Billboard Hot 100, Week of October 26, 2026: Top 10 and Biggest Moves

Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” is back at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the chart announced Monday, October 26, 2026, for the chart week dated Saturday, October 31, 2026. The song rises from No. 2 and extends its record to 25 total weeks atop the U.S. singles ranking. Meanwhile, Tate McRae’s “Housewife” enters at No. 2, Olivia Rodrigo’s “Expectations” surges to No. 3 after a remix featuring Chappell Roan, and Zach Bryan’s “Lies,” featuring Lana Del Rey, debuts at No. 4.

This October 28 editorial roundup covers the chart revealed during the week of October 26—not a separate Billboard chart dated October 26. Billboard reported the results on October 26 and said the full October 31-dated rankings would be posted October 27. The performance tracking period cited for this chart is October 16–22, 2026. See Billboard’s October 26 chart report and the official October 31 Hot 100 chart.

Billboard Hot 100 top 10 for the October 31 chart

The table compares the newly announced chart positions with Billboard’s chart dated October 24. “New” means the song enters this week’s Hot 100, not necessarily that it was released during the same week. Up and down arrows would describe rank movement, not changes in streaming volume or sales; the table uses words to keep that distinction clear.

For the comparison baseline, consult Billboard’s October 24 chart. These are the confirmed changes among the top 10. They are not a claimed ranking of the largest jumps across all 100 chart positions.

The biggest developments since the previous chart

“Choosin’ Texas” takes back the top spot

Langley’s track had sat at No. 2 behind Swift’s “Patient Zero” for three weeks. Its return to No. 1 gives it 25 nonconsecutive chart-topping weeks, extending the Hot 100’s all-time record for total weeks at the summit. That number is the accumulated count across separate runs, not a claim that the song has spent 25 straight weeks at No. 1.

Billboard reported 20 million official U.S. streams, about 58.6 million radio audience impressions, and 4,000 sales for “Choosin’ Texas” during October 16–22. Those are component figures, not interchangeable measures: audience impressions estimate radio reach, whereas streams reflect eligible on-demand listening or viewing activity.

“Housewife” and “Lies” make top-four debuts

McRae’s “Housewife” opens at No. 2, giving the week a major new entry immediately behind Langley. Bryan’s collaboration with Del Rey, “Lies,” starts at No. 4. A debut is distinct from a large position gain: a track with no eligible rank in the preceding chart cannot correctly be described as having climbed a specific number of places.

The two new entries also change the shape of the upper chart. A top 10 that previously had four familiar titles occupying Nos. 1–4 now has three newly prominent releases among the top four, counting the sharply rising “Expectations.” That change helps explain why several previously high-ranking tracks move downward even without evidence that each suffered a comparable decline in audience activity.

“Expectations” climbs 60 places following the remix

Rodrigo’s “Expectations” jumps from No. 63 to No. 3 after a new version featuring Chappell Roan arrived. Billboard treats the qualifying versions as the same charting song, which is why the entry is presented as a 60-place rise instead of a brand-new chart debut. The distinction is essential when comparing performance from one week to the next.

Rodrigo consequently has two tracks in the current top 10: “Expectations” at No. 3 and “Stupid Song” at No. 10. That does not mean all of her catalog moved upward: “Stupid Song” slipped from No. 8. The positions illustrate why an artist-wide summary can hide different outcomes for individual songs.

“Patient Zero” falls from No. 1 to No. 5

After three weeks on top, Swift’s “Patient Zero” moves down four positions. Stella Lefty’s “Boston” drops from No. 3 to No. 6, Morgan Wallen’s “Been By Now” from No. 4 to No. 7, and Tame Impala and JENNIE’s “Dracula” from No. 5 to No. 8. ADELA’s “Nicole Kidman” falls from No. 6 to No. 9. Each position change is a verified ranking comparison; none by itself proves a corresponding decline in streams, sales, or radio airplay.

How Billboard builds the Hot 100

The Hot 100 measures the popularity of songs across genres in the United States. Billboard combines eligible official audio and video streaming activity, radio airplay audience impressions, and sales tracked by data provider Luminate. Eligible sales cover physical singles and digital tracks bought through full-service music retailers. Billboard says direct-to-consumer digital singles sales are excluded under the current methodology.

Luminate reviews and authenticates the incoming data and, working with Billboard, excludes submissions considered suspicious or unverifiable before the final weekly rankings are calculated. A rank is therefore a composite position relative to other songs, not a direct measure of a single platform’s streams or a universal worldwide ranking. Billboard’s chart announcement and methodology explanation provide the authoritative context for this week.

The chart date and the reporting dates serve different purposes. October 31 is the date printed on the weekly chart; October 26 is the date of Billboard’s advance report; October 27 is the scheduled full-chart update; and October 16–22 is the underlying tracking period. None of these represents a concert start time or a live event requiring a local-time conversion.

A practical example: building a weekly music briefing

Illustrative scenario only: Imagine a U.S. college radio editor preparing a Monday-to-Wednesday music briefing for listeners. This fictional editor has a saved copy of the October 24 rankings and wants to explain what changed after the October 26 announcement. The example is not an account of a real station, a tested playlist, or any audience results.

The editor first labels the new data “Hot 100 dated October 31,” so listeners do not mistake the October 26 publication for a different chart week. Next, they compare identical song titles or official combined-version entries across the two dated charts. That reveals the 60-place rise for “Expectations,” the debut status of “Housewife” and “Lies,” and the return of “Choosin’ Texas” to No. 1.

For a short on-air rundown, the editor might lead with the returning No. 1, follow with the highest new entry at No. 2, and explain the remix-driven jump to No. 3. Crucially, the editor would avoid saying that “Expectations” sold 60 times more or that “Patient Zero” lost four percent of its audience: neither conclusion follows from rank changes. If the editor wanted to make those claims, they would need verified component data for each week.

What to check when the next Hot 100 arrives

• The correct chart date: compare the October 31 list with the following dated list, not an unrelated news-publication date.
• Song continuity: distinguish a new entry or reentry from an existing song credited to an eligible remix or alternate version.
• Position versus performance: a rise or fall is relative to other songs and does not establish a precise change in listening.
• Source and territory: use the U.S. Hot 100 rather than the Billboard Global 200 or Canadian Hot 100; those charts have different markets and methods.

Bottom line for the October 26 reporting period: the October 31-dated Billboard Hot 100 is led by Langley’s record-extending return, McRae’s No. 2 debut, Rodrigo and Roan’s 60-place climb, and Bryan and Del Rey’s No. 4 debut. The official dated chart remains the reference for all 100 positions and for any subsequent corrections.