Taylor Swift’s “august” peaked at number five on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.
The song reached that position when Folklore debuted in 2020. It also remained on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart for 20 weeks, showing that its audience extended beyond Swift’s usual pop classification.
The track’s chart profile is notable because “august” was not released as a conventional lead single. Its strong performance came from the album’s enormous debut, Swift’s fan base, and the song’s critical response.
The Hot Rock & Alternative Songs result is distinct from its Billboard Hot 100 debut at number 23. Those charts measure different categories and should not be treated as interchangeable. The number five result belongs specifically to the genre chart.