The distance between the top two songs on the pop chart fell to less than one percent, but the end result was the same as last week. Olivia Rodrigo’s “good 4 u” continues to own the No. 1 spot, while “Stay” by The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber are stuck behind at No. 2. The remainder of the Top 5 was also unchanged — “Kiss Me More” by Doja Cat, “Bad Habits” by Ed Sheeran and “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” by Lil Nas X at No. 3, 4 and No.5 respectively.
While the top of the chart was unmoving, the rest of the countdown was in complete flux. Outside of the Top 5 and not counting the four debuts, 17 of the remaining 31 songs moved up or down four or more spots. Some of this seems due to the drop of three new albums (by Rod Wave, Trippie Redd and YNW Melly) that created a lot of change in the streaming and download space. Next week could also experience a lot of movement as the songs from those albums inevitably begin to lose steam.
Justin Bieber’s “Peaches” fell out of the Top 10 after only one week back in it. This time it seems destined to fall out of the Top 40 in the next few weeks. Previously, “Peaches” had never been out of the top 10 since it entered the Top 40 at No. 5 on April 3. Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open” is on a similar descent, having fallen from the Top 20 for the first time since it entered the chart at No. 6 on March 20. Polo G’s “RAPSTAR” also fell out of the Top 20 for the first time since April 24.
This week’s other trends include:
Biggest movers:
- “Take My Breath” by The Weeknd (up 11 to No. 9, only two weeks on the chart)
- “Need to Know” by Doja Cat (up nine from No. 22 to No. 13)
- “Volvi” by Aventura & Bad Bunny (up eight from No. 27 to No. 19, only two weeks on the chart)
- “traitor” by Olivia Rodrigo (up 10 from No. 30 to No. 20)
- “Ain’t Sh*t” by Doja Cat (up five No. 29 to No. 24)
- “Arcade” by Duncan Lawrence (up 11 from No. 36 to No. 25)
Biggest drops:
- “Peaches” by Justin Bieber (down six from No. 10 to No. 16)
- “Leave Before You Love Me” by Marshmello & Jonas Brothers (down four from No. 13 to No. 17)
- “Leave the Door Open” by Silk Sonic (down six from No. 16 to No. 22)
- “Skate” by Silk Sonic (down four from No. 19 to No. 23)
- “RAPSTAR” by Polo G (down eight from No. 18 to No. 26)
- “Every Chance I Get” by DJ Khaled (down four from No. 24 to No. 28)
- “Motley Crew” by Post Malone (down six from No. 23 to No. 29, down 17 in the last three weeks)
- “Lil Bit” by Nelly & Florida Georgia Line (down nine from No. 21 to No. 30, down 13 in the last two weeks)
- “Telepatia” by Kali Uchis (down six from No. 25 to No. 31)
- “Beggin'” by Måneskin (down six from No. 28 to No. 34, down 14 in the last two weeks)
- “Thot Sh*t” by Meghan Thee Stallion (down four from No. 32 to No. 36, down eight in the last two weeks)
- “Glad You Exist” by Dan + Shay (down four from No. 35 to No. 39)
Debuts:
- “Rumors” by Lizzo & Cardi B (No. 21)
- “Essence” by Wizkid (No. 35)
- “Pepas” by Farruko (No. 38, one week on the Side Burner chart)
- “A-O-K” by Tai Verdes (No. 39, seven weeks on the Side Burner chart)
Exits:
- “pov” by Ariana Grande (15 weeks on the chart, peak of No. 17, last week No. 37)
- “Late at Night” by Roddy Ricch (10 weeks on the chart, peak of No. 21, last week No. 33)
- “Drinkin’ Beer. Talkin’ God. Amen” by Chase Rice (one week on the chart, last week No. 39)
- “Don’t Go Yet” by Camila Cabello (one week on the chart, last week No. 40)
Here is the updated chart for the week of August 22, 2021. Each song is linked to its official video on YouTube, where possible. To listen to the full playlist of these songs, visit our page on Spotify.
| Pos | Song | Artist | LW | Chg | Wks | Peak |
| 1 | good 4 u | Olivia Rodrigo | 1 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| 2 | Stay | The Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| 3 | Kiss Me More | Doja Cat | 3 | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| 4 | Bad Habits | Ed Sheeran | 4 | 0 | 8 | 3 |
| 5 | Montero (Call Me By Your Name) | Lil Nas X | 5 | 0 | 20 | 3 |
| 6 | Industry Baby | Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow | 7 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 7 | déjà vu | Olivia Rodrigo | 6 | -1 | 19 | 2 |
| 8 | Levitating | Dua Lipa | 8 | 0 | 33 | 1 |
| 9 | Take My Breath | The Weeknd | 20 | 11 | 2 | 9 |
| 10 | Save Your Tears | The Weeknd | 9 | -1 | 31 | 1 |
| 11 | Butter | BTS | 11 | 0 | 13 | 7 |
| 12 | Happier Than Ever | Billie Eilish | 14 | 2 | 3 | 12 |
| 13 | Need to Know | Doja Cat | 22 | 9 | 7 | 13 |
| 14 | You Right | Doja Cat & The Weeknd | 12 | -2 | 9 | 11 |
| 15 | Fancy Like | Walker Hayes | 15 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| 16 | Peaches | Justin Bieber | 10 | -6 | 21 | 1 |
| 17 | Leave Before You Love Me | Marshmello & Jonas Brothers | 13 | -4 | 9 | 13 |
| 18 | Heartbreak Anniversary | Giveon | 17 | -1 | 22 | 15 |
| 19 | Volvi | Aventura & Bad Bunny | 27 | 8 | 2 | 19 |
| 20 | traitor | Olivia Rodrigo | 30 | 10 | 13 | 12 |
| 21 | Rumors | Lizzo & Cardi B | New | New | 1 | 21 |
| 22 | Leave the Door Open | Silk Sonic | 16 | -6 | 23 | 1 |
| 23 | Skate | Silk Sonic | 19 | -4 | 3 | 19 |
| 24 | Ain’t Sh*t | Doja Cat | 29 | 5 | 8 | 16 |
| 25 | Arcade | Duncan Laurence | 36 | 11 | 8 | 25 |
| 26 | RAPSTAR | Polo G | 18 | -8 | 19 | 9 |
| 27 | Heat Waves | Glass Animals | 26 | -1 | 19 | 13 |
| 28 | Every Chance I Get | DJ Khaled | 24 | -4 | 15 | 17 |
| 29 | Motley Crew | Post Malone | 23 | -6 | 6 | 11 |
| 30 | Lil Bit | Nelly & Florida-Georgia Line | 21 | -9 | 12 | 17 |
| 31 | Telepatia | Kali Uchis | 25 | -6 | 14 | 23 |
| 32 | Astronaut in the Ocean | Masked Wolf | 31 | -1 | 22 | 4 |
| 33 | You | Regard x Troye Sivan x Tate McRae | 34 | 1 | 11 | 32 |
| 34 | Beggin’ | Måneskin | 28 | -6 | 6 | 20 |
| 35 | Essence | Wizkid | New | New | 1 | 35 |
| 36 | Thot Sh*t | Megan Thee Stallion | 32 | -4 | 10 | 13 |
| 37 | Pepas | Farruko | New | 1 | 37 | |
| 38 | Love Again | Dua Lipa | 38 | 0 | 3 | 38 |
| 39 | Glad You Exist | Dan + Shay | 35 | -4 | 2 | 35 |
| 40 | A-O-K | Tai Verdes | New | New | 1 | 40 |
There are 13 songs that show signs of invading the chart in the coming weeks. Songs that appeared on this list previously are marked with an asterisk for each week they’ve been on the list. (You can listen to them in our “On the Side Burner” playlist on Spotify):
| On the Side Burner | |
| (Songs that haven’t appeared in our chart but were closest to making it this week) | |
| Song | Artist |
| 2055*** | Sleepy Hallow |
| Memory*** | Kane Brown & Blackbear |
| Waves* | Luke Bryan |
| I Like That** | Bazzi |
| Lost*** | Maroon 5 |
| Things a Man Oughta Know | Lainey Wilson |
| Demeanor*** | Pop Smoke |
| Woman | Doja Cat |
| Saturday | Twenty One Pilots |
| Get Into It (Yuh) | Doja Cat |
| Psycho | Dixie |
| Paralyzed | Sueco |
| Chasing After You* | Ryan Hurd & Maren Morris |
The American charts all have their whims. We look across the pop music landscape to put together a reliable snapshot of what is truly trending today. We are currently tracking 141 songs that have trended in various ways in the past week.
Copyright © 2021 Doug DeBolt.
