Ariana Grande Claims Nos. 1, 2 & 3 on Billboard Hot 100, Is First Act to Achieve the Feat Since The Beatles in 1964
‘7 Rings’ reigns for a fourth week, ‘Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored’ debuts at No. 2 and ‘Thank U, Next’ rebounds to No. 3.
Ariana Grande becomes the first artist to hold the Nos. 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 No. 1 on the Billboard 200albums 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 No. 2 and former seven-week leader “Thank U, Next” rebounds from No. 7 to No. 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” No. 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 No. 2: New Thank U, Next single “Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored” blasts onto the Hot 100 at No. 2 (marking Grande’s 13th top 10). It launches at No. 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 No. 3: Meanwhile, the Thank U, Next title track and lead single rebounds 7-3 on the Hot 100, after spending seven weeks at No. 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 Nos. 1, 2 and 3 simultaneously and the first in nearly 55 years. The Beatles achieved the feat for five weeks in 1964, that 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 Nos. 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 No. 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
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 No. 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 No. 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 No. 1: Travis Scott‘s “Sicko Mode” and Post Malone and Swae Lee‘s “Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse).”
Women at No. 1 in 2019: Plus, women have now spent seven weeks at No. 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 No. 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 No. 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 No. 1, by Adele, Rihanna
Rounding out the Hot 100’s top five, Halsey’s “Without Me” dips 3-4 and Post Malone and Swae Lee’s “Sunflower” slides 4-5, as the latter track tops the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts for a seventh week each.
Marshmello and Bastille‘s “Happier” falls to No. 6 on the Hot 100 from its No. 2 high, a week after surging following Marshmello’s groundbreaking set inside the Fortnite video game Feb. 2. The collaboration leads Hot Dance/Electronic Songs for a 22nd week.
Scott’s “Sicko Mode” slips 5-7 on the Hot 100 and Panic! at the Disco‘s “High Hopes” descends 6-8 after reaching No. 4. The latter song leads Hot Rock Songs for a 16th week and Radio Songs for a 13th frame (110.4 million, down 4 percent).
Capping the Hot 100’s top 10, Post Malone’s “Wow.” keeps at No. 9, after hitting No. 8, and Benny Blanco, Halsey and Khalid‘s “Eastside” returns to the region (11-10), after reaching No. 9.
Find out more Hot 100 news on Billboard.com this week, and, for all chart news, you can listen (and subscribe) to Billboard‘s Chart Beat Podcast and Pop Shop Podcast and follow @billboard and @billboardcharts. And again, be sure to visit Billboard.com tomorrow (Feb. 20), when all charts, including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh.
Source: billboard.com