Justin Bieber serves a genre combo platter as he reigns on both Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs and Hot Country Songs charts, becoming the first act to lead both lists in the same week.
Before we go any further — no, it’s not with the same song.
On the R&B front, the superstar rockets 16-1 on Hot R&B Songs (dated Jan. 18) with “Yummy,” marking his first chart-topper on the list as a lead artist. He previously visited the summit through a featured turn alongside Quavo and Chance the Rapper on DJ Khaled’s “No Brainer” in 2018.
“Yummy” arrived on the chart, which combines radio airplay, sales and streams, solely due to three days of radio activity. (The chart’s airplay cycle covers a Monday-Sunday window, while sales and streams follow a Friday-Thursday period.)
After its first full week on airwaves, the track debuts at No. 38 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart with 4 million in audience in the week ending Jan. 12. 58 of the 76 mainstream R&B/hip-hop panel’s stations played the song in the last tracking week, which closed Jan. 9, with WPEG in Charlotte, N.C.; WVEE in Atlanta, and KPRS in Kansas City, Mo., among the most ardent supporters.
The mainstream top 40 and rhythmic radio formats have most quickly latched on to “Yummy,” which races to No. 13 on both the Pop Songs (from No. 22) and Rhythmic Songs (from No. 28) airplay charts in its second week on each.
While radio warms up to “Yummy,” consumers flocked to buy and stream the cut. The new release blasts in at No. 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart with 71,000 copies sold in the week ending Jan. 9, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.
The launch secures Bieber’s first No. 1 on the list in a lead role, following a nine-week reign as a featured act on DJ Khaled’s “I’m The One” in 2017, with fellow guests Quavo, Chance the Rapper and Lil Wayne. On his own, Bieber previously peaked at No. 2 with three different tunes: “Bad Day,” “PYD,” featuring R. Kelly and “Confident,” featuring Chance the Rapper. The three cuts all appear on his Journals album, released in 2013.
On the streaming side, “Yummy” starts at No. 2 on R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs thanks to 29.3 million U.S. clicks in the week ending Jan. 9. As with the sales ranks, the opening marks his best showing as a lead act, trailing only the guest spot on “I’m The One” among his entire catalog.
“Yummy” is expected to preview Bieber’s forthcoming album, his first since 2015’s Purpose.
While “Yummy” is freshly inaugurated on its charts, the superstar’s collaboration with Dan + Shay, “10,000 Hours,” settles in for a 14th week at No. 1 on Hot Country Songs. The track leads the Country Digital Song Sales and Country Streaming Songs charts for, respectively, a fifth and ninth week in charge. On Country Airplay, “Hours” rises 4-2 to a new peak, despite a 2% dip in audience.
In a Bieber faceoff, “Yummy” arrives at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, while “10,000 Hours” climbs 9-5. The pair give Bieber his 35th week with at least two titles in the chart’s top five.