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\n\tThe Contenders<\/a>\u00a0is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the\u00a0<\/em>Billboard\u00a0charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week (for the upcoming Billboard Hot 100<\/a> dated Jan. 13),\u00a0the holiday rush is over on the charts, and now we see what rises back to the top when all those festive classics finally fall away.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tJack Harlow, \u201cLovin on Me\u201d (Generation\u00a0Now\/Atlantic):\u00a0<\/strong>It almost feels like a chart nerd trivia question at this point: What song was No. 1 on the Hot 100 before Brenda Lee\u2019s \u201cRockin\u2019 Around the Christmas Tree\u201d and Mariah Carey\u2019s \u201cAll I Want for Christmas Is You\u201d spent five weeks trading off at the top spot? The answer: Jack Harlow<\/a>\u2019s \u201cLovin on Me,\u201d which reached pole position in its second chart week after its quickly viral debut, becoming his third No. 1 in as many years on the listing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tOver a month later, the song is still going strong:\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0the only non-Christmas entry in this week\u2019s top 10, holding on at No. 9,\u00a0and has climbed to No. 5 on Radio Songs, while also reclaiming its throne atop the daily rankings for Spotify and Apple Music.\u00a0In other words,\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0every\u00a0indication\u00a0that with the holiday songs disappearing on the Hot 100 \u2013 as they customarily do the first full chart week post-Christmas \u2014 \u201cLovin on Me\u201d will not only be a leading candidate to recapture\u00a0the top spot, but that it might be around for a long time still to come.<\/p>\n \n\tTaylor Swift, \u201cCruel Summer\u201d (Republic)<\/strong>: What, you thought that with the calendar turning to 2024, you might\u00a0actually have\u00a0a little less Taylor in your life? Not on this chart, anyway.\u00a0Swift<\/a> still\u00a0maintained\u00a0a trio of songs on the Hot 100 throughout the holiday season\u00a0\u2013\u00a0led,\u00a0of course by the\u00a0blazing\u00a0\u201cCruel Summer,\u201d\u00a0which topped the ranking for four weeks in October and November\u00a0and\u00a0remains\u00a0the\u00a0second-highest-ranking non-holiday song this week (No. 19),\u00a0behind \u201cLovin.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAnd\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0still not cooling down. \u201cSummer,\u201d revived from 2019\u2019s Lover<\/em>, tops Radio Songs<\/a> for a 10th frame this week \u2013 the longest leader of Swift\u2019s career\u00a0\u2013 while returning to the top five on Spotify\u2019s Daily Top Songs USA chart.\u00a0If even the coldest time of the year\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0tamp down this song\u2019s incandescence, it\u00a0just\u00a0might end up sticking around through\u00a0next<\/em>\u00a0summer, as well.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tTate McRae, \u201cGreedy\u201d (RCA)<\/strong>: One song that was still growing as it ended up getting swallowed by the holiday rush was Tate McRae<\/a>\u2019s breakout smash \u201cGreedy.\u201d The pop favorite, which spends a fourth week at No. 1 on Pop Airplay<\/a> this week,\u00a0had broken into the Hot 100\u2019s top 10, reaching as high as No. 7 \u2013 but\u00a0would have gotten even higher had it not had to compete with the seasonal likes of Brenda and Mariah\u00a0\u2014\u00a0particularly in the release week (Dec. 8) of parent album\u00a0Think Later<\/em>, when \u201cGreedy\u201d\u00a0ranked\u00a0behind\u00a0just\u00a0\u201cLovin\u201d among all non-holiday songs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThe song should still be a contender in the post-holiday season, though: It\u00a0remains\u00a0a strong performer on both streaming and radio, and currently rates as the third-highest non-Christmas song on the Hot 100 (No. 24). That means\u00a0it\u2019s likely to hit a new peak on the chart this week\u00a0as the holiday songs get put away for the new year\u00a0\u2013 and beyond that, if it can get an extra boost from a new remix or performance or something else to help it regain momentum, it wouldn\u2019t be too greedy for McRae to set her sights on the top spot.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tIN THE MIX<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tZach Bryan feat. Kacey Musgraves, \u201cI Remember Everything\u201d (Belting Bronco\/Warner)<\/strong>:\u00a0This one feels\u00a0like it came out a lifetime ago at this point, but it was only the Hot 100 dated Sept. 9 when\u00a0Bryan<\/a>\u2019s and Musgraves<\/a>\u2019 duet bowed atop the chart. Four months later, the song has scarcely slowed on streaming \u2013\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0currently in the top five on both Spotify\u2019s and Apple Music\u2019s daily charts \u2013\u00a0and still holds at No. 31 on the Hot 100, higher than all but four pre-holiday entries. The airwaves\u00a0remain\u00a0the final frontier for\u00a0\u201cEverything,\u201d\u00a0as\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0gaining slowly and surely, but\u00a0remains\u00a0well below the 50-song cutoff to make the Radio Songs chart.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tTyla, \u201cWater\u201d (Fax\/Epic)<\/strong>: \u201cWater\u201d was another pop hit still gaining as the holiday takeover began, just touching the top 10 (at No. 10) before the waves of Christmas songs swept it back to shore.\u00a0This week, Tyla<\/a>\u2018s hit rests just below \u201cEverything\u201d at No. 32 on the Hot 100, with room still to grow on radio \u2013 as it rules the Mainstream R&B\/Hip-Hop Airplay chart for a sixth week \u2014 though how much\u00a0the South African singer-songwriter wants to continue pushing the\u00a0crossover\u00a0smash rather than moving on to other material (like\u00a0newer single \u201cTruth or Dare\u201d)\u00a0remains\u00a0to be seen.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tNicki Minaj, \u201cFTCU\u201d (Young Money\/Cash Money\/Republic)<\/strong>: While the Junior Senior-sampling \u201cEverybody\u201d held the early lead as the breakout single from rap queen Nicki Minaj<\/a>\u2019s Billboard 200-topping\u00a0Pink Friday 2<\/em>\u00a0album,\u00a0it appears that it\u00a0will soon be lapped by LP-mate \u201cFTCU.\u201d The Waka Flocka Flame-lifting jam\u00a0has\u00a0long\u00a0passed\u00a0\u201cEverybody\u201d\u00a0on both the Spotify and Apple Music daily charts (landing in the top 10 on both) and\u00a0it also appears\u00a0two spots higher on this week\u2019s Hot 100 (No. 53 vs. No. 55), as a major radio embrace may be the only thing standing in the way of it becoming Minaj\u2019s biggest unaccompanied solo\u00a0hit since 2022\u2019s \u201cSuper Freaky Girl.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n