The challenger defeats the champion on Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs chart this week as rookie singer 4Batz’s “Act II: Date @ 8,” now featuring Drake, rockets 7-1 to crown the list dated March 23. The buzzy single’s rise comes after the release of a remix, which added the heavyweight, on March 8. In taking the summit, the new leader ends a historic run for SZA, who had reigned atop the chart for the last 53 weeks through four songs – “Kill Bill,” “Snooze,” a featured turn on Drake’s “Slime You Out” and “Saturn.”
“Act II: Date @ 8” debuted on the chart dated Jan. 6 and spent its first 11 weeks on the list (including nine in the top 10) billed solely to 4Batz. With the majority of the song’s activity in the latest tracking week coming from the Drake-assisted remix, the song’s chart listing undergoes two key changes: The artist billing switches to “4Batz featuring Drake” and the servicing label, previously just 4Batz, is updated to 4Batz/OVO Sound. From a business perspective, 4Batz and Drake will be partners again soon, as Billboard reported the budding singer signed with OVO Sound — which Drake co-founded — for a one-EP deal.
In the tracking week of March 8-14 for the multimetric Hot R&B Songs chart — which combines streaming, radio airplay and sales data — “Act II: Date @ 8” generated 19.9 million official U.S. streams, according to Luminate, a 187% burst from the week prior. The nearly tripled improvement shoots the track 6-1 on the R&B Streaming Songs chart, where it becomes 4Batz’s first champ on the list and Drake’s ninth. It also nabs the week’s Greatest Gainer honor, as the song with the largest streaming increase.
“Act II: Date @ 8” sold 1,000 digital downloads in the same period, sparking a No. 5 debut on R&B Digital Song Sales. The track also registered 8.4 million audience impressions, helped by gains on multiple radio charts: It climbs 19-16 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (up 21% in plays during the tracking week) and 28-24 on Rhythmic Airplay (a 33% increase).
Elsewhere, “Act II: Date @ 8” powers 26-3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, where it captures both the Sales Gainer and Streaming Gainer honors, and 61-7 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, with the Streaming Gainer prize to boot.
Though “Act II: Date @ 8” gets most of the shine, two other 4Batz installments also occupy spots on the Hot R&B Songs chart: “Act I: Stickerz 99” rebounds 24-19 in its seventh week on the list, while “Act III: On God (She Like)” slips 10-11 in its second frame.
