) by Olivia Dean, 50 Years: Don’t Stop (6-8, 7,602 sales) by Fleetwood Mac, Visitor (5-9, 7,316 sales) by Sienna Spiro and The Highlights (7-10, 6,950 sales) by The Weeknd. Overall album sales are down 1.77% week-on-week to 2,384,046 units – their lowest level for 31 weeks - and also 1.77% below same week 2025 sales of 2,426,829. Physical product accounts for 275,504 sales, 11.56% of the total.