TOO CLOSE TO CALL: CHART BATTLE

Two competitors are going down to the wire for #1 on this week’s HITS Top 50. For now, the race is too close to call.

BBR/Republic’s Jelly Roll and Atlantic’s Charli xcx were battling it out for the top spot at press time.

Jelly’s Beautifully Broken, which held the lead at midweek, was forecast to open in the neighborhood of 150k, with most of its activity coming from pure sales. But Charli—who had two extremely buzzy shows at Inglewood’s Kia Forum this week—is coming in hot, with a deluxe expansion of BRAT, including digital and physical offerings, that's boosted streaming activity. As of this writing, the combatants are likely to land somewhere between the high 140s and low 150s.

While Rod Wave generated significant streams—especially at Apple Music—with Last Lap, the Alamo star will be receiving a bronze medal this week.

Republic CORPS captain Jim Roppo, a seasoned sales pro who’s scored countless #1 victories, is guiding Team Jelly. Charli, meanwhile, is supported by the hungry new Atlantic executive team, led by Zach Friedman, that just last week earned the label’s first #1 of 2024 with Coldplay’s Moon Music.

How will this tight chart fight play out? We may have an answer for you today, but this one is still very much up in the air. Don’t touch that dial...