Drake Dethrones Himself Atop Billboard Hot 100, as ‘Nice for What’ Debuts at No. 1, Replacing ‘God’s Plan’

Drake earns his fifth No. 1 and second chart-topping debut, halting the reign of “Plan” after 11 weeks.

Drake‘s domination atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart continues, but with a different song this week, as new single “Nice for What” debuts at No. 1, stopping the command of his own “God’s Plan” after 11 weeks on top.

Meanwhile, Cardi B, Bad Bunny and J Balvin blast in with a No. 8 Hot 100 debut for “I Like It,” from Cardi B’s debut full-length Invasion of Privacy, which launches at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

Let’s run down the top 10 of the Hot 100 (dated April 21), which blends all-genre streaming, airplay and sales data. All charts will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (April 17).

“Nice,” released on Young Money/Cash Money/Republic Records, arrives as Drake’s fifth No. 1, as well as the 1,072nd leader in the Hot 100’s history, which dates to the chart’s Aug. 4, 1958, inception.

Here are highlights of the song’s start.

First-week totals: “Nice,” which arrived late on April 6, soars in at No. 1 on the Streaming Songs chart with 60.4 million U.S. streams in the week ending April 12, according to Nielsen Music. It also opens at No. 1 on Digital Song Sales with 88,000 downloads sold in the week ending April 12. On the Radio Songs chart, “Nice” enters (as the week’s top debut) at No. 34, drawing 31 million in all-format airplay audience in the week ending April 15.

Drake earns his fourth Streaming Songs No. 1, tying Justin Bieber for the top total since the chart began just over five years ago. Drake posts his ninth Digital Song Sales leader, matching Eminem for the most among solo males. Among all acts, only Taylor Swift (15), Rihanna (14) and Katy Perry (11) have notched more No. 1s on the paid downloads tally (which originated in 2004).

Drake’s fifth Hot 100 No. 1: Drake’s fifth Hot 100 No. 1 follows “God’s Plan” (11 weeks on top), “One Dance,” featuring WizKid and Kyla (10 weeks, 2016), and two by Rihanna on which he’s featured: “Work” (nine weeks, 2016) and “What’s My Name?” (one week, 2010).

Canadian kings: As previously pointed out by reader Pablo Nelson, Bieber rewrote the record for the most Hot 100 No. 1s among Canadian artists when Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito,” on which Bieber is featured, became his fifth No. 1, on May 27, 2017. With his fifth leader, the Toronto-born Drake ties London, Ontario, native Bieber for the honour. Bryan Adams and Celine Dion follow with four each.

30th No. 1 debut: “Nice” is the 30th single to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100, and the first since his own “God’s Plan” on Feb. 3. Now with two No. 1 debuts on the Hot 100, Drake joins just three other acts with multiple chart-topping starts: Mariah Carey, the leader with three, and Bieber and Britney Spears, each with two.

Back-to-back No. 1s: Drake becomes the 13th act to have replaced itself at No. 1 on the Hot 100 and the first since Bieber, as “Despacito” dethroned  DJ Khaled’s “I’m the One,” featuring Bieber, Quavo, Chance The Rapper and Lil Wayne. Drake is additionally the first artist to have replaced himself at No. 1 as a lead artist since Bieber, whose “Love Yourself” supplanted “Sorry” on Feb. 13, 2016. (Before Bieber’s two such takeovers, The Weeknd had last managed the feat in 2015; thus, three Canadian solo males are the last three acts to have replaced themselves at No. 1.)

Republic, meanwhile, is the first label to directly succeed itself atop the Hot 100 since the label did so when Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” took over for “Despacito” (Sept. 16, 2017), ending the latter’s record-tying 16-week rule; Republic shared radio promotion credit on “Despacito” with Fonsi’s label, Universal Music Latin Entertainment (UMLE).

Back-to-back No. 1 debuts: With “Plan” having debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 and “Nice” making the same start, Drake is the first artist to replace himself at No. 1 (of the 13 acts that have done so) with both songs having launched at the apex.

Notably (with an assist from reader Jake Rivera), consecutive Hot 100 No. 1s have entered at the top for just the second time, after three hits that premiered at the top reigned consecutively in 1995: Carey’s “Fantasy,” Whitney Houston’s “Exhale (Shoop Shoop)” and Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day.”

25th top 10, equaling Elvis: Beyond being Drake’s fifth No. 1, “Nice” marks his 25th top 10, tying him with Elvis Presley for the fourth-most top 10s among solo males in the chart’s history (with the start of Presley’s run of hits predating the Hot 100’s origin by two years). Michael Jackson leads with 29 solo top 10s, followed by Stevie Wonder (28) and Elton John (27). (Madonna leads all artists with 38 top 10s. The Beatles place second with 34 and Rihanna ranks third with 31.)

162nd entry, extending solo record: Further, beyond its instant No. 1 and top 10 status, “Nice” marks Drake’s 162nd Hot 100 entry, extending his record for the most among soloists. Only the Glee Cast boasts more: 207 (tallied in 2009-13 during the show’s run, which ended in 2015). Lil Wayne ranks third among all acts with 137 appearances.

Hill climbs: “Nice” samples Lauryn Hill’s “Ex-Factor,” which hit No. 7 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and No. 21 on the Hot 100 in 1999. Hill has made one trip to the top of the Hot 100 as a credited artist, with her debut entry “Doo Wop (That Thing)” in 1998.

We’re not done with Drake, who makes more moves in the Hot 100’s top five.

Nos. 1 & 2: Drake’s “God’s Plan” dips to No. 2 after spending its first 11 weeks atop the Hot 100, marking his longest reign (by a week over “One Dance”) and one of just 24 hits to lead for at least that long. Drake is the 18th act to rank at Nos. 1 and 2 simultaneously and the first since Bieber, who did so with “Despacito” and “I’m the One,” respectively, on July 22, 2017. The Beatles first doubled up at Nos. 1 and 2 at the same time, with “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “She Loves You,” respectively, on Feb. 22, 1964.

As it slips to No. 2 on the Hot 100, “Plan” does the same on Streaming Songs (47.5 million, down 9 percent), where it likewise logged its first 11 weeks at No. 1. The track drops to No. 3 after eight weeks atop Digital Song Sales (35,000, down 26 percent) and rebounds from No. 4 to its No. 3 high on Radio Songs (108 million, up 1 percent).

Three in top five: Drake makes it three songs in the Hot 100’s top five simultaneously, thanks to “Nice” at No. 1, “Plan” at No. 2 and BlocBoy JB’s “Look Alive,” featuring Drake, which holds at its No. 5 peak. Drake joins only The Beatles, 50 Cent and Bieber in charting at least three titles in the top five at the same time. Bieber last tripled up, with “Sorry” (No. 2), “Love Yourself” (No. 3) and “What Do You Mean?” (No. 5) on Jan. 16, 2016. The Beatles are the only act to monopolize the entire top five in a week, on April 4, 1964.

R&B/hip-hop/rap royalty: “Nice” concurrently opens at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts. Drake earns his 18th No. 1 on the former, breaking a tie with James Brown for the third-best total; Drake trails only Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder, the co-leaders with 20 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs No. 1s apiece (dating to the chart’s 1958 launch).

On Hot Rap Songs (which began in 1989), Drake scores his record-extending 19th No. 1. Lil Wayne and Diddy share second place with 10 leaders each.

Back to the Hot 100, and as for the rest of the top 10 …

Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line‘s “Meant to Be” backtracks to No. 3 after three weeks at its No. 2 Hot 100 high. It tops the Radio Songs chart for a second week (136 million, up 4 percent) and rules Hot Country Songs for a 20th frame, while becoming each act’s first No. 1 on the Adult Pop Songs airplay chart.

Post Malone‘s “Psycho,” featuring Ty Dolla $ign, retreats 3-4 on the Hot 100, after debuting at its No. 2 high on the March 10-dated chart.

Below “Look Alive” at No. 5, Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey‘s “The Middle” holds at its No. 6 Hot 100 high, while leading Hot Dance/Electronic Songs for an 11th week, and Ed Sheeran‘s former six-week Hot 100 No. 1 “Perfect” is stationary at No. 7.

Cardi B, Bad Bunny and J Balvin debut at No. 8 on the Hot 100 with “I Like It.” The song starts at No. 2 on Digital Song Sales (47,000) and No. 9 on Streaming Songs (25.9 million).

Cardi B collects her fifth Hot 100 top 10, dating to her debut No. 1 “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves),” which reached the region last August and spent three weeks on top beginning Oct. 7.

Latin stars Bad Bunny and Balvin earn their first and second Hot 100 top 10s, respectively. In three prior visits, Bad Bunny had reached a No. 74 high in December as featured on Becky G’s “Mayores.” Balvin has posted a No. 3 best with “Mi Gente,” his collaboration with Willy William and featuring Beyoncé, in October.

“I Like It” reworks the venerable “I Like It Like That,” originally performed by Pete Rodriguez in 1967 and taken to No. 25 on the Hot 100 in 1997 (titled “I Like It”) by The Blackout Allstars; the latter act included Tito Nieves, who also recorded a notable solo version. (In between, the composition appeared in the 1994 film I Like It Like That and earned a synch in a 1996 Burger King commercial.)

Capping the Hot 100’s top 10, Lil Dicky‘s No. 8-peaking “Freaky Friday,” featuring Chris Brown, is steady at No. 9, while hitting No. 1 for the first time on Hot R&B Songs, and Bruno Mars and Cardi B‘s No. 3-peaking “Finesse” drops 8-10 on the Hot 100.

Find out more Hot 100 news in the weekly “Hot 100 Chart Moves” column and by listening (and subscribing) to Billboard‘s Chart Beat Podcast and Pop Shop Podcast. And again, be sure to visit Billboard.com tomorrow (April 17), when all charts, including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh. The next issue of Billboardmagazine is on sale Friday (April 20).

Source: billboard.com