Tate McRae, Olivia Rodrigo & Chappell Roan and Zach Bryan & Lana Del Rey Should All Crash the Hot 100 Next Week — Who’s Got the Best Shot at No. 1?
Tate McRae, Olivia Rodrigo with Chappell Roan, and Zach Bryan with Lana Del Rey have all released new tracks that could challenge Taylor Swift and Ella Langley on next week’s Billboard Hot 100. The competition matters because the chart has been dominated by Swift and Langley, and a new No. 1 would end a run in which neither has been displaced since June.
McRae’s “Housewife” has the early lead, topping US Spotify and Apple Music charts and earning 8.4 million in radio airplay audience from Friday to Monday. Rodrigo and Roan’s “Expectations” remix benefits from the original’s existing chart history: the song has spent 18 weeks on the Hot 100, and both versions count together; its remix debuted at No. 3 on US Spotify. Bryan and Del Rey’s “Lies” drew attention but had negligible radio airplay, while the article notes it traded places with “Housewife” atop Apple Music’s real-time chart.
In short
- Tate McRae’s “Housewife” has the strongest early momentum.
- “Expectations” combines the remix with Rodrigo’s existing hit.
- Bryan and Del Rey’s “Lies” has drawn buzz but little radio play.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
A new No. 1 would make the chart more responsive to current listener demand and bring fresh competition after months of dominance by Swift and Langley. McRae’s strong early streaming and radio figures give her a clear case, while the existing chart history behind Rodrigo and Roan’s remix could also help it convert attention into a high position.
The case against
Early streaming and airplay are only partial indicators of where a track will land, so it is premature to treat any challenger as likely to end the run. The remix benefits from the original song’s accumulated chart history, and Bryan and Del Rey’s attention may not translate into enough radio or sustained activity; Swift and Langley’s continued presence can therefore be seen as reflecting durable listener demand rather than a chart problem.