R&B icons Earth, Wind and Fire reach the top 10 of Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart for the first time in 28 years as their new single “You Want My Love,” featuring rising R&B talent Lucky Daye, improves 12-9 on the chart dated Sept. 18. The song ascends through a 47% boost in plays in the week ending Sept. 12, according to MRC Data, to become the ninth most-played song this week on monitored U.S. adult R&B-centered stations. The 47% gain, meanwhile, is the largest percentage point jump for any of the chart’s 30 songs.
“Love” returns the legendary group to the Adult R&B Airplay’s upper tier for the first time since 1993, when “Sunday Morning” peaked at No. 10 in October 1993, a few weeks after the chart’s launch. Thus, many of the group’s best-known hits, such as “September” or “Let’s Groove” pre-date the Adult R&B Airplay list.
For Lucky Daye, “Love” gives the singer his second top 10, following his debut release, “Roll Some Mo,” a No. 8 success in 2019.
The new single also shoots into the top 10 in just its fourth week on the list, only the fifth of 32 top 10 hits this year to do so in under a month. It joins two Silk Sonic singles, “Leave the Door Open” and “Skate,” which needed two and three weeks, respectively, and matches Tank’s “Can’t Let It Show” and D-Nice’s “No Plans for Love,” featuring Ne-Yo and Kent Jones.
Beyond Earth, Wind & Fire, “You Want My Love” features behind-the-scenes involvement from another R&B legend, Babyface, who has co-writer and co-producer credits. As a writer, Babyface nabs his second top 10 of the year, following “He Don’t Know Nothin Bout It,” his collaboration with Jam x Lewis. On the production side, Babyface wraps an eight-year break, since “Hurt You,” his duet with Toni Braxton, reached the top 10 in September 2013 on its way to four weeks at No. 1 beginning that December.
Elsewhere, “You Want My Love” darts 31-24 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, which measures audience totals across both adult-leaning and mainstream-oriented stations. There, the single picked up 48% in audience, to 4.9 million in the week ending Sept. 12. The move gives the group its second top 25 appearance, after “Sunday Morning” and its No. 20 best showing.
