As Jay Z scores his lucky 13th No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with Magna Carta… Holy Grail, extending his mark for the most leaders among soloists in the chart’s 57-year history, he likewise updates his already impressive resume on the Billboard Hot 100.
Let’s recap his latest notable achievements.
— As “Holy Grail” debuts on the Hot 100 at No. 8, Jay Z racks his 20th top 10, extending his record for the most top 10s among rappers. Lil Wayne and Ludacris share second place with 18 each. In the Hot 100’s nearly 55-year history, Jay Z is just the 15th act to tally at least 20 top 10s. (Madonna leads with 38.)
Meanwhile, “Grail” featured artist Justin Timberlake collects his 14th top 10. As he made six visits to the top tier in 1999-2002 as a member of ‘N Sync, Timberlake, like Jay Z, has totaled 20 top 10s combining his group and solo efforts.
(And, as “Grail” works in the chorus of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” elements of the song, which helped launch the grunge movement, return to the top 10. The original peaked at No. 6 in 1992. The band’s late Kurt Cobain, thus, receives his first top 10 writing credit since Nirvana’s version charted.)
— Seven cuts from Magna Carta… Holy Grail debut on the Hot 100, upping Jay Z’s career hits total to 79. The haul lifts him into fifth-place for the most appearances in the Hot 100’s archives:
206, “Glee” Cast
119, Lil Wayne
108, Elvis Presley
91, James Brown
79, Jay Z
74, Ray Charles
73, Aretha Franklin
71, the Beatles
67, Elton John
63, Stevie Wonder
(Clearly, passing two R&B legends — Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin — on the list is reason enough to declare the week a win for Jay Z.)
— How rare is it to debut at least seven titles on the Hot 100 simultaneously? The achievement has now occurred just six times, all in the digital download era:
11, David Cook (June 7, 2008)
10, Taylor Swift (Nov. 13, 2010)
8, Lil Wayne (Sept. 17, 2011)
7, Jay Z (July 27, 2013)
7, “Glee” Cast (April 2, 2011)
7, “Glee” Cast (Oct. 23, 2010)
Cook arrived with his record sum after winning “American Idol,” as the show’s weekly track sales are withheld throughout the season so as not to tip voters as to which contestants are faring the best commercially. Following each season’s coronation, sales are released in bulk, leading to Cook’s unprecedented honor. Swift, Lil Wayne and Jay Z have joined the list concurrent with album debuts, while the “Glee” Cast did so via its model of releasing several singles along with each new episode.
— Six tracks from Magna Carta… Holy Grail debut on the 25-position R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs chart. Notably, they’re six of the first seven songs on the set chronologically, offering yet more evidence that the most-streamed songs appear earliest on an album. Billboard first noticed that consumer behavior is tied to album sequencing when the most-streamed songs from Mumford & Sons’ Babel, upon its arrival last year, closely mirrored the set’s track order.
— And, it’s a case of all in the (Carter) family, as “Part II (On the Run)” enters the Hot 100 at No. 81. Featuring Jay Z’s wife, Beyonce, the song is the pair’s fifth collaboration to reach the chart and first since 2006. (Ten years ago this week, they were amid an eight-week reign with “Crazy in Love,” their lone co-billed No. 1.) As they didn’t marry until 2008, it is, thus, their first Hot 100 hit as husband-and-wife. As reader Pablo Nelson of Berkeley, Calif., reminds us, Jay Z has charted with his wife and daughter: “Glory,” featuring B.I.C. – aka, Blue Ivy Carter – rose to No. 63 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs last year. It features the then-newborn’s cries and coos, making her the youngest artist ever to appear on a Billboard chart.
