Ella Mai's 'Trip' Hits No. 1 On Rhythmic Songs Airplay Chart

Ella Mai earns her first No. 1 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Songs airplay chart as “Trip” [co-written by Volume Ventures' Quintin Gulledge] ascends 3-1 on the ranking dated Dec. 20. The track advances with a 5 percent jump in plays in the week ending Dec. 16, according to Nielsen Music.

Mai’s only other previous Rhythmic Songs hit, breakout single “Boo’d Up,” topped out at No. 3 in July.

Beyond its new Rhythmic coronation, “Trip” continues its domination on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, where it leads for an eighth consecutive week. As “Boo’d Up” ruled for a staggering 16 weeks earlier this year -- the longest run of any song by a female artist in the chart’s history -- Mai has landed 24 weeks at No. 1 in 2018, the best calendar year showing by any woman and second only to Lil Wayne’s 30-week output in 2011.

On the Adult R&B Songs airplay list, “Trip” skips 6-3 and picks up a 12 percent surge in weekly plays.

Radio gains help “Trip” retain its No. 1 status for an 11th straight week on the Hot R&B Songs chart, which blends airplay, streaming and sales downloads. The airplay rally offsets declines in streaming, as “Trip” suffers a 3 percent drop to 15.5 million U.S. clicks in the week ending Dec. 20 and falls 3-5 on R&B Streaming Songs after having previously reigned for 11 frames.

Sales, too, slip slightly, with the track pulling 4,000 downloads in the same period, a 6 percent dip, though it gains 3-2 on the R&B Digital Song Sales tally. “Trip” previously led the list for six weeks.

“Trip” and “Boo’d” both feature on the British singer-songwriter’s eponymous debut full-length album. The set, released in October, opened at No. 1 on the Top R&B Albums chart and has posted three nonconsecutive weeks at the summit.