Bruno Mars’ Silk Sonic-Single “Love’s Train” Reaches No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay Chart

Bruno Mars has choo-choo’ed his to the top of the R&B charts…

The 36-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer/songwriter and Anderson .Paak’s duo Silk Sonic has earned another No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart with their single “Love’s Train” on the chart dated April 23.

Bruno Mars, Silk Sonic, Anderson .Paak

The track advances after a strong 31% gain in plays to become the most-played song on U.S. monitored adult R&B stations in the week ending April 17, according to Luminate, formerly MRC Data.

The new champ, released earlier this year on Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14), is a cover of a 1983 tune by Con Funk Shun, who racked up 26 hits on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart from 1977-97. Eight of them reached the top 10, with “Ffun” topping the list for two weeks in 1978.

“Love’s Train” gives Silk Sonic its third No. 1 among four career appearances.

The duo’s first offering, “Leave the Door Open,” topped the list for 13 weeks in 2021, while third single “Smokin’ out the Window” ruled for one week in January.

Between the champs, second release “Skate” peaked at No. 4.

All four tracks are on the duo’s An Evening With Silk Sonic album; “Love’s Train” was added to the digital and streaming editions of the set in February.

As Silk Sonic achievements also contribute to the individual ledgers for Mars and .Paak, “Love’s Train” yields a third Adult R&B Airplay for .Paak – all from Silk Sonic hits. Outside the group, his best result was a No. 2 peak for “Make It Better,” featuring Smokey Robinson, in 2019.

Mars, meanwhile, collects his seventh No. 1 and moves to within one more chart-topper for the most among male artists in Adult R&B Airplay chart history. Kem, Maxwell and Charlie Wilson each own eight No. 1s, with Mars and R. Kelly – both with seven – just below.

Elsewhere, “Love’s Train” keeps rolling on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, which measures songs’ audience reach among U.S. monitored adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop radio stations. There, “Love’s Train” speeds 15-9 after it gained 54% in weekly audience to 10.6 million in the week ending April 17. The improvement of 3.7 million gives the song Greatest Gainer honors for the biggest increase among the chart’s 50 titles.

The “Love’s Train” gains just add to Silk Sonic’s recent spell of good fortune.

Earlier this month, the duo, as .Paak informed viewers, completed “a clean sweep” at the Grammy Awards by winning all four of its nominations – record of the year, song of the year, best R&B song, and – in a tie – best R&B performance, all for “Leave the Door Open.”

The pair also opened the ceremony with a performance of “777.”

Maxwell Makes History While Earning 8th No. 1 Single on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay Chart with “Off”

Maxwell has earned a spot in R&B chart history…

The 48-year-old half-Puerto Rican artist’s current single “Off” has risen to the top spot om Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart dates April 2, making Maxwell only the second man to land eight No. 1s in the 29-year history of Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart.

MaxwellThe track advances from No. 3 after it saw a 10% improvement in plays to become the most played song on U.S. monitored adult R&B radio stations in the week ending March 27, according to Luminate, formerly MRC Data.

Eight No. 1s ties Maxwell with Charlie Wilson for the most among any male act since the list began in 1993.

On the overall count, the pair trail only Alicia Keys (12) and Toni Braxton (11).

As “Off” joins the chart-toppers club, here’s a recap at Maxwell’s eight champs:

  • “Fortunate,” No. 1 for 18 weeks, beginning May 22, 1999
  • “Lifetime,” 15, Sept. 29, 2001
  • “Pretty Wings,” 12, July 4, 2009
  • “Bad Habits,” nine, Oct. 10, 2009
  • “Fistful of Tears,” two, April 17, 2010
  • “Fire We Make,” with Alicia Keys, June 22, 2013
  • “Lake by the Ocean,” 10, June 18, 2016
  • “Off,” one (to date), April 2, 2022

With “Off,” Maxwell also becomes the first man to log No. 1s on Adult R&B Airplay in the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s. Fellow R&B legends Toni Braxton and Mary J. Blige also have achieved the feat, with Braxton inaugurating the group in 2020 and Blige attaining membership in February.

In addition to its Adult R&B Airplay coronation, “Off” holds at No. 22 of the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, which ranks by audience listenership across both adult and mainstream R&B/hip-hop stations.

There, the single repeats in rank but adds 3% in audience to reach 5.7 million in the week ending March 27. “Off” previously had climbed to No. 20 to clinch Maxwell’s 12th top 10 on the list. The stretch began with his breakout hit, “Ascension (Don’t Ever Wonder),” which soared to No. 7 in 1996, and includes two No. 1s, “Fortunate” and “Pretty Wings.”

“Off” is expected to appear on Maxwell’s forthcoming album, blacksummers’NIGHT, the third and final installment of his album trilogy.

The first chapter, BLACKsummers’night, premiered in 2009, while the follow-up, blackSUMMERS’night, arrived in 2016. Both projects debuted at No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, with the former ruling for four weeks and the latter on top for two frames.

Kali Uchis’ “Telepatia” Reaches No. 1 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Airplay Chart

Kali Uchis is celebrating the rhythm(ic)…

The 27-year-old Colombian American singer has scored her first No. 1 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Airplay chart as “Telepatia” moves up from the runner-up spot to lead the list dated August 14.

Kali Uchis

The single’s rise makes it the most-played song on monitored rhythmic U.S. radio stations, according to MRC Data.

“Telepatia” rises to No. 1 as it essentially held steady in plays in the week ending August 8, as measured by MRC Data. The previous champ, Roddy Ricch’s “Late at Night,” vacated the top spot after it declined 2% in plays.

Uchis also wraps a slow-but-steady journey on the list: “Telepatia” reaches the summit in its 17th week on the chart, second only to the 18-week wait for Yung Bleu’s “You’re Mines Still,” featuring Drake, among 2021 No. 1s.

Uchis, who hails from Alexandria, Va., achieves her first Rhythmic Airplay No. 1 on her second chart appearance. Her only previous appearance on the chart came through a featured role on Tyler, The Creator’s “See You Again” in 2017, which cracked the chart in the anchor position — No. 40 — and lasted two weeks.

In line with its Rhythmic coronation, “Telepatia” has secured new benchmarks for Uchis’ career in multiple areas since its November 2020 release.

After the tune gained traction on TikTok in early 2021, a rush of streams powered it to No. 10 on the Streaming Songs chart in March. That activity sparked the track’s Billboard Hot 100 entrance that month and its official promotion as a single. Radio airplay, then, kicked up and helped “Telepatia” achieve a No. 25 best on the Hot 100 in July.

In addition to conquering rhythmic radio, “Telepatia” ruled the Latin Airplay chart for one week in July and earned a No. 11 high on Pop Airplay. Simultaneous success at the three formats pushes the song into the top 10 on the all-genre Radio Songs chart, where it steps 11-10 through a 3% gain in audience to 40.7 million in listenership in the week ending August 6, according to MRC Data.

While “Telepatia” represents Kali Uchis’ solo breakthrough, the singer-songwriter made her first Billboard chart splashes in featured roles on songs across multiple genres, among them, the Gorillaz’s “She’s My Collar,” a No. 36 hit on Hot Rock Songs, Juanes’ “El Ratico,” a No. 10 success on Latin Pop Airplay and the Adult R&B Airplay chart-topper “Get You” in tandem with Daniel Caesar. The lattermost title led for one week and earned Uchis her first Grammy nomination, for best R&B performance.