Drake overtakes Michael Jackson for most No. 1 hit songs by a male solo artist
But neither of them come close to The Beatles’ chart-topping tally.
When Drake dropped a trio of studio albums without warning on May 15, he’d already made music history as the first artist to hold the top three slots on the Billboard album chart at once.
Now, the Canadian rapper has just claimed “one of the most triumphant weeks” in the history of the Hot 100 singles chart, per Billboard, after adding nine new songs to the top 10, bringing his career total to 90. Moreover, with single “Janice STFU” debuting at the top spot, Drake has officially dethroned the King of Pop to become the solo male artist with the most No. 1 songs of all time.
Started from the bottom...
Having been tied with Michael Jackson — who’d held the solo male record for about a quarter century — at 13 list-leading hits since 2023, Drake’s latest chart-topper places the “Hotline Bling” rapper alongside two female solo artists who have notched 14 No. 1s: his Apple ad collaborator Taylor Swift and his rumored ex-girlfriend Rihanna. The company he was keeping seemingly wasn’t lost on Drake, at last overtaking his idol thanks to an album with Jackson’s $120,000 glove on the cover.
But, even with Drake’s 16-year span of No. 1s, he’ll need to be prolific for a lot longer to surpass the output of the legendary (and still timely) band The Beatles, as well as Mariah Carey — the front-runner of all solo artists, with a whopping 19 No. 1 hits, including a festive classic that alone has topped the Billboard chart 22 times.
According to Billboard, The Beatles have had 20 No. 1 songs in the top 100 chart, starting with “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” which spent seven weeks at No. 1 in 1964. Of those songs, 11 are thought to be written primarily by Paul McCartney, who has nine additional No. 1s as a solo artist.
While some of the groups in the list may come as a shock to anyone who wasn’t around for The Supremes’ 12 chart-toppers in just five years in the ’60s, or the Bee Gees’ nine-hit run in the ’70s, a few suspicious-minded fans might have spotted one notable absence in the male solo category. However, as Billboard pointed out, Elvis’ breakthrough predated the launch of the Hot 100 chart in 1958, leaving his count at seven No. 1 songs.
