Ariana Grande becomes the first artist to hold the #1, #2 and #3 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart simultaneously since the Beatles in 1964, as her new album thank u, next launches at #1 on the Billboard 200 albums tally.
Grande’s “7 Rings” rules the Hot 100 (dated Feb. 23) for a fourth week, while “Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored” debuts at #2 and former seven-week leader “thank u, next” rebounds from #7 to #3. All three songs are from the Thank U, Next album, released on Republic Records.
Grande is just the second act in the Hot 100’s 60-year history to monopolize the top three in a week. The Beatles earned the honor for five weeks in March and April 1964, even claiming the entire top five on the April 4, 1964-dated chart.
Let’s run down the top 10 of the Hot 100, which blends all-genre U.S. streaming, radio airplay and digital sales data. All charts will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Feb. 20).
“7 Rings” #1 again: Grande’s “7 Rings” spends a fourth week atop the Hot 100, encompassing its entire run on the chart. “Rings” leads the Streaming Songs chart for a fourth frame, with 63.5 million U.S. streams, up 10 percent, in the week ending Feb. 14, according to Nielsen Music. On Radio Songs, “Rings” rises 10-9, up 23 percent to 61.7 million audience impressions in the week ending Feb. 17, good for the Hot 100’s top Airplay Gainer award for a third week.
“Break Up” bows at #2: New thank u, next single “Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored” blasts onto the Hot 100 at #2 (marking Grande’s 13th top 10). It launches at #2 on both Streaming Songs (59.2 million) and Digital Song Sales (36,000 sold), while drawing 13.4 million airplay impressions.
“Next” up, at #3: Meanwhile, the thank u, next title track and lead single rebounds 7-3 on the Hot 100, after spending seven weeks at #1, beginning with its Nov. 17 debut at the summit. It’s powered most heavily by its 36.8 million U.S. streams, up 52 percent, as it surges 14-5 on Streaming Songs and claims the Hot 100’s top Streaming Gainer nod.
Ariana meets the Beatles: Grande is only the second act in the Hot 100’s history to rank at #1, #2 and #3 simultaneously and the first in nearly 55 years. The Beatles achieved the feat for five weeks in 1964, on March 14, 21 and 28 and April 4 and 25; on April 4, 1964, the group claimed the entire top five.
“7 Rings,” “Break Up,” and “Next” mark the first triple-up for an artist at #1, #2 and #3 on the Hot 100 since the Beatles held the same spots on April 25, 1964, with “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “Twist and Shout,” and “Do You Want to Know A Secret,” respectively. (Thus, the last time the honor was earned, the #1 song was about how “I don’t care too much for money; money can’t buy me love”; “7 Rings” finds Grande declaring “retail therapy my new addiction.”)
Between the Beatles’ and Grande’s tri-umphs, Drake came closest to the feat, placing at #1, #2, and #4 on the Hot 100 dated July 14, 2018, with “Nice For What,” “Nonstop,” and “God’s Plan,” respectively. The songs contributed to Drake’s record seven simultaneous Hot 100 top 10s, as his album Scorpiondebuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 the same week.
Pop’s resurgence: Meanwhile, Grande has been at the forefront of a turnaround for pop songs’ fortunes atop the Hot 100. On Sept. 22, 2018, Drake’s “In My Feelings” spent its 10th and final week at #1, wrapping a record 34-week streak of rap leaders (29 by Drake). Since then, pop songs have led for 20 of 22 weeks, thanks to Maroon 5’s “Girls Like You,” featuring Cardi B (seven weeks at #1); Grande’s “Next” (seven); Halsey’s “Without Me” (two); and Grande’s “7 Rings” (four).
In that 22-week span, two rap titles each spent a week at #1: Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode” and Post Malone and Swae Lee’s “Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse).”
Women at #1 in 2019: Plus, women have now spent seven weeks at #1 on the Hot 100 on charts dated 2019, starting with the seventh and last week on top on for Grande’s “Next” on the chart dated Jan. 5 (followed by two weeks in charge for “Without Me” and four for “7 Rings”). Thus, as of late February, women in lead roles have almost matched last year’s total time atop the Hot 100, as women as credited leads tallied eight weeks at #1 in all of 2018 (including the first six weeks on top for “Next”; Camila Cabello and Cardi B also ruled for a week each as leads in 2018).
In 2017, women as lead acts spent six weeks at #1 on the Hot 100, three each by Taylor Swift (“Look What You Made Me Do”) and Cardi B (“Bodak Yellow [Money Moves]”). The 2018 and 2017 sums pale in comparison to 2016, when lead women logged 16 weeks at #1, by Adele, Rihanna and Sia.
A version of this article originally appeared at Billboard.
