Can Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Espresso’ Beat Taylor Swift for Number One?
Taylor Swift has once again proven her dominance in the music industry with her latest album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” The chart dated May 4 reflects Swift’s record-setting achievement of securing all 14 of the Hot 100’s top spots with songs from this album. Leading the pack is her collaboration with Post Malone on the track “Fortnight,” which amassed over 76 million official U.S. streams in its debut week. This remarkable feat marks the best single-week performance for a song since YouTube user-generated content was excluded from chart calculations in 2020. Additionally, “Fortnight” emerged as the top-selling track of the week with 19,000 units sold and entered the Radio Songs chart at an impressive No. 14 with 31.1 million radio airplay audience impressions.
As expected, the streams and sales for “Fortnight” are likely to decrease in its second week, a common trend for debuts of such magnitude. However, the song is poised to achieve significant success on radio, with a strong chance of breaking into the top 10 on the Pop Airplay chart next week. Despite the anticipated drop in streams, “Fortnight” continues to hold its position in the top five on both Spotify’s and Apple Music’s daily U.S. charts, with its official music video trending in the top five on YouTube’s Music chart.
On the heels of Swift’s impressive chart domination, her close friend and tour companion Sabrina Carpenter is making waves with her single “Espresso.” After debuting at No. 7 on the Hot 100, “Espresso” faced a slight dip to No. 22 in the latest rankings but retained its position as the sixth-highest non-Swift song on the chart. Carpenter’s track is expected to witness a significant resurgence in the upcoming week’s chart, fueled by its growing popularity across various platforms. “Espresso” has already claimed the top spot on Spotify’s Daily Top Songs USA chart, showing promising progress on the Pop Airplay chart by climbing from 32 to 25 in its second week.
Country artist Shaboozey is another rising star benefiting from his association with Beyoncé and her recent album “Cowboy Carter.” His single “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” has made notable gains on the Hot 100, rising from 36 to 27 despite strong competition from Swift’s tracks. The song’s success on streaming platforms, topping both Spotify’s and Apple Music’s daily U.S. charts, along with its leadership on the iTunes real-time chart, indicates a promising trajectory for “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” on the charts, especially in the country radio realm.
Virginia artist Tommy Richman is also making waves with his TikTok-driven single “Million Dollar Baby.” The track has already surged to the top of Apple Music’s real-time chart, hinting at a potential top 10 debut on the Hot 100 and possibly even cracking the top five if its current momentum continues. Similarly, Benson Boone’s track “Beautiful Things” is gaining traction on radio, reaching No. 2 on the Radio Songs chart and posing a challenge to Teddy Swims’ chart-topping reign. While Swift’s dominance is formidable, “Beautiful Things” remains a strong contender among the non-Swift songs on the chart.
One major wildcard in the upcoming week’s Hot 100 is Kendrick Lamar’s response track to Drake, “Euphoria.” The song made a grand entrance on YouTube and quickly became a talking point among music enthusiasts. With a short first-week tracking period across various platforms, “Euphoria” is expected to secure a solid debut on the charts and potentially challenge for a top position in the following weeks. Lamar’s track could follow the success of his previous collaborations and emerge as another chart-topping hit, marking a significant moment in the rap artist’s career.
