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Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar” Takes Early Lead In Race For #1 At Pop Radio

The next chart will go official on Sunday.

Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar” could reach #1 at pop radio as soon as this week.

The summer hit received 5,049 Mediabase-monitored pop radio spins during the first two days of the July 26-August 1 tracking period. Up 10% from the count at this point last week, the tally slots “Watermelon Sugar” at #1 on Mediabase’s building/real-time chart.

The week is still young, and “Watermelon Sugar” does not hold a huge lead over the building #2 song. Dua Lipa’s “Break My Heart,” the current runner-up on the building chart, received 5,004 spins during the first two days of the tracking period. As a result, it is far too early to make guarantees about which song will finish the week on top.

“Watermelon Sugar” does, however, seem to have a clear momentum advantage. Whereas it is up 10% from last week’s mark, “Break My Heart” is up 3%. If both songs remain on those trajectories, “Watermelon Sugar” will close the week at #1.

And even if “Watermelon Sugar” ends up missing the top spot this week, it would be a virtual lock to take over next week. The common industry assumption, moreover, is that “Watermelon Sugar” will enjoy a multi-week reign whenever it does hit #1.

The official Mediabase pop chart will arrive on Sunday.

Brian Cantor

Brian Cantor is the editor-in-chief for Headline Planet. He has been a leading reporter in the music, movie, television and sporting spaces since 2002. Brian's reporting has been cited by major websites like BuzzFeed, Billboard, the New Yorker and The Fader -- and shared by celebrities like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj. Contact Brian at brian.cantor[at]headlineplanet.com.

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Brian Cantor