Taylor sets records while Olivia and Drake dominate songs of the summer | chart roundup 6.17.26

plus a check in on #1 hits of the year, Zara Larsson climbing the charts, and a rec from musicstack legend Gabbie

Welcome to Track Ten - You’re reading the Chart Roundup where I count down the week’s biggest songs, take a look at what’s trending up in the weeks ahead, and let you in on the story behind the #1s. On Mondays, I write about the impact of the stars and moments from pop music’s past and present, including in my newest themed collection, Resurrection, about pop’s greatest comebacks.

The parade of #1s driven by fans buying up physical CD singles continues this week with a new chart-topper from the queen of the strategy, Taylor Swift. She’s really inspired the pop stars this year with Ariana, Olivia, BTS, and Harry all following suit. It’s to the point where we’ve only had three new multi-week #1s this year since so many launch at #1 then immediately drop off. Odds that Billboard considers a rule change?

what the charts had to tell us about the biggest songs of the week:

The Chart Consensus: “I Knew It, I Knew You” by Taylor Swift

Taylor is back at #1 for the third time this year, marking her 15th all time #1 and 10th this decade. Back in December, I wrote about what it would take for Taylor’s 2020s to outpace Mariah Carey’s 1990s:

While it might be tempting to look at Taylor’s run in the 2020’s so far and think she has a strong shot, Mariah had pretty well outpaced her by the end of 1995. At that point, Mariah already had 10 #1 singles for a cumulative 40 weeks atop the chart. While Mariah did lose a bit of steam (the other 12 weeks of One Sweet Day came right at the beginning of 1996, so there were only really 8 weeks left to earn), Taylor would have to increase her pace significantly to catch her. Never count Taylor out, but this would be a true feat.

Seems like Taylor said “hold my vodka cran,” because she is seriously picking up the pace (though two new singles have so far only gotten her two more weeks on top). Honestly, it can be pretty fun watching Taylor, Drake, Ariana, and Bruno rack up records this year (all four are in the 10+ #1 club now), but I wish there was more emphasis on building lasting hits. Where are the late night performances, interviews, and music videos? The only one really doing this is Olivia, so kudos to her.

The Chart Subplot: “Midnight Sun” by Zara Larsson

Is it going to be a Zara summer after all? There hasn’t been a ton of movement in the top 20 this week, and Zara’s single from last year is the only track to reach a new peak in the range. To me, I felt almost sure that the Zara momentum had passed, especially when the Girls Trip edition didn’t generate much of a chart bump. Still, it’s exciting to see fun electro-pop music hitting these heights when so much of the top is acoustic and a little sleepy. I’m rooting for ya, Zara!

new music favorites from me + a guest:

My Most Streamed: “Call Security” by Chxrry

I found Chxrry through Russ’s recommendation in the Pop Pantheon newsletter, and was bopping along with her album U, Me & My Ego in the background while writing until the line “imma drag you all the way to hell with me, I don’t give a fuck I’ll plead insanity” made me stop and pay attention. The production and vocal performance is shimmery and smooth, giving the perfect contrast to the lyrics. Is there anything scarier (or more fascinating to watch) than someone very calmly telling you they’re about to do something insane?

Best New Track: “Maggots For Brains” by Olivia Rodrigo

I’ve been streaming You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love pretty much constantly since it came out, and “Maggots For Brains” is appropriately quite the earworm. Olivia often tends towards tracks that shrink and grow (like “Vampire” or “Good 4 U”), so I was immediately intrigued by this more mid-tempo track with guitars that keep it churning for its entire runtime. It’s also a pretty perfect encapsulation of the title and theme, the icky, sticky side of obsessive love that can run in parallel with infatuation: “the colors are all flat” is the sort of sharp line that puts this album a tier above the already excellent work she was doing on her first two albums.

Guest Verse (feat. Gabbie):

Gabbie writes the substack New Bands For Old Heads where she goes out of her way to bring you excellent recommendations that you’re unlikely to find anywhere else. I’ve also been obsessed with her effort to provide useful background to these recommendations to help you with discovery. She’s been detailing her efforts to develop better context for release calendars and recommendations, and I’ve loved following along with her effort to iterate the new ideas in public. Her pick this week is “LOVERS” by POM (with the explicit instructions not to miss the interlude track that comes right after):

I've never been able to wallow in music when I'm grief-stricken -- It's like pouring salt on an open wound. POM doesn't seem to be able to either. I want to hear this song live so I can raise my sadness to the rafters when I pump my fist. I want a hundred voices shouting along to the words so my heartbreak dissipates into the ether: "Ring back when you need me/I'll be waiting in the corridor/In the same place where I've always been/I'll be laying on the carpet floor."

In Case You Missed It:

This week, I wrote about Olivia Rodrigo’s career in comparison to other teen stars, and to use a cliche, she’s really just not like other girls. There’s only one other artist with a comparable trajectory: think you know who it is?

the teen pop star label was always too small for Olivia Rodrigo’s ambitions

I’m using my proprietary Track Ten formula to track the race for Song of the Summer. Check out this post for the full methodology if you’re interested!

Drake is still leading the charge with both “Janice” and “Shabang” continuing to do numbers on the chart. Ariana had a stronger week 2 than I expected, staying in the top 5 of the Hot 100 which boosts her to the #3 slot on my chart. Just outside the top ten, both sombr and Stella Lefty are earning points, so I’m excited to see if they’ll sneak in over the next few weeks.

the full list of #1 hits of the last week:

Billboard Hot 100 #1: “I Knew It, I Knew You” by Taylor Swift, 1st week at #1

Billboard 200 #1 Album: ICEMAN by Drake, 4th week at #1

Billboard Global 200 #1: “I Knew It, I Knew You” by Taylor Swift, 1st week at #1

Spotify Weekly US #1: “Choosin’ Texas” by Ella Langley, 4th week at #1

Youtube Weekly US #1: “Choosin’ Texas” by Ella Langley, 10th week at #1

Apple Music US Daily #1: “Janice STFU” by Drake

r/Popheads Chart: “I Knew It, I Knew You” by Taylor Swift