Rihanna’s ‘Lift’ Rises to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart

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” leaps 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” retakes the throne of Jazmine Sullivan’s “Hurt Me So Good,” displaces the former after two weeks. “Hurt”, despite a 5% increase in plays at the format, is pushed 1-2.

Rihanna’s first Adult R&B Airplay No. 1 is “Lift” She was the ninth person to appear on the list. 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. Her first entry, “Take a Bow,” was her lead act. It reached No. 21 in 2008.

“Lift,” a similar track, continues across many formats. It is 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. The single also won the Greatest Gainer award on that chart. On Rhythmic Airplay, it holds at its No. It has reached its No. 6 peak, but it has gained 3% in weekly play in the most recent 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.