track ten chart roundup 2.24.26
the next few weeks will be a battle of the titans and the newcomers for radio dominance
There’s not a single new song in the Hot 100 top 10 this week, but we do have a new #1, and below the surface there’s some movement on radio that could point to some long-term hits yet to come.
Everyone seems to think the Hot 100 is broken. Each week, I count down the biggest songs, take a look at what’s trending up in the weeks ahead, and let you know if I think Billboard got it right. Need an explainer on how the charts work so this all makes sense? I have one here for you!
counting down
Billboard Hot 100 #1: “Opalite” by Taylor Swift
1st week at #1; 11.4 million streams (-20%), 58.9 million radio airplay (+17%), and 168,000 sales (+2,290%)
Billboard 200 #1 Album: DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS by Bad Bunny
5th week at #1; 135,000 equivalent album units (-46%)
Billboard Global 200 #1: “DtMF” by Bad Bunny
4th week at #1; 76.4 million streams (-28%) and 6,000 sales (-65%)
Spotify Weekly US #1: “DtMF” by Bad Bunny
5th week at #1; 15,770,599 streams (-10,573,320)
Youtube Weekly US #1: “DtMF” by Bad Bunny
2nd week at #1; 5,757,441 views (-2,991,433)
Apple Music US Daily #1: “DtMF” by Bad Bunny
r/Popheads Chart: “Dying for You” by Charli XCX
my last.fm: “Into the Groove” by Madonna
idk, I’ve been having an 80’s/90’s moment lately!!
trending up:
sombr’s “Homewrecker” makes a big jump in its second week on Spotify, rising from #22 to #12 and hitting #26 on the Hot 100
Ella Langley is trying hard to avoid being a one hit wonder with “Be Her” debuting at #23 on Spotify and #18 on the Hot 100 as “Dandelion” reaches a new peak of #37 on the Hot 100
Brent Faiyaz has a big week with 6 songs on the Hot 100, including “Butterflies” on top at #49
Charli XCX returns to the chart with “Chains of Love” debuting at #87 following the release of Wuthering Heights (the album, not to be mistaken with “Wuthering Heights” the movie)
debuts & news:
“only the best” by horsegiirL, who continues to put out strange internet music that sort of just needs to be experienced rather than described
I wanted to like the new Hilary Duff album more, but I have definitely been appreciating “We Don’t Talk”
Not actually a new song, but Kiara’s post celebrating her favorite songs of the decade so far reminded me how good “Good Girl” by Reneé Rapp is and that her album should’ve taken off more than it did
guest pick (feat. Matthew Huff):
Matthew writes the substack The Report Card and hosts the podcast PS You're Wrong, both of which feature his takes on movies, tv, culture, and of course music (check out his most important songs of 2025 for a sense of his taste!) This week, he’s here to highlight “To Love Somebody” by Holly Humberstone:
I don’t quite know how I discovered Holly Humberstone, but she only had a few songs on Spotify at the time, and I became obsessed with “Scarlett” (still one of my favorites). Over the past few years, she keeps dropping tracks that are the perfect mix of upbeat and melancholy, which “To Love Somebody” is as well. I think this song is technically about breakups, but I’ve latched onto the line “It all breaks down. It always does. It all works out. It always does.” as a bit of a mantra recently. Like yes things in the world are always going wrong, but things in the world are also always going right, and that gives me some reassurance. This song also has a healthy amount of cowbell, and we as a society need MORE COWBELL.
consensus pick (#1 on the charts):
Bad Bunny continues to ride the wave of his big tv moments, and “DtMF” is the big beneficiary of the renewed attention. Still topping the streamers, he also manages to remain at #4 on the Hot 100 even with limited radio play. While I certainly love this song, I kind of can’t believe that this one is getting so much play when he neither performed it at the Grammys (he wasn’t able to perform at all) and only got a snippet/outro at the end of the Super Bowl!!! Maybe it isn’t surprising then that “Tití Me Preguntó” is still at #9 and Baile Inolvidable is still at #10.
contrarian pick (#1 in our hearts):
Okay, I’m cheating here because the point of this section is less about what’s already on top and more about what’s potentially rising or coming around the bend, and because of this I have to talk a bit about the importance of radio in the modern chart era. It is actually somewhat shocking to see a song like “DtMF” do so well these days without a huge radio presence, and radio lately has included a lot of CVS music - the type of thing that’s unlikely to offend anyone.
Therefore, this week I want to highlight both “I Just Might” by Bruno Mars and “Opalite” by Taylor Swift - both songs that have already hit #1 on the Hot 100, but signs point to the possibility of extended runs. “I Just Might” spent 2 weeks at #1 already, but as radio tends to operate at a lag (remember, unlikely to offend anyone is key), it is only now hitting #1 on radio, giving Bruno his 11th all time leader. His return to #6 on the Hot 100 this week is an indicator of potential longevity here, plus the full album out this Friday is likely to give a boost.
Similarly, “Opalite” has climbed to #3 on radio this week for a new high. I think most people who follow the charts even loosely at this point know that Taylor is quite capable of deploying her army of fans to buy multiple editions of the same song or album to juice her chart numbers, and she did this with “Opalite.” But what allowed her to get her all time best 10 weeks at #1 with “The Fate of Ophelia” was its strength on radio, and we could be headed a similar way with “Opalite.” Now, I wouldn’t necessarily expect this to be #1 next week (both “Man I Need” and “Choosin’ Texas” are way outstreaming it), but keep your eyes on this space. A well-timed late night performance or other media boost could be enough to give us the first album with two multi-week #1s since 2020.
Know someone who has great taste and would make a great guest pick? Tag them in a comment or send me a message with their info!