trackten chart roundup 10.21.25

Taylor is back at #1, but Golden refuses to go quietly

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.

counting down

Billboard Hot 100 #1: The Fate of Ophelia by Taylor Swift

• 2nd week at #1

• 49.1 million streams

• 42.2 million radio audience

• 11,000 track sales

Billboard 200 #1 Album & Song: The Fate of Ophelia from The Life of a Showgirl by Taylor Swift

• 338,000 EAUs

  • 236,000 SEAs

  • 101,000 sales

  • 1,000 TEAs

• 5th largest week for an album in 2025

Spotify Weekly US #1: The Fate of Ophelia by Taylor Swift

• 25,505,603 streams (down 23,507,117 week over week)

  • For reference, Golden had 12,199,767 streams this week at #7 (Taylor holds 1-6)

Youtube Weekly US #1: Golden by HUNTR/X

• 13,464,157 views (down 253,640 week over week)

Billboard Global 200 #1: The Fate of Ophelia by Taylor Swift

• 139.8 million streams

• 20,000 sold

r/Popheads Chart: The Fate of Ophelia by Taylor Swift

• 2nd week at #1

my last.fm: Stateside + Zara Larson by PinkPantheress

• Randomly, it was a 5 way tie for me last week, so I’m giving credit to Stateside as the most recent release that I haven’t chatted about. The other four were Romeo + Rachel Chinouriri (discussed last week), Honey and The Life of a Showgirl by Taylor, and Shooting Star by Audrey Hobert.

trending up:

• Olivia Dean continues to have a big moment. Man I Need is the #2 non-Taylor song on Spotify this week, debuts at #83 on Youtube, and advances to #17 on the Hot 100, and So Easy (To Fall In Love) jumped 26 spots to a new high of #24 on Spotify and up 34 spots to #53 on the Hot 100.

• PIXELATED KISSES by Joji - Joji manages to debut at #96 on Spotify and #90 on the Hot 100 despite a partial tracking week (the song debuted Tuesday). Curious to see where this one may be headed.

• I’m keeping the trending up section a bit shorter because there is A LOT of movement on the charts thanks to billboard’s new recurrent song rules. I’ll be doing a deeper dive into the changes either later this week or next!

• NEW - Lost in Devotion by Carly Rae Jepsen - It’s not often I get to write about Carly! This track from the Emotion 10th anniversary edition had me going back to the originals. Luckily she said on her popheads AMA that she is working on new music beyond just the musical!

• NEW(ish) - Blasting Through the Speakers by Empress Of - I’ve followed her career on and off since seeing her open for Florence + the Machine back on the HBHBHB tour. I’m a little late to the game here, but really liking this track!!

Guest Pick: Yellowcard feat. Avril Lavigne - You Broke Me Too

• Soalai writes the substack Synesthesia & Sugar covering a range of rock, indie, and pop with a focus on all things nostalgic. In that vein, I think the new track from Yellowcard featuring Avril Lavigne is a perfect blend of new release and nostalgia. Go check out the amazing back catalog of album reviews at Synesthesia and Sugar!

consensus pick: The Fate of Ophelia by Taylor Swift

• As predicted last week, Taylor spends another week at #1. I’m having more trouble deciding what I think will happen next week - she could try to brute force a few more weeks (selling singles, doing remixes, etc), but the fact that Opalite remains #2 above both Golden and Ordinary makes me think she should consider cutting this one short and moving on - Overall though, I still think she’ll get at least one more week at #1 for TFOO considering the strong streaming and the pick up still happening on radio.

contrarian pick: Daisies by Justin Bieber

• This might be a bit random, but Daisies is doing really well for itself despite never having officially hit #1 on the Hot 100 and this being its 14th week on the chart. It has gains in performance this week, mostly driven by radio, even as it maintains its #15 placement from last week. As Taylor, Ordinary, and Golden, feel bigger than big, this is the track that I think might be the sneaky #1 based on being able to keep growing despite already being a big track.

What tracks did I miss? Comment below to see if your recommendation makes my list next week.