Elton John graces the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in over 21 years, as “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix),” with Dua Lipa, debuts at No. 81 on the chart dated Aug. 28.
The song, released Aug. 13 on Mercury/EMI/Interscope Records, opens with 3.8 million radio airplay audience impressions, 3.5 million streams and 8,600 downloads sold in the U.S. in the week ending Aug. 19, according to MRC Data.
English icon John sings part of his No. 18-peaking 1990 Hot 100 hit “Sacrifice” and London-born Lipa reprises his No. 6 1972 classic “Rocket Man” in “Cold Heart,” set to a beat by Australia’s Pnau (brothers Nick and Sam Littlemore and Peter Mayes).
John makes his first Hot 100 appearance since the chart dated July 29, 2000, when “Someday Out of the Blue” ranked at No. 99 after reaching No. 49. “Cold Heart” is his 68th career entry, a run that began on the Aug. 15, 1970, tally, when “Border Song” bowed at No. 93.
John boasts nine Hot 100 No. 1s, from “Crocodile Rock” in 1973 to “Candle in the Wind 1997″https://www.billboard.com/”Something About the Way You Look Tonight,” his longest-leading hit (14 weeks), in 1997-98. He has notched 27 top 10s (tied for the ninth-best total in the chart’s 63-year archives), among 57 top 40 hits (the sixth-best sum; plus, he ranked in the top 40 in a record 30 consecutive years, from 1970 through 1999).
Meanwhile, Lipa, who earns her 17th Hot 100 hit, is the latest artist with whom John has teamed for an entry on the chart. His prior such collabs: “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” with Kiki Dee (No. 1, four weeks, 1976); “That’s What Friends Are For,” with Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder (No. 1, four weeks, 1986); “Flames of Paradise,” with Jennifer Rush (No. 36, 1987); “Through the Storm,” with Aretha Franklin (No. 16, 1989); “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,” with George Michael (No. 1, one week, 1992); “True Love,” with Dee (No. 56, 1993); an update of “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” with RuPaul (No. 92, 1994); and “Written in the Stars,” with LeAnn Rimes (No. 29, 1999).
“Cold Heart” concurrently launches at No. 3 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, which, like the Hot 100, blends airplay, sales and streaming data. It’s John’s third entry on the chart (which started in 2013), after “Sine From Above,” with Lady Gaga (No. 14, June 2020), and his and Years & Years’ cover of Pet Shop Boys’ No. 9-peaking 1987 Hot 100 hit “It’s a Sin” (No. 34, this May). “Cold Heart” also starts at No. 9 on Digital Song Sales (which began in 2010), marking John’s first top 10 on the chart.
Additionally, “Cold Heart” bounds in at No. 16 on the Adult Contemporary radio airplay chart, where John extends his record for the most career entries to 74, encompassing the survey’s 60-year history. Barbra Streisand ranks second with 64 AC visits, followed by Neil Diamond with 59. In between his last Hot 100 entry in 2000 and “Cold Heart,” John continued to score AC hits, logging 15 entries, including three top 10s.
“Cold Heart” also pushes 39-32 on Adult Pop Airplay, where it’s John’s first charted title since 2002, and is bubbling under Pop Airplay — where, with a debut, he would make his first appearance since 1998.
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