Doja Cat’s ‘Say So,’ Featuring Nicki Minaj, Tops Billboard Hot 100, Becoming the First No. 1 For Each

Plus, Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage,” featuring Beyoncé, rises to No. 2 and Drake ties Madonna for the most Hot 100 top 10s all-time.

Doja Cat’s “Say So,” featuring Nicki Minaj, leaps from No. 6 to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, marking each artist’s first leader on the list. The song surges to the top following the arrival of its remix with Minaj.

Notably, Minaj shatters the record for the longest wait for a first Hot 100 No. 1, by total career entries, as “Say So” is her 109th charted title on the tally.

Plus, Megan Thee Stallion‘s “Savage,” featuring Beyoncé, rises from No. 4 to No. 2 on the Hot 100, similarly sparked by Beyoncé having joined on a remix. (Both Minaj and Beyoncé now show on each respective title on the Hot 100 for the first time, following the first full tracking week for the remixes, which drove the majority of overall activity for both songs.)

Additionally, Drake debuts at No. 7 on the Hot 100 with “Pain 1993,” featuring Playboi Carti. Drake notches his milestone 38th top 10, tying Madonna for the most in the Hot 100’s 61-year history.

Let’s run down the top 10 of the newest Hot 100, which blends all-genre U.S. streaming, radio airplay and sales data. All charts (dated May 16) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (May 12).

“Say So,” released on Kemosabe/RCA Records, becomes the 1,100th No. 1 in the Hot 100’s history. Here’s a deeper look at its coronation.

No. 1 in sales, top 3 in airplay & sales: “Say So” vaults from No. 16 to No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales chart, up 966% to 66,000 downloads sold (a lower number than originally projected) in the week ending May 7, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.

Sparking its ascent, the Minaj remix was released at midnight ET May 1. Additionally, an official dance video for the song and a live clip premiered May 2 and 4, respectively.

Meanwhile, the song was on sale in a physical/digital combination offering during the tracking week. Consumers could purchase a vinyl single with a digital download; the download would be sent to consumers upon purchase, with the vinyl version due to arrive at a later date.

“Say So” rises 3-2 on the Radio Songs chart, up 6% to 96.2 million audience impressions in the week ending May 10, and bounds 10-4 on Streaming Songs, up 87% to 30.3 million U.S. streams in the week ending May 7. (The Hot 100’s sales and streaming tracking week runs Friday through Thursday, while the airplay tracking week covers Monday-Sunday.)

(Unlike on the Hot 100, where streaming and sales for the Minaj remix of “Say So” contributed to a majority of the title’s chart points in the tracking week, leading to Minaj being credited for the first time, approximately 90% of the song’s radio airplay was for the original version, so Minaj is not credited as an artist on any airplay rankings.)

Minaj’s record run to No. 1: While Doja Cat rules the Hot 100 with her third Hot 100 entry, Minaj leads with her 109th. That’s the longest that a Hot 100-topping artist has had to wait for a first No. 1, blasting past Justin Bieber, who notched his first with his 47th entry, “What Do You Mean?,” in 2015. (Of course, both Minaj and Bieber have tallied titles in an era in which album cuts, not just properly promoted singles, are eligible to hit the Hot 100, a rule not invoked until 1998, or 40 years after the chart originated. And, this stat covers only artists that have led the Hot 100; the cast of Fox’s Glee, with 207 appearances, for instance, has not earned any No. 1s.)

Minaj first appeared on the Hot 100 dated Feb. 20, 2010, as featured on Lil Wayne’s “Knockout.” Her 10-year and three-month journey to her first No. 1 marks the longest since … just last week, when Kid Cudi made his first trip to the top with “The Scotts” (billed as by The Scotts, Travis Scott and Kid Cudi), wrapping an odyssey of 11 years, three months and a week dating to his first appearance. (This week, “The Scotts” slides to No. 12 in its second frame.)

Minaj also adds her 18th Hot 100 top 10. She previously hit a No. 2 high with “Anaconda” in 2014. Her 109 entries are the most among women in the chart’s history, with “Say So” lifting her into a tie with Elvis Presley for the fourth-most among all acts (with the start of Presley’s career having predated the Hot 100’s inception).

Women rule: Doja Cat (born Amalaratna Zandile Dlamini in Los Angeles) and Minaj combine for the first Hot 100 No. 1 credited to two women in nearly six years, since Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy,” featuring Charli XCX, for seven weeks in June-July 2014.

Only six songs by solo women teaming up have topped the Hot 100. Here’s an updated list:

Title, Artists, Weeks at No. 1, Date Reached No. 1
“Say So,” Doja Cat feat. Nicki Minaj, one (to date), May 16, 2020
“Fancy,” Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX, seven, June 7, 2014
“S&M,” Rihanna feat. Britney Spears, one week, April 30, 2011
“Lady Marmalade,” Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya & P!nk, five, June 2, 2001
“The Boy Is Mine,” Brandy & Monica, 13, June 6, 1998
“No More Tears (Enough Is Enough),” Barbra Streisand & Donna Summer, two, Nov. 24, 1979

No. 1 hip-hop, R&B: “Say So” currently hits No. 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and on Hot R&B Songs charts. Both rankings employ the same multi-metric formula as the Hot 100. Doja Cat collects her first No. 1 on each chart and Minaj earns her fifth and first, respectively.

On top at pop: “Say So” also reaches No. 1 on the Pop Songs radio airplay chart, which ranks the most-played songs each week on a panel of 167 mainstream top 40 stations. Doja Cat achieves her first Pop Songs No. 1, in her second chart visit. (Again, as noted above, Minaj is not credited as an artist on “Say So” on Pop Songs.)

Purr-fection: Fur-ther, thanks to Doja Cat, a cat-monikered artist leads the Hot 100 at last. Previously, The Pussycat Dolls hit a No. 2 best with “Don’t Cha” (featuring Busta Rhymes) in 2005. (Three artists with “dog” in their names have reigned: Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg and Three Dog Night.)

As for titles, Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s in the Cradle” topped the Hot 100 in 1974 and Janet Jackson’s “Black Cat” leapt to No. 1 in 1990. (Not to be catty, but no songs with “dog” in their titles have led.)

Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage,” featuring Beyoncé, climbs 4-2 on the Hot 100. Already the former’s first top 10 on the chart, Beyoncé, now listed as featured on the song, achieves her 19th.

Just as Doja Cat’s “Say So” leaps following the addition of Minaj, “Savage” gains thanks in large part to Beyoncé’s remix. While the Minaj remix of “Say So” was released May 1 and its first full week of availability contributed to the May 1-7 streaming and sales tracking weeks feeding the new, May 16-dated Hot 100, the Beyoncé version of “Savage” arrived April 29, in time for its first two days of streaming and sales activity to impact the May 9-dated Hot 100, on which the song soared 14-4. (A second “Savage” remix, with Major Lazer, was released May 7.)

“Savage” jumps 3-1 on Streaming Songs, up 53% to 42.1 million U.S. streams, becoming Megan Thee Stallion’s first No. 1 on the chart and Beyoncé’s third.

On Digital Song Sales, “Savage” holds at No. 2, gaining by 90% to 50,000 sold. Similar to “Say So,” “Savage” was on sale in physical/digital combination offerings during the tracking week, whereby consumers could purchase any of three vinyl singles with a download; again, the download would go to consumers upon purchase, with vinyl versions set to arrive at a future date.

“Savage” pushes 18-14 on Radio Songs, up 27% to 51.3 million in reach, and hits No. 1 on the multi-metric Hot Rap Songs chart, where Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé each earn their first leader.

The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” descends to No. 3 on the Hot 100, after four nonconsecutive weeks on top. It rules Radio Songs for a fifth frame, up 4% to 114.5 million audience impressions.

Drake’s “Toosie Slide” drops 3-4 on the Hot 100, following its debut at No. 1; Roddy Ricch’s “The Box” holds at No. 5, after it dominated for 11 weeks; and Dua Lipa’s “Don’t Start Now” lifts 7-6, after reaching No. 2.

As for more Drake, he debuts at No. 7 on the Hot 100 with “Pain 1993,” featuring Playboi Carti. It opens at No. 3 on Streaming Songs with 31 million first-week streams and No. 46 on Digital Song Sales with 3,000 sold. The track is from Drake’s surprise release Dark Lane Demo Tapes, which he announced via an Instagram post a few hours before it dropped May 1; the set debuts at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.

Drake achieves his 38th Hot 100 top 10, matching Madonna for the most in the chart’s history. Madonna held the mark all to herself since November 2002, when “Die Another Day” became her 35th top 10, outpacing The Beatles’ 34. Notably, all 38 of Madonna’s top 10s have been in lead roles; due partly to the collaborative nature of hip-hop, Drake has posted 25 top 10s as a lead and 13 as a featured artist.

After Drake and Madonna, The Beatles rank third with 34 Hot 100 top 10s, followed by Rihanna (31) and Michael Jackson (30).

Meanwhile, Drake makes his record-extending 23rd debut in the Hot 100’s top 10.

Playboi Carti tallies his first Hot 100 top 10, after previously reaching a No. 29 best with “Magnolia” in 2017.

Post Malone’s “Circles” is steady at No. 8 on the Hot 100, following its three-week command, as it logs a record-extending 36th week in the top 10.

DaBaby’s “Rockstar,” featuring Roddy Ricch, rebounds from No. 14 to No. 9 on the Hot 100, equaling its peak first set upon its debut two weeks ago. The collab keeps at No. 5 on Streaming Songs (28.3 million, up 17%) and hikes 13-7 on Digital Song Sales (9,000, up 36%), while gaining by 136% to 5.7 million in airplay audience.

Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Bieber’s “Intentions,” featuring Quavo, descends 9-10, after reaching No. 8.

Find out more Hot 100 news on Billboard.com this week, and, for all chart news, you can listen (and subscribe) to Billboard‘s Pop Shop Podcast and This Week in Billboard News podcast and follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram. And again, be sure to visit Billboard.com tomorrow (May 12), when all charts, including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh.

Source: billboard.com