This week鈥檚 look at the pop charts finds Taylor Swift back at the top of the Billboard 200 for a 13th nonconsecutive week 鈥� a sign of both her staying power and a dearth of major new releases. Elsewhere, country music rises and K-pop falls, while the songs chart has great news for you if you鈥檙e a fan of either Shaboozey or stasis.
TOP ALBUMS
Last week, the Billboard 200鈥檚 two top spots by K-pop titans: Stray Kids鈥� ATE and Jimin鈥檚 MUSE made their chart debuts at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. It was a major milestone for K-pop, which had never locked down the top two until that moment. The milestone, it turns out, was short-lived: , Stray Kids fell from No. 1 to a still-strong No. 6, while Jimin dropped from No. 2 to No. 17.
With last week鈥檚 debuts fading, the summer doldrums underway and no juggernauts entering this week鈥檚 chart 鈥� the loftiest debut belongs to 鈥檚 Y2K!, at No. 18 鈥� the perennial powerhouses have settled back into their usual spots at or near the top of the chart.
Taylor 鈥檚 The Tortured Poets Department, which topped the Billboard 200 for 12 weeks in the spring and summer, jumps back to No. 1 after two weeks at No. 4, extending several of Swift鈥檚 all-time records: It鈥檚 posted the most weeks at No. 1 of any Swift album, and it extends Swift鈥檚 record of most overall weeks at No. 1 for any solo artist, with 82. (, at No. 2, is a relative pauper among solo acts, with 67; though not a solo act, top them both, holding the overall record with 132.)
Given that Swift鈥檚 lucky number is famously 13, it鈥檚 a big week for her, even if, overall, it feels mildly anticlimactic for those of us who make a sport of watching the charts. But the metrics that go into determining chart position 鈥� a mix of airplay, streaming, sales, social media and more 鈥� suggest that this was just a slow week all around.
One upside of a week without fireworks is that the chart does provide a sense of the summer鈥檚 most durable hits. Fueled by the slide of Stray Kids and Jimin, among others, 鈥檚 One Thing at a Time leaps from No. 6 to No. 2, 鈥檚 The Great American Bar Scene climbs from No. 5 to No. 3, 鈥檚 The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess hits a new chart peak as it zooms up from No. 8 to No. 4, and 鈥檚 Hit Me Hard and Soft rounds out the Top 5 with a climb from No. 9.
Rounding out the Top 10 after Stray Kids at No. 6, 鈥檚 The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Gr芒ce) sinks from No. 3 to No. 7, the Twisters soundtrack dips from No. 7 to No. 8, 鈥檚 Brat climbs five spots to reenter the Top 10 at No. 9, and 鈥檚 Stick Season remains immovable at No. 10.
TOP SONGS
Speaking of immovable鈥�
Last week, the Top 5 was an exact replica of the week before; , only the Top 3 remains the same. That counts as progress, right?
For the third week in a row (and fourth overall), 鈥檚 鈥淎 Bar Song (Tipsy)鈥� sits atop the Billboard Hot 100, followed by 鈥檚 鈥淚 Had Some Help鈥� 鈥� which features Morgan Wallen 鈥� and 鈥檚 鈥淣ot Like Us.鈥� Notably, for what鈥檚 otherwise been a slow week on the charts, 鈥淎 Bar Song (Tipsy)鈥� is still experiencing growth on the Billboard charts that monitor radio airplay, which suggests that the song won鈥檛 be easy to dislodge in the weeks to come.
With a whopping six entries that have previously topped the chart this year 鈥� and three of the remaining four still rising 鈥� the entire Top 10 is essentially a rundown of 鈥溾�� finalists: 鈥檚 鈥淓spresso鈥� climbs from No. 5 to No. 4, switching spots with Tommy Richman鈥檚 鈥淢illion Dollar Baby,鈥� while 鈥� 鈥淟ose Control鈥� climbs from No. 8 to No. 6 and 鈥檚 鈥淭oo Sweet鈥� dips from No. 6 to No. 7. Chappell Roan鈥檚 鈥淕ood Luck, Babe!鈥� hits a new peak, climbing from No. 10 to No. 8, Sabrina Carpenter鈥檚 鈥淧lease Please Please鈥� drops from No. 7 to No. 9, and Billie Eilish鈥檚 鈥淏irds of a Feather鈥� jumps up a spot to reenter the Top 10.
WORTH NOTING
It might be easy to miss, amid Swift鈥檚 dominance, but country music is having another massive summer 鈥� especially if your name is Morgan Wallen, Shaboozey or Zach Bryan. Just look at the Billboard 200 and the titles bubbling just under the Top 10: Wallen鈥檚 latest album is at No. 2, as noted above, but his previous record, Dangerous: The Double Album, climbs from No. 13 to No. 11 after more than three years on the chart. Shaboozey is proving to be no one-song wonder, as Where I鈥檝e Been, Isn鈥檛 Where I鈥檓 Going jumps from No. 18 to No. 13 after reaching as high as No. 5 earlier in the year. And Zach Bryan actually has three albums climbing in the Top 20, as his self-titled 2023 record rises from No. 19 to No. 14 and 2022鈥檚 American Heartbreak jumps from No. 23 to No. 19.
It鈥檚 a similar story over on The Hot 100, where the only songs to debut in the Top 50 come in the form of country duets: Post Malone and 鈥� 鈥淕uy For That鈥� enters the chart at No. 17, while and Jelly Roll鈥檚 鈥淟onely Road鈥� makes its debut at No. 33. And songs by Wallen, Combs and Bryan are strewn all over the lower half of the Top 20.
Meanwhile, other like-minded acts are rising: The Red Clay Strays鈥� Made by These Moments enters the Billboard 200 at No. 29, with 鈥淲anna Be Loved鈥� helping the band graze The Hot 100 鈥� at No. 100! 鈥� for only the second time. And none of this is even taking into consideration what鈥檚 virtually certain to be one of the year鈥檚 biggest country albums: Post Malone鈥檚 star-packed F-1 Trillion, which comes out Friday, Aug. 16.
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