Rihanna Is The Only 2000s Artist In The ‘Billboard’ Greatest Of All Time Hot 100 Artists Chart Top 10

Although it’s been a few years since since Rihanna dropped a new single, don’t forget that she’s one of the biggest artists ever in terms of chart performance. Billboard has actually confirmed that: On their new Greatest Of All-Time Hot 100 Artists chart, Rihanna finds herself in the top 10.

The list is as follows:

  1. The Beatles
  2. Madonna
  3. Elton John
  4. Elvis Presley
  5. Mariah Carey
  6. Stevie Wonder
  7. Janet Jackson
  8. Michael Jackson
  9. Whitney Houston
  10. Rihanna

Of those, Rihanna is the only artist whose first single — 2005’s “Pon De Replay” — was released in the 2000s. Billboard notes that Drake was really close to also making the top 10, as he ranks No. 11 (compared to No. 22 on the 2018 chart). Also making the top 100 list are Taylor Swift (No. 21), Maroon 5 (24), Bruno Mars (29), and Justin Bieber (38). Additionally, a handful of artists who made their Hot 100 debut in the 2010s are also appearing on the chart for the first time: The Weeknd (No. 43), Post Malone (77), Ariana Grande (78), and Ed Sheeran (87).

As for how this chart was put together, Billboard notes, “Billboard‘s Greatest Of All-Time Hot 100 Songs and Artists rankings are based on weekly performance on the Hot 100 (from its inception on Aug. 4, 1958, through Nov. 6, 2021). Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at lower spots earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted differently to account for chart turnover rates during various periods. Artists are ranked based on a formula blending performance, as outlined above, of all their Hot 100 chart entries.”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ Is Now The ‘No. 1 Song Of All Time’ According To ‘Billboard’

It has felt like at least once every couple months or so, there was news about some chart record that The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” broke or set. The latest of those came in August, when the single officially became the longest-charting song in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Now, unsurprisingly, there’s more chart news for “Blinding Lights”: Billboard has declared that the single is the No. 1 song of all time, as it is now on top of the Billboard Greatest Songs Of All Time Hot 100 Chart. It dethroned the previous chart-topper, Chubby Checker’s 1960 hit “The Twist.”

Billboard notes, “[The chart] factors in total weeks on the chart as well as exact chart positions, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 100 earning the least. (Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted differently to account for chart turnover rates during various periods.)”

The Weeknd told Billboard, “I don’t think [the success of ‘Blinding Lights’] has hit me yet. I try not to dwell on it too much. I just count my blessings, and I’m just grateful.”

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Hot 100 in 2018, Billboard unveiled the full Greatest Songs of All Time Hot 100 Chart. At the time, the top ten featured, from No. 1 to No. 10, “The Twist” by Chubby Checker, “Smooth” by Santana featuring Rob Thomas, “Mack The Knife” by Bobby Darin, “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars, “How Do I Live” by Leann Rimes, “Party Rock Anthem” by LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock, “I Gotta Feeling” by Black Eyed Peas, “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix) by Los Del Rio, “Shape Of You” by Ed Sheeran, and “Physical” by Olivia Newton-John.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Drake’s ‘Certified Lover Boy’ Earns Its Fifth Overall Week At No. 1

Drake’s sixth album Certified Lover Boy has spent the second-most weeks at No. 1 in 2021. It trails Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album, as that project held on to the top spot for ten consecutive weeks. While Drake’s reign isn’t that impressive, it’s still noteworthy in its own right. The rapper has already collected four non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 which began with 631,000 units sold in its first week on the chart, the largest amount for any album released in 2021. Now, more than a month later, Certified Lover Boy is still holding on to the throne on the Billboard 200.

A week after Young Thug earned the second No. 1 album of his career with Punk, an album Drake appears on, Certified Lover Boy reclaimed the top spot on the Billboard 200 dated November 6. It took the No. 1 spot thanks to 74,000 units sold, a number comprised of 73,000 streaming equivalent album units while pure album sales accounted for less than 1,000 units. With its fifth week at No. 1, Certified Lover Boy ties Drake’s 2018 album Scorpion for the second-most weeks spent atop the charts. Both albums fall behind his 2016 effort Views, which posted 13 weeks at No. 1.

Other highlights on the chart this week include Moneybagg Yo’s A Gangsta’s Pain at No. 6, thanks to its newly-released deluxe reissue, and Lana Del Rey’s Blue Bannisters, which checks in at No. 8 to give Del Rey the eighth top-10 album of her career.

Revisit our review of Certified Lover Boy here.

Lil Nas X And Jack Harlow Are Pumped About ‘Industry Baby’ Finally Reaching No. 1 On The Hot 100 Chart

Lil Nas X released his Jack Harlow-featuring single “Industry Baby” back in July 23, but it was held back from having a No. 1 debut on the Billboard Hot 100 chart: It made its first chart appearance at No. 2 on the August 7 tally, the same week that BTS’ “Butter” became the longest-running No. 1 song of the year. Now, well over a month after its chart debut, “Industry Baby” is finally on top, as it’s No. 1 on the new Hot 100 dated October 23.

The song is Nas’ third chart-topper, after “Old Town Road” and “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).” Meanwhile, it’s Harlow’s first No. 1, as his previous peak was at No. 2 with “Whats Poppin” and pre-No. 1 “Industry Baby.”

Both rappers were over the moon about the achievement. Nas wrote on Twitter, “IT TOOK A FEW MONTHS BUT WE HERE! THANK U EVERYBODY! INDUSTRY BABY IS THE NUMBER 1 SONG IN THE WORLD! LESSSSSGOOOOOO!” Harlow also wrote, “My first number one… I’d be lying if I said I didn’t see this coming while I was writing my verse. This song is something I’m gonna be proud to be a part of for the rest of my life. Thank you for having me @LilNasX.”

This song is also a big one for Ye (the artist known until recently as Kanye West), as it’s his fifth No. 1 song as a producer. It was a good week for Ed Sheeran, too, as “Bad Habits” (No. 4) and “Shivers” (No. 10) are both in the top 10. This is the second time he has had two tracks simultaneously in the top 10, the previous time coming in January 2017 when “Shape Of You” and “Castle On The Hill” charted at Nos. 1 and 6, respectively.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Drake’s ‘Certified Lover Boy’ Makes History By Having Nine Of The Top Ten Songs On The Hot 100 Chart

Drake’s new album Certified Lover Boy is a truly unprecedented commercial success. Over the weekend, it was revealed the album debuted at No. 1 with the biggest week of the year so far, and now the album is dominating the Billboard Hot 100 chart in ways the music world has never seen. The top ten spots of the chart were revealed today, and of those ten, nine of them are songs from Certified Lover Boy. Drake is now the first artist to ever have nine top-ten songs in the same week.

Debuting at No. 1 is Drake’s “Way 2 Sexy” featuring Future and Young Thug. After that is “Girls Want Girls” featuring Lil Baby at No. 2, “Fair Trade” featuring Travis Scott at No. 3, “Champagne Poetry” at No. 4, “Knife Talk” featuring 21 Savage and Project Pat at No. 5, “In The Bible” featuring Lil Durk and Giveon at No. 7, “Papi’s Home” at No. 8, “TSU” at No. 9, and “Love All” featuring Jay-Z at No. 1o. The only non-Drake song in this week’s top ten is The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber’s “Stay.” Overall, all 21 songs from Certified Lover Boy debut in the top 40 of this week’s chart.

This list of records that this sets is extensive, even beyond the aforementioned accolades. Certified Lover Boy has more top-ten songs than any album in history; Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Bruce Springsteen’s Born In The USA, Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814, and Drake’s own Scorpion all have seven top-ten songs on the Hot 100.

Furthermore, Drake and The Beatles are now the only two artists to ever dominate the entire top five spots of the chart. Drake’s total of five songs to debut at No. 1 ties Ariana Grande for the most ever. Drake has also extended his records for the most career top-ten songs (54), most top-40 hits (140), and total Hot 100 entries (258).

Two Songs From Kanye West’s ‘Donda’ Debut In The Top 10 Of The Hot 100 Chart

So far, Kanye West’s new album Donda is an undeniable success. The project debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, and its songs are also faring well on an individual basis. Billboard shared the top 10 spots of the Hot 100 chart dated September 11 today, and two of the songs come from Donda: “Hurricane,” which debuts at No. 6, and “Jail,” which comes in at No. 10. West now has 20 top-10 songs on the chart.

While “Hurricane” and “Jail” have guests on them, they aren’t credited as featured artists, so they do not appear on the chart; “Hurricane” includes contributions from The Weeknd and Lil Baby, while “Jail” has a verse from Jay-Z.

Elsewhere on the chart, BTS’ “Butter” returns to the No. 1 spot for a tenth week, making it just one of 40 songs to ever spend at least that long in the top spot. The song’s rise comes after the group released a new remix of it featuring Megan Thee Stallion, although that version of the song didn’t drive enough listening activity to give Megan a credit on the chart.

Meanwhile, Walker Hayes’ “Fancy Like” rises to No. 9 this week, making it just the second country song of the year to make the top 10, following Morgan Wallen’s “Wasted On You.”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

DaBaby Is No Longer Credited On Dua Lipa’s ‘Levitating’ On The Hot 100 Chart

“Levitating” has become one of Dua Lipa’s biggest hits, and that has been thanks in large part to the remix of the song that features DaBaby. Since he has been embroiled in controversy, though, the remix has started to lose its hold as the predominant version of the song (as opposed to the feature-less, Lipa-only version). In July, the remix started to get phased out of radio and prominent playlists. Earlier this month, the solo version of “Levitating” started to replace the remix on some Billboard charts.

Now, solo “Levitating” has replaced the remix on the chart: On this week’s Billboard Hot 100 dated September 4, “Levitating” sits at No. 6, and unlike last week, DaBaby is not credited on the song.

A similar thing happened in 2020 (although not based on similar motivations), when Nicki Minaj’s credit on Doja Cat’s “Say So” was removed from the charts. At the time, Billboard explained, “After two weeks of Minaj showing as a featured artist on ‘Say So’ on the Hot 100 and other charts that utilize the same methodology, only Doja Cat is now listed, as the original version, without Minaj, is now driving the majority of overall activity for the song; the change does not affect any of Minaj’s achievements on those charts the past two weeks, and she continues not to be credited on the song on any airplay charts, as the vast majority of the song’s airplay is still for the original version.”

Meanwhile, with 34 weeks in the top 10 of the Hot 100, “Levitating” is now the longest-running top-10 song by a female artist and the third longest-running ever, behind The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” (57 weeks) and Post Malone’s “Circles” (39).

Elsewhere on the chart, The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber’s “Stay” remains in the No. 1 spot for the fourth consecutive week.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Kid Laroi And Justin Bieber’s ‘Stay’ Is No. 1 On The Hot 100 Chart For The Third Week Straight

Rising star The Kid Laroi recently made history as the first Australian artist to go No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 40 years for his Justin Bieber collaboration “Stay.” Now continuing the streak, “Stay” remains at No. 1 for a third week in a row.

The Billboard Hot 100 chart dated August 28 was released Monday, showing a lot of familiar names. According to Billboard, “Stay” gained 51.3 million radio airplay impressions, 32.7 million US streams, and 14,400 downloads this week, up an impressive 14 percent from the week prior. While “Stay” continued to hover at No. 1, Ed Sheeran’s “Bad Habits” jumped from No. 3 to No. 2, switching places with Olivia Rodrigo’s “Good For U.”

This week also saw Lizzo’s “Rumors” make its chart debut this week. The Cardi B-featuring track landed at No. 4 on the Hot 100, earning the singer her third-ever top ten track, following “Truth Hurts” and “Good As Hell.” For Cardi, “Rumors” is her tenth top ten single, which includes five No. 1 tracks. “Rumors” debuted with 30.1 million radio impressions, 20.9 million streams, and 25,200 physical and digital sales.

Lizzo shared the news of her “Rumors” success on Twitter, writing, “I calmed down & I’m locked in.. AND MY RECORDS LIVE IN THE TOP TEN.” Continuing her celebration, Lizzo graced her Twitter followers with a photo of her butt as a thank-you to her fans.

Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ Is Now The Longest-Charting Song Of All Time

When last week’s Billboard Hot 100 chart was released, it was noted that The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” had tied Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive” for the most time spent on the chart, and it was therefore one week away from claiming the record outright. Sure enough, on the latest Hot 100 (dated August 21), “Blinding Lights” is on it for the 88th week and is now the longest-charting song in the history of the Hot 100. The song was released on November 29, 2019, and despite all the time that has passed between then and now, it’s still high up on the charts, at No. 18 this week.

Additionally, aside from the new feat, “Blinding Lights” also holds the record for most weeks spent in the top 5, top 10, top 20, and top 40 of the chart.

It was a good week on the chart for The Weeknd beyond that as well: His latest single, “Take My Breath,” makes its debut on the chart at No. 6, making it his 13th top-10 song on the chart.

Meanwhile, The Weeknd is gearing up for a new album, of which “Take My Breath” is the first look. He recently said of the album, “The music hit the studio like a Mack truck. The new project is packed with party records. Like real-deal, illuminated-white-tiles-on-the-floor party records. Quincy Jones meets Giorgio Moroder meets the best-night-of-your-f*cking-life party records.”

Biz Markie Pops Up On Multiple ‘Billboard’ Charts As Fans Revisit His Music After His Death

About ten days ago, rapper Biz Markie passed away at 57 years old. Although he hadn’t released a new album since 2003’s Weekend Warrior, Markie remained a beloved pop culture figure over the past few decades. After his passing, as tends to happen with deceased musicians, fans started revisiting his music, which led to some new Billboard chart appearances for Markie.

The rapper made his debut on the Comedy Albums chart this week with his 1994 compilation album Biz’s Baddest Beats, which is No. 2 on the chart dated July 31, behind Bo Burnham’s Inside (The Songs). Additionally, his iconic single “Just A Friend” (which appears on Biz’s Baddest Beats but was originally included on the 1989 album The Biz Never Sleeps) has re-entered this week’s Digital Song Sales chart at No. 18. That’s thanks to 5,000 song downloads, which is an increase of 2,991 percent from the previous week.

Markie representative Jenni Izumi previously confirmed his passing, saying, “It is with profound sadness that we announce, this evening, with his wife Tara by his side, hip hop pioneer Biz Markie peacefully passed away. We are grateful for the many calls and prayers of support that we have received during this difficult time. Biz created a legacy of artistry that will forever be celebrated by his industry peers and his beloved fans whose lives he was able to touch through music, spanning over 35 years. He leaves behind a wife, many family members and close friends who will miss his vibrant personality, constant jokes and frequent banter. We respectfully request privacy for his family as they mourn their loved one.”

Watch Markie’s video for “Just A Friend” below.