By Marissa Mirallegro
2018, so far, has been a great year for the music industry. To break it down just a bit, here are the top songs of 2018 so far.
- “God’s Plan”-Drake
“God’s Plan” by Drake debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 3 and stayed on top for 11 weeks, making it the 24th song in the history of the chart to do so. It also stayed in the top 10 for 26 consecutive weeks making it the longest song in 2018 to do so. It gained 6.5 million streams in its first week and broke streaming records on both Apple Music and Spotify. It’s certified 2x platinum in the UK, earning $1.2 million in sales and 8x platinum in the US, earning $8 million in sales.
- “Psycho”-Post Malone featuring Ty Dolla $ign
“Psycho” by Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 on March 10, being blocked by Drake. Although debuting at No. 2, the song stayed in the top ten for 21 weeks and was the No. 1 song on June 30. It was certified platinum in the UK with $600,000 in sales and certified 3x platinum in the US with $3 million in sales.
- “I Like It”- Cardi B, Bad Bunny, and J Balvin
“I Like It” by Cardi B featuring Bad Bunny and J Balvin peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July and stayed up in the top ten for 21 weeks. Although debuting at No. 8 and slowly rising from its release date on May 25, it’s the third song to stay the longest at No. 1 in 2018. It’s certified platinum in the UK with $600,000 in sales and certified 4X platinum with $4 million in sales. It also reached No. 1 on Digital Songs in its 20th chart week.
- “Girls Like You”- Maroon 5 and Cardi B
“Girls Like You” by Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on Sept. 29 and stayed in the top ten for 20 straight weeks. It became the first pop song to lead the chart after the record run of 34 weeks that rap songs dominated the charts. It also is the longest-leading number one on the Top Radio Songs by a duo or group this century. It’s certified platinum in both the UK and the US earning $600,000 in sales in the UK and 1 million in sales in the US.
- “Meant to Be”- Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line
Although released in 2017, “Meant to Be” by Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line dominated the charts in 2018, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 on March 31 and staying up top in the top 10 for 19 consecutive weeks. It debuted at the top of the Hot Country Songs and when it spent its 11th week on top, it was then the longest No. 1 song by a female artist on those charts. It is certified platinum in the UK earning $600,000 in sales and certified 4X platinum in the US earning $4 million in sales.
- “Lucid Dreams”- Juice World
“Lucid Dreams” by Juice World stayed in the top 10 for 19 weeks and then peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 on Oct. 6. It came out on May 11 and in the first week, it had 10 million US streams and 4,000 downloads. As of June, it has had 35.9 million US streams and 9,000 downloads. It’s certified gold in the UK earning $400,000 in sales.
- “Nice for What”-Drake
“Nice For What” by Drake, his second song in the top ten, debuted at No. 1 on April 21 and stayed in the top ten for 17 consecutive weeks. Drake is the first artist to have another No. 1 debut replace his previous No. 1 debut which was “God’s Plan.” With its debut, it was downloaded 88,000 times and 60.4 million streams. It became the first song to be No. 1 in 4 runs. It’s certified platinum in the UK with $600,000 in sales and certified 3X platinum in the US earning $378,000 in sales.
- “The Middle”- Zedd, Maren Morris, and Grey
“The Middle” by Zedd, Maren Morris, and Grey debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed in the top ten for 16 weeks in a row. As of October of this year, it has sold 722,000 copies in the US. It hit No. 1 and Dance/Electronic Streaming Songs and it also hit number one for Hot Dance/Electronic Songs. It is certified platinum in the UK earning $600,000 in sales.
- “Better Now”- Post Malone
“Better Now” by Post Malone debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed up top in the top ten for 15 weeks. It stayed on the whole 100 chart for 25 weeks. It peaked at No. 3 on October 6 but first entered the top ten on May 12. It’s certified platinum in both the UK and the US, earning $600,000 in the UK and $1 million in the US in sales.
- “Finesse”-Bruno Mars and Cardi B
“Finesse” by Bruno Mars featuring Cardi B debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed up in the top ten for 14 weeks straight. Although the original version was released in 2017, the remix with Cardi B came out in 2018. It also debuted number 1 on the Streaming Songs Chart with 38.3 million streams. It is certified platinum in the UK earning $600,000 in sales and it’s certified 3X platinum in the US earning $592,000 in sales.