Over the past five years, there have been some notable genre shifts in the Hot 100 that reflect the popularity of musical styles in today’s mainstream.
Latin music, for instance, has seen a substantial rise from merely comprising 3% of the chart in 2018 to a substantial 11% as of September 14, 2023. That’s an increase from just 18 songs in 2018 to 51 songs during the first eight months of this year. Leading the way are Karol G and Hot 100 newcomer Peso Pluma, who together have scored 26 Hot 100 hits this year.
In parallel, rock music has followed a similar trajectory, ascending from a 5% share (33 songs) in 2018 to an equally significant 15% (70 songs) year-to-date. Among the notable rock-influenced Hot 100 hits are Steve Lacey’s #1 smash “Bad Habit” and Olivia Rodrigo’s driving “Bad Idea Right?”, among others.
Country music has emerged as the biggest gainer, now constituting slightly over one-fifth of the Hot 100 year-to-date. Several representatives of the genre secured the top spots, including “Last Night”, “Rich Men North Of Richmond”, and “Try That In A Small Town.”
In contrast, hip-hop, which peaked in 2018, has experienced a drop to its lowest point since 2014. In 2018, 68% of the Hot 100 was comprised of hip hop songs. Since then, it’s dropped to 30% during the first eight months of 2023. Despite this significant drop hip hop remains the most popular genre in the Hot 100.
Meanwhile, the pop genre has largely remained steady, fluctuating between one-fifth and one-quarter of songs since 2018.
It is interesting to note that very similar genre trends can also be observed on the Billboard Streaming Songs chart.
Streaming Songs Chart
