Olivia Rodrigo Nearly Beat Ariana Grande’s Record — But Drake Stops Her

BusinessHollywood & EntertainmentOlivia Rodrigo Nearly Beat Ariana Grande’s Record — But Drake Stops HerByHugh McIntyre,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Hugh McIntyre covers music, with a focus on the global charts.Follow AuthorJun 07, 2026, 09:15am EDTOlivia Rodrigo's new single "The Cure" debuts at No. 2 on the Billboard Global 200. If Drake hadn't stopped her, she'd have tied Bad Bunny's No. 1s record. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 15: Olivia Rodrigo attends the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Mark Guiducci at Los Angeles County Museum of Art on March 15, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Cindy Ord/VF26/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)Getty Images for Vanity FairThe release of Olivia Rodrigo's third album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, is only a little less than one week away. The pop-rock superstar will drop the project on June 12, and it seems likely that "The Cure," the second single from the full-length, will be the final song shared before fans get to hear the collection in its entirety. As is always the case whenever Rodrigo drops a single, "The Cure" launches inside the top 10 on a variety of Billboard charts. The track is an immediate win all around the world, but it is not quite the biggest song on the planet. Rodrigo is blocked from the highest space on the most competitive tally published by Billboard, and if she had ruled, she’d have broken out of a tie with a handful of powerhouses and matched one of the most successful pop singers of the past two decades.Olivia Rodrigo Debuts "The Cure" – But Not at No. 1Rodrigo's "The Cure" debuts at No. 2 on the Billboard Global 200. That means it is the second-most-consumed song on planet Earth right now, with both sales and streams helping it start in that lofty position. Only Drake keeps Rodrigo from earning another career champion. His single &q...