Niall Horan’s ‘This Town’ Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard + Twitter Top Tracks Chart
Niall Horan storms in at No. 1 on Billboard + Twitter Top Tracks with "This Town," his first solo single. His social media channels ignite, with 1.9 million retweets and 1.8 million Twitter mentions…
Niall Horan storms in at No. 1 on the Billboard + Twitter Top Tracks chart (dated Oct. 22) with “This Town,” his first solo single. The cut, released on Neon Haze/Capitol Records, was released without prior notice on Sept. 29 to all digital distributors and streaming services.
Billboard + Twitter Top Tracks is a weekly ranking of the most shared and/or mentioned songs on Twitter in the U.S., ranked by the volume of shares over a weeklong Monday-Sunday period. (The latest tracking week ended Oct. 2).
The One Direction member also released a live “1 Mic, 1 Take” video for the song on Vevo and YouTube. The clip has ballooned to more than 6.4 million global views on YouTube through Oct. 6.
“Town” is also off to a fast start on the Billboard Hot 100. The single debuts at No. 63, with only one day of sales and streaming totals and four days of radio airplay within the tracking frame. (The sales and streaming periods ended Sept. 29, the same day the song was released, while the radio period closed on Oct. 2.) “Town” also begins at No. 6 on the Digital Song Sales chart, selling 48,000 downloads in its first day.
The beginning of Horan’s solo career ignites his social media channels, prompting the first-ever No. 1 debut on the Social 50 chart. Twitter activity leads the growth across his social platforms, with 1.9 million retweets and 1.8 million Twitter mentions for the week ending Oct. 2, according to Next Big Sound, gains of 1,574 percent and 1,193 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, Metallica races to a No. 8 debut on Top Tracks with “Moth Into Flame,” scoring the band’s second top 10 on the Top Tracks chart from its upcoming album Hardwired…To Self-Destruct. The title track debuted and peaked at No. 2 last month.
The rock band unveiled the new track’s music video on Sept. 26, and the clip has roared to more than 4.6 million global views on YouTube through Oct. 6. Metallica performed “Moth” on NBC’s The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon on Sept. 29. The song’s parent album (the aforementioned Hardwired) arrives Nov. 18 and marks the group’s first studio album since 2008’s Death Magnetic.
Plus, The Chainsmokers’ enormous success in 2016 continues with “All We Know,” featuring Phoebe Ryan, which darts to a No. 4 debut. The collaboration is the EDM duo’s fifth Top Tracks entry and Ryan’s first, following four previous charting entries on Billboard + Twitter Emerging Artists. “Know” arrives after its Sept. 29 premiere on Zane Lowe’s World Record program on Apple Music’s Beats 1, and the cut’s official YouTube audio has surged to more than 13.1 million global plays on YouTube through Oct. 4.
The Chainsmokers’ other current smash, “Closer,” is one spot above at No. 3, holding its position from the previous week. The Halsey-featuring track also rules for a seventh straight week atop the Hot 100.
Lastly, Cashmere Cat’s “Trust Nobody,” featuring Selena Gomez and Tory Lanez, opens at No. 11, giving Lanez his highest charting entry among four entries on the Top Tracks chart. “Nobody” premiered on Sept. 29, and its official YouTube audio has clocked more than 1.1 million worldwide YouTube plays through Oct. 4.
The single previews the Norwegian DJ’s debut album, Wild Love, due out later this year. The set’s title track, which features The Weeknd and Francis & The Lights, reached No. 37 earlier last month.
More From Pro
