It’s a big deal when an artist gets a No. 1 hit, and it’s even bigger when they reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100 multiple times.
This group includes Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and Madonna. Recent additions to this exclusive club include Rihanna, Drake and Taylor Swift, who scored her twelfth No. 1 song in April 2024 when tracks from The Tortured Poets Department filled out the top 14 spots on the countdown.
Swift was already the only artist to dominate the Hot 100’s top 10 with music from her 2022 album, Midnights. She’s also the first and only artist to fill out the top 14, with “Fortnight” (featuring Post Malone) becoming her latest No. 1. This accomplishment also ties Swift with Ariana Grande for the most No. 1 Hot 100 debuts among women (with seven apiece). Only Drake has more, with nine.
Beyoncé is close in the count. In March 2024, she scored her ninth No. 1 on the Hot 100 with “Texas Hold ‘Em,” one of the first two songs released from Cowboy Carter. It tied her with the Bee Gees, Elton John, Katy Perry and Usher, who also have nine chart-topping hits.
Ariana Grande also returned to the top of the charts in 2024, thanks to her seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine. Lead single “Yes, And?” debuted on the top of the Hot 100, as did another cut from the album, “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love).” Those were her sixth and seventh No. 1 debuts, giving her nine overall chart-topping hits.
With these hits under her belt, Grande blasted ahead of Justin Bieber, Bruno Mars, the late George Michael and The Rolling Stones, who all have eight No. 1s.
As those artists try to reach the top of the charts again, check out who currently reign supreme on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Beatles, 20
The Beatles CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
During their time as a band, the Fab Four – John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr – have secured twenty No. 1 songs on the Billboard Hot 100. Their first came in 1964, with “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” That same year, they topped the charts with “She Loves You,” “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “Love Me Do,” “A Hard Day’s Night” and “I Feel Fine.”
Throughout the rest of the 1960s, the band would find their way to the top of the charts with songs like: “Eight Days a Week,” “Ticket to Ride,” “Help!,” “Yesterday,” “We Can Work It Out,” “Paperback Writer,” “Penny Lane,” “All You Need Is Love,” “Hello Goodbye,” “Hey Jude,” “Get Back” and “Come Together.” The band concluded its epic run with two No. 1s in 1970: “Let It Be,” and “The Long and Winding Road”/”For You Blue.”
Out of all The Beatles’ chart-topping hits, “Hey Jude” has the record for most weeks at No. 1, with nine. “I Want to Hold Your Hand” is second with seven, while the rest of their hits vary from one to four weeks at No. 1.
Mariah Carey, 19
Mariah Carey Matthew Simmons/Getty Images
Mariah Carey became synonymous with the 1990s just as the decade began. Her first four singles – “Vision of Love,” “Love Takes Time,” “Someday” and “I Don’t Wanna Cry” – all found their way to the top of the Hot 100 chart. She resumed her chart-topping ways with “Emotions” in 1991 and continued her dominance throughout the following years.
Her cover of “I’ll Be There” hit No. 1, as would songs that would d become staples of her career: “Dreamlover,” “Hero,” “Fantasy,” “One Sweet Day” (with Boys II Men), “Always Be My Baby, “Honey,” “My All, and “Heartbreaker” with Jay-Z. In the 2000s, Mariah continued to hit the top of the Hot 100 with “Thank God I Found You” with Joe and 98 Degrees, “We Belong Together,” “Don’t Forget About Us” and “Touch My Body.”
Though Mariah released “All I Want for Christmas Is You” in 1994, it hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in 2019, breaking several records – including the longest trip to No. 1. It remains the best-selling holiday song by a female artist.
