We all need some good news these days. Luckily a rapper from Houston has given us what we need.

Megan Thee Stallion has been one of the most dominant and recognized artists in music for some time now. So it may be surprising that she just released her debut studio album, Good News, this past November 20. But given her prominence in music, it should be no surprise that Megan debuted above all other artists on the music charts this weekend.

According to Music Maven’s proprietary technology, which provides the most current and accurate data on the performance of all artists and songs in daily music charts, the Goods News for Megan Thee Stallion, is that she is now the Most Streamed and Highest Earning Artist, with 10.7M streams and $28.1K, respectively, on the first day of the album’s release.

Just 2 days before she released Good News, Megan, also known as Hot Girl Meg, was outside of the top 100 Most Streamed Artists, at 104. On the day before the release, she jumped up 65 positions to 39 with fans eagerly anticipating her debut. Now at number one Most Streamed, her vertical rise a hundred steps up the ladder in only two days is a feat to behold.

Megan’s success on Good News builds on years of hard work, building name and sound recognition, thanks to major collaborations and loyalty from her fan base, The Hotties.

Her debut builds on the infrastructure of successful EP’s, mixtapes, and singles. Her three EP’s Make It Hot, Tina Snow, and Suga, and a full-length mixtape, Fever, have cemented her success. Suga, from this past May, and Fever, from last year, have kept Megan in the headlines.

Megan is probably most well-known for her singles. Her release of singles like “Girls in the Hood,” this past June placed Megan within the top five Most Streamed Artists. Her release of “Savage,” in March, followed by her blockbuster remix of the song with a fellow Houstonian named Beyoncé in April raised her rank. That remix now has one quarter billion streams on Spotify.

Megan’s collaboration with Cardi B on “WAP,” this past August took her over the top. “WAP” now has half a billion streams on Spotify in only one season, and keeps rising. Last week, “WAP” climbed back up the song charts, to number one Most Streamed on November 17, and still hovers at the top at number two, boosted by Good News.

On Good News, Megan has followed her track record of successful collaborations, with features from top artists like 2 Chainz, Big Sean, DaBaby, SZA, and Young Thug. The “Savage” remix featuring Beyoncé is on there, though there is no collaboration with Cardi. So far, fans most like her solo track offerings on the LP: “Body,” “Shots Fired,” and “Circles.” Only time will tell whether her Hotties most like her solo or collaborative tracks on Good News.

By Vince, November 21, 2020

It’s hurricane season. At least according to Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion. If you don’t know what WAP means, look it up. That is, unless you’re easily offended. In that case, it may be best not to watch Cardi and Megan’s music video for their summer smash hit, “WAP.” Not that the video tells you what WAP means. Cardi and Megan just show you, as they pour torrential rain on listeners and viewers with wet and gushy verses and frames. Also, it’s probably not a great idea to watch the video with kids around. Nor without protective gear as your device and screen might break and shatter a few seconds into the video. All that said, if you’re not one of the 44 million who have already seen the video in the last two days, you’re probably not ready for it. Just see.

After Cardi B released “WAP,” featuring Megan Thee Stallion, on Friday, August 7, it quickly became the Number One Trending video on YouTube, with 24M views on its first day, and 20M the next. “WAP” is the best example of a song that does exponentially better on video than on music streaming platforms. Apart from the 44M views for the music video after two days on YouTube, and 5.5. views for the audio-only video on YouTube, listeners streamed the song on all music streaming platforms 3.4M times on its first day. That is of course eight times lower than its video views on day one, but the video certainly helped lift the song above all others on streaming platforms this weekend.

According to Music Maven’s proprietary technology — which provides the most current and accurate data on the performance of all artists and songs in daily music charts — “WAP” is now the Most Streamed and Highest Earning Song, with its 3.4M streams, and $9.5K. It did better than the late Juice WRLD’s “Smile,” featuring The Weeknd, a recent addition to Juice’s posthumous Legends Never Die. “Smile” is now second Most Streamed with 2.9M streams since its release this Friday. “WAP” and “Smile” quickly displaced this summer’s reigning hit, DaBaby’s “ROCKSTAR,” featuring Roddy Ricch, which is now third Most Streamed with 1.8M streams. “WAP” in particular mopped the top tracks by Juice WRLD and Taylor Swift, the most dominant artists of late because of their release of full-length studio albums. “WAP” whopped them down several notches on the charts.

However, because Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion only released one single this time around, not a full-length LP, or EP, they did not take the crown for the Most Streamed Artist from Juice WRLD, now number one with 16.8M streams. Nor did they change the chart positions of the next Most Streamed Artists, Taylor Swift, at second with 11.6M, the late Pop Smoke, at third with 6.8M, or DaBaby, fourth with 4.3M. Those artists remain at the top because they, or their estates, have recently released full-length studio albums, which always give listeners more music to listen to, and far greater chances to claim chart supremacy.

Music Maven demonstrates that Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion nonetheless rose in the ranks on the strength of that single, “WAP.” Megan has been a fixture atop the charts of late, with her album from earlier this past March, Suga, and top songs like “Girls in the Hood,” “Savage,” as well as the “Savage” remix with Beyoncé. A month ago, Megan was in the top five Most Streamed Artists, so her rise is no surprise. Her collaboration with Cardi this weekend brought Megan up to thirteenth Most Streamed, with fans awaiting another full album.

Cardi’s return to chart prominence has been more meteoric. Other than her viral Instagram home video about “CO-RO-NA-VI-RUS!” earlier this spring, and its millions of memes, she has not been on the music charts because she has been focusing on mothering Kulture, her child with Offset, a member of the Atlanta super group, Migos. Since her award-winning album, Invasion of Privacy in 2018, and its hit “I Like It,” now at 1B streams on Spotify, Cardi has been off the charts, without much new music, much less a full album.

No one has forgotten about Cardi though. With “WAP,” she jumped 121 positions, a 95% increase to reach the sixth Most Streamed Artist, purely on the basis of that single. Remember, that is just from one song, and that the music video has done far better than the streamed song, with the video surely increasing streams. If Cardi and Megan co-release a collaboration album, or if Cardi releases another solo album soon, she is sure to mop the competition even more thoroughly than this weekend.

By Vince, August 9, 2020