Chart Brief: Michael Jackson Dominates R&B Streaming, Tone Stith Remains No. 1
Michael Jackson makes history on the R&B Streaming Songs chart while Tone Stith maintains his grip on the Adult R&B Airplay summit.
Welcome to Chart Brief, our weekly column tracking the latest movements across R&B charts. Each week, we break down and analyze the R&B artists making waves on the Billboard, radio, and streaming charts. This edition covers the charts dated May 2, 2026.
Billboard Charts
Adult R&B Airplay
Tracks the week’s top Adult R&B hits via 24/7 airplay data from Mediabase and Luminate.
THE BRIEF: Tone Stith’s “Fly” holds the No. 1 spot for a second consecutive week on the adult r&b airplay chart. The liberating track is from his debut album, The Edge, out May 15.
DEBUTS:
- No. 27: Kayla Brianna – “Energy”
- No. 29: Eric Bellinger – “Cry In Front of You”
- No. 30: Chris Brown – “Obvious”
Top 5 on Adult R&B Airplay
- “Fly” – Tone Stith (LW: 1)
- “Folded” – Kehlani (LW: 3, Peak: 1)
- “More Than A Friend” – Elijah Connor (LW: 6)
- “Forever” – Sentury (LW: 2, Peak: 1)
- “Risk It All” – Bruno Mars (LW: 7, Peak: 5)
R&B Streaming Songs
Calculates the most-streamed R&B songs of the week across digital service providers.
No. 1: “Billie Jean” – Michael Jackson (LW: 2)
THE BRIEF: Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” lands at No. 1 for the first time on Billboard’s R&B Streaming Songs chart. It first appeared on the chart in April 2013. Jackson not only controls the summit, but he also dominates the list with 12 charting songs out of its 15 slots; seven of those are in the top 10.
DEBUTS
- No. 11: “Smooth Criminal” – Michael Jackson
- No. 12: “Bad” – Michael Jackson
- No. 13: “You Rock My World” – Michael Jackson
- “The Way You Make Me Feel” – Michael Jackson
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
No. 1: Thriller – Michael Jackson
THE BRIEF: Michael Jackson’s groundbreaking album Thriller is back at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It marks its first visit to the summit in 40 years. According to Billboard, Thriller sold 62,000 equivalent units in the tracking week ending May 7. The King of Pop’s catalog has seen a surge in streaming and sales activity, following the release of his blockbuster biopic, Michael, on April 24.
Mediabase Radio Charts
R&B Radio
Tracks the week’s top R&B hits via 24/7 radio monitoring data from Mediabase, ranked by total weekly spins. (Dates: May 3 – May 9)
No. 1: “Fly” – Tone Stith (LW: 1)