Taylor Swift Debuts at No. 1 on Hot 100 with ‘Cardigan,’ 1st Artist to Open Atop Hot 100 & Billboard 200 in Same Week
Plus, the set’s “The 1” & “Exile” open in the Hot 100’s top 10.
Taylor Swift‘s “Cardigan” blasts in at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart.
The song is from Swift’s new LP Folklore, which launches at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, as Swift becomes the first artist ever to debut at No. 1 on both the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 in the same week.
Folklore was released July 24 on Republic Records, after being first teased by Swift only the day before.
“Cardigan” is joined by two other songs from the set that debut in the Hot 100’s top 10: “The 1,” at No. 4, and “Exile,” featuring Bon Iver, at No. 6.
Plus, Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo‘s “Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat)” enters the Hot 100’s top 10, rising 12-10.
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 Aug. 8) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Aug. 4).
“Cardigan,” the 1,106th No. 1 in the Hot 100’s 62-year history, enters with 34 million U.S. streams and 71,000 downloads sold in the week ending July 30, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. It concurrently debuts atop both the Streaming Songs and Digital Song Sales charts.
The song also drew 12.7 million in all-format radio airplay audience in the week ending Aug. 2.
Here are 13 (famously Swift’s favorite number) notable achievements surrounding the chart arrival of Folklore and its songs.
First artist ever to debut atop Hot 100 & Billboard 200 simultaneously: With “Cardigan” and Folklore, Swift is the first artist to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 in the same week. The Billboard 200 began on March 24, 1956, and the Hot 100 originated on Aug. 4, 1958.
41st song to debut at No. 1 on Hot 100: “Cardigan” is the 41st song to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100. It’s Swift’s second, after “Shake It Off” on the chart dated Sept. 6, 2014.
Swift is the seventh artist with multiple No. 1 Hot 100 entrances, joining Justin Bieber, Mariah Carey, Drake, Ariana Grande (the leaders with three each), Travis Scott and Britney Spears (two each).
Meanwhile, “Cardigan” is the sixth song to debut atop the Hot 100 in 2020, extending the record for the most in a single year. Four songs each started at No. 1 in both 2018 and 1995.
Swift’s sixth No. 1: Swift scores her sixth Hot 100 leader. Here’s a recap:
“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” three weeks, beginning Sept. 1, 2012
“Shake It Off,” four weeks, beginning Sept. 6, 2014
“Blank Space,” seven weeks, beginning Nov. 29, 2014
“Bad Blood,” feat. Kendrick Lamar, one week, June 6, 2015
“Look What You Made Me Do,” three weeks, beginning Sept. 16, 2017
“Cardigan,” one week to-date, Aug. 8, 2020
Swift is the 26th artist in the Hot 100’s history with at least six No. 1s, and the ninth solo woman. The Beatles lead all acts with 20 No. 1s, followed by Carey with 19.
First woman to debut two songs in top five simultaneously: With “Cardigan” at No. 1 and “The 1” at No. 4, Swift is the first woman, and third act overall, to debut two songs in the Hot 100’s top five simultaneously.
Lil Wayne first earned the honor with “Mona Lisa,” featuring Kendrick Lamar (No. 2), and “Don’t Cry,” featuring XXXTentacion (No. 5), on Oct. 13, 2018. Just two weeks ago, on the July 25 chart, the late Juice WRLD entered at Nos. 2 and 5, respectively, with “Come & Go,” with Marshmello, and “Wishing Well.”
Swift is, thus, the first artist to debut two songs in the Hot 100’s top four spots simultaneously.
Three debuts in top 10: As “Cardigan,” “The 1” and “Exile” arrive at Nos. 1, 4 and 6, respectively, Swift debuts three songs in the Hot 100’s top 10 simultaneously for the first time. She’s the sixth artist to accomplish the feat, following Drake (July 14, 2018), Lil Wayne (Oct. 13, 2018) and Juice WRLD (July 25), who share the record with four debuts each in the top 10 simultaneously, and J. Cole (May 5, 2018) and Lil Uzi Vert (March 21, 2020), each with three.
Further, Swift is the first artist to debut three songs in the Hot 100’s top six spots in a single week.
Swift up to 28 career top 10s, tied for sixth-most: Swift swells her count of career Hot 100 top 10s from 25 to 28, tying Mariah Carey and Stevie Wonder for the sixth-best sum.
Here is a recap of the acts with the most Hot 100 top 10s, dating to the chart’s Aug. 4, 1958, inception (two years after Elvis Presley’s commercial breakthrough):
Most Hot 100 Top 10s
40, Drake
38, Madonna
34, The Beatles
31, Rihanna
30, Michael Jackson
28, Mariah Carey
28, Taylor Swift
28, Stevie Wonder
27, Elton John
27, Janet Jackson
25, Lil Wayne
25, Elvis Presley
18 career top 10 debuts: Swift extends her record among women for the most debuts in the Hot 100’s top 10, as her three new arrivals lift her total to 18. Among all acts, only Drake has more: 25.
16 songs from Folklore hit Hot 100: Swift sends the entirety of the standard edition of Folklore onto the Hot 100, as its 16 songs enter the chart, from “Cardigan” at No. 1 to album closer “Hoax” at No. 71.
Folklore is Swift’s second consecutive album whose standard version has fully infused the Hot 100: 18 songs from Lover, which soared in atop the Billboard 200 dated Sept. 7, 2019, charted on the Hot 100 the same week.
Swift passes Nicki Minaj for most Hot 100 entries among women: Swift surges from 97 career Hot 100 entries to 113, passing Nicki Minaj (110) for the most among women.
Swift also becomes the 10th act with at least 100 Hot 100 entries, as she ascends to the fourth-best total. Here’s an updated leaderboard:
Most Hot 100 Entries
224, Drake
207, Glee Cast
169, Lil Wayne
113, Taylor Swift
111, Future
110, Nicki Minaj
109, Elvis Presley
108, Kanye West
101, Chris Brown
100, Jay-Z
First solo woman at No. 1 since January: “Cardigan” is the first Hot 100 No. 1 billed solely to one woman since Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” logged three weeks on top from Dec. 21, 2019, through Jan. 4. Before that, Selena Gomez’s “Lose You to Love Me” led the Nov. 9 list.
‘Cardigan’ No. 1 in streams & sales: With 34 million U.S. streams and 71,000 sold in the week ending July 30, “Cardigan” starts as the most-streamed and top-selling song of the week. Swift scores her third Streaming Songs No. 1 and her record-extending 20th Digital Song Sales No. 1, furthering her lead on the latter list over runner-up Rihanna (14).
“Cardigan” was on sale in Swift’s webstore via multiple physical/digital combination offerings during the tracking week, ending July 30, including an alternate “Cabin in Candlelight” version released July 29. Consumers could purchase CD and vinyl singles, each with a digital download; the download would be sent to consumers upon purchase, with physical versions due to arrive at a later date.
Radio tries on ‘Cardigan’: “Cardigan” drew 12.7 million in radio airplay audience in its first full week, ending Aug. 2. It rises 26-17 on the Adult Pop Songs airplay chart and debuts at No. 19 on Adult Contemporary and No. 27 on Pop Songs.
Bon Iver’s first Hot 100 top 10: With “Exile” debuting at No. 6 on the Hot 100, Bon Iver earns its first top 10 on the chart. The act, fronted by Justin Vernon, previously charted two titles, both in 2010 as featured on songs on Kanye West’s album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, led by the No. 18-peaking “Monster,” also featuring Jay-Z, Rick Ross and Minaj.
“Cardigan” dethrones DaBaby’s seven-week Hot 100 leader “Rockstar,” featuring Roddy Ricch. The track holds at No. 2 on the Radio Songs chart (67.9 million, up 10%) and dips to No. 3 on Streaming Songs, after nine weeks at No. 1 (32.9 million, down 9%), and 5-7 on Digital Song Sales (10,000, down 6%).
“Rockstar” concurrently rules the multi-metric Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts for an eighth week each.
Jack Harlow’s “Whats Poppin,” featuring DaBaby, Tory Lanez and Lil Wayne, drops to No. 3 on the Hot 100 from its No. 2 high.
The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” descends 4-5 on the Hot 100, following its four-week rule. It tops Radio Songs for a 17th frame (76.2 million in audience, up 2%), moving to within a week of potentially tying for the longest command since the chart started in December 1990.
Most Weeks at No. 1 on Radio Songs
18, “Iris,” Goo Goo Dolls, beginning Aug. 1, 1998
17, “Blinding Lights,” The Weeknd, April 18, 2020
16, “Girls Like You,” Maroon 5 feat. Cardi B, Aug. 4, 2018
16, “We Belong Together,” Mariah Carey, May 28, 2005
16, “Don’t Speak,” No Doubt, Dec. 7, 1996
“Blinding Lights” tops the multi-metric Hot R&B Songs chart for a record-tying 20th week. It joins three other songs for a share of the mark, including another by The Weeknd, dating to the list’s October 2012 start: Drake’s “One Dance,” featuring WizKid and Kyla (2016); The Weeknd’s “Starboy,” featuring Daft Punk (2016-17); and Bruno Mars’ “That’s What I Like” (2017).
Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar” holds at its No. 7 Hot 100 high; SAINt JHN’s “Roses” slides 5-8, after reaching No. 4; and Megan Thee Stallion’s former one-week leader “Savage,” featuring Beyoncé, falls 6-9.
Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo’s “Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat)” enters the tier, rising 12-10. The track retreats 3-4 on Digital Song Sales, although with a 14% advance to 13,000 sold, and 10-17 on Streaming Songs, but with a 1% gain to 17.9 million U.S. streams, while climbing 40-33 on Radio Songs (23.5 million, up 23%).
New Zealand producer Jawsh 685 (real name: Joshua Nanai) hits the Hot 100’s top 10 in his first visit to the chart, while Derulo adds his seventh top 10 and first since the No. 5-peaking “Want to Want Me” in 2015.
(A “savage” garden: Three songs with “savage” in their titles have hit the Hot 100 all-time, and two of them rank back-to-back at Nos. 9 and 10 this week. The other? Rod Hart’s “C.b. Savage,” which reached No. 67 in 1977.)
For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram. And again, be sure to visit Billboard.com tomorrow (Aug. 8), when all charts, including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh.
Source: billboard.com