Justin Bieber outdoes himself as his song “Intentions,” featuring Quavo, debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs chart dated Feb. 22. The new release displaces Bieber’s own “Yummy” from the summit, as it falls to No. 2.
“Intentions” starts atop the Hot R&B Songs chart thanks to twin debuts at No. 1 on both the R&B Streaming Songs and R&B Digital Song Sales charts. On the former, “Intentions” begins with 22.1 million U.S. streams collected in the week ending Feb. 13, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data, while the latter traces to 15,000 downloads sold in the same period.
On R&B Streaming Songs, Bieber picks up his third leader, while Quavo nets his second. The two previously reigned for three weeks in 2017 through DJ Khaled’s “No Brainer,» which counted Bieber, Quavo and Lil Wayne in featured roles. Bieber also visited the summit for three weeks with “Yummy” earlier this year.
As “Intentions” opens atop R&B Digital Song Sales, Bieber claims a seventh career No. 1 and breaks from a tie with Drake and Rihanna for the second-most leaders in the chart’s history. He trails only The Weeknd, who owns 10. Quavo, meanwhile, claims a second No. 1 on R&B Digital Song Sales, after “Brainer” topped for four weeks in 2017.
With “Intentions” toppling “Yummy,” Bieber becomes the fourth artist to knock himself from the No. 1 spot on Hot R&B Songs since the chart’s debut in 2012. The Weeknd first achieved the feat in 2015 with three straight leaders: “Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)” dominated for 14 weeks before passing the baton to “Can’t Feel My Face,” an 11-week champ, before “The Hills” took over for another 14-week stretch.
The next year, Drake reigned for 12 weeks as featured on Rihanna’s “Work” before it gave way to his “One Dance,” featuring WizKid and Kyla, for a 20-week command. Khalid became the third act to supplant himself, when “Better” and “Talk” linked for 15 and 18 weeks, respectively.
Similarly, with “Intentions” and “Yummy” at Nos. 1 and 2, Bieber joins the The Weeknd, Drake and Khalid as the only acts to secure the chart’s top two positions in the same week.
Both “Intentions” and “Yummy” feature on Bieber’s latest studio album, Changes, released Feb. 14. The set is expected to debut at No. 1 on the forthcoming Billboard 200 and Top R&B Albums charts (dated Feb. 28), and will likely spawn multiple debuts on the corresponding Hot R&B Songs chart.
