Alabama-born and now Nashville-based singer-songwriter Brittany Howard takes over the top spot this week with her soulful and funky kiss-off single “What Now”, displacing Green Day‘s “The American Dream Is Killing Me” after it’s three week run at #1. The astonishingly talented artist with a powerhouse voice was front woman of rock band Alabama Shakes, but went solo in 2018 when the band went on hiatus. She released her debut album Jaime in 2019 to widespread acclaim, and was nominated for numerous music awards, winning a Grammy in 2021 for Best Rock Song for her single “Stay High”. “What Now” is the lead and title single from her forthcoming second album of the same name, scheduled for release on February 2. About the single, Howard explains “It was written during the pandemic when the question “What now” was on all of our minds.  I think it is a feeling that has continued to the present moment in the world we live in. It is also the title of the new album and I think when you hear it you will understand why I landed on that title…but more on that later.” The dark video was directed by Danilo Parra, produced by Adam Braun and filmed by Benjamin Whatley. In addition to Howard, the video features Mohnsta Simmons, Anaelle Rabotoson, Laquane Barnes and Andre Lambert.

In other notable chart developments, Georgia singer-songwriter Teddy Swims is the biggest upward mover for the third consecutive week, as his bluesy and blistering “Lose Control” leaps nine spots to #3. Moving into fourth place is “Attraction”, the sweet song of budding love by talented young British trio Wild Horse, followed by “My Love Mine All Mine” by Mitski at #5. Entering the top 10 after a long slow climb are the ethereal “All I Die For” by Canadian indie rock band SWiiMS and “Modern Girl” by pop-rock band Bleachers.

Making their debut this week are two songs that couldn’t be more different from each other: Entering at #29 is “Lovin On Me” by the enormously popular rapper Jack Harlow, who’s racked up a stream of hits over the past five years, some of them collaborations with other artists. The song is already a massive hit, currently returning to the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 after all the Christmas songs that dominated the chart in December dropped off. I’m not generally a fan of his type of music, but with its infectious groove, “Lovin On You” has finally grown on me. Entering at #30 is the lovely “Your World Now” by fellow blogger, musician and all-around Renaissance man Marc Schuster. About the song, he explains: “On the surface, it sounds like it could be a wistful breakup song in the style of Jens Lekman or Belle & Sebastian, but it isn’t really influenced by any personal experiences beyond the broad strokes of realizing that the world is changing and that I’m okay with handing the reins over to people who will do things differently than I would.” I think it’s one of Schuster’s best songs yet, and his vocals have never sounded better.

1. WHAT NOW – Brittany Howard (2)
2. THE AMERICAN DREAM IS KILLING ME – Green Day (1)
3. LOSE CONTROL – Teddy Swims (12)
4. ATTRACTION – Wild Horse (5)
5. MY LOVE MINE ALL MINE – Mitski (6)
6. COOL ABOUT IT – boygenius (8)
7. RUN AWAY WITH ME – Cold War Kids (7)
8. DARLING – Western Jaguar (3)
9. ALL I DIE FOR – SWiiMS (13)
10. MODERN GIRL – Bleachers (14)
11. NOW AND THEN – The Beatles (4)
12. MORE THAN A LOVE SONG – Black Pumas (9)
13. HONEY (ARE U COMING?) – Måneskin (10)
14. ONE MORE TIME – blink-182 (11)
15. ATOMIC CITY – U2 (15)
16. LOVING YOU – Cannons (17) 22nd week on chart
17. HOW DID YOU GET HERE? – Antony Szmierek (19)
18. HOUDINI – Dua Lipa (20)
19. BLAME BRETT – The Beaches (21)
20. NOTHING MATTERS – The Last Dinner Party (23)
21. PRETTY VICIOUS – The Struts (22)
22. WINTER COWBOY – Frank Joshua (24)
23. NORTHERN ATTITUDE – Noah Kahan feat. Hozier (25)
24. WILD – Brian Lambert, Harmoni Kelley & Marc Schuster (16)
25. THE TOWER – Future Islands (27)
26. ALIVE! – Bakar (28)
27. MOTHER NATURE – MGMT (29)
28. NICE TO KNOW YOU – lovelytheband (30)
29. LOVIN ON ME – Jack Harlow (N)
30. YOUR WORLD NOW – Marc Schuster (N)