If I were a record producer or music artist in the U.S. of A. today, I would take it easy and refrain from releasing any new product. Why should I when all of the chances that exist for a new recording to become a hit will only be razed to the ground by the unstoppable tornado that is Drake.
You only have streaming and downloads to blame for this situation that puts the industry in a quandary but is something to rejoice about on Drake’s part. Back in the old days, single releases are spaced out by at least six weeks or more and heavily promoted. That meant that artists usually have only one or two singles in the charts unless of course they were the Beatles or Elvis Presley whose singles just kept on selling. Not to forget all those chart records that were set by Elvis and the Fabulous Four have now been surpassed by Drake.
Nowadays though, all new music products can be made available on digital platforms at any time and even without heavy airplay. And then the fans choose what they want to buy or listen to which can be the entire album or selected singles. Well, it looks like in Drake’s case, they just love all of what he does and the songs from his latest album, Scorpion, not necessarily the singles and his previous releases as well, If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late, More Life and Views are all in the chart.
I say now that Kendrick Lamar’s poetry may have the meat. Remember he won a Nobel Prize for his work. But Canadian Drake with his soft, introspective musings definitely has the ear of the music buyers. The hip-hop superstar, and he is indeed super as far as making hits goes, does not only have the biggest-selling album, he also has 24 singles in Billboard’s Hot 100 hit list.
Note that, that is nearly a quarter of the contents of the chart. So unless you are named Bruno Mars or Ed Sheeran, or among the females, Cardi B, or better yet, a departed hip-hop star like the much-lamented XXX Tentacion, you’d better wait a while until the guy from Ontario cools down. The only problem is, it might be quite a while before he shows any sign of wanting to do so.
Here now is a look at the Drake-dominated Hot 100 chart this week: Nice For What by Drake; Nonstop by Drake; I Like It by Cardi B feat. Bad Bunny and J. Balvin; God’s Plan by Drake; Girls Like You by Maroon 5 feat. Cardi B; In My Feelings by Drake; I’m Upset by Drake; Emotionless by Drake; Don’t Matter To Me by Drake feat. Michael Jackson; Sad! by the recently departed XXXTentacion.
Boo’d Up by Ella Mai; Psycho by Post Malone feat. Ty Dolla $ign; Mob Ties by Drake; Elevate by Drake; No Tears Left To Cry by Ariana Grande; Lucid Dreams by Juice WRLD; Survival by Drake; Can’t Take A Joke by Drake; The Middle by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey; and Talk It Up by Drake feat. Jay-Z.
But that list only has the Top 20 songs in the Hot 100. Drake has more than those. Check out these other Drake songs: 8 Out Of 10; Sandra’s Rose; Summer Games, Blue Tint; Jaded; Is There More; That’s How You Feel; Peak; After Dark feat. Static Major and Ty Dolla $ign; Finesse; Ratchet Happy Birthday; Final Fantasy; and March 14.
The Top 20 albums are: Scorpion by Drake; High As Hope by Florence + The Machine; beerbong & bentleys by Post Malone; The Now Now by Gorillaz; ? by XXXTentacion; Invasion Of Privacy by Cardi B; Goodbye & Good Riddance by Juice WRLD; Everything Is Love by The Carters; Pray For The Wicked by Panic! At The Disco; Appetite For Distraction by Guns N’ Roses.
The Greatest Showman, the motion picture soundtrack starring Hugh Jackman, Zach Efron and others; Harder Than Ever by Lil Baby; 17 by XXX Tentacion; This One’s For You by Luke Combs; Red Pill Blues by Maroon 5; Evolve by Imagine Dragons; Gravity by Bullet For My Valentine; Stoney by Post Malone; Divide by Ed Sheeran; Dan & Shay by Dan & Shay.