Here’s How Much the Obamas’ Playlist Boosted Streams for Songs by SZA, Mac Miller, & More
Written by SOURCE on September 4, 2019
More than two years post-presidency, Barack Obama has remained a major cultural influencer. Case in point? The impact of his newly released 2019 summer playlist.
Last month, the 44th president took to social media to unveil the 44 songs he and Michelle Obama have had in rotation throughout the season. The list was a mix of old-school classics and contemporary hits that included a wide variety of genres like rap, R&B, rock ‘n’ roll, reggaeton, and jazz.
On Wednesday, Billboard pointed out that most of the Obama-approved songs experienced an uptick in the week after the playlist was posted. Forty of the tracks saw a boost in streaming, while all 44 surged in sales. The outlet cited Nielsen Music data in the week ending Aug. 29.
Per Billboard:
While many of the sales totals for the given tracks were low (the majority hovering around 1,000 downloads sold or less), all 44 had substantial week-to-week percentage gains, comparing the week before Obama’s post (week ending Aug. 23) and the week after (week ending Aug. 30).
The four songs that experienced a decline in streams were “Mood 4 Eva” (Beyoncé, JAY-Z, Childish Gambino, and Oumou Sangaré) “Señorita” (Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello), “Brown Eyed Girl” (Van Morrison), “Boo’d Up” (Ella Mai), and “Old Town Road” (Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus).
The records that saw the biggest streaming surge were Terence Trent D’Arby’s “Who’s Loving You” with a 2,732 percent increase; Esperanza Spalding’s “Espera” with a a 2,057 percent increase; and Charles Mingus’ “II B.S.” with a 730 percent increase.
You can check out the figures, as well as listen to the playlist, below.
1. Drake featuring Rihanna, “Too Good”
1.1 million U.S. streams (up 23%)
2. The Spinners, “I’ll Be Around”
765,000 U.S. streams (up 23%)
3. Beyoncé, JAY-Z & Childish Gambino featuring Oumou Sangaré, “Mood 4 Eva”
1.2 million U.S. streams (down 3%)
4. Maggie Rogers, “Burning”
440,000 U.S. streams (up 32%)
5. The Avener & Phoebe Killdeer, “Fade Out Lines (The Avener Rework)”
210,000 U.S. streams (up 95%)
6. Lizzo, “Juice”
6.4 million U.S. streams (up 25%)
7. Steely Dan, “Reelin’ In The Years”
956,000 U.S. streams (up 5%)
8. Terence Trent D’Arby, “Who’s Loving You”
77,000 U.S. streams (up 2,732%)
9. Stevie Wonder, “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing”
250,000 U.S. streams (up 52%)
10. GoldLink featuring Ari PenSmith, “Joke Ting”
305,000 U.S. streams (up 64%)
11. Sharon Van Etten, “Seventeen”
185,000 U.S. streams (up 76%)
12. Lauryn Hill, “Doo-Wop (That Thing)”
1.4 million U.S. streams (up 11%)
13. Raphael Saadiq, “100 Yard Dash”
94,000 U.S. streams (up 387%)
14. Frank Sinatra, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”
563,000 U.S. streams (up 19%)
15. Daniel Caesar featuring H.E.R., “Best Part”
4.5 million U.S. streams (up 7%)
16. BJ the Chicago Kid featuring Anderson .Paak, “Feel The Vibe”
200,000 U.S. streams (up 66%)
17. Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello, “Señorita”
33.2 million U.S. streams (down 4%)
18. Dobie Gray, “Drift Away”
583,000 U.S. streams (up 12%)
19. Sounds of Blackness, “Hold On (Change is Comin’)”
184,000 U.S. streams (up 54%)
20. Van Morrison, “Brown Eyed Girl”
3.5 million U.S. streams (down 5%)
21. Donny Hathaway, “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know”
115,000 U.S. streams (up 129%)
22. SZA, “Go Gina”
442,000 U.S. streams (up 31%)
23. 2 Chainz featuring Ty Dolla $ign, Trey Songz & Jhené Aiko, “It’s A Vibe”
2.3 million U.S. streams (up 4%)
24. Mac Miller featuring Anderson .Paak, “Dang!”
1 million U.S. streams (up 13%)
25. Ella Fitzgerald, “How High the Moon”
70,000 U.S. streams (up 431%)
26. Erick Sermon featuring Marvin Gaye, “Music”
293,000 U.S. streams (up 23%)
27. The Black Keys, “Go”
497,000 U.S. streams (up 9%)
28. Koffee, “Toast”
1.8 million U.S. streams (up 8%)
29. Ella Mai, “Boo’d Up”
4.3 million U.S. streams (down 1%)
30. DJ Khaled featuring Beyoncé & JAY-Z, “Shining”
434,000 U.S. streams (up 2%)
31. Rosalía & J Balvin featuring El Guincho, “Con Altura”
4.8 million U.S. streams (up 8%)
32. Charles Mingus, “II B.S.”
52,000 U.S. streams (up 730%)
33. Jill Scott, “It’s Love”
121,000 U.S. streams (up 76%)
34. The Rolling Stones, “Happy”
134,000 U.S. streams (up 59%)
35. John Legend, “Alright”
79,000 U.S. streams (up 188%)
36. Esperanza Spalding, “Espera”
39,000 U.S. streams (up 2,057%)
37. Toots & The Maytals, “54-46 Was My Number”
178,000 U.S. streams (up 33%)
38. The Youngbloods, “Get Together”
342,000 U.S. streams (up 13%)
39. Anthony Hamilton, “Float”
62,000 U.S. streams (up 223%)
40. Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, “Old Town Road”
42.2 million U.S. streams (down 12%)
41. Robin Thicke, “Can U Believe”
58,000 U.S. streams (up 324%)
42. Rema, “Iron Man”
90,000 U.S. streams (up 182%)
43. Q-Tip featuring D’Angelo, “Believe”
48,000 U.S. streams (up 656%)
44. A Tribe Called Quest, “Can I Kick It?”
596,000 U.S. streams (up 12%)
