Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’ Debuts At No. 1 On Hot 100
Taylor Swift rockets onto the Billboard Hot 100 chart at No. 1 with "Shake It Off." As expected, her new self-empowerment anthem debuts at the top following its first week of availability.
Taylor Swift rockets onto the Billboard Yahoo! live stream announcing the new set’s release.
Swift also performed “Shake” on the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday (Aug. 24).
Taylor Swift Dazzles During ‘Shake It Off’ Performance at MTV VMAs
“Shake” marks Swift’s second Hot 100 No. 1, following 2012’s three-week leader “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” the first single from her last album, Red.
As “Shake” enters at No. 1 on the Hot 100, Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” makes its own headlines, hurdling 39-2 following the premiere of its racy video. Meanwhile, the chart’s top song for the past six weeks, MAGIC!’s “Rude,” tumbles to No. 5.
As we do each Wednesday (the day that the Hot 100 is compiled each week), let’s look at the numbers behind the top 10, including Swift’s swift ascent to No. 1 this week.
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“Shake” arrives with 544,000 first-week downloads sold in the week ending Aug. 24, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The sum marks the greatest weekly total this year and the fourth-best bow all-time, two of which now belong to Swift. Flo Rida’s “Right Round” began with 636,000 (Feb. 28, 2009), followed by Swift’s “Together” (623,000, Sept. 1, 2012). Katy Perry’s “Roar” ranks third with 557,000 sold in its first week (Aug. 31, 2013).
Previously, Pharrell Williams held this year’s best sales mark, when “Happy” sold 490,000 (March 22). The prior top debut of 2014: Ariana Grande’s “Problem,” featuring Iggy Azalea, which opened with 438,000 (May 17).
“Shake” marks Swift’s seventh Digital Songs No. 1 (all of which have debuted at the apex). She ties Britney Spears for the fourth-most leaders, following Rihanna (13), Perry (10) and Eminem (nine).
On the Streaming Songs chart, “Shake” catapults in for a No. 2 debut with 18.4 million first-week U.S. streams, according to Nielsen BDS. With the song not available on on-demand audio subscription services, it arrives with 98 percent of its streaming points from Vevo on YouTube clicks for its video.
Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’ Makes Record Start At Radio
On Radio Songs, “Shake” skyrockets 45-9 in its second week with a 139 percent increase to 71 million all-format audience impressions, according to BDS. (Why was “Shake” on Radio Songs last week but not Digital Songs or Streaming Songs? Radio Songs follows a Wednesday-Tuesday tracking week, while sales and streaming cover a Monday-Sunday period. “Shake” debuted on Radio Songs last week with 29 million impressions in its first two days, aided by hourly plays on participating Clear Channel and Media Entertainment-owned pop and adult pop radio stations in its first day-and-a-half; those plays, thus, do not contribute to the song’s sum on this week’s list.)
“Shake” is the first song to reach the Radio Songs top 10 in two weeks or fewer since Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” debuted at No. 6 (with 79 million) on Feb. 26, 2011. The song went on to top the April 2, 2011, tally.
As previously reported, “Shake” shattered a radio record, launching at an all-time-best No. 9 on Adult Pop Songs. It also scores a record-matching No. 12 start on Pop Songs this week.
“Shake” is just the 22nd of the Hot 100’s 1,038 No. 1s all-time to debut at the pinnacle. (Cue up a celebratory chorus of Swift’s “22.”) It’s also the second straight No. 1 starter with “shake” in its title: Baauer’s “Harlem Shake” began a five-week reign when it launched on top on March 2, 2013.
As for title trivia, “Shake It Off” is the sixth Hot 100 No. 1 with “shake” in its name. It follows Baauer’s viral hit; Nelly, Diddy and Murphy Lee’s “Shake Ya Tailfeather” (2003); Bob Seger’s “Shakedown” (1987); Gregory Abbott’s “Shake You Down” (also 1987); and, the “shake”-iest such smash, KC and the Sunshine Band’s disco classic “(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty” (1976).
Also, dating to her arrival on Sept. 23, 2006, with “Tim McGraw,” Swift swipes her 60th Hot 100 hit, a threshold that only 13 other acts (to reference Swift’s favorite number …) have reached in the chart’s 56-year history. Only one female act has made more Hot 100 visits: Aretha Franklin, with 73. (The cast of Fox’s Glee leads all acts with 207 Hot 100 entries.)
Congratulations are likewise in order for Republic Records, which is promoting “Shake” to pop and adult radio. With Swift’s hit at No. 1 and Minaj’s “Anaconda” at No. 2, Republic claims the Hot 100’s top two ranks simultaneously for the first time in its history.
Below Swift’s new Hot 100 leader, Minaj’s jump from No. 39 to No. 2, with top Digital and Streaming Gainer honors, marks the chart’s other major news.
Following the release of its video on Aug. 19, “Anaconda” makes a 42-1 lunge on Streaming Songs with a 1,287 percent surge to 32.1 million streams; 95 percent of its total is from Vevo on YouTube. The overall sum is the highest since Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” drew 36.4 million streams (Sept. 28, 2013) following the first full week after its video premiered. The greatest streaming total since the chart launched on March 2, 2013, and the only other song (in addition to “Wrecking Ball”) to tally more weekly streams than “Anaconda”: Baauer’s “Shake” peaked with 103 million (powered heavily by user-generated clips featuring the song’s audio) the week that the survey debuted.
The “Anaconda” video, and her performance at the VMAs, spurs a 24-6 leap for the cut on Digital Songs (120,000, up 132 percent). The track is slithering toward Radio Songs, primed to pounce in with 25 million (up 33 percent).
With the 39-2 ascent of “Anaconda,” Minaj snares her highest Hot 100 rank. The song passes the No. 3 peaks of two 2011 hits: her own “Super Bass” and her featured turn on Spears’ “Till the World Ends.”
“Anaconda” is Minaj’s 11th Hot 100 top 10, extending her record among female rappers. Missy Elliott ranks second with nine.
Meanwhile, the 39-2 ascent for “Anaconda” marks the second-biggest jump ever within the Hot 100’s top 40. Only the Black Eyed Peas made a loftier leap in the region when “Boom Boom Pow” blasted 39-1 on April 18, 2009.
On Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, “Anaconda” becomes Minaj’s third No. 1 (10-1). It’s her third No. 1 on Rap Songs (4-1), where it dethrones Azalea’s “Fancy,” featuring Charli XCX, after a record-tying 18-week reign. (Elliott’s “Hot Boyz,” featuring Nas, Eve and Q-Tip, reigned for 18 weeks in 1999-2000). On the Hot 100, “Fancy” falls out of the top 10 (5-11). The collab spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 and remains the only title to have led Billboard’s Songs of the Summer chart this year; one week remains in the survey’s tracking period before the season’s final rankings are revealed.
Meghan Trainor On ‘Bass’: It’s About ‘Loving Your Body … And Your Booty’
Despite a 28 percent in overall Hot 100 chart points, Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass” backtracks from its No. 2 high to No. 3. Still, the song nets top Airplay Gainer kudos and sports across-the-board gains. It bumps by 18 percent to 283,000 downloads sold (but dips 1-2 after two weeks atop Digital Songs); soars by 42 percent to 11.6 million streams (but falls 1-3 on Streaming Songs after a week at No. 1); and bounds by 35 percent to 64 million on Radio Songs (24-11).
“Bass” also crowns the subscription services-based On-Demand Songs chart (4-1) with a 26 percent lift to 3.2 million.
Sam Smith’s ‘Stay With Me’ Crowns Pop Songs, Adult Pop Songs, AC
Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me” dips 3-4 on the Hot 100 after reaching No. 2. It logs a third week at No. 1 on Radio Songs (163 million, down 7 percent).
MAGIC!’s “Rude” falls 1-5 after six weeks atop the Hot 100. The song makes the biggest drop from the top since Spears’ “Hold It Against Me” sunk 1-6 (Feb. 5, 2011) after a week in charge. More unusual is a steep fall after as many as six weeks at No. 1, as a long-running leader tends to descend more steadily, given its lengthy dominance. The last six-week (or more) Hot 100 No. 1 to fall at least four spots from the top? The Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling” dropped 1-5 after 14 weeks at No. 1 (Oct. 17, 2009).
Despite its Hot 100 plunge, “Rude” holds at No. 2 on Radio Songs, descends 4-6 on Streaming Songs and remains in the Digital Songs top 10 (7-10).
Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Azalea’s “Black Widow,” featuring Rita Ora, reaches a new high, lifting 8-6; Grande’s “Break Free,” featuring Zedd, slides 4-7 but leads Hot Dance/Electronic Songs for a second week; Sia’s “Chandelier” rises 9-8, returning to its best rank; Jessie J, Grande and Minaj reverse course (10-9) after debuting at its No. 6 high three weeks ago; and Nico & Vinz’s No. 4-peaking “Am I Wrong” drops 6-10.
Visit Billboard.com tomorrow (Aug. 28), when all rankings, including the Hot 100 in its entirety and Digital Songs, Radio Songs and Streaming Songs, will refresh, as they do each Thursday.