Chart Commentary — FEBRUARY 7, 2026

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HARRY!

Harry Styles’ “Aperture” takes the spotlight on the Billboard Hot 100, debuting at No. 1.  The star (who celebrated his 32nd birthday on February 1) earns his third Hot 100 leader, and second to debut in the top spot, after “As It Was” arrived at No. 1 in April 2022 to begin a 15-week reign. His first No. 1, “Watermelon Sugar,” spent a week atop the chart in August 2020.

“Aperture” introduces Styles’ fourth solo album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally, due March 6. His first three sets all debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200: Harry’s House (2022), Fine Line (2019) and Harry Styles (2017). (One Direction, with Styles as a member, notched four No. 1 albums in 2012-14, among five top 10s; “Aperture” is Styles’ eighth Hot 100 top 10, with One Direction having scored six.)

A COUPLE OF EARLY #1 DEBUTS

Reflecting warm welcomes for new music in 2026, Styles’ “Aperture” is the second Hot 100 No. 1 debut so far this year. It dethrones Bruno Mars’ “I Just Might,” which spent its first two weeks on the chart at No. 1 the previous two frames; this week, it drops to No. 6.

This year marks the earliest that two songs have debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100. It surpasses 2024 by three days, as Ariana Grande’s “Yes, And?” debuted atop the Jan. 27 chart that year, followed by Megan Thee Stallion’s “Hiss” on the Feb. 10 survey.

Two songs have soared in at No. 1 on the Hot 100 by the end of February in just one other year — 2011: Britney Spears’ “Hold It Against Me” (Jan. 29) and Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” (Feb. 26).

A COUPLE OF COLUMBIA HITS

Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” rises 3-2 for a new Hot 100 high. Notably, Columbia Records holds the chart’s top two places, with Styles’ “Aperture” on Erskine/Columbia and “Choosin’ Texas” on SAWGOD/Columbia/Triple Tigers.

Columbia is the first label in 2026 to claim the Hot 100’s top two rungs, after being the last to do so in 2025, when Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and Wham!’s “Last Christmas,” both on Columbia/Legacy, were Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, on the Dec. 13 chart.

Before that, Columbia last achieved the feat (with other labels having done so since) in part via Styles: on the Aug. 20, 2022, Hot 100, Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul” was No. 1, directly above his “As It Was.”

GRAMMY WRAP-UP…

QUEEN DEAN

 “Man I Need” by newly crowned Best New Artist Grammy Award winner Olivia Dean slips a notch to No. 3 on the Hot 100.

MANY “GOLDEN” RETURNS

HUNTR/X’s “Golden” holds at No. 4, after eight weeks at No. 1 beginning last August. It won at the 68th annual Grammys ceremony for Best Song Written for Visual Media, marking the first Grammy victory for a song associated with Korean pop.

Jarrett Nolan

I was born a poor Black child into a family that put the “fun” in dysfunction. But through that fun, there was A LOT of music. At a very young age, my parents introduced me to everything ranging from Doo Wop to the British Invasion to Motown to Philly Soul to Psychedlic Rock to Funk.

Since I’m a Jersey boy born-n-bred, I landed a job at WHTZ (Z100) as a producer. I gave the DJs info about artists to read on-air – most of mine were chart-related, naturally.

I did double duty at WSBG, a small market radio station in the Poconos, as a DJ because I have a face for radio.

Through a random twist of fate, I wound up at BMG Distribution in Times Square. Shortly after, I ended up at Arista (shouldn’t have done that!). My career in the music industry ended with a stint at being a personal assistant to alterna-rap act PM Dawn.

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