How to Find Trending Songs This Week
Play a chart that updates daily. On iPhone, Apple Music's Top 100, Spotify's Top 50 (or Today's Top Hits), and YouTube's Daily Top Music Videos answer what is trending this week. A song on all three is a real hit. Billboard's Hot 100 is about a week behind. TikTok sounds often lead those charts, but a 15-second clip is not the full song.
The short answer
To find the songs trending this week, play a chart that updates at least daily and start at the top. On an iPhone, three public lists cover the question:
- Apple Music Top 100, in the Apple Music app under Charts. It counts Apple Music streams.
- Spotify's chart for your country (Top 50), or the Today's Top Hits playlist. It counts Spotify streams. A free Spotify account can open it, with that app's usual free-tier limits.
- YouTube's music charts: Daily Top Music Videos for the last day, and a weekly Top 100. They count YouTube plays, which often move a few days ahead of the paid services.
A song near the top of all three in the same week is a real hit. A song on only one list is a platform moment. Billboard's Hot 100 is still the industry chart, and it runs about a week behind because it mixes sales, streams, and radio.
TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts often lead those charts by days. Treat the sound as a lead, then play the full track. A 15-second hook is not proof the rest of the song holds up.
These lists are not one catalog. A song can lead on TikTok or YouTube and still be missing, or ranked very differently, on Spotify or Apple Music.
Checking each chart on iPhone
Apple Music. Open the app and look for Charts, then Top Songs. You can read the list without a subscription. Playing the full song needs Apple Music or a purchase.
Spotify. Open Search and look for Charts, or play Today's Top Hits. Free accounts can start songs until the daily on-demand limit, then skips tighten. The walls are spelled out in Spotify Free limits on iPhone.
YouTube. YouTube publishes Daily Top Music Videos and a weekly Top 100 at charts.youtube.com. The same charts show up as playlists in the YouTube app. YouTube Music Free will play a song, then stop when the phone locks unless you pay. See YouTube Music Free limits on iPhone.
Short video, early in the week. When the same sound keeps appearing on TikTok or Reels, open the sound page, note the title, and search that title in a music app to hear the whole song. Cross-check the streaming charts mid-week.
Friday new releases. Most new music goes out on Friday. Check New Music Friday (Spotify) and New Music Daily (Apple Music), plus whatever new-release row your app shows. The first two days decide a lot of the following week's chart. A song that lands on more than one of those editorial lists is the one to watch.
Billboard, if you need the official combined chart. Read the Hot 100. Do not use it for what people are playing today.
For the bigger picture of where the season is heading, see the sounds shaping the songs of summer 2026.
Hear the chart in one free app
If you want the YouTube chart and the song in the same place, Trending Music puts free charts and discovery on the Search tab: Trending Songs, New Releases, and Charts, including Charts by Country (61 countries plus Global). Open a country and play Daily Top Music Videos or the weekly Top 100 in the app. Those charts are YouTube's, not Billboard, and not a copy of the Spotify or Apple Music catalogs. The free tier shows ads.
Steps for another country's list: top songs in any country on iPhone. What the app is, and what it does not replace: the app, in one place.