Just how much did the much-discussed music video for Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” contribute to its rise to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated Aug. 5?
Turns out, quite a bit. In the July 21-27 tracking week, official U.S. video streams of the song rose to 8.9 million, a sizable fraction – 29% – of the 30.7 million streams that it accrued overall, according to Luminate.
That means that nearly one-third of the song’s streams came from listeners consuming the song via video, whether it was the official clip or the tune’s lyric video or art track (audio-only but still on a video streaming platform).
In 2023, on average, video streams have accounted for just 8% of the streams of the No. 1 song on the Hot 100 each week. And that’s a number bumped up 1% by the week “Try That in a Small Town” just achieved; through the first 30 weeks of the year (dating to Jan. 7), the average was 7%.
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The previous largest percentage in 2023 had been on the Jan. 28-dated Hot 100, which saw Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” spend its first week at No. 1. That week, of its 52.6 million streams, 8.9 million came from video views, 17% of its overall count. During its eight-week run at No. 1, the percentage fluctuated between 9% and 17%.
The percentage has topped 10% for just two other No. 1s in 2023. First came Jimin’s “Like Crazy,” for which 15% (1.5 million of 10 million) was from video (April 8), followed by Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire” (3.4 million of 35.6 million, or 10%; July 15).
2023’s longest-leading Hot 100 No. 1, meanwhile, has been Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night,” to date having spent 14 weeks on top. Its percentage has been between 5% and 6% for the entirety of that run.
And the year’s smallest? It came one week before Aldean’s rise. Jung Kook’s “Seven,” featuring Latto, opened atop the Hot 100 dated July 29 with 307,000 of its 21.9 million streams via its video, 1% of the overall number.
The last Hot 100 No. 1 with a higher share of video contributing to its overall weekly streaming prior to Aldean’s? “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” from Disney’s Encanto. The song by Carolina Gaitán, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz and the Encanto cast counted 30% of its streams (8.9 million of 30 million) from video as reflected on the March 5, 2022, chart, with its official clip essentially a three-and-a-half-minute-plus sample of the blockbuster movie.
As previously reported, “Try That in a Small Town” lifts 2-1 on the latest Hot 100. It concurrently leaps to No. 1 on Country Streaming Songs and 37-3 on the all-format Streaming Songs. It’s Aldean’s first Country Streaming Songs ruler since “Got What I Got” reigned for five weeks in 2020.
