R.E.M.'s 1987 classic debuts on the Hot Rock Songs & Digital Song Sales charts. As Billboard reported last week, the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted many songs whose lyrics tie in to the coronavirus to surge in sales and streams, from R.E.M.'s "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" to Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" and more.
The trend has continued in the latest tracking week (ending March 19), with some titles scaling Billboard charts decades after their original releases.
R.E.M.'s "World," which hit No. 16 on Mainstream Rock Songs in 1987, and No. 69 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988, debuts on the all-genre Digital Song Sales chart at No.