Metallica Is First Act With Mainstream Rock Songs No. 1s in Four Different Decades

Now with 10 Mainstream Rock Songs No. 1s (three in the '90s; four in the '00s; two in the '10s; and now its first of the '20s), Metallica slots into a tie for the fifth-most leaders, alongside Disturbed and Tom Petty (solo and with the Heartbreakers). Shinedown (16), Three Days Grace (15), Van Halen (13) and Godsmack (11) are the only other acts with a double-digit No. 1 sum.

"Hands" is the Metallica's second Mainstream Rock Songs No. 1 aided by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, following seven-week ruler "No Leaf Clover" in 2000. That song (credited solely to Metallica) was released from 1999's S&M, Metallica's first album with the orchestra, while S&M2, its follow-up which houses "Hands," was released Aug. 28.

Concurrently, "Hands" ranks at No. 7 on the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock Airplay list with 4.5 million audience impressions, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.

S&M2 was recorded live over two nights (Sept. 6 and 8, 2019) in San Francisco to commemorate the 20th anniversary of S&M. The original debuted and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in December 1999.