'Hotline Bling' Still Not #1
Cuffing season has not been kind to Drake so far.
Though Drake’s “Hotline Bling” seemed like a lock for the #1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart just a week ago, that has not happened yet. Behold:
Yes, for all the memes, “Hotline Bling” is still sitting runner-up to the Weeknd’s “The Hills.”
However, in the modern age of the chart, there’s an entirely good explanation for why Drake’s song didn’t reach the mountaintop: It’s still unclear how Apple Music’s video streams count toward a song’s position. Drake’s essay-generating “Hotline Bling” video — which premiered last week to the internet’s delight — should have helped push the song to the top spot.
So, Drake is held out of the #1 spot again — for all his entries on Billboard’s chart, he has never had a number one.
While chart calculus is fogging up the picture some, Drake may have a problem that isn’t algorithm-related.