Megan Thee Stallion fans rejoiced when the femcee tapped fellow Houston hitmaker Beyoncé to feature on her megahit, ‘Savage.’
Despite blasting to the top of iTunes and Apple Music tallies mere hours after its release, however, the J. White Did It-produced cut wasn’t exactly a shoo-in for #1 on next week’s Billboard Hot 100 as stiff competition came in the form of another diva duet – Doja Cat and Nicki Minaj‘s ‘Say So.’
Mid-week predictions may have suggested Stallion and Queen Bey had the win in the bag given their domination of streaming outlets (as we reported here), but updated figures suggest ‘Say’ still has a chance to top the Hot 100 due to an oft-overlooked component of data calculated to determine chart placements: radio.
More inside:
“The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming, radio airplay and digital sales data.
Per preliminary data, “Savage” and “Say So” appear set for a tight battle for No. 1. “Savage” (released on 1501 Certified/300) could draw over 40 million U.S. streams and 40 million in radio airplay audience and sell over 50,000 downloads in the tracking week. “Say So” (on Kemosabe/RCA) could sport over 90 million in radio reach, 25 million streams and 80,000 sold in the same span.
Both tracks have benefited from high-profile remixes. A version of “Savage” adding Beyoncé arrived April 29, in time for its first two days of activity to meet the April 30 streaming and sales cutoff for the May 9-dated Hot 100, and to fuel its jump from No. 14 to No. 4. Thus, the May 16-dated Hot 100 will encompass the first full tracking frame for the Beyoncé remix.
Similarly, Nicki Minaj joined on a remix of “Say So,” released at midnight ET May 1, and its first full week of availability will be tracked on the May 16-dated Hot 100.”
*****
To pad their streaming figures, both Cat and Stallion released multiple versions of their tunes over the past tracking week. While Meg stunned with a Major Lazer-led remix of ‘Savage’ (click here to listen), Doja released a dance video, live clip, and the original Nicki remix for ‘Say So’ (click here to watch).
As the chart-topping would come as a first for every player involved (sans Beyoncé), it’s clear the ladies are respectively pulling all the stops.
Keep it locked to That Grape Juice for the final word on this story when it’s revealed Monday, May 11.