Global Chart
Report
----------------------------------
'Billie Jean'
turns back to no.1
Sunday, May 24, 2026
by Fred Chuchel, Dresden
What a great
surprise!! 43 years after its seven
week run atop the Global Track
Chart, Michael Jackson's classic
'Billie Jean' returns to the summit
of the Global Track Chart for an
eighth week with 231,000 points. The
musical biographical film 'Michael'
ensures that many of Michael
Jackson's biggest hits returns to
the international hitlists. It's the
third time that 'Billie Jean'
reaches the top three, the song was
seven weeks at number one in March /
April 1983 and placed no.2 on the
Year-End Chart 1983. After Michael
Jackson's death it returned and
peaked at no.3 in the calendar week
28, 2009. With a total of 11,294,000
points 'Billie Jean' reaches no.52
on our historical
ALL TIME CHART.
Broken down by sectors the song gets
195,000 points by streaming (down
3,5%), 32,000 points by sales (down
11%), but only 4,000 points by
airplay (down 2%). Justin Bieber's 'Beauty And A
Beat', a collab with rapper Nicki
Minaj, ruled the Global Track Chart
the last four weeks
and sails now at no.3 with 215,000
points (183,000 points by streaming,
28,000 points by sales, and 4,000
points by airplay). Sandwiched
between 'Billie Jean' and 'Beauty
And A Beat' places 'Swim' by BTS
(Bangtan Boys) at the runner-up slot
with 217,000 points (down 5% with
166,000 points by streaming, 13,000
points by sales, and 38,000 points
by airplay). With the release of
three new albums by Canadian rapper
and singer Drake, six of his new
songs entering the Top 40, led by
'Janice STFU', which bows at no.5
with 202,000 points (170,000 points
by streaming, 30,000 points by
sales, and only 2,000 points by
airplay). Outside our Top 40
waiting among other 'Self Aware' by
Temper City at no.43, 'Bangaranga'
by Dara at no.51,
'Rein Me In' by Sam Fender & Olivia
Dean at no.59, and 'Be Her' by Ella
Langley at no.60 for their first appearance on
the hitlist. 'GreenGreen', the
second extended play by the South
Korean boy group Cortis, is the
clear winner of the current Global
Album Chart. The set bows with
massive 566,000 equivalent sales
(most of it consists of physical
sales). Cortis is Big Hit
Entertainment's third successful
band after BTS (Bangtan Boys) and
Tomorrow X Together. Their first
extended play 'Color Outside The
Lines' debuted and peaked at no.5
with 142,000 consumption units in
the calendar week 39, 2025. Noah
Kahan's fourth studio effort 'The
Great Divide' remains at the
runner-up slot for a third week with
another 165,000 consumption units
(135,000 points by streaming +
30,000 points by sales). Rounds out
the top three is 'Arirang' by BTS
(Bangtan Boys) with 155,000
equivalent sales (74,000 points by
streaming + 81,000 points by sales).
With a total of 3,68 million units
it's far and away the most
successful album of the year 2026
(so far). And now, as every week, additional
stats from outside the current
Global Album Top 20 in alphabetic
order. The first figure means last
week's sales, the second figure the
total sales: '1989' by Taylor Swift
16,000 / 17,499,000, '1989 (Taylor's
Version)' by Taylor Swift 10,000 /
7,586,000, '21' by Adele 12,000 /
34,465,000, '25' by Adele 9,000 /
26,179,000, '30' by Adele 8,000 /
7,291,000, 'After Hours' by The
Weeknd 22,000 / 12,231,000,
'Cowboy Carter' by
Beyoncé 9,000 / 2,509,000, 'Divide'
by Ed Sheeran 17,000 / 22,954,000,
'Eternal Sunshine' by Ariana Grande
22,000 / 5,722,000, 'Evermore' by
Taylor Swift 8,000 / 7,152,000,
'Fireworks & Rollerblades' by Benson
Boone 13,000 / 4,268,000, 'Folklore'
by Taylor Swift 17,000 / 13,291,000,
'Future Nostalgia' by Dua Lipa
15,000 / 10,420,000, 'GNX' by
Kendrick Lamar 12,000 / 4,289,000,
'Guts' by Olivia Rodrigo 28,000 /
5,949,000, 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' by
The Weeknd 16,000 / 2,982,000, 'I
Barely Know Her' by Sombr 40,000 /
2,200,000, 'I've
Tried Everything But Therapy' by
Teddy Swims 19,000 / 4,501,000, the
soundtrack to 'K-pop Demon Hunters'
47,000 / 4,771,000,
'Lux' by Rosalíá 16,000 /
937,000, 'Mayhem' by Lady GaGa
21,000 / 3,332,000, 'Midnights' by
Taylor Swift 12,000 / 13,509,000,
'One Thing At A Time' by Morgan
Wallen 31,000 / 10,691,000, 'Red
(Taylor's Version)' by Taylor Swift
9,000 / 7,233,000, 'Short n' Sweet'
by Sabrina Carpenter 44,000 /
7,435,000, 'So Close To What' by
Tate McRae 29,000 / 3,596,000,
'Sour' by Olivia Rodrigo 39,000 /
13,950,000, 'SOS' by SZA 47,000 / 13,991,000,
'Starboy' by The Weeknd 24,000 /
10,747,000, 'Stick Season' by Noah
Kahan 36,000 / 6,755,000, 'The Highlights'
by The Weeknd 16,000 / 11,052,000,
'The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest
Princess' by Chappell Roan 16,000 /
5,073,000, 'The Secret Of Us' by
Gracie Abrams 17,000 / 4,310,000,
'The Tortured Poets Department' by
Taylor Swift 29,000 / 12,235,000,
'Tropicoqueta' by Karol G 23,000 /
1,665,000, and 'When We All Fall
Asleep, Where Do We Go?' by Billie
Eilish 15,000 / 13,527,000.
GLOBAL NO.1 - 40
YEARS AGO
... "Kiss" was released on February
5, 1986, as the lead single from
Prince's eighth studio album, Parade
(1986). The song started as a rough
acoustic demo, with a verse and
chorus written by Prince. He gave
his demo to the funk band Mazarati.
But in the end, Prince decided to
finish the song and added the
signature guitar and falsetto vocal.
The distinctive "ah-wah-ah" backing
vocals were taken from 60s icon
Brenda Lee. "Kiss" went to the
number one position in the United
States and reached the Top 10 in
United Kingdom, Germany, Canada,
Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium,
Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, and
New Zealand.
USA
Billboard Report
(excerpt)
"Choosin' Texas" notches
tenth week at No. 1
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
by Keith Caulfield & Gary
Trust, Los Angeles
Ella Langley
adds her latest week of
chart history as
“Choosin’ Texas” tallies a
10th week at No. 1 on the
Billboard Hot 100.
Only 4% of all leaders over
the survey’s 67-year
archives have
reached the milestone — and
the achievement is even
rarer among country hits.
The song, is one of just
four songs to have ruled the
Hot 100 for 10 or more weeks
and made the Hot Country
Songs top five; notably,
three have done so in the
last three-plus years.
Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song
(Tipsy)” led the lists for
19 and 45 weeks,
respectively, in 2024-25,
following Morgan Wallen’s
“Last Night” (16 and 25
weeks in 2023). Debby
Boone’s “You Light Up My
Life” became the first song
ever to dominate the Hot 100
for double-digit weeks (10)
and hit No. 4 on Hot Country
Songs in 1977. Langley sets
another mark on the latest
Hot 100: “Be Her” holds at
its No. 2 high, making her
the first artist known for
primarily recording country
music ever to claim chart’s
the top two spots
simultaneously for multiple
weeks. Among all
core-country acts, she
passes Wallen, who doubled
up for a week last year.
“Choosin’ Texas,” on
Sawgod/Columbia Records,
with Triple Tigers
promoting it to country
radio, totaled 27.8 million
official streams (up 4% week
over week), 48.1 million
radio airplay audience
impressions (up 1%) and
7,000 sold (down 11%) in the
United States May 8-14. The
single, which became
Langley’s first Hot 100 No.
1 in mid-February, logs an
11th week atop the Streaming
Songs chart;
rises a spot to a new No. 5
best on Radio Songs; and
holds for a seventh week
atop Digital Song Sales.
Olivia Dean charts her first
two Hot 100 top 10s in the
top five for the first time:
“Man I Need” rebounds 4-3,
after reaching No. 2, and
“So Easy (To Fall in Love)”
ascends a place to a new No.
5 high. Dean, from London,
becomes the first British
woman to place her first two
top five Hot 100 hits in the
bracket simultaneously.
Among all Englishwomen at
any career point, she’s the
first to manage the
accomplishment since Adele
with “Easy on Me” and “Oh My
God” (the most recent of her
six top five hits) in
December 2021. The only
British acts overall to each
chart their first two top
five titles, or more, on the
Hot 100 in that range
simultaneously? Dean,
Herman’s Hermits (for one
week in 1965) and The
Beatles (eight weeks, 1964).
The Peter Noone-fronted
Herman’s Hermits did so with
“Can’t You Hear My
Heartbeat” and “Silhouettes”
after the Fab Four initiated
the stat with the iconic “I
Want To Hold Your Hand” and
“She Loves You.” Bruno Mars’
“I Just Might” lifts 5-4
after three weeks atop the
Hot 100 between January and
March. It leads Radio Songs
for a 13th week, with 72.6
million in audience (down
5%). Mars also returns to
the Hot 100’s top 10 with
“Risk It All” (15-8), which
debuted at its No. 4 peak in
March. Following the May 8
release of its Spanish
version, it’s up 19% to 11.2
million streams, 11% to 38.8
million in radio reach and
70% to 2,000 sold. Alongside
Langley, Dean and Mars each
infusing the Hot 100’s top
10 with two hits, Alex
Warren’s “Ordinary” rises
7-6 after 10 weeks at No. 1
last June-August. Olivia
Rodrigo’s “Drop Dead” dips
3-7 on the Hot 100, three
weeks after it debuted at
No. 1. Kehlani’s “Folded”
holds at No. 9 after
reaching No. 6 on the Hot
100. Rounding out the Hot
100’s top 10, Tame Impala
and Jennie’s “Dracula”
repeats at its No. 10 high.
Noah Kahan’s The
Great Divide scores
a third week atop the
Billboard 200 (dated May
23), making it the first
rock album with three weeks
at No. 1 in more than a
decade. The last rock set
with as many weeks at No. 1
was Mumford & Sons’ Babel,
with five, nonconsecutively,
in 2012-13.
The Great Divide earned
132,000 equivalent album
units in the United States
in the week ending May 14
(down 19%), according to
Luminate. Of The
Great Divide’s
132,000 equivalent album
units earned in the latest
tracking week, SEA units
comprise 109,000 (down 20%,
equaling 111.46 million
on-demand official streams
of the set’s tracks; it
spends a third week at No. 1
on Top Streaming Albums),
album sales comprise 22,000
(down 85%; it holds at No. 2
on Top Album Sales) and TEA
units comprise the remainder
(up 18%). Ella Langley’s
former leader Dandelion is
a non-mover at No. 2 on the
Billboard 200 with 100,000
equivalent album units
earned (down 3%). Cortis
earns its first top 10 with
the No. 3 debut of GreenGreen,
starting with 87,000
equivalent album units, the
group’s best week by units.
Of that sum, album sales
comprise 81,500 (the
quintet’s best sales week;
it debuts at No. 1 on Top
Album Sales), SEA units
comprise 5,500 (equaling
5.91 million on-demand
official streams of the
set’s songs) and TEA units
comprise a negligible sum.
First-week album sales were
bolstered by the set’s
availability across more
than 20 physical variants on
CD and vinyl, all containing
collectible items such as
photocards and stickers,
with some items randomized.
Morgan Wallen’s
chart-topping I’m
the Problem is
steady at No. 4 on the
latest Billboard 200 with
85,000 equivalent album
units earned (up 2%).
Michael Jackson has the Nos.
5 and 6 albums, as his
former No. 1 Thriller is
steady at No. 5 (66,000
equivalent album units, up
6%) and Number
Ones is
also stationary at No. 6
(just more than 65,000, up
6%). Both titles continue to
bask in the glow of the
success of the Michael biopic
film. Chris Brown’s new
studio effort,
Brown,
bows at No. 7 on the
Billboard 200, earning the
singer-songwriter his 13th
top 10-charted project. The
new set launches with 65,000
equivalent album units
earned. Of that sum, SEA
units comprise 60,000
(equaling 60.31 million
on-demand official streams
of the sets tracks; it
debuts at No. 4 on Top
Streaming Albums), album
sales comprise 5,000 (it
debuts at No. 19 on Top
Album Sales, and was only
available to purchase as a
digital download) and TEA
units comprise the
remainder. Rounding out the
rest of the top 10 on the
latest Billboard 200: BTS’s
former leader Arirang (falling
7-8 with 44,000 equivalent
album units, down 10%),
Wallen’s chart-topping One
Thing at a Time (holding
at No. 9 with 41,000, up 3%)
and Olivia Dean’s The
Art of Loving (8-10
with nearly 41,000, down
3%).
Record Of The Month
'Fever Dream' by Alex Warren
is his new smash and the
first sign of a new album?
United Kingdom
Music Week Report
(excerpt)
'Rein Me In' rules a 12th
week
Monday, May 25, 2026
by Alan Jones, London
Drake released 41 new songs
(and two previously released
tracks) last Friday (May
15), across three albums.
Some put up a spirited fight
to earn him his seventh No.1
but all ultimately fell
short, leaving Rein Me In to
claim pole position for the
fourth week in a row, and
12th week in total for Sam
Fender & Olivia Dean, on
consumption of 47,622 units
(14 vinyl singles, 597
digital downloads and 47,011
sales-equivalent streams).
Securing its 31st week in
the Top 10 and 48th
consecutive week in the Top
40 – the former tally being
exceeded by only seven
songs, the latter by five –
the track continues to slow,
with consumption off 5.10%
week-on-week to its lowest
level – and the lowest for a
No.1 for 12 weeks.
Only seven songs have spent
longer at No.1, and Rein Me
In now shares the leadership
for most weeks at No.1 by a
duo with Wham!’s Last
Christmas. Rein Me In and
Last Christmas also share
second place for most weeks
at No.1 in the 2020s, with
only Ordinary (13 weeks) by
Alex Warren reigning longer.
Unless it outperforms the
market next week, however,
Rein Me In will fall into
ACR the following frame.
As for Drake, debuting at
No.2 with Janice STFU
(39,645 sales), No.3 with
National Treasures (36,862
sales), and No.6 with Make
Them Cry
(33,144 sales) is
not too shabby. They are but
the visible peak of a Drake
mountain, which, under
primary artist rules, sees a
further 34 of the 40 other
songs on his triumvirate of
new albums – Iceman, Maid Of
Honour and Habibti –
‘starred-out’ of the Top 75.
The only Drake songs on the
new albums previously
released - What Did I Miss?
from Iceman and Central Cee
collaboration Which One?
from Maid Of Honour, peaked
at No.27 and No.4 last year.
What Did I Miss? is
‘starred-out’ this week
between No.17 and No.18
(20,686 sales), but Which
One? is on ACR and outside
the Top 75 (its unadjusted
consumption is 10,208
units).
Drake’s new hits raise his
tally of Top 10 entries to
51, Top 40 entries to 100
and Top 75 entries to 155 –
the most of any act. In the
Top 200 Combined Tracks
chart – where ACR and
primary artist rules do not
apply – 33 Drake tracks put
in an appearance.
Despite the buffeting from
Drake, Michael Jackson
continues to have three
songs in the Top 10. All
fall while increasing
consumption slightly: Billie
Jean dips 3-4 (24,916
sales), Human Nature 6-8
(28,509 sales) and Beat It
5-9 (28,396 sales). The
Jackson 5’s 1970
chart-topper I Want You Back
continues to advance,
however, moving 27-26
(13,150 sales). A further 12
songs by Michael Jackson are
‘starred-out’ of the Top 75
under primary artist rules.
Unlike the three allocated
chart positions, they all
suffer small diminutions in
consumption. With Jackson
and Drake making the biggest
contributions, there are 59
songs ‘starred-out’ of the
Top 75 in total.
The rest of the Top 10:
Dracula (2-5, 33,746 sales)
by Tame Impala, Go (7-7,
31,196 sales) by The
Chemical Brothers and Drop
Dead (4-10, 25,331 sales) by
Olivia Rodrigo.
Overall singles consumption
is up 0.96% week-on-week to
32,442,514 units, 1.52%
above same week 2025 sales
of 31,955,897 units.
Paid-for sales are up 7.15%
week-on-week at 278,077,
3.26% above same week 2025
sales of 269,287.
Never
one to duck a challenge,
Drake becomes the first
artist in chart history to
simultaneously debut on the
chart with three albums of
new material, simultaneously
unleashing a triple bill
comprising Iceman, Maid Of
Honour and Habibti.
Cumulatively containing 43
songs – only two of which
had previewed as singles –
and a combined playing time
of 150 minutes, they are all
available only digitally
(for download and streaming)
at this juncture.
Despite this, and very mixed
reviews, they all make a
significant initial impact
on the chart with Iceman
debuting at No.1 (44,129
sales including 428 digital
downloads), Maid Of Honour
at No.6 (10,931 sales) and
Habibti at No.7 (9,748
sales). Raising his tally of
Top 10 entries to 17, they
join 2011 album Take Care
(49-45, 2,894 sales) in the
Top 75 for the 39-year-old
Canadian rapper and singer.
Iceman
– trailed by No.27 hit What
Did I Miss? – also spawns a
trio of new hits, and its
first week consumption
(despite competition from
Maid Of Honour and Habibti)
is 50.06% greater than the
29,408 units Drake’s last
studio solo album, For All
The Dogs, sold as it debuted
at No.1 in 2023. His biggest
first week sale came in
2016, when his fourth album,
Views, debuted at No.1 on
consumption of 78,397 units.
Views
used to be his most-consumed
set but with to-date
consumption of 992,927
units, it lost that honour
to Take Care six months ago.
His second album, Take Care
peaked at No.5 on debut in
2011, and has a career
record of 97 weeks in the
Top 75, including the last
45 consecutively. More
impressively, it has racked
up a massive 606 weeks in
the Top 200, occupying every
position between No.76 and
No.200 at least once, except
for No.77 and No.88, while
increasing its career cume
to 1,058,958 units.
Iceman
is Drake’s seventh No.1
album – and the 39th by a
Canadian act. The others,
and their tallies: 5: Celine
Dion, Michael Bublé, 4:
Arcade Fire, The Weeknd, 3:
Avril Lavigne, Bryan Adams,
Shania Twain, 2: Justin
Bieber, 1: Alanis
Morrisette, Neil Young,
Nickelback. NB: one of their
five members is American,
but Arcade Fire identify as
Canadian.
Drake’s Top 10 trifecta is
matched by Michael Jackson,
whose dethroned The
Essential dips to No.2
(30,778 sales) after a
fortnight at No.1, while
Thriller (5-4, 11,451 sales)
and Bad (6-8, 8,989 sales)
remain in the top tier. All
experience small declines in
consumption as do Off The
Wall (39-37, 3,225 sales)
and Dangerous (74-71, 2,321
sales).
The
rest of the Top 10: The Art
Of Loving (4-3, 11,729
sales) by Olivia Dean, The
Great Divide (3-5, 11,252
sales) by Noah Kahan, 50
Years: Don’t Stop (8-9,
7,884 sales) by Fleetwood
Mac and Kiss All The Time:
Disco, Occasionally (9-10,
7,669 sales) by Harry
Styles.
Overall album sales are down
0.13% week-on-week to
2,563,626 units, 1.32% below
same week 2025 sales of
2,530,275. Physical product
accounts for 240,716 sales,
9.39% of the total.