SZA reaffirms that she’s in a league of her own in the R&B world as the hitmaking singer-songwriter replaces herself at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs chart as “Snooze” ousts her own “Kill Bill” on the list dated July 29.
With “Snooze,” SZA captures her fourth Hot R&B Songs No. 1. She first led with “The Weekend,” a one-week champ in 2018, and followed with another single-week leader, “I Hate U” in 2021, and “Kill Bill,” which dominated for 30 weeks in 2022-23. Thanks to that juggernaut’s reign, SZA has ruled the Hot R&B Songs chart all but one week in 2023 thus far, when The Weeknd and Ariana Grande’s “Die for You” remix release pushed the track to the summit for the list dated March 11.
“Snooze” ascends to No. 1 as radio airplay continues to grow for the song. In the latest tracking week, July 14 – 20, “Snooze” registered 58.8 million in total audience impressions across all formats, up 4% from the prior week, according to Luminate. Thanks to the boost, the single climbs 7-6 on the all-genre Radio Songs chart. (All radio airplay, regardless of format origin, contributes to a song’s rank on the Hot R&B Songs chart.) The track is still tops on its home format, as it logs a fifth week at No. 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart and, at 19.4 million impressions, remains essentially even with the prior week’s total.
In addition to the radio strength, “Snooze” registered 10.4 million official U.S. streams, a 2% rise from the previous week, and enough to retain its No. 2 rank on R&B Streaming Songs. For song sales, the track sold another 1,000 downloads, a 3% slide from the prior frame; it holds at No. 5 on R&B Digital Song Sales, after having previously reached a No. 4 best.
In addition to SZA, “Snooze” also brings another R&B luminary to the summit – Babyface. The legend is one of five co-writer and four co-producers on the new chart-topper: He, Khristopher van Riddick-Tynes, Leon Thomas III and Blair Ferguson all contributed in both roles, while SZA also shares writing credit. With the new champ, Babyface earns his first writing and producer No. 1s on the Hot R&B Songs chart, which began in 2012. Prior to the chart’s launch, Babyface had a hand in dozens of R&B classics, including hits such as Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road” and Whitney Houston’s “Exhale (Shoop Shoop).”
Elsewhere, “Snooze” advances 4-3 to a new peak on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and repeats at No. 12 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, having previously made it to No. 11.
This story originally appeared on Billboard
