Gracie Abrams charges towards Number 1, but Billie Eilish reigns supreme

Billie Eilish enters a second consecutive week atop my personal chart with “Birds of a Feather”. It has become her third Number 1-hit to date last week, becoming another sleeper hit for the American artist. In late 2018, she slowly scaled the charts with “When the Party’s Over”, eventually peaking at #8 and staying on the charts for more than six months. Her Bond-theme song “No Time to Die” reached its peak at #5 more than a full year after its initial release. Even her two Number 1s – “Bad Guy” and “When the Party’s Over” – both proved to be slow-burners as well, reaching their top positions after multiple charting weeks. “Birds of a Feather” is boosted by a performance during the Paris Olympics, but does face some serious competition. TikTok-starlet-turned-bonafide pop star Addison Rae seeks to reclaim the crown with “Diet Pepsi” after she spent one week leading the list.

Seemingly overnight, Gracie Abrams has soared to pop stardom. That’s not exactly true, however. She is the daughter of famous director JJ Abrams, an obvious help, but under Interscope Records she has already released numerous EPs and performed as an opening act for Taylor Swift on her Eras Tour. In late 2023, Abrams was featured on a remix of the song "Everywhere, Everything" by Noah Kahan and then went viral on TikTok with her breakout “I Love You, I’m Sorry”. That song is still in my Top 10, peaking at #4 this week. It is overshadowed by the new “That’s So True”, which soars to #3 this week. It marks Gracie Abrams her second Top 10-hit to date and her highest-peaking release so far. It’s been included on the deluxe version of her album The Secret of Us, which topped several charts worldwide, mostly aided by a strategic Taylor Swift-duet. With two back-to-back singles in my Top 5, Abrams is seriously contending for next week’s Number 1.

The Weeknd moves into the Top 10 with the thrilling “São Paulo”, peaking at #7 this week. Up until this week, Hurry Up Tomorrow, the upcoming new The Weeknd-album, failed to spawn a significant hit. Lead single “Dancing the Flames” underperformed by The Weeknd his standards, while follow-up “Timeless” is currently an international success, yet it flunked on my personal chart. However, for the new “São Paulo”, Abel has switched up his usual synth-driven formula, instead opting for Brazilian funk with Brazilian star Anitta. It is an unusual 4-minute song with an even weirder music video. For the featured Anitta, “São Paulo” marks her first ever Top 10-hit on my chart. Her 2021 hit “Envolver” was a streaming juggernaut and the first solo Latin song to reach the top of the Spotify Global Daily chart, yet it failed to reach my personal Top 40. The Weeknd scores his seventeenth Top 10-hit to date. It is the first single off Hurry Up Tomorrow to reach the Top 10.

In late 2022, Dutch-Congolese singer Claude shot to national fame with his hit “Ladada (Mon Dernier Mot)”. A slow-burner on my list; it eventually peaked at #17 and was solely succeeded by a cross-over with Suzan & Freek. The past few weeks, Claude appeared on De Beste Zangers, a popular tv-series in which Dutch singers cover each other’s work. Supported by that newfound attention, Claude returns to my Top 40 with “Je T’aime” at #26, earning the biggest debut of the week. It is a duet with popular act Zoë Tauran, who collects her twelfth Top 40-hit to date. While most of her discography has peaked in the lower echelons of my personal chart, she did score a gold-certified Number 1 with “Monster” last year after a lengthy TikTok-promotion.

Closely behind Claude and Zoë Tauran, multiple new singles enter my chart. Dutch singer-songwriter Hannah Mae seemingly follows in the footsteps of Dutch country-pop icon Ilse DeLange on her new country-infused ballad “Rode Draad” at #27, echoing DeLange her famous “I’m Not so Tough” or “So Incredible”. Meanwhile, Dua Lipa opts for a second “Fever”-esque moment, remixing “These Walls” with Belgian singer Pierre de Maere at #29. Near the end of the Future Nostalgia era, Dua collaborated with Belgian colleague Angèle on “Fever”, which was a big European hit and peaked at #3 on my own chart. Pierre de Maere is considerably lesser known in Europe, but a rising star in Belgium. Little Mix-alumna Perrie continues to tease her solo debut with the promotional single “Me, Myself & You”. The single settles for a #31-debut, her lowest yet. Ronnie Flex returns with the cross-over “Heel De Nacht Alleen” featuring singer Yade Lauren and rapper Mula B. A very upbeat rock-inspired song, it starts off at #37. It earns him his sixty-first Top 40-hit, continuing his record as the artist with the most Top 40-hits of all time.

Newly certified

“Angel of My Dreams” – Jade PLATINUM

“Diet Pepsi” – Addison Rae PLATINUM