Undisputed R&B legends unite for the newest champ on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart, as Ronald Isley, Beyoncé and The Isley Brothers’ collaboration, “Make Me Say It Again Girl,” climbs to No. 1 on the list dated Oct. 1. The track ascends from No. 3 after a 12% gain in plays made it the most played song on U.S. monitored adult R&B stations in the week ending Sept. 25, according to Luminate.
“Girl” returns The Isley Brothers to the No. 1 rank on Adult R&B Airplay for the first time in more than two decades, since “Contagious” ruled for two weeks in 2001. They additionally led the list, which began in 1993, once more, with another two-week champ, “Tears,” in 1997.
For Ronald Isley as a solo act, “Girl” marks the R&B veteran’s second leader on Adult R&B Airplay. He previously reigned for one week through a featured turn on Patti LaBelle’s “Gotta Go Solo” in 2005.
The Isley Brothers, whose first Billboard chart appearance came in 1959, are currently comprised of Ronald and Ernie Isley, though the lineup has changed many times since its first iteration. After a breakup the late 1980s, the group reformed in 1991 as The Isley Brothers featuring Ronald Isley.
Beyoncé, meanwhile, collects her third Adult R&B Airplay chart-topper just weeks after she last visited the summit. The superstar’s “Break My Soul” logged a pair of weeks in charge in August – September, a decade after her maiden No. 1, “Love on Top,” in 2012. On the latest chart, “Soul” retreats 10-14 after 11 weeks in the top 10.
“Girl” also shoots to the Adult R&B Airplay summit in just its seventh week on the list and wraps the fastest flight to No. 1 since Wizkid’s “Essence,” featuring Tems, also needed seven weeks to arrive at the peak last year. In the past decade (October 2012 – October 2022), only six songs have ascended to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay in seven or fewer weeks:
Song Title, Artist, Weeks to Reach No. 1, Date Reached No. 1
- “Lately,” Anita Baker, seven, Oct. 6, 2012
- “No Sleeep,” Janet featuring J. Cole, seven, Aug. 22, 2005
- “Thick of It,” Mary J. Blige, four, Nov. 12, 2016
- “Leave the Door Open,” Silk Sonic, four, April 3, 2021
- “Essence,” Wizkid featuring Tems, seven, Oct. 16, 2021
- “Make Me Say It Again Girl,” Ronald Isley, Beyoncé & The Isley Brothers, seven, Oct. 1, 2022
“Make Me Say It Again Girl,” which reworks The Isley Brothers’ 1975 song “Make Me Say It Again Girl Pts 1 & 2,” adds another chart hit to a group whose Billboard account opened in the 1950s. The Isley Brothers posted their first Billboard Hot 100 entry, “Shout – Part 1” in 1959, and followed with 39 more Hot 100 hits, through 2003. On the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs list, the legends landed 71 career hits, with 27 of those reaching the top 10, and six achieving the No. 1 rank.
