{"id":82480,"date":"2025-08-20T01:07:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T01:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/82480\/"},"modified":"2025-08-20T01:07:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T01:07:09","slug":"does-alex-warrens-ordinary-feel-like-a-10-week-no-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/82480\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Alex Warren’s ‘Ordinary’ Feel Like a 10-Week No. 1?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tOne week after seeing his nine-week reign at No. 1 with breakout hit \u201cOrdinary\u201d interrupted by \u201cGolden\u201d from KPop Demon Hunters, Alex Warren<\/a> is back atop the Billboard Hot 100<\/a> this week once again. <\/p>\n

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See latest videos, charts and news<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOrdinary\u201d resumes its dominance for a milestone 10th week on the chart Aug. 23, helped in large part by a duet performance of the smash with country superstar Luke Combs \u2014 which the two delivered at Chicago\u2019s Lollapalooza festival in July, and which they delivered to streaming services on Aug. 8. It also reigns on the Songs of the Summer<\/a> chart for a 12th week, the chart\u2019s entire run for 2025 thus far.<\/p>\n

\n\tIs it a surprising 10-week No. 1? And does it feel right as the likely Song of the Summer? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below. <\/p>\n

\n\t1. Alex Warren\u2019s \u201cOrdinary\u201d reaching the 10-week mark at No. 1: surprising or not surprising?<\/p>\n

\n\tKatie Atkinson: Progressively less surprising as the weeks wore on, but if you\u2019d asked me back in June when it first reached the summit if it would still be topping the chart three months later, I never could have predicted this. Teddy Swims\u2019 \u201cLose Control\u201d might be the closest comparison \u2013 which only spent one week at No. 1 on the Hot 100 last year, but has racked up a whopping 104 weeks (so far!) on the chart. What I\u2019m saying is: Teddy walked in 2024 so Alex could run this year.<\/p>\n

\n\tKyle Denis: Surprising. I hate to be a Negative Nancy, but I really did think a better and more interesting song would have knocked \u201cOrdinary\u201d off the top spot four or five weeks ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tJason Lipshutz: Not surprising. Once \u201cOrdinary\u201d elbowed its way to the top of the Hot 100 in June, every metric indicated that Alex Warren\u2019s burly sing-along was a multi-platform smash, and that the song was in for an extended run at No. 1. Double-digit weeks atop the Hot 100 is rarefied air, and impressive for any artist \u2014 let alone a relative unknown like Warren prior to his breakthrough smash \u2014 but the signs that \u201cOrdinary\u201d could make it this far were there from the get-go.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tMelinda Newman: Given how rare it is for any song to reach No. 1, much less hit this watermark, it\u2019s surprising. It\u2019s also surprising because of how polarizing the song is\u2014 as many people seem to hate it as love it. But what\u2019s to hate? It is an uncynical song of unabashed devotion to one\u2019s partner, with\u00a0subtle religious overtones thrown in.\u00a0Sure, it\u2019s a little treacly, but it\u2019s a legit, true love story. We\u2019re in troubling times and people are gravitating toward a song that lets\u00a0them escape into their own romantic tale. I think there\u2019s still a stigma for male artists who come up through TikTok and were social influencers that doesn\u2019t seem to affect women artists like\u00a0Billboard\u00a0cover girl Addison Rae, who came from the same Hype House collaborative group that spawned Warren.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAndrew Unterberger: Once it reached No. 1 for one week, 10 weeks was practically a lock. \u201cOrdinary\u201d is the exact kind of song whose reign is seemingly indefinite \u2014 broadly appealing across DSPs and radio formats, with major pop culture presence but not inextricably tied to any one trend or breakout moment. I thought 15+ weeks was almost certainly in play; it still might be, but now it\u2019s got real challenges to clear first. <\/p>\n

\n\t2. While \u201cOrdinary\u201d gave up the No. 1 spot to \u201cGolden\u201d from KPop Demon Hunters last week, it\u2019s back on top this week in part due to an official live performance with Luke Combs that\u2019s been released to DSPs. Do you think this new live collaboration is a particularly interesting new part of the song\u2019s story, or mostly just a one-week blip?<\/p>\n

\n\tKatie Atkinson: Now I kind of want a Luke Combs solo cover of the song with full country production (imagine the twinkly piano intro swapped with a plucky acoustic guitar instead), but I don\u2019t see this live duet becoming a lasting part of the song\u2019s story. What the Lollapalooza recording proves is how impressive it is that \u201cOrdinary\u201d had the juice to reclaim the top spot after a cultural phenomenon like \u201cGolden\u201d supplanted it.<\/p>\n

\n\tKyle Denis: I\u2019m going to go with the Luke Combs version being a one-week blip. It\u2019s cool to see Alex embraced by a more established music star \u2014 particularly one from a different genre \u2014 but I don\u2019t anticipate this version growing into a significant chapter of the song\u2019s story.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tJason Lipshutz: I was ready to write off the Luke Combs-assisted live version of \u201cOrdinary\u201d as a festival stunt designed to entertain a Lollapalooza crowd and juice streaming numbers\u2026 but man, Combs sounds sort of perfect growling out those verses and going full blast on the chorus alongside Warren. \u201cOrdinary\u201d makes sense when revamped into a country-pop sing-along, and Combs proved with his \u201cFast Car\u201d cover that he can add Nashville gravitas to a well-known hit. I could see this one getting a proper studio version and persisting.<\/p>\n

\n\tMelinda Newman: Country superstar Combs giving the song his blessing by performing it at Lollapalooza\u00a0with Warren really counts for something and will help introduce the song to country fans who weren\u2019t familiar with it yet. There\u2019s something very sweet about two guys singing adoringly about their wives. Though they don\u2019t sing together much, Warren holds his own on stage vocally with Combs and that\u2019s no small feat. He sounds better live with Combs than he does on the record.<\/p>\n

\n\tAndrew Unterberger: More than demonstrating anything about \u201cOrdinary,\u201d it just demonstrates to me what a powerhouse vocalist Combs is. Warren is no slouch in that department either, but the second Combs lays into that first verse, he kinda makes the song his \u2014 he Kelly Clarksons the singer-songwriter<\/a>, if you will. That might drive some new ears to the song, and deservedly so, but I imagine in the long term it\u2019ll more just make for some new Luke Combs fans. <\/p>\n

\n\t3. Lower on the Hot 100, Alex Warren is also present at No. 58 with \u201cEternity,\u201d after previously debuting at No. 16 with the song, and his You\u2019ll Be Alright, Kid album is still hanging around the top 10 after bowing at No. 5. Has Warren done enough to prove that he\u2019s not a one-song sensation, or do we still need to see what he can do once the \u201cOrdinary\u201d momentum finally dies down?<\/p>\n

\n\tKatie Atkinson: He\u2019s not quite out of the one-hit-wonder woods just yet, but he is already in the rarefied air of spending double-digit weeks at No. 1, so this isn\u2019t just any hit. It\u2019s tough to tell someone who has already accomplished so much in his relatively short career that he needs to try to follow it up with more success after this came out of left field, but I do think it\u2019s going to take more than \u201cOrdinary\u201d and its album to solidify his status in pop music.<\/p>\n

\n\tKyle Denis: I think he\u2019s done enough at the moment; I\u2019d even throw in his smart collaborations with Ros\u00e9 (\u201cOn My Mind\u201d) and Jelly Roll (\u201cBloodline\u201d), which both landed on the Hot 100.\u00a0With the VMAs on the horizon and several fall\/winter awards shows following soon after, Alex has more chances to truly establish his name and brand outside of \u201cOrdinary,\u201d specifically in the realm of live performance, which I think is important for such a relatively faceless song.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tJason Lipshutz: Warren is following the same playbook as contemporaries like Teddy Swims and Benson Boone, by releasing new songs and a full-length to exist concurrently with a smash single while also not overshadowing it during its chart run. Teddy and Benson have been able to transcend their respective breakthrough hits and prop up sturdy careers, and I\u2019d bet that Alex does the same thing, as \u201cOrdinary\u201d naturally cedes the floor to follow-up hits that will not be quite as dominant but will achieve solid chart runs and round out a touring set list.<\/p>\n

\n\tMelinda Newman: No, but that\u2019s OK. That\u2019s no slight on him. Proving you\u2019re not a one-hit wonder is only something that can be solved by having another hit. Let\u2019s see where he is in two years. But like lots of artists, his breakthrough hit may be the biggest song he ever has in his career and there\u2019s no shame in that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAndrew Unterberger: I think he\u2019s demonstrated that there\u2019s real pop-level interest in him beyond the song, which is all he really needs to do at the moment. Compare him to an artist like Glass Animals, who had a similarly slow-burning breakout hit that topped the Hot 100 and lasted on the chart forever \u2014 that band hasn\u2019t returned to the Hot 100 yet, while Warren has already reached the chart another three times. That\u2019s no slight on Glass Animals, which has a devoted following in its own right, but that group\u2019s time as pop stars will likely be limited to one song. Warren has shown he at least has the potential for much more. <\/p>\n

\n\t4. \u201cOrdinary\u201d is certainly on pace to end the season as Billboard\u2019s official song of the summer \u2014 do you think it makes sense as a good or fitting honoree for this year?<\/p>\n

\n\tKatie Atkinson: I like it best when a song of the summer sounds summery \u2013 \u201cI Had Some Help\u201d (2024), \u201cAs It Was\u201d (2022) and \u201cButter\u201d (2021) fit that bill \u2013 but a smash this big, hitting its stride from June-August, is impossible to overlook. If I\u2019m going on vibes alone, my personal song of the summer is probably Sabrina Carpenter\u2019s \u201cManchild\u201d or Justin Bieber\u2019s \u201cDaisies,\u201d but they\u2019re just not as ubiquitous as \u201cOrdinary\u201d has been.<\/p>\n

\n\tKyle Denis: I mean it makes sense because it\u2019s the top-performing song of the summer on our charts\u2026 but it\u2019d be a bold-faced lie if I said \u201cOrdinary\u201d made any kind of dent in my personal 2025 summer experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tJason Lipshutz: While we tend to think of the song of the summer as a sunny, upbeat pop song, that hasn\u2019t been the case for a few years at this point: Morgan Wallen made country dominate in 2023 and 2024 with \u201cLast Night\u201d and \u201cI Had Some Help,\u201d respectively, while Harry Styles\u2019 \u201cAs It Was\u201d earned the SOTS crown with a pop song with a more somber tone. The downcast, stomping \u201cOrdinary\u201d does not scream \u201csong of the summer,\u201d but it\u2019s an inescapable anthem, with 10 weeks at No. 1. The people have spoken, and they want their holy water watered down during this season.<\/p>\n

\n\tMelinda Newman: It\u2019s been a very weird summer in that regard in that nothing else has really raised its hand or been as sticky. Sabrina Carpenter\u2019s \u201cManchild\u201d was certainly a contender, but didn\u2019t have the charm of \u201cEspresso.\u201d Justin Bieber\u2019s \u201cDaisies,\u201d which I personally love, didn\u2019t catch on and came out too late. For all the raging success of the\u00a0Kpop Demon Hunters\u00a0soundtrack and the three top 10 Hot 100 hits it has spawned, those songs don\u2019t have the ubiquity or broad appeal that \u201cOrdinary\u201d has.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAndrew Unterberger: Not really, but the numbers are undeniable. <\/p>\n

\n\t5. How many weeks do you think \u201cOrdinary\u201d will ultimately spend atop the Hot 100?<\/p>\n

\n\tKatie Atkinson: We\u2019ve got some big releases looming here \u2013 especially Carpenter next week and whenever Taylor Swift feels like deploying a lead single \u2013 but it feels safe to assume that there could be at least another week in the chamber for Warren. Otherwise, my money is on \u201cGolden\u201d to resume its run in the top spot.<\/p>\n

\n\tKyle Denis: At this rate, \u201cOrdinary\u201d will probably stay atop the Hot 100 until Sabrina Carpenter (Man\u2019s Best Friend) and Taylor Swift (The Life of a Showgirl) release their new albums. Or maybe we get an especially moving live performance or new version of \u201cGolden,\u201d \u201cLove Me Not\u201d or \u201cThe Subway\u201d to further break up Warren\u2019s reign.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tJason Lipshutz: I\u2019ll give it one more week. We\u2019ve not only got \u201cGolden\u201d fiercely competing for the top spot, but another Sabrina Carpenter album a little over a week away, as well as rumored or confirmed upcoming projects from Doja Cat, Cardi B and, of course, Taylor Swift. Maybe \u201cOrdinary\u201d will be able to fend off that stiff competition, but I\u2019d bet that Warren will persist in the top 10 of the Hot 100 after being replaced at No. 1 sooner than later.<\/p>\n

\n\tMelinda Newman: The second Taylor Swift drops the first song from\u00a0The Life of a Showgirl \u2014 and we have no idea when (or if) that will be before the album comes out on Oct. 3 \u2014 \u201cOrdinary\u201d is out of there. But it\u2019s a song that wears well, and people that love it love it very much. It has a slow burn rate \u2014 it\u2019s still gaining in streams \u2014 so it could be pushed\u00a0out of No. 1 by\u00a0Demon Hunters\u2019 \u201cSoda Pop\u201dand pop back up. Or it may fall out, but hang out in the upper reaches, like Teddy Swims\u2019 \u201cLose Control,\u201d Benson Boone\u2019s \u201cBeautiful Things\u201d or Shaboozey\u2019s \u201cA Bar Song (Tipsy)\u201d for months. After women pop singers dominated for the last few years, they are now sharing their space with male solo artists and it\u2019s really a fun time for pop fans.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAndrew Unterberger: I\u2019ll give it one more week after \u201cGolden\u201d dies down \u2014 assuming it will die down eventually; there\u2019s been no real indication to this point that KPop Demon Hunters won\u2019t just get more and more popular until the end of time \u2014 and there\u2019s no other big debut to challenge it. But those weeks might be few and far between for the next month or two, so it wouldn\u2019t be shocking to me if 10 is the (still incredibly impressive) final number for \u201cOrdinary.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One week after seeing his nine-week reign at No. 1 with breakout hit \u201cOrdinary\u201d interrupted by \u201cGolden\u201d from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":82481,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[49,48,75,49493,341],"class_list":{"0":"post-82480","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-five-burning-questions","12":"tag-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82480\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}