After 13 years, Kanye West, also known as Ye, returns to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with his and his “Vultures” collaborator’s “Carnival.”
The song’s entrance to No. 1 comes weeks after its debut on the all-genre-inclusive chart in late February, where it came in at No. 3 behind Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” and Jack Harlow’s “Lovin On Me.” The song, which features rap stars Rich the Kid and Playboi Carti, has been steadily rising in streaming numbers and leads the publication’s TikTok Top 50 songs list.
Despite the long-winded controversy surrounding West’s antisemitic behavior, the song and its parent LP “Vultures” have remained in the Top 10 of the albums and songs list in the United States since their official release on Feb. 9. With “Carnival,” West earns his fifth No. 1 in this decade and his first overall since his feature on Katy Perry’s “E.T.” (a 2011 release). This feat marks West as the only rapper to have charted No. 1 singles in three separate decades, with his first No. 1 being in 2004 alongside Twista and Jamie Foxx for the single “Slow Jamz.”
In the past tracking week, “Carnival” has logged 34 million streams, and earned four million audience impressions at U.S.-based radio stations, according to data provided by Luminate. Meanwhile, “Vultures” sits at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with nearly 53,000 equivalent album units earned.
Morgan Wallen’s 2023 LP “One Thing at a Time” is at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 where it spends a 19th (nonconsecutive) week, breaking the publication’s record for most weeks at the top for a country album. Garth Brooks’s 1991 album “Ropin’ the Wind” previously led with 18 weeks. Wallen’s “One Thing” tops the list with the equivalent of 68,000 units sold, including 90 million streams and 2,000 copies sold as a complete album.
The remaining titles in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 are filled out by previous holders including Taylor Swift, Noah Kahan, Drake, SZA, Zach Bryan and Travis Scott, whose Grammy-nominated rap album “Utopia” jumped up to No. 10 from its previous No. 17 post. On the Billboard Hot 100, Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control” sits at No. 2, followed by Harlow’s “Lovin On Me” at No. 3 and Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” at No. 4. Beyoncé, Tate McRae, Bryan with Kacey Musgraves, SZA, Doja Cat and Swift make up the latter half of the Top 10 for the Billboard Hot 100 songs.
Though no new releases shook up the charts this week, both the albums and singles tallies are sure to shift in the following week with the debut of Ariana Grande’s long-awaited new album “Eternal Sunshine.” The set became Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single day in 2024 so far on March 9.
