Adele Rules Billboard Artist 100 Chart for 20th Week, Meat Loaf Reaches Top 5

Adele rebounds from No. 2 to No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated Feb. 5), reclaiming her title as the top musical act in the U.S. for a 20th week thanks to the continued success of her latest LP, 30, and its singles.

30 ranks at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 with 39,000 equivalent album units, according to MRC Data, after spending six weeks at No. 1. Its lead single, “Easy on Me,” ranks at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 after spending 10 weeks on top, while follow-up “Oh My God” places at No. 21, after launching at its No. 5 high in December.

Dating to the Artist 100’s 2014 inception, Adele is just the fifth act to spend 20 or more weeks at No. 1. She follows Taylor Swift, who has led for a record 50 weeks, Drake (36), The Weeknd (24) and BTS (also 20).

Meat Loaf re-enters the Artist 100 at No. 3 following his death Jan. 20. Concurrently, two of the rock legend’s albums re-enter the Billboard 200: 1977’s Bat Out of Hell, at a new No. 13 high (28,000 units, up 3,677%, in the Jan. 21-27 tracking week), and 1993’s Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell, at No. 91 (10,000 units, up 2,320%). Plus, six of his tracks debut on Digital Song Sales, led by “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That),” “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad” and “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” at Nos. 2, 4 and 5, respectively.

YoungBoy Never Broke Again surges 32-4 on the Artist 100, as his new release Colors starts at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 (79,000 units). The set marks his 20th career entry and eighth top 10. He has spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Artist 100, in September 2020 and October 2021.

Plus, Walker Hayes soars 30-8 on the Artist 100, reaching the top 10 for the first time, as his new LP Country Stuff: The Album arrives at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 (33,000 units). The set’s “Fancy Like” hit No. 3 on the Hot 100 and crowned Hot Country Songs for 24 weeks, while new single “AA” jumps to No. 11 on the latter, Feb. 5-dated list.

The Artist 100 measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay and streaming to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.