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. 8, 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: 2)
THE BRIEF:Nigerian R&B singer Tems earns her third No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart with “What You Need.” It follows her chart-toppers “Free Mind,” which spent 9 weeks at No. 1 in 2023, and “Essence” with Wizkid, which spent 14 weeks at No. 1 in 2021.
Debuts
Top 5 on Adult R&B Airplay
- “What You Need” – Tems (LW: 2)
- “Folded” – Kehlani (LW: 3; Peak: 1)
- “Fallin” – Chris Brown feat. Leon Thomas (LW: 1)
- “Energy” – Kayla Brianna (LW: 4)
- “Need Love” – Stokley (LW: 9)
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” spends a 13th consecutive week at No. 1 on the R&B Streaming Songs chart. It’s the King of Pop’s longest-running No. 1 on this chart.
Re-Entries
- No. 13: “I’m Spent” – Drake feat. Loe Shimmy (Peak: 2)
- No. 15: “Rock With You” – Michael Jackson (Peak: 7)
Top 5 on R&B Streaming Songs
- “Billie Jean” – Michael Jackson (LW: 1)
- “Beat It” – Michael Jackson (LW: 3; Peak: 3)
- “I Just Might” – Bruno Mars (LW: 5; Peak: 1)
- “Chicago” – Michael Jackson (LW:2; Peak: 2)
- “Noble” – F3mii (LW: 6; Peak: 5)
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)
Top 5 on Hot R&B Songs
- “I Just Might” – Bruno Mars (LW: 1)
- “Folded” – Kehlani (LW: 2; Peak: 1)
- “Billie Jean” – Michael Jackson (LW: 3)
- “What You Need” – Tems (LW: 4)
- “Beat It” – Michael Jackson (LW: 5; Peak: 4)
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)
Debuts
Top 5 on R&B Albums
- Thriller – Michael Jackson (LW: 1)
- Number Ones – Michael Jackson (LW: 2; Peak: 2)
- SOS – SZA (LW: 4; Peak: 1)
- Swag – Justin Bieber (LW: 5; Peak: 1)
- A*POP – Tyla (NEW)
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.
No. 1: “Energy” – Kayla Brianna
THE BRIEF:Kayla Brianna earns her first chart-topper at R&B radio with “Energy.” The track appears on her latest project,Lover Girl, which dropped in February via EMPIRE.
Top 10 at R&B Radio
- “Energy” – Kayla Brianna
- “Folded” – Kehlani
- “What You Need” – Tems
- “Fallin’” – Chris Brown feat. Leon Thomas
- “Needs Love” – Stokley
Chart rankings are sourced from Billboard‘s weekly tallies. Radio airplay metrics, including spin counts and audience impressions, are provided by Mediabase.
