Rihanna conquers a new radio format with her long-awaited comeback single, “Lift Me Up.” The track, from the soundtrack to the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, crowns the Adult R&B Airplay list dated Dec. 24. It’s her first No. 1 — and top 10 — on the chart and her ninth charting song on the list to date.
“Lift” jumps from No. 3 after a 24% surge in plays that made it the most-played song on U.S. monitored adult R&B stations in the week ending Dec. 18, according to Luminate. Thanks to the double-digit improvement, the new champ captures the weekly Greatest Gainer honor for the biggest increase in plays among the chart’s 30 titles.
“Lift” seizes the throne from Jazmine Sullivan’s “Hurt Me So Good,” displacing the latter after two weeks in charge. “Hurt” is pushed 1-2, despite a 5% gain in plays at the format.
With “Lift,” Rihanna registers her first Adult R&B Airplay No. 1 upon her ninth appearance on the list. Before the new champ, her previous career peak was a No. 13 result from her and Bryson Tiller’s featured slots on DJ Khaled’s “Wild Thoughts” in 2018. As a lead act, her prior best was her maiden entry, “Take a Bow,” which reached No. 21 in 2008.
Elsewhere, “Lift” continues its run across several other formats. It repeats at No. 5 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, where it registered 17.1 million in weekly audience impressions, an 18% upswing from the prior week. With that boost, the single captures that chart’s Greatest Gainer honor, too. On Rhythmic Airplay, it holds at its No. 6 peak thus far, though it gained 3% in weekly plays in the latest tracking week. The single moves 9-8 on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart to return to its peak, first reached two weeks ago, and added 5% more plays. And though it slides 14-17 on Adult Pop Airplay, “Lift” registered a 4% bump in weekly plays at that format.
