Justin Bieber tops global chart

A 2012 pop song is suddenly the biggest song in the world again. That’s the actual story here — not a niche fan chart, but Billboard’s global rankings, where Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj’s “Beauty and a Beat” just hit No. 1 on the Global 200. The reason matters, because it says a lot about how music works now. Old songs do not just fade into the background anymore. They can come roaring back if the right trigger hits. (billboard.com) ### What chart did it actually top? The big one is the Billboard Global 200, which tracks worldwide consumption across streaming and sales. “Beauty and a Beat” rose one spot to No. 1 there for the May 9-dated chart, after already spending a second week at N(billboard.com)ure. (billboard.com) ### Why this song? The short answer is Coachella. Bieber performed at the festival on April 11 and April 18, and “Beauty and a Beat” was part of the April 11 set. That seems to have kicked off a broad replay cycle — fans revisiting the song itself, then rev(billboard.com)p almost perfectly with the chart jump. (billboard.com) ### How big was the jump? Pretty huge. On the Global Excl. U.S. chart, the song surged 93% to 65.4 million streams in the April 17-23 tracking week. Then on the full Global 200, it reached No. 1 with 69.6 million streams and 13,000 sold in the April 24-30 w(billboard.com)enough momentum to take the overall crown. (billboard.com) ### Is this normal for an old hit? Not really. That’s what makes this interesting. Billboard notes that “Beauty and a Beat” is only the second non-holiday song to top the Global 200 more than a decade after release. The other was Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hil(billboard.com) event. (billboard.com) ### Was this just one platform? No — and that’s the clearest sign the comeback was real. Kworb’s cross-platform snapshots showed “Beauty and a Beat” at No. 1 worldwide on Spotify and leading in multiple countries, while also ranking strongly across Apple Mu(billboard.com)i-country surge, not a one-app fluke. (kworb.net) ### Did Bieber’s catalog move too? Yes, and that may be the bigger signal. Billboard showed two more Bieber songs in the Global Excl. U.S. top 10 at the same time — “Daisies” at No. 6 and “Baby” at No. 7. That tells you listeners were not only replaying one nostalgic favorite. They were moving through eras of Bieber’(kworb.net)tivates a fan base at scale. (billboard.com) ### Why does Nicki Minaj matter here too? Because this was a shared chart event, not just a Bieber bump. Billboard says the song gave Minaj her first No. 1 on both the Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts. Bieber had topped those rankings before with “Stay” a(billboard.com) chart outcome. (billboard.com) ### So what’s the real takeaway? Catalog has become liquid again. A performance clip, a festival moment, or a viral rediscovery can send an old song back into direct competition with brand-new releases. “Beauty and a Beat” did not just trend for a day. It c(billboard.com)and fans will remember. (billboard.com)