Tyla takes over Billboard’s Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart as her breakthrough single, “Water” rises to No. 1 on the list dated Dec. 2. The track springs from No. 4 to crown the chart after a 14% surge in plays that made it the most played song on U.S. monitored mainstream R&B/hip-hop radio stations in the week ending Nov. 23, according to Luminate.
Through its double-digit gain, “Water” wins the Greatest Gainer honor, awarded each week to the song with the largest increase in plays among the chart’s 40 titles. As it reaches the summit, “Water” pushes Victoria Monet’s “On My Mama” to second place after two weeks in charge.
Thanks to “Water,” released on Fax Records/Epic Records, Epic Records returns to No. 1 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay for the first time in just over a year. Future’s “Wait for U,” featuring Drake and Tems, was the label’s last leader, completing a record 16th week at No. 1 on the chart dated Oct. 29, 2022.
As “Water” reigns on the plays-based Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, the radio smash repeats at a No. 5 high on the audience-based R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay list, which ranks songs by combined audience impression totals from adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop stations. There, “Water” added 14% in weekly audience to reach a new best of 15.8 million.
In addition to the R&B/hip-hop wins, “Water” flows 7-4 on Rhythmic Airplay, following a huge 27% increase in weekly plays at the format. Pop radio also has embraced the tune, with a 28-21 on the newest Pop Airplay list after a 41% hike in weekly plays. Armed with strong results from the R&B/hip-hop, rhythmic and pop sectors, “Water” is knocking on the door of the top 10 of the all-genre Radio Songs chart with a 17-11 ascent and 24% weekly improvement in audience to 38.4 million.
The rapid “Water” radio rise joins with the song’s growing sales and streaming profile to fuel the track’s high placements on several Billboard multimetric charts. Notably, the song wins a seventh week atop the sales and streaming-powered U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart, while also climbing the radio, sales and streaming-driven Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (5-4) and Billboard Hot 100 (15-10) charts.
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