The combined power of two of Houston’s hottest acts fuels a Billboard chart-topper as Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage,” featuring Beyoncé, climbs one spot to No. 1 on the Hot Rap Songs list (dated May 16). The track ascends from No. 3 following the first full tracking week of the Beyoncé remix, released on April 29.
“Savage” marks the first Hot Rap Songs No. 1 for Megan Thee Stallion, whose previous best was a No. 5 peak for “Hot Girl Summer,” her 2019 collaboration with Ty Dolla $ign and Nicki Minaj. Beyoncé, too, picks up her first leader, having come closest before with a runner-up showing through a featured turn on “’03 Bonnie and Clyde,” with Jay-Z.
Streams fuel the “Savage” surge, with 41.2 million U.S. clicks in the week ending May 7, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data, up 53% from the previous tracking frame. The single is the week’s most-streamed track of any genre, resulting in twin No. 1 ranks on the all-genre Streaming Songs and Rap Streaming Songs charts. Megan Thee Stallion nabs her first champs on both lists, while Beyoncé collects a first on Rap Streaming Songs and a third on the overall list, after 2014’s “Drunk in Love,” featuring Jay-Z and “Perfect,” with Ed Sheeran in 2018.
Sales, too, played a significant role in the “Savage” coronation, with 50,000 downloads sold in the week ending May 7, a 90% upgrade from the prior week. The track rebounds 2-1 on Rap Digital Song Sales to win its third week at the helm, after leading the April 4 and April 11 charts.
No surprise, then, that the pair’s airplay reach also makes forward progress. “Savage” steps 4-3 on Rap Airplay through a 17% boost in the week ending May 10. On a wider front, it lifts 4-2 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and registers 26 million in audience in the same period, a 10% upswing. Growth in the two sectors leads to “Savage” pushing 18-14 rise on the all-genre Radio Songs chart. There, it records 51.3 million in total audience impressions, a 27% weekly improvement.
While “Savage” leads Hot Rap Songs, it falls just short of the summit on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts after a widely watched race against Doja Cat’s “Say So,” featuring Nicki Minaj. Both tunes, armed with recent remixes from their respective featured acts, posted across-the-board gains in all metrics, with “Say” taking top status while “Savage” ascended to No. 2 on both lists.