This week it was once again The Weeknd and Daft Punk on top of the Spotify streaming charts with "Starboy," as the collaboration between the prolific pop artists solidified its lead over The Chainsmokers' "Closer" in the U.S. chart battle. Drake's just released brand-new track "Fake Love," however, and that song has made a strong number 3 debut on the chart and could challenge for next week's top spot.
"Starboy" Tops "Closer"
Last week, "Starboy" took over the number 1 crown from long-running champs The Chainsmokers, but the race was so tight it was still anybody's game as to who would end up at number 1 this week. The Weeknd and Daft Punk wound up victorious again, as "Starboy" registered 9,739,052 streams to top "Closer" with 8,986,406 plays among Spotify's over 100 million listeners. That's a bit of a wider lead than the half million or so gap between the songs last week. Both tracks registered less streams than the previous week, indicating a loss of momentum, which could be permanent.
Drake's "Sneakin" And "Fake Love" On Spotify's Top 10
Gaining traction, however, is Drake, who just released two new songs that have both landed in the top 10 of the Spotify chart in their first week of release. "Sneakin" comes in at number 8 in its weekly U.S. chart debut, while "Fake Love" is proving to be the more popular of the new tracks and debuts at an impressive number 3 with 8,611,330 streams.
That puts Drake within striking distance of the top spot next week with "Fake Love" if the song continues to have legs. When it comes to a big artist such as Drake, sometimes a new release gets its most streams in its initial week or two as fans sample the material and then fades if they lose interest in the material. Lady Gaga's recent underperforming releases already languish outside of Spotify's top 100.
Also gaining U.S. chart momentum this week are Rae Sremmurd's "Black Beatles" at number 5 and Maroon 5's "Don't Wanna Know" featuring Kendrick Lamar at number 9. Bruno Mars' highly touted new release "24K Magic" appears to be underperforming for a new single from an artist of his magnitude, stagnating at number 14 and still unable to break into the top 10 as of yet. Globally, The Chainsmokers still edge out The Weeknd and Daft Punk at the number 1 and 2 positions respectively, with "Fake Love" debuting at number 8 and Mars' track already dropping at 13.
