Metallica and Shawn Mendes bow at Nos. 2 and 3.

Lady Gaga’s “Perfect Illusion” roars to a No. 1 debut on the Billboard + Twitter Top Tracks chart (dated Sept. 3) -- weeks before the song is due. She leads a debut-filled top three, as Metallica’s “Hardwired” and Shawn Mendes’ “Mercy” enter at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively.

Lady Gaga Announces New Single 'Perfect Illusion'

Gaga announced the “Perfect Illusion” title via Twitter on Aug. 17, adding that the song will premiere in September. The mere news of “Illusion” powered the track to No. 1 on the real-time Billboard + Twitter Trending 140 chart for more than eight hours in the first day after the announcement. “Illusion” is Gaga’s first leader among eight charted titles on the Top Tracks survey, which began in June 2014. It passes her previous high of No. 4 for “Til It Happens to You” last October.

Directly below Gaga, Metallica bursts in at No. 2 with “Hardwired” after its surprise Aug. 18 release. The cut previews the band’s forthcoming 10th studio album, Hardwired…to Self-Destruct, due Nov. 18. “Hardwired” also crashes in at No. 18 on the Mainstream Rock Songs airplay chart after less than three days of airplay in the track week ending Aug. 21. It’s the 32nd charting song for the band on Mainstream Rock Songs, stretching back to the debut of “One” on the March 11, 1989-dated list.

Shawn Mendes closes out the top three on Billboard + Twitter Top Tracks as “Mercy” opens at No. 3. The artist teased the track in a social media countdown during the tracking week, and previewed several snippets ahead of its Aug. 18 release. “Mercy” is the third cut from Mendes’ upcoming album, Illuminate, to debut in the top five on the Top Tracks chart. Lead single “Treat You Better” began at No. 1 (and rebounds 12-8), while “Ruin” started at No. 3. Illuminate will be released Sept. 23.