If there is one thing we learned Sunday night, it’s that it’s never, ever too late for a comeback. And it’s not just the New England Patriots pulling a rebound; so is halftime performer Lady Gaga.
Compared to her previous albums, Gaga’s fifth studio album, Joanne, didn’t do so hot on the charts when it was first released back in October. Standout singles “Perfect Illusion” and “Million Reasons” peaked at #15 and #52 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #29 and #31 on the Pandora Top Spins Chart, respectively. Now, that’s not necessarily bad, but it’s surely no “Bad Romance.”
But after her performance at the Super Bowl Halftime Show — the second most-watched show in history, according to Nielsen data — Gaga’s “Million Reasons” is back with a vengeance. The track, which, predictably, was the only song off Joanne that Gaga performed Sunday night, jumps back onto Top Spins at #45 after seeing over 1.4 million weekly spins.
On Monday, Gaga’s Artist Station Adds spiked by around 1,400% week-on-week, while track station adds for “Million Reasons” saw a 134.34% lift. And to put the cherry on top of a flurry of activity on social media —like 1.4 million Twitter mentions in one week — Billboard projects that Joanne could jump up to #2 on the Billboard 200, while her debut album, The Fame, could re-enter the chart in the top 10.
Read on for more MVPs of this week’s Top Spins.
The Leaders
While Drake may still be dominating the chart as “Fake Love” spends its second week at #1, there’s plenty of big plays going on in the rest of the top 10. Migos, for one, have three tracks on the chart this week. As “Bad and Boujee” rises to #2, “Slippery” and “T-Shirt” — both off their just-released sophomore album, Culture — debut at #66 and #72, respectively.
Rihanna’s “Love on the Brain” jumps up three spots to #3, while ZAYN and Taylor Swift’s “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” — off the soundtrack to Fifty Shades Darker — rises to #4. And Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” enters the top 5 this week while “Bad Things,” the collaboration between MGK and Camila Cabello, rises five spots to #7.
The Newbies
It’s been a long road for Australian singer Starley. In an interview with Billboard, the 29-year-old said she has been making music since she was 14 but “had quite a lot of knock backs.” Now, it seems she’s finally broken through with “Call on Me,” her first official single. The song enters the chart this week at #30 after seeing close to 1.8 million spins — pretty impressive for a debut single.
Also making a first-ever Top Spins appearance is West Coast rapper KYLE. His latest single, “iSpy” sneaks in at #90. The track benefits from featuring buzzy rapper Lil Yachty, of “Broccoli” fame, seeing over 800,000 weekly spins.
Elsewhere, Big Sean’s “Moves” enters the chart at #63, synthpop duo Marian Hill’s “Down” comes in at #66, and Bruno Mars’ “That’s What I Like” debuts at #78. There’s also “Top” (#88), a new track from Philadelphia rapper Lil Uzi Vert, as well as “Issues” (#92), the debut single from acclaimed songwriter Julia Michaels.
The Climbers
Climbing 47 spots in one week? That’s “Some Kind of Drug.” The G-Eazy song, that is. The Oakland rapper’s latest single, which features fellow Bay Area rapper Marc E. Bassey, hits #17 this week with over 2.5 million weekly spins. And “Siempre Te Voy A Querer,” from Mexican group Calibre 50, jumps an impressive 21 spots to #72, becoming the highest Latin song on the chart this week.
Philadelphia singer/rapper PNB Rock is taking all he can get with “Selfish.” That song, which is the lead single off his recent debut album, GTTM: Going Through The Motions, climbs 15 spots to #83 after seeing over 1.4 million weekly spins. And“Skrt” by Florida-bred MC Kodak Black isn’t doing too bad either, rising 15 spots to #83.
Pandora’s Top Spins: Lady Gaga’s ‘Million Reasons’ Makes A Super Bowl Comeback was originally published in Next Big Sound on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.