Since February 29th is a leap year, let's celebrate by looking at the songs that have made the biggest jumps on the Billboard Hot 100 in the chart's history.
The “Me!” by Taylor Swift, featuring Brendon Urie, holds the distinction of vaulting the longest on the Hot 100: 98 positions, from No. 100 to No. 2, on the chart dated May 11, 2019. The song debuted on Initial radio exposure before full airplay, streaming and first-week sales took it to second place (behind Lil Nas X's Billy Ray Cyrus with “Old Town Road,” which recorded his fifth of the record's final 19 weeks at No. 1).
“My!” was released as the lead single from Swift's album Lover – who currently boasts her latest Hot 100 top 10: the revamped “Cruel Summer,” at No. 7 on the chart dated March 2, 2024 after four weeks at No. 1 beginning last October.
The 98-seat flight for “Me!” on the Hot 100 surpassed Kelly Clarkson's 96-point surge with “My Life Would Suck Without You.” The latter jumped 97-1 on the chart on February 9, 2009 – the biggest jump ever to No. 1.
Giant leaps up the Hot 100 have become fairly common since the chart adopted Luminate electronic data in 1991, often sparked since the 2000s by video premieres, awards show spotlights and the arrival of releases, including remixes, for purchase , along with, as with “Me!”, the first few weeks of tracking the songs.
Meanwhile, on the Billboard 200 album chart, the longest stretch (since the survey became a combined stereo and mono chart in August 1963) belongs to Eminem's Music To Be Murdered By. The set jumped 196 places, from No. 199 to No. 3, on the chart dated January 2, 2021 following its surprise deluxe edition. the album had debuted at No. 1 almost a year earlier.
(In another breakthrough achievement, only one song has climbed to No. 1 for a first week atop the Hot 100 dated Feb. 29: Mr. Big's “To Be With You,” which began a three-week mandate on the chart dated February 29, 1992.)
Below, check out a list of the songs that have made the highest jump in a week on the Hot 100.
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98 points: “Me!”, Taylor Swift feat. Brendon Urie
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Jump to Hot 100: No. 100 to No. 2, on chart dated May 11, 2019
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96 points: “My life would be a mess without you,” Kelly Clarkson
Image credit: Johannes Simon/WireImage
Jump to Hot 100: No. 91 to No. 1, on chart dated February 9, 2009
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95 points: “Womanizer”, Britney Spears
Image credit: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images
Hot 100 Jump: No. 96 to No. 1, on chart dated October 25, 2008
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92 points: “Therefore I Am,” Billie Eilish
Image source: Kenneth Cappello
Hot 100 Jump: No. 94 to No. 2, on chart dated November 28, 2020
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91 points: “Beautiful Liar”, Beyoncé & Shakira
Image credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage
Jump to Hot 100: No. 94 to No. 3, on chart dated April 7, 2007
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90 places: “Girls Like You”, Maroon 5 feat. Cardi B
Image credit: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for iHeartMedia
Hot 100 Jump: No. 94 to No. 4, on chart dated June 16, 2018
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88 points: “Smack That,” Akon feat. Eminem
Image credit: Stephane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty Images
Jump to Hot 100: No. 95 to No. 7, on chart dated October 14, 2006
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88 points: “Make Me Proud,” Drake feat. Nicki Minaj
Image credit: John Shearer/BBMA2017/Getty Images for dcp
Jump to Hot 100: No. 97 to No. 9, on chart dated November 5, 2011
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85 places: “Cowboy Casanova”, Carrie Underwood
Image credit: Steve Granitz/WireImage
Jump to Hot 100: No. 96 to No. 11, on chart dated October 10, 2009
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85 points: “Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny),” AR Rahman & The Pussycat Dolls. Nicole Serzinger
Image credit: Nicky Johnston/Comic Relief/Getty Images
Leap on Hot 100: No. 100 to No. 15, on the chart dated March 14, 2009
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/lists/hot-100-biggest-leaps/
