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“Kill Bill” Becomes SZA’s First No. 1 on Hot 100, Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj’s “Princess Diana” Remix Lands at No. 4
The Weeknd Ties Michael Jackson’s “Billboard” Record
The Weeknd has tied Michael Jackson’s Billboard record for having multiple No. 1 hits that stem from three separate albums. According to the outlet, Michael Jackson earned multiple No. 1 hits on his albums Off The Wall in 1979, Thriller in 1982, and Bad in 1987. The Weeknd has now achieved multiple No. 1 hits on 2015’s Beauty Behind The Madness, 2016’s Starboy, and 2020’s After Hours.
The Weeknd earned his seventh No. 1 on Monday after he and Ariana Grande’s duet “Die For You” jumped to the top of the Hot 100 chart. The song is featured on The Weeknd’s album, Starboy. The Weeknd reacted to achieving the feat on Instagram, Tuesday, sharing the news with a star emoji in the caption.
The Weeknd & Ariana Grande
The new feat is far from the first historic Billboard accomplishment The Weeknd has achieved. With the release of Dawn FM, he earned 24 songs on the Global 200 chart, six of them coming from the album. Those included “Sacrifice,” “Take My Breath,” “Gasoline,” “Out of Time,” as well as “Is There Someone Else?” and “How Do I Make You Love Me?.” It was the first time a male artist had ever done so. Kanye West and Drake have both come close, however, with 23 and 22, respectively. The Weeknd has also broken the all-time record for most monthly global listeners among all artists on Spotify.
The Weeknd was even compared to Michael Jackson by Timbaland in 2022, following the release of Dawn FM. “Yo… this album different y’all. This shit right here, this on some Thriller shit,” the iconic producer said at the time on social media. “Trust me when I tell you. And the way he dropped this shit, yo. Congrats, this shit is amazing.” The video went viral with people arguing both sides of the opinion.
The Weeknd’s Response
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Karol G’s ‘Mañana Será Bonito’ Is First Spanish-Language Album by Female Artist to Hit No. 1 on Billboard 200
SZA’s “SOS” Spends 10th Week At No.1 On Billboard 200
SZA’s second studio album, SOS, has reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for the 10th non-consecutive week. Adele was the last female singer to do so with her 2015 album, 25. Before that, the last R&B album to spend its first seven weeks atop the chart was Whitney Houston’s Whitney.
SZA dropped the album back on December 9, 2022. It debuted immediately on the Billboard 200 with 318,000 equivalent album units sold. The album features appearances from Don Toliver, Phoebe Bridgers, Travis Scott, and the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Behind the scenes, she also worked with Babyface, Jeff Bhasker, Benny Blanco, Rodney Jerkins, DJ Dahi, Gabriel Hardeman, Ant Clemons, and Lizzo. It was promoted with by three singles, “Good Days”, “I Hate U”, and “Shirt.”
SZA At The Grammys
The feat comes after SZA was named Billboard’s Woman Of The Year, earlier this month. “Right now, I just have extreme gratitude because I swear to God, I never thought I’d be No. 1 for even a week, let alone seven,” she said at the time.
“SZA is a force,” Terrence “Punch” Henderson told Billboard. “To go seven consecutive weeks at No. 1 is legendary. She’s a true generational artist, a cultural reset, if you will. For her album SOS to blend so many different genres together in a cohesive frame shows her genius and versatility. Then you have the voice, the words, the pain, the growth, the relapsing, the delivery, the stories, etc. … a true masterpiece.”
Fans of SOS will be able to catch SZA on tour throughout the spring as she recently embarked on The SOS Tour. She’ll be making stops in Washington, D.C., Boston, New York City, Atlanta, and more through the end of March. In total, SZA will be making 19 stops across the United States and Canada. Omar Apollo serves as the opener. “Last night was the first night of my very first arena tour ever,” she wrote on Instagram after her show in Columbus last week. “I don’t have words. But thank you. So much.”
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Ice Spice Enters Top 10 For 1st Time With PinkPantheress Collab
Ice Spice has cracked the Billboard Global 200’s top 10 for the first time with her PinkPantheress collaboration, “Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2.” For this week’s rankings, the track jumped from No. 15 to No. 4. The remix to PinkPantheress’ hit released on February 3. Fans streamed the song 60.1 million times from February 10-16. PinkPantheress released the original version of the track back in November. For Billboard charting purposes, both songs factor into one listing.
Ice Spice first found mainstream success with the popularity of her 2022 hit single, “Munch (Feelin’ U).” The track quickly took off after its release in August and led to the Bronx rapper getting a cosign from Drake. Ice Spice dropped her debut EP, Like..?, on January 20, 2023 through 10K Projects and Capitol Records. She did minimal promotion for the project, having only announced it hours prior.
Ice Spice In NYC
Ice Spice discussed the EP, which features “Bikini Bottom” and “Gangsta Boo” during an interview with Rap Caviar. Ice Spice revealed, “I’m excited for this new music I’m about to put out. I’m about to put out an EP. … ‘Bikini Bottom’ is on there, and then there’s some that people haven’t heard. It’s about to be a vibe. Visuals coming with it, too. Yeah, a bunch of content around it. It’s lit.”
More recently in an interview with Ebro Darden for Apple Music 1, Ice Spice discussed working with Beyoncé on her Ivy Park line with Adidas. “You know she’s smart and professional,” she shared. “She went through for me proper channels and she did everything right. I really was, she’s so real. She’s such a boss. It’s a honor that Beyoncé picked me to be part of this campaign and s**t, but I can’t say too much on it yet. So, it’s going to be out soon though.” The collection was released earlier this month. Revisit Ice Spice and PinkPantheress’ hit song “Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2” below.
“Boy’s A Liar Pt. 2”
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SZA’s ‘SOS’ Returns to Top Spot on Billboard 200 Albums Chart
SZA Ties Whitney Houston’s Billboard Record
SZA’s newest album SOS tied Whitney Houston’s record for the longest-running R&B album at Billboard‘s No. 1 spot. Moreover, SOS just accomplished seven weeks atop their 200 album chart, which Houston did with her 1987 sophomore album, Whitney. While that album was the first R&B by a woman to reach the top spot, the new generation also pushed boundaries.
Furthermore, SOS is the longest-running No. 1 album by a woman since Adele’s 25 in 2016. Additionally, it’s the first album to spend at least seven weeks straight on the charts since Disney’s Encanto soundtrack in March of 2022. Moreover, the last R&B or hip-hop album to do so was Drake’s 2018 album Views, which spent 13 non-nonsecutive weeks at No. 1.
Overall, the TDE artist’s success is nothing short of astounding. For example, the new album garnered over 400 million streams for the biggest first-week album streams ever in R&B. Also, it’s the second-biggest streaming week of all time for a female artist. With dominant singles like “Kill Bill,” we’re sure that the numbers will keep stacking.
However, it’s not all the 33-year-old has to look forward to. Moreover, her first arena tour starts soon, kicking off in Columbus, Ohio in late February. Later, SZA’s scheduled for 17 shows in total, ending in March in Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, SZA also recently teased a collaboration with Miley Cyrus, who just dropped the much-anticipated single “Flowers.” Cyrus also shouted her out for her success, and said she’s looking forward to linking up. Given similar praise from the likes of Taylor Swift and many more, the “Gone Girl” star is dominating the industry. What’s more is that her song even got actress Vivica Fox to want to star in another Kill Bill.
MAJOR congrats to Miley !!! Excited for her album and to work together
— SZA (@sza) January 25, 2023
Still, what did you think of SZA and Whitney Houston having some of the longest-running No. 1 albums in R&B? Whatever the case, let us know in the comments down below. Also, as always, stay tuned to HNHH for the latest news on SZA, chart numbers, and amazing voices in R&B.