Chart Brief is Rated R&B’s weekly column tracking the latest trends across R&B charts. Each week, we’ll break down and analyze the R&B artists making moves on the Billboard, radio, and streaming charts. This edition covers the charts dated Aug 22, 2026.
Billboard Charts
Adult R&B Airplay
Tracks the week’s top Adult R&B hits via 24/7 airplay data from Mediabase and Luminate.
No. 1: “What You Need” – Tems (LW: 1)
THE BRIEF: Tems’ “What You Need” spends a third consecutive week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart. The Nigerian singer’s previous visit to the top was with “Free Mind” in 2023, which dominated the list for nine weeks. Best of all was her 2021 collaboration with Wizkid, “Essence,” which led the pack for 14 weeks.
Debuts
- No. 27: “Ain’t U Tired?” – Jessie Reyez & Muni Long
- No. 30: “Who’s Gonna Save Us?” – Eric Benét
Top 5 on Adult R&B Airplay
- “What You Need” – Tems (LW: 1)
- “Fallin” – Chris Brown feat. Leon Thomas (LW: 1)
- “Folded” – Kehlani (LW: 4; Peak: 1)
- “Energy” – Kayla Brianna (LW: 2)
- “Needs Love” – Stokley (LW: 5)
CHART NOTE: Muni Long earns her 8th placement on the Adult R&B Airplay chart with her feature on Jessie Reyez’s “Ain’t You Tired?” It’s Long’s second appearance on this chart in 2026, following “Richest,” which peaked at No. 18. As for Reyez, it marks her first-ever entry on the Adult R&B Airplay chart. Meanwhile, Eric Benét earns his 26th entry on this list with his protest song “Who’s Gonna Save Us?” Beyoncé scores her 10th solo top 10 hit with “Morning Dew (Donk),” which rises from No. 12 to No. 8 this week.
R&B Streaming Songs
Calculates the most-streamed R&B songs of the week across digital service providers.
No. 1:“Billie Jean” – Michael Jackson (LW: 1)
THE BRIEF: Michael Jackson’s 1983 hit “Billie Jean” has reached a new milestone on the R&B Streaming Chart with 15 consecutive weeks at No. 1. It’s Jackson’s longest-running No. 1 on this chart, followed by “Thriller” (5 weeks) and Drake’s “Don’t Matter To Me” (1 week), which posthumously featured the King of Pop in 2018.
Re-Entries
- No. 13: “Mutt” – Leon Thomas
- No. 14: “Bad Habit” – Steve Lacy
CHART NOTE: Leon Thomas and Steve Lacy both reappear on the R&B Streaming Songs chart this week with their respective breakout hits “Mutt” and “Bad Habit.” Both tracks previously topped this chart, with Thomas commanding the spot in April 2025 and Lacy earning his victory in July 2022. Meanwhile, Beyoncé is eyeing her sixth No. 1 on this chart with “Morning Dew (Donk),” which is in its peak position at No. 2 for a second week.
Top 5 on R&B Streaming Songs
- “Billie Jean” – Michael Jackson (LW: 1)
- “Morning Dew (Donk)” – Beyoncé (LW: 2)
- “Noble” – F3mii (LW: 6; Peak: 5)
- “I Just Might” – Bruno Mars (LW: 4; Peak: 1)
- “Beat It” – Michael Jackson (LW: 3; Peak: 2)
Hot R&B Songs
Tracks the week’s most popular R&B songs based on streaming activity, sales and radio airplay impressions.
No. 1:“I Just Might” – Bruno Mars (LW: 1)
THE BRIEF: Bruno Mars continues his reign on the Hot R&B Songs chart with “I Just Might,” which is now in its 31st week at No. 1. It’s Mars’ longest-running leader on this chart, surpassing “That’s What I Like” (22 weeks).
Debuts
- No. 15: “Like It Was” – Brent Faiyaz
- No. 23: “Cry Ugly” – FLO
Re-Entries
- No. 21: “Pure Colour” – Steve Lacy feat. Erykah Badu (Peak: 17)
- No. 24: “Cha Cha Cha” – Bruno Mars (Peak: 5)
Top 5 on Hot R&B Songs
- “I Just Might” – Bruno Mars (LW: 1)
- “Folded” – Kehlani (LW: 2; Peak: 1)
- “Morning Dew (Donk)” – Beyoncé (LW: 4; Peak: 3)
- “What You Need” – Tems (LW: 2; Peak: 3)
- “Noble” – F3mii (LW: 5; Peak: 5)
Top R&B Albums
Tracks the week’s most popular R&B albums based on sales and streaming activity.
No. 1: Thriller – Michael Jackson (LW: 1)
THE BRIEF: Michael Jackson’s iconic album Thriller spends its 14th week at No. 1 on the Top R&B Albums chart. The album has controlled the top spot since mid-May, following the release of Jackson’s record-breaking biopic MICHAEL.
Re-Entries
- No. 20: WH1TNEY – Whitney Houston
- No. 22: Therapy At The Club – FLO
CHART NOTE:Whitney Houston’s Number Ones album, WH1TNEY, is the highest-ranking debut this week on the Top R&B Albums chart, opening at No. 20. The album includes all 11 of Houston’s No. 1 hits. FLO’s sophomore album, Therapy At The Club, comes in at No. 22 — two spots short of their debut, Access All Areas, which peaked at No. 20.
Top 5 on R&B Albums
- Thriller – Michael Jackson (LW: 1)
- Oh yeah? – Steve Lacy (LW: 2)
- Number Ones – Michael Jackson (LW: 2; Peak: 2)
- SOS – SZA (LW: 3; Peak: 1)
- Ctrl – SZA (LW: 6; Peak: 1)
Hot 100
Tracks the week’s most popular songs across all genres via streaming, radio airplay and sales activity. (Note: Chart Brief focuses on R&B only.)
CHART NOTE: Steve Lacy’s “Oh Yeah?” jumps 34 spots to No. 20 in its second week on the Hot 100. According to Billboard, it had the biggest gain in streams on the chart this week.
Highest-Charting R&B Songs (Top 40)
- No. 7: “So Easy (To Fall In Love)” – Olivia Dean (LW: 9; Peak: 5)
- No. 9: “Man I Need” – Olivia Dean (LW: 11; Peak: 2)
- No. 11: “Risk It All” – Bruno Mars (LW: 12; Peak: 4)
- No. 13: “I Just Might” – Bruno Mars (LW: 13; Peak: 1)
- No. 20: “Oh Yeah?” – Steve Lacy (LW: 54; Peak: 20)
- No. 31: “Morning Dew (Donk)” – Beyoncé (LW: 44; Peak: 26)
- No. 32: “What You Need” – Tems (LW: 41; Peak: 29)
Mediabase Radio Charts
R&B Radio
Tracks the week’s top R&B hits via 24/7 radio monitoring data from Mediabase, ranked by total weekly spins. (Dates: Aug. 9 – Aug. 15)
No. 1: “What You Need” – Tems (LW: 1)
Top 10 at R&B Radio
- “What You Need” – Tems (LW: 1)
- “Folded” – Kehlani (LW: 2; Peak: 1)
- “Fallin’” – Chris Brown feat. Leon Thomas (LW: 4; Peak: 1)
- “Needs Love” – Stokley (LW: 5)
- “Don’t Mind” – Sentury (LW: 6)
- “Energy” – Kayla Brianna (LW: 3; Peak: 1)
- “Morning Dew (Donk)” – Beyoncé (LW: 9)
- “Step” – Snoop Dogg feat. Swizz Beatz (LW: 7)
- “Silent Treatment” – October London (LW: 10)
- “Let Em Know” – T.I. – (LW: 8)
Chart rankings are sourced from Billboard‘s weekly tallies. Radio airplay metrics, including spin counts and audience impressions, are provided by Mediabase.
