Miley Cyrus “Flowers” Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100
Cyrus adds her second leader, after “Wrecking Ball” in 2013. Plus, Bizarrap and Shakira launch at No. 9 with “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53.”
Miley Cyrus plants “Flowers” at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart in its debut week. Her new single soars in as her second leader, after “Wrecking Ball” reigned for three weeks in 2013.
Plus, Bizarrap and Shakira’s “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” blasts onto the Hot 100 at No. 9. The song marks Bizarrap’s first top 10 and Shakira’s fifth, and first since 2007.
The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data. All charts (dated Jan. 28, 2023) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Jan. 25). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram
Streams, airplay & sales: “Flowers,” released on Smiley Miley/Columbia Records, ran up totals of 52.6 million streams, 33.5 million radio airplay audience impressions and 70,000 sold in its first full tracking week, Jan. 13-19, according to Luminate (after it arrived Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. EST; in its first five hours, it tallied 2.4 million in radio reach, 685,000 streams and 2,000 sold).
The single launches at No. 1 on the Streaming Songs chart, surges 21-1 on Digital Song Sales and debuts at No. 18 on Radio Songs.
Cyrus first announced during her Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party NBC special that “Flowers” would be released Jan. 13, which fans keenly recognized as her ex-husband Liam Hemsworth’s birthday. That narrative and rabid interaction on TikTok have helped swell the profile of the song, which introduces Cyrus’ eighth studio album, Endless Summer Vacation, due March
10. Cyrus’ 2nd Hot 100 No. 1: “Flowers” bounds in as Cyrus’ second Hot 100 No. 1, after “Wrecking Ball” rose to the top (after it debuted at No. 50) for three weeks beginning in September 2013.
“Flowers” is the 65th title to roar in at No. 1 in the Hot 100’s history. It’s the 1,145th leader overall, and the first new No. 1 of 2023.
Cyrus ends a break of nine years, one month and two weeks between Hot 100 No. 1s, the longest between leaders since Coldplay went 13 years, three months and two weeks from “Viva La Vida” in 2008 to “My Universe,” with BTS, in 2021.
Cyrus also adds her 11th Hot 100 top 10 and first since The Kid LAROI’s “Without You” (which she joined for a remix) hit No. 8 in May 2021. Her previous top 10s, in order of peak date, including one under her Hannah Montana alter ego: “See You Again” (No. 10, 2008); “7 Things” (No. 9, 2008); “The Climb” (No. 4, 2009); “He Could Be the One” (Hannah Montana; No. 10, 2009); “Party in the U.S.A.” (No. 2, 2009 – it debuted at that spot, marking her top start until “Flowers”); “Can’t Be Tamed” (No. 8, 2010); “We Can’t Stop” (No. 2, 2013); “Wrecking Ball”; and “Malibu” (No. 10, 2017).
Cyrus’ first Hot 100 No. 1 as a writer: Cyrus co-wrote “Flowers” with Aldae (Gregory Hein) and Michael Pollack, each of whom achieves a first No. 1 Hot 100 writing credit. Cyrus adds her sixth top 10 as a writer; Pollack, his fifth; and Aldae, his first.
Kid Harpoon and Tyler Johnson co-produced “Flowers.” They notch their third shared and total Hot 100 No. 1 each, following their work on Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar” (2020) and “As It Was” (2022).
Cyrus’ streaming & sales leaders: With “Flowers,” Cyrus claims her third Streaming Songs No. 1, following “We Can’t Stop,” for 11 weeks in 2013, “Wrecking Ball” (13, 2013-14) and “Adore You” (one, 2014) – all from her album Bangerz. With 52.6 million streams, “Flowers” marks the highest weekly sum since Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” started with 59.7 (Nov. 5, 2022).
Cyrus scores her third Digital Song Sales No. 1, after “Party in the U.S.A.” reigned for six weeks in 2009, and “Wrecking Ball” for one week in 2013.
Meanwhile, “Flowers” begins with multi-format radio support, as starts at No. 14 on the Adult Pop Airplay chart, No. 15 on Adult Contemporary and No. 16 on Pop Airplay – Cyrus’ highest entrance on each ranking, as is the track’s No. 18 premiere on the all-format Radio Songs chart.
‘Flowers’ deconstructed: “The underlying strength of ‘Flowers’ is that it imparts an immediate sense of familiarity, while invoking strong, universal emotions such as nostalgia, loss and empowerment,” notes Hit Songs Deconstructed, which analyzes the compositional traits of Hot 100 top 10s. “This is achieved, in part, through its classic, inspirational ’70s disco influence, à la Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive,’ also found in Lizzo’s recent Hot 100 No. 1, ‘About Damn Time.’ “
(“Your new song carries the torch of empowerment and encourages everyone to find strength in themselves to persevere & thrive. Well done Miley!,” Gaynor praised on Twitter Jan. 19. “I love you. Thank you,” Cyrus responded.)
“Flowers” additionally, per Hit Songs Deconstructed, “shares melodic, lyrical and rhyming commonalities with the chorus in Bruno Mars’ [No. 1] 2013 hit ‘When I Was Your Man,’ which also ties in with Miley’s story.”
Babs, Neil, Posty, Swae & Miley: Cyrus’ “Flowers” blooms as the third Hot 100 No. 1 with that word in its title. Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond’s virtual duet “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” reigned for two weeks in December 1978 and Post Malone and Swae Lee’s “Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)” ruled for a week in January 2019.
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