Rising rapper Masked Wolf’s breakout release, “Astronaut in the Ocean,” plants its flag at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart as the single advances from No. 2 to lead the list dated May 22. With its ascent, “Astronaut” evicts Polo G’s “Rapstar” from the summit after the latter’s four weeks in charge.
“Astronaut” reigns for the first time in its 13 weeks on the Hot Rap Songs chart as it continues to make steady weekly advances in streaming and radio airplay. On the former front, the single registered 19.9 million U.S. streams in the week ending May 13, according to MRC Data, up 1% from its previous week’s sum and a new weekly best for the track. Despite the gain, the song backtracks 3-4 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs chart as two high-profile debuts, J. Cole’s “Interlude” and the Trippie Redd and Playboi Carti collaboration “Miss The Rage,” blast in at Nos. 1 and 3, respectively.
In the radio realm, “Astronaut” surges 22-16 on the all-genre Radio Songs chart, whose audience figures power the radio component on the Hot Rap Songs chart. There, audience impressions rally to 33.7 million in the week ending May 16, according to MRC Data, an 18% boost from the prior week. Pop and rhythmic airplay formats account for most of the “Astronaut” radio success: It cracks the top 10 on the Pop Airplay chart, which measures the most-played songs at monitored top 40-oriented stations, with a 15-10 jump and an 8% increase in plays in the week. On Rhythmic Airplay, meanwhile, the track enters the top five (6-5) as it added 9% more spins from the previous tracking week.
“Astronaut” song downloads, the final component of the Hot Rap Songs chart, dip by 6% to 12,000 in the week ending May 13, though the song leads the Rap Digital Song Sales chart for a sixth week.
“Astronaut” completes a long journey to success for the Australian rapper, born Harry Michael. The track first arrived in 2019 but was re-released in January following his signing with label Elektra Records. Its current trajectory also traces partly to its use as a soundtrack in TikTok clips.
Beyond its Hot Rap Songs coronation, “Astronaut” pushes 4-3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and improves 7-6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Increased activity surrounding the song also helps Masked Wolf on this week’s Billboard Artist 100, which ranks artist popularity through four music consumption metrics – album sales, track sales, radio airplay, streaming – and social media fan interaction. There, he climbs six spots to a new career peak of No. 26.
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