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Let's open the latest mailbag.
Luck of the Irish
Hi Gary,
The talented Hozier is No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Too Sweet.” I love that the Irish musician's birthday is on St. Patrick's Day (which I understand is a bigger day in the US than in his home country).
Hozier is also a bit lucky given the timing of Taylor Swift's new material, which is set to storm the Hot 100 next week. Meanwhile, the lead single from her new set, “Fortnight,” features an artist with another notable birthday, as Post Malone was born on the 4th of July.
Happy Holidays!
Pablo Nelson
Oakland, California.
Hi Pablo,
Hozier finds a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow as “Too Sweet” tops the Hot 100. What a fun coincidence that the 34-year-old Newcastle, County Wicklow native was born on St. Patrick's Day, making him the first Irish artist to this date of birth topped the list.
He's similar to Jimmy Buffett and Annie Lennox who are both born on December 25 and both have seasonal songs in their catalogs, including the latter's “Winter Wonderland,” recorded by the Eurythmics. The late legend Buffett scored two titles on the Top Holiday Albums list: 1996 Christmas Island and of 2016 It's the season.
Additionally, Dido, also born on December 25, aptly contributed to the yuletide musical canon with her recording of “Christmas Day.”
As for Post Malone, he's joined fellow July 4th birthdays John Waite and Bill Withers, and all three have hit No. 1 on the top songs chart in the U.S. Withers just missed fireworks on the Hot 100 on July 4 . “Lean on Me” began a three-week rule on the chart dated July 8, 1972. The song, however, is the final track on the 2001 Billboard 200 Top 10 compilation album God bless America.
Meanwhile, December 13 is a notable birthday for Advertising sign top map acts. Along with Swift, Randy Owen, the lead singer of Alabama's 33 No. 1 Hot Country Songs, blows out candles that day each year, the most among groups in the survey's history. Morris Day, of The Time; Tom DeLonge, of Blink-182; Jamie Foxx? and Amy Lee, of Evanescence.
“Cruel Summer” reaches 50 weeks on Hot 100
The race for the top Hot 100 song of the 2020s still has many contenders ahead, but for now, “Cruel Summer” is contributing to more chart history for Swift. As it becomes her fourth hit to spend at least 50 weeks on the Hot 100, she is the only woman with that many songs to stay on the chart for at least that long.
Overall, Swift is tied with Imagine Dragons and her “Fortnight” collaborator Post Malone with four songs each that have spent at least 50 weeks on the Hot 100 (or 25 fortnights). Only Ed Sheeran and Morgan Wallen have more, with five each. Here is a summary of their such successes, via the chart dated April 27. (Of the more than 30,000 singles to chart in its history, only 126 have charted for at least 50 weeks.)
Ed Sheeran:
- 59 weeks, “Shape of You”, No. 1 (12 weeks), starting January 28, 2017
- 58, “Thinking Out Loud, No. 2 top, January 31, 2015
- 57, “Perfect,” No. 1 (six weeks), December 23, 2017
- 56, “Bad Habits,” No. 2, August 28, 2021
- 52, “Shivers,” No. 4, January 15, 2022
Morgan Wallen:
- 62 weeks, “You Proof”, No. 5 peak, October 22, 2022
- 60, “Last Night,” No. 1 (16 weeks), beginning March 18, 2023
- 57, “Wasted On You,” No. 9, January 23, 2021
- 55, “Thinkin' Bout Me,” No. 7, November 4, 2023
- 52, “Thought You Should Know,” No. 7, March 18, 2023
Another reader, below, thought along similar lines.
Most weeks topping any hot 100 spot
Hi Gary,
What are the most weeks a song has topped any spot on the Hot 100? No. 1 is familiar enough, thanks to 19 weeks at the top for Lil Nas X's “Old Town Road,” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, in 2019, but what about other ranks?
Thanks,
Shenan Sheridan
Hi Senan,
We can point to another record for “Old Town Road,” as its 19 weeks atop the Hot 100 mark not only the longest stretch at No. 1, but also the longest at any top spot on the chart.
Here's a look at the positions in which songs have spent the most time (seven weeks or more) reaching the Hot 100:
- 19 weeks, No. 1: “Old Town Road,” Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus, 2019
- 11 weeks, No. 3: “Another Night,” Real McCoy, 1994-95
- 10 weeks, No. 2: “Work It,” Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott, 2002-03; “Waiting for a Girl Like You”, Foreigner, 1981-82
- 8 weeks, No. 6: “I Want It That Way,” Backstreet Boys, 1999
- 7 weeks, No. 4: “My Place,” Nelly feat. Jaheim, 2004; “Hold Me”, Fleetwood Mac, 1982
- 7 weeks, No. 5: “Bubbly”, Colbie Caillat, 2007
- 7 weeks, No. 10: “When the Lights Go Out”, Five, 1998
- 7 weeks, No. 86: “Hit the Freeway,” Toni Braxton feat. Loon, 2002
Clearly, Braxton's single is the most extreme of the songs listed above, as it's the only title to spend up to seven weeks peaking at a spot on the Hot 100 outside the top 10, or even the top 40. Specifically, “Hit the Freeway” merged on the chart at No. 86 and did not change lane, holding that position, for the first seven weeks of the survey. This remained at its peak until it was released after a total of 14 weeks.
Still, the track is prominent in Braxton's catalog, peaking at No. 32 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and has drawn 6.9 million official US streams, according to Luminate, to date.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/hozier-number-1-hot-100-ask-billboard-1235667059/
