Chart Commentary — August 29, 2026

LUCKY 19

Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” achieves a 19th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 — tying for the longest run ever atop the chart among non-holiday songs. The smash first led in February and has already set multiple chart records.

Here’s an updated look at the longest-leading hits, ranked by most weeks at No. 1, over the Hot 100’s archives, which date to August 1958:

• 22 weeks, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Mariah Carey, 2019-26
• 19, “Choosin’ Texas,” Ella Langley, 2026
• 19, “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Shaboozey, 2024
• 19, “Old Town Road,” Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus, 2019
• 16, “Last Night,” Morgan Wallen, 2023
• 16, “Despacito,” Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee feat. Justin Bieber, 2017
• 16, “One Sweet Day,” Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men, 1995-96

Both “Choosin’ Texas” and Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” became country and pop crossover airplay hits, while Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, scored at pop and R&B/hip-hop radio, with all three songs also evolving into streaming and sales monsters.

The only song in their way historically, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” has dominated the Hot 100 each holiday season since the 1994 carol was first No. 1 in 2019 (and could add to its total after it’s time once again).

“TEXAS,” “BOSTON” TWO-STEP

Below “Choosin’ Texas” at No. 1 on the Hot 100, Stella Lefty’s “Boston” jumps 4-2 for a new high, surpassing its prior No. 3 peak.

C(h)artography lesson: The odes to Texas (and Tennessee) and Boston combine for the first week in Hot 100 history in which the name of a U.S. state and a U.S. city appear in the top two titles together.

(Special shout-out to Boston, Texas.)

COUNTRY FOUR-STEP REPEAT

Taylor Swift’s “I Knew It, I Knew You” dips 2-3, after it spent its first two weeks on the Hot 100 at No. 1 in June, and Morgan Wallen’s “Been by Now” drops 3-4, after it debuted at its No. 2 high.

Country claims another especially prominent week, three weeks after the genre monopolized the entire top five on the Hot 100 for the first time. Of the 12 weeks all-time with country songs at either Nos. 1-3, 1-4 or 1-5, all have occurred since August 2023, powered, in part, by country’s growth in streaming, among other factors.

SUMMER FREEZE MAKES ME FEEL FINE

Each song in the rest of the Hot 100’s top 10 holds in place, led by Ariana Grande’s “Hate That I Made You Love Me” at No. 5 after it led in its debut week in June.

Wallen and Langley’s “I Can’t Love You Anymore” is No. 6 on the Hot 100 after hitting No. 4.

Olivia Dean’s “So Easy (To Fall in Love)” ranks at No. 7 on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 5, with her “Man I Need” at No. 9, after peaking at No. 2.

Tame Impala and JENNIE’s “Dracula” is No. 8 after reaching No. 5 on the Hot 100. It tops the multimetric Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart for a 33rd week and Hot Rock & Alternative Songs for a 15th week.

Langley’s “Be Her” rounds out the Hot 100’s top 10 at No. 10, after hitting No. 2.

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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