The holiday season is starting to influence the Billboard charts, but for now, there’s little movement in the upper echelons of the Hot 100
and Billboard 200. Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” remains at No. 1 on the Hot 100 for an 18th non-consecutive week, just one week shy of
matching the all-time record set by Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” in 2019. On the Billboard 200, Tyler, The Creator’s Chromakopia fends off a
strong challenge from K-pop group TOMORROW X TOGETHER to claim its third consecutive week atop the album charts. However, amid these
stable trends, Gracie Abrams is undeniably gaining momentum, with her rising presence on both charts — largely fueled by her role as the opening act on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.
Top Albums: Tyler Defends Crown Amid K-Pop Surge For the past two weeks, Tyler, The Creator’s Chromakopia has dominated the
Billboard 200, boasting impressive streaming and sales numbers, as well as three songs in the Top 10. This week, however, the album faced a
stiff challenge from TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s The Star Chapter: SANCTUARY. The K-pop group, which has now placed six albums in the Top 10,
came close, but Tyler edged them out with a narrow win of 104,000 to 98,000 equivalent album units. TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s sales-
heavy performance (95,000 of those units came from physical sales) suggests a steep decline next week, as albums with high sales numbers often see a sharp drop-off.
Meanwhile, last week’s Top 10 debuts from Lil Uzi Vert’s Eternal Atake 2 and The Cure’s Songs of a Lost World saw dramatic falls, with Lil Uzi Vert
dropping from No. 3 to No. 36 and The Cure tumbling from No. 4 to No. 74. In the absence of these newcomers, the Top 10 remains populated
with familiar faces. Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet dipped slightly from No. 2 to No. 3, while Gracie Abrams’ The Secret of Us continues to
climb, advancing from No. 5 to No. 4. Other notable moves include Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft rising from No. 7 to No. 5, and Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time climbing from No. 10 to No. 7.
Top Songs: Shaboozey Holds Strong, Abrams Ascends
In the Hot 100, the top five remains unchanged for another week, with Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” at No. 1 for the 18th week, maintaining its
dominance. This ties the song for the longest stay at the top in the 2020s, though it’s just one week shy of Lil Nas X’s record-setting run. Lady
Gaga and Bruno Mars’ Die With a Smile, Billie Eilish’s Birds of a Feather, Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso, and Teddy Swims’ Lose Control round out the top five, all holding steady from the previous week.
But perhaps the most significant development is Gracie Abrams’ rise, as her new single “That’s So True” surges from No. 13 to crack the Top 10. While the movement of songs up and down the chart can often be driven by fleeting trends, Abrams’ momentum stands out amid a largely stagnant chart, signaling a breakthrough moment for the rising pop star.
Gracie Abrams’ chart ascent isn’t a surprise given her past success, including a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist and a Top 2 debut on the Billboard 200 this summer with The Secret of Us. But recent factors, including the release of a deluxe edition of her album featuring “That’s So True,” the song’s viral success on TikTok, and her high-profile role opening for Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour, have all contributed to her sudden chart surge. Abrams’ rise illustrates the ongoing power of the Taylor Swift Effect, which has propelled acts like Sabrina Carpenter and Benson Boone to significant commercial success.
A Rising Trend: The Taylor Swift Effect on Emerging Talent
Taylor Swift’s influence on emerging artists is undeniable. In 2024 alone, acts like Benson Boone (a 2025 Grammy nominee) and Sabrina Carpenter (nominated for six Grammys) have seen their careers catapulted by opening for Swift on tour. Now, Gracie Abrams joins their ranks, marking her first Top 10 single and positioning herself for an even brighter future in pop. The Eras Tour continues to serve as a powerful platform for up-and-coming talent, making Swift one of the most influential figures in the music industry today.
Worthy of Note: Grammy Correlation and Holiday Music
This week’s Billboard charts follow the Nov. 8 announcement of the 2025 Grammy nominations, and a look at the contenders reveals a clear connection between chart performance and Grammy recognition. Several of this year’s nominees, including Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and Billie Eilish, are frequent chart-toppers, with multiple songs still in the Top 10. Notably, the “Song of the Year” category is dominated by chart-topping hits such as Shaboozey’s A Bar Song (Tipsy) and Carpenter’s Please Please Please, while the Album of the Year field features major releases from Swift, Carpenter, Charli XCX, and more.
On a seasonal note, the first Christmas song of the year to re-enter the Hot 100 is Wham!’s 1984 classic Last Christmas, which sits at No. 38 this week. While it’s a far cry from the perennial favorites All I Want for Christmas Is You or Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, its early chart return signals the beginning of the holiday music rush.
As we head into the final weeks of 2024, the stage is set for significant shifts in the charts, especially as the holiday season takes hold.