Following the first two days of the January 3-January 9 radio tracking week, pop’s top two songs are separated by a mere 80 spins.
Played 5,049 times during the tracking week’s first two days, Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” currently holds #1 on the Mediabase building chart. Selena Gomez’ “Same Old Love” is #2 with 4,969 spins.
Momentum, however, slightly favors the Gomez song. While the “Sorry” spin count trails last week’s mark by 4.2%, “Same Old Love” is .7% ahead of last week’s figure. If they maintain those respective rates of decrease and increase for the rest of the week, “Same Old Love” will pull ahead by the time the chart goes final.
Whether those trajectories will, in fact, hold steady remains to be seen. What is clear, however, is that this is a race to watch — and one surely made more exciting due to the history between the two artists.
“Sorry” has topped the past three weekly Mediabase charts. “Same Old Love,” which would become Gomez’ third pop radio #1 should it ascend to the top spot, has been the runner-up on the previous two.
Bieber and Gomez, moreover, have pop radio representation beyond “Sorry” and “Same Old Love.”
“Love Yourself,” the follow-up to Bieber’s “Sorry,” is expected to reach the Top 10 this week. Its prominence, in fact, may be cannibalizing on “Sorry” — and thus aiding “Same Old Love” in the race for #1.
Bieber’s previous single “What Do You Mean?” also has one more week on the chart before going recurrent.
Gomez, meanwhile, should chart this week with new single “Hands To Myself.” The “Same Old Love” follow-up is #41 on the building chart and a near-lock to reach the official Top 40.