Beyoncé’s 20-year-plus Span of Solo Hot 100 No. 1s
From the first week at No. 1 on the Hot 100 for “Crazy in Love” through, now, the reign of “Texas Hold ‘Em,” Beyoncé spans 20 years, seven months and three weeks of appearing atop the chart as a soloist.
Longest Spans of Hot 100 No. 1s:
Brenda Lee – 63 years, five months, three weeks (July 18, 1960-Jan. 6, 2024)
Mariah Carey – 33 years, four months, three weeks (Aug. 4, 1990-Dec. 30, 2023)
Cher – 28 years, five months (Nov. 6, 1971-April 3, 1999)
Elton John – 24 years, 11 months, one week (Feb. 3, 1973-Jan. 10, 1998)
Beach Boys – 24 years, four months (July 4, 1964-Nov. 5, 1988)
Michael Jackson – 22 years, 10 months, three weeks (Oct. 14, 1972-Sept. 2, 1995)
Stevie Wonder – 22 years, six months (Aug. 10, 1963-Feb. 8, 1986)
Rod Stewart – 22 years, four months (Oct. 2, 1971-Feb. 5, 1994)
Beyoncé – 20 years, seven months, three weeks (July 12, 2003-March 2, 2024)
Aretha Franklin – 19 years, 10 months, two weeks (June 3, 1967-April 18, 1987)
Notably, in looking at acts’ group and solo careers combined, Beyoncé’s span of appearing atop the Hot 100 stretches 24 years, seven months and two weeks, from the first week at No. 1 for Destiny’s Child’s “Bills, Bills, Bills” (July 17, 1999) through this week’s takeover on top for “Texas Hold ‘Em.” Similarly among the acts above, Cher’s career span including Sonny & Cher and her solo No. 1s would encompass 33 years, seven months and two weeks (1965-99) and Michael Jackson’s Jackson 5 and solo output would span 25 years, seven months and a week (1970-95).
Meanwhile (as first noted when Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage,” featuring Beyoncé, hit No. 1), Beyoncé and Mariah Carey are the only acts to place atop the Hot 100 in four distinct decades – the 1990s, 2000s, ‘10s and ‘20s for both – thanks to the former’s runs at No. 1 with Destiny’s Child in the ‘90s and solo in the ‘00s-‘20s, and Carey’s reigns in each decade, including in the ‘10s and ‘20s with “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
Beyoncé boasts the seventh-most weeks spent atop the Hot 100, as “Texas Hold ‘Em” ups her count to 45 in her solo career.
Most Weeks at No. 1 on Hot 100:
93, Mariah Carey
60, Rihanna
59, The Beatles
56, Drake
50, Boyz II Men
47, Usher
45, Beyoncé
37, Michael Jackson
34, Adele
34, Elton John
34, Bruno Mars
34, Taylor Swift
Further, Destiny’s Child spent 17 weeks at No. 1 among the act’s four Hot 100 leaders, making for 62 weeks at the summit for Beyoncé if we were to combine her solo and the group’s songs. (Among the acts above, Paul McCartney [89 weeks total; 30 solo], both George Harrison and John Lennon [each 65; six] would also sport higher sums of weeks at No. 1 than Beyoncé when mixing their solo leaders and those by The Beatles with them as members (with Ringo Starr at 61 weeks, thanks to two solo), while Michael Jackson’s total would extend to 47, thanks to 10 weeks at No. 1 for the Jackson 5.)
“Lovin on Me” ranks at No. 2, following six nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1. Still, it adds a sixth week atop Radio Songs and rules the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts, which use the same methodology as the Hot 100, for a 14th week each.
