Welcome to Chart Brief, Rated R&B’s weekly column tracking the latest movements across R&B charts. Each week, we’ll break down and analyze the R&B artists making waves on the Billboard, radio, and streaming charts. This edition covers the charts dated Aug. 29, 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 logs a fourth consecutive week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart with her emotional ballad “What You Need.” Elsewhere on Billboard, Tems is No. 1 on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop chart with her feature on Dave’s “Raindance.” On the same list this week, “What You Need” is No. 2 after previously reaching No. 1 on the chart dated July 4.
Debuts
- No. 25: “Late” – J. Brown
- No. 28: “My Boo” – Jalen Chords
- No. 30: “You Ain’t Gotta Be Scared (Bad Bick, Bad Picker)” – Jevon Dewand & The Trap Starz, Tonio Amani, Gaz Money, Snoop Dogg & Jazze Pha
Top 5 on Adult R&B Airplay
- “What You Need” – Tems (LW: 1)
- “Folded” – Kehlani (LW: 3; Peak: 1)
- “Fallin” – Chris Brown feat. Leon Thomas (LW: 2; Peak: 1)
- “Needs Love” – Stokley (LW: 5)
- “Morning Dew (Donk)” – Beyoncé
CHART NOTE: Tank’s “Yes” returns to the top 10 this week on the Adult R&B Airplay chart at No. 10. The Floetry-inspired bedroom jam is his 18th top 10 hit on this list. In March, The R&B General nabbed his 11th No. 1 with the Janet Jackson-sampled “Control.”
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 immortal 1983 hit “Billie Jean” spends its 16th consecutive week at No. 1 on the R&B Streaming Chart. The streaming surge follows the release of Jackson’s blockbuster biopic MICHAEL in April.
Re-Entries
- No. 13: “Sure Thing” – Miguel
- No. 15: “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” – Michael Jackson
CHART NOTE: Could Miguel’s sleeper hit “Sure Thing” have another resurgence? The 2010 gem, which went viral on TikTok in 2023, re-enters R&B Streaming Songs this week at No. 13, logging its 147th week on the chart. It previously peaked at No. 4 in 2023.
Top 5 on R&B Streaming Songs
- “Billie Jean” – Michael Jackson (LW: 1)
- “Noble” – F3mii (LW: 3)
- “I Just Might” – Bruno Mars (LW: 4; Peak: 1)
- “Beat It” – Michael Jackson (LW: 5; Peak: 2)
- “Chicago” – Michael Jackson (LW: 6; 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’ “I Just Might” laps its 32nd week at No. 1 on the Hot R&B Songs chart.
Debuts
- No. 23: Erykah Badu & The Alchemist – “Witch Doctor”
Re-Entries
Top 5 on Hot R&B Songs
- “I Just Might” – Bruno Mars (LW: 1)
- “Folded” – Kehlani (LW: 2; Peak: 1)
- “What You Need” – Tems (LW: 4; Peak: 2)
- “Morning Dew (Donk)” – Beyoncé (LW: 3; Peak: 3)
- “Noble” – F3mii (LW: 5; Peak: 5)
CHART NOTE: Steve Lacy has three songs in the top 10 this week, including “The Feeling” (No. 6), “Is It Cool?” featuring SZA (No. 8) and “Doom” (No. 10). He also bookends the chart with “Pure Colour,” featuring Erykah Badu, at No. 25. He has the second-most appearances on the chart (4), behind Drake (5). All four tracks are lifted from Lacy’s third album, Oh yeah?
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 15th 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. 22: Never Enough – Daniel Caesar
- No. 24: Greatest Hits – Earth, Wind & Fire
Top 5 on R&B Albums
- Thriller – Michael Jackson (LW: 1)
- Number Ones – Michael Jackson (LW: 2; Peak: 2)
- Oh yeah? – Steve Lacy (LW: 2; Peak: 2)
- SOS – SZA (LW: 4; Peak: 1)
- Ctrl – SZA (LW: 5; 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.)
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: 9; Peak: 2)
- No. 11: “Risk It All” – Bruno Mars (LW: 11; Peak: 4)
- No. 13: “I Just Might” – Bruno Mars (LW: 13; Peak: 1)
- No. 19: “Oh Yeah?” – Steve Lacy (LW: 20; Peak: 19)
- No. 32: “What You Need” – Tems (LW: 32; Peak: 29)
- No. 36: “Morning Dew (Donk)” – Beyoncé (LW: 31; Peak: 26)
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. 16 – Aug. 22)
No. 1: “Folded” – Kehlani (LW: 2)
THE BRIEF: Kehlani’s “Folded” returns to the top spot at R&B radio. The Grammy-winning hit has remained stable since it first topped the chart in 2025. Kehlani is currently on a world tour in support of her self-titled album, released in April.
Top 10 at R&B Radio
- “Folded” – Kehlani (LW: 2; Peak: 1)
- “What You Need” – Tems (LW: 1)
- “Fallin’” – Chris Brown feat. Leon Thomas (LW: 3; Peak: 1)
- “Needs Love” – Stokley (LW: 4; Peak: 4)
- “Don’t Mind” – Sentury (LW: 5; Peak: 5)
- “Morning Dew (Donk)” – Beyoncé (LW: 7; Peak: 7)
- “Step” – Snoop Dogg feat. Swizz Beatz (LW: 8; Peak: 7)
- “Silent Treatment” – October London (LW: 9; Peak: 9)
- “Let Em Know” – T.I. (LW: 10)
- “Yes” – Tank (LW: 11)
Chart rankings are sourced from Billboard‘s weekly tallies. Radio airplay metrics, including spin counts and audience impressions, are provided by Mediabase.
