TOP 50: A CHART CAROL

Taylor Swift continues to be a one-woman holiday-gift superstore, and THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT (Republic) has accordingly logged another 238k in its latest #1 week on the HITS Top 50 chart (is it the three-gazillionth? We've honestly lost track, and the Jim Beam is not helping). Anyhoo, fully 200k of Tay's weekly total comes from pure sales, so if you don't see a copy of the album or other Swiftian merch in your stocking, your "loved ones" are undeserving of the term.

But Tay isn't the only star enjoying a prosperous week; Kendrick Lamar scores 126k+ for his pgLang/Interscope set GNX, good for #2, and does so almost entirely with streams. K. Dot currently has two songs in the Spotify USA Top 5 (and three in the Top 10) and owns the entire Apple Music Top 3, despite the incursion of yuletide carols (being sung by a choir or otherwise).

The week's biggest debut, meanwhile, belongs to BLACKLABEL/Atlantic's ROSÉ, whose "APT." f/Bruno Mars remains one of the hottest streaming songs on this ever-hotter planet. The BLACKPINK singer's solo effort, rosie, notches a muscular 118k+ in its first week, landing at #3. As many of you know, the propulsive "APT." is inspired by a Korean drinking game. What you may not know is that we are presently winning that game (if winning is measured by who drinks the most).

Another distaff K-pop project, JYP/Virgin/Imperial/Republic's TWICE, also bows in the Top 5. The 90k the group's Strategy rang up in its first frame was derived overwhelmingly from pure sales. Fun fact: The nonet has even more members than it has record labels!

Sabrina Carpenter's 2023 holiday EP, Fruitcake, re-enters the chart at #10 with 52k+. In other holiday chart news, Michael Bublé (#7) and Bing Crosby (#8) have breached the Top 10 so batten down the mistletoe. Nat King Cole and Mariah Carey, meanwhile, are sledding uphill at #13 and #14, respectively.

You can dig into the rest of the chart here. Or not if you're feeling Grinchy.

Streeting now-ish are Death Row/Aftermath/Interscope's reunited Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, JYP/Republic's Stray Kids and Disney's Mufasa: The Lion King soundtrack, the iconography of which is emblazoned on the footie pajamas Santa will be bringing Todd Hensley (shhh, don't tell).

We wish you all a weekend of comfort and joy, even though we're still publishing.