By Gary Trust for Billboard
Taylor Swift scores her fifth Hot 100 No. 1 and breaks the weekly streaming record for a song by a woman. "Look What You Made Me Do" also stops the record-tying 16-week reign of "Despacito".
Taylor Swift's "Look What You Made Me Do" blasts from No. 77 (where it debuted) to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (dated Sept. 16), following its first full week of data tracking. After its Aug. 25 release, the song soars to the top with the highest weekly streaming and sales sums for a track in 2017 and breaks the record for the most weekly streams ever for a song by a woman.
"Look" - released on Big Machine/Republic Records and the first single from Swift's album "reputation" (her first since "1989" in 2014), due Nov. 10 - is her fifth Hot 100 No. 1. It also dethrones Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's "Despacito", featuring Justin Bieber, which a week ago tied the record for the most weeks spent at No. 1 (16) in the Hot 100's 59-year history.
Let's run down the numerous achievements for "Look" as it crowns the Hot 100, which blends all-genre streaming, airplay and sales data. Highlights of the rest of the top 10 will post on Billboard.com later today (Sept. 5), and all charts will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Sept. 6).
RECORD BREAKING STREAMS
Following its first week of streaming, "Look" blasts onto the Streaming Songs chart at No. 1 with 84.4 million U.S. streams in the week ending Aug. 31, according to Nielsen Music. The total is not only the highest for any song this year, passing the 69.6 million with which "Despacito" peaked on the June 17-dated chart, but the highest ever in a week for a song by a female artist, surpassing the debut week of Adele's "Hello" (61.6 million, Nov. 14, 2015).
Only one song has posted a greater weekly total than "Look" on Streaming Songs (which began on March 2, 2013): Baauer's "Harlem Shake", which peaked with 103 million, powered heavily by user-generated clips featuring the song's audio (the week that the survey debuted).
Swift adds her third Streaming Songs No. 1, following "Shake It Off" and "Blank Space". She ties Miley Cyrus for the most by a woman; among all acts, only Bieber has earned more No. 1s (four).
BEST WEEKLY SALES OF 2017
"Look" also launches with the top weekly download sales this year: 353,000 in the week ending Aug. 31, as it starts at No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales chart. That tops the 240,000-download start for Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" (Jan. 28). "Look" sports the highest weekly sales since Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling!" bowed with 379,000 on May 28, 2016 (and the best total for a woman since Adele's "Hello" sold 480,000 in its third week, reflected on the Nov. 28, 2015-dated Digital Song Sales chart).
Swift scores her 12th Digital Song Sales No. 1, passing Katy Perry (11) for the second-most; Rihanna leads with 14 toppers on the tally.
SWIFT ASCENT
With its 77-1 vault on the Hot 100, "Look" makes the fifth-greatest leap to No. 1 of all-time. Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You" leads with its 97-1 surge (Feb. 7, 2009). Swift replaces herself for the fifth-biggest jump to the summit: her first leader, 2012's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", rocketed 72-1. (Both "Look" and "Never" debuted from initial airplay before bounding to No. 1 following their first full weeks of streaming and sales tracking. Streaming and sales follow a Friday-Thursday measurement week, while airplay is tracked Monday-Sunday for the Hot 100's tabulation.)
HIGH(EST) FIVE
Swift first led the Hot 100 with "Never" for three weeks in 2012. She added her second, third and fourth No. 1s from "1989": "Shake It Off" (four weeks, 2014), "Blank Space" (seven, 2014-15) and "Bad Blood", featuring Kendrick Lamar (one, 2015). With "Look" leading in its second week on the Hot 100, all five of Swift's No. 1s have reigned in four or fewer chart weeks.
Swift joins 13 other women (her favorite number!) with at least five Hot 100 No. 1s. Mariah Carey leads all women (and soloists) with 18 No. 1s, second among all artists only to the Beatles' 20.
FIRST SINGLES RANKING FIRST
Swift has now topped the Hot 100 with the first single from each of her last three albums. "Look" introduces reputation; "Shake", which debuted atop the Hot 100, ushered in "1989", and "Never" was released as the first single from "RED".
"LOOK" AND LISTEN
As it leads Streaming Songs and Digital Song Sales, "Look" charges 23-14 on the Radio Songs chart with 64 million all-format audience impressions following its first full week of airplay tracking. (It debuted a week ago with 46 million in its first three days.) Most notably, "Look" roars 21-9 on the Pop Songs chart (which is based on total weekly plays on a 164-station panel of mainstream top 40 stations), marking Swift's 14th top 10. It makes the fastest flight to the chart's top 10 since Timberlake's "Feeling" flew 24-10 on May 28, 2016.
LEADING LADY
More than nine months into 2017, Swift is the first woman to top the Hot 100 this year. She's the first since Halsey reigned, as featured on the Chainsmokers' "Closer", which wrapped its 12-week rule on Nov. 19, 2016. Until "Look", no woman had topped the Hot 100 in a lead role in more than a year: since Sia's "Cheap Thrills", featuring Sean Paul, led for four weeks from Aug. 6 through Aug. 27, 2016.
Further, "Look" is the first song by a woman unaccompanied by a male artist to rule the Hot 100 since Adele's "Hello" led for 10 weeks (Nov. 14, 2015-Jan. 16, 2016). The only other such No. 1s since the start of 2014: Swift's "Shake" and "Space" and Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass".
Source: Billboard
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