Adele Scores Her Longest Hot 100 Reign With Eighth Week at No. 1 for ‘Hello’
Adele‘s “Hello” rules the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Jan. 2) for an eighth week, marking her longest command atop the chart. It has spent all of its chart weeks at No. 1, after debuting atop the…
Adele‘s “Hello” rules the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Jan. 2) for an eighth week, marking her longest command atop the chart. It has spent all of its chart weeks at No. 1, after debuting atop the Nov. 14 list.
As we do every Monday, let’s run down the Hot 100’s top 10 and beyond. Highlights of the airplay/sales/streaming-based Hot 100 post on Billboard.com each Monday, with all charts updated each Tuesday.
With an eighth week atop the Hot 100 for “Hello,” Adele rewrites her longest No. 1 stay: her first leader, “Rolling in the Deep,” ruled for seven weeks in 2011 (and went on to become the No. 1 song on the 2011 year-end Hot 100). She also led for five weeks in 2011 with “Someone Like You” and for two frames in 2012 with “Set Fire to the Rain.” Her first three No. 1s were released from her sophomore album, 21. “Hello” ushered in Adele’s third studio album, 25 (XL/Columbia Records), which leads the Billboard 200 for a fourth week and, as of this week, becomes the best-selling album since 21.
(As reader Jeff Lerner pointed out, thanks to “Deep” and “Hello,” Adele is the first British solo artist to score two No. 1s with at least seven-week commands apiece, and the only British act other than the Beatles to do so. The Fab Four led for seven weeks with “I Want to Hold Your Hand” in 1964 and for nine frames with “Hey Jude” in 1968.)
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“Hello” tops Radio Songs for a sixth week (equaling her longest rule, first set by “Deep” and “Fire”) with 170 million all-format audience impressions (essentially even from last week, according to Nielsen Music). On Streaming Songs, it slips to No. 2 after totaling its first seven weeks at No. 1 (21.6 million U.S. streams, down 18 percent).
“Hello” holds at No. 2 on Digital Songs after five nonconsecutive weeks on top (153,000 sold, down 3 percent). As previously reported, Jordan Smith, the newly crowned champion of NBC’s The Voice, debuts atop Digital Songs with “Mary Did You Know,” which starts with 161,000 sold; the song bows at No. 24 on the Hot 100; No. 1 on Hot Christian Songs; and No. 2 on the Holiday 100. Last week, Smith started at No. 1 on Digital Songs, and No. 21 on the Hot 100, with his cover of Queen‘s “Somebody to Love.”
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It’s notable that “Hello” has spent its first eight weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100. It ties for the fourth-longest stretch that a No. 1-debuting song has stayed at the summit. Here’s a look at the hits to link the most consecutive weeks atop the Hot 100 from their debuts at No. 1:
16 weeks, “One Sweet Day,” Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men, 1995-96
14 weeks, “Candle in the Wind” / “Something About the Way You Look Tonight,” Elton John, 1997-98
11 weeks, “I’ll Be Missing You,” Puff Daddy & Faith Evans feat. 112, 1997
8 weeks, “Hello,” Adele, 2015
8 weeks, “Fantasy,” Mariah Carey, 1995
Thus, before “Hello,” no song had debuted atop the Hot 100 and remained at No. 1 for at least eight weeks since Elton John‘s “Candle in the Wind” / “Something About the Way You Look Tonight” 18 years ago.
Meanwhile, second 25 single “When We Were Young” rebounds 78-55 on the Hot 100, led by its 23-20 jump on the Adult Pop Songs airplay chart and its No. 32 debut on Pop Songs.
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Beneath “Hello” on the Hot 100, Justin Bieber‘s “Sorry” holds at its No. 2 peak after debuting at the rank (below “Hello”) seven weeks ago. Still, Bieber earns a milestone: “Sorry” becomes his first No. 1 on the Streaming Songs chart, where it rises 2-1 (23.7 million, down 4 percent). It leads the subscription services-based On-Demand Songs chart for a fifth week (10.5 million on-demand streams, up 3 percent. “Sorry” holds at No. 2 on Radio Songs (142 million, up 9 percent) and No. 3 on Digital Songs (104,000, down 1 percent).
“Sorry” is the second single from Bieber’s album Purpose, which bowed atop the Billboard 200 four weeks ago. Lead single “What Do You Mean?” drops 4-5 on the Hot 100 after debuting as his first No. 1 on the Sept. 19 chart, swapping spots with the set’s third single, “Love Yourself” (5-4), which returns to its best rank after debuting at No. 4 four weeks ago. Thus, as he did last week and four weeks ago, Bieber boasts three concurrent songs in the Hot 100’s top five, an honor that only two other acts have achieved: the Beatles, who charted at least three songs in the top five for eight weeks in 1964 (including the entire top five on April 4, 1964), and 50 Cent (two weeks in 2005). Bieber and the Beatles are the only acts to earn the honor as a lead artist on all three songs, as well as for at least three weeks each.
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As previously reported, “Sorry” also becomes Bieber’s second No. 1 on the Pop Songs airplay tally, following “Mean.”
Could “Sorry” dethrone “Hello” on next week’s Hot 100? “Hello” decreases by 9 percent in overall activity on this week’s chart, while “Sorry” is down by less than 1 percent, perhaps setting the stage for a close race for the summit next week.
In between Bieber’s top two hits this week, Drake‘s “Hotline Bling” remains at No. 3 on the Hot 100 after reaching No. 2. It logs an eighth week at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and rules Hot Rap Songs for a 13th week.
Selena Gomez‘s “Same Old Love” rises to a new best Hot 100 rank (9-6). The Chart-Topper winner at Billboard‘s 2015 Women in Music celebration Dec. 11 (and broadcast on Lifetime Friday, Dec. 18), Gomez also pushes 77-62 with fellow Revival track “Hands to Myself,” whose official video is set for release today (according to Gomez’s official social accounts).
The Weeknd‘s former six-week No. 1 “The Hills” drops 6-7 on the Hot 100 but continues the R&B/pop star’s impressive streak: he has now ranked in the top 10 with at least one song for 44 consecutive weeks, marking the fourth-longest streak of consecutive frames in the top 10, and the best such run by a solo male. Here’s an updated look at the acts to spend the most weeks in-a-row in the top 10 in the Hot 100’s 57-year history:
69 weeks, Katy Perry, 2010-11?
48 weeks, Ace of Base, 1993-94
46 weeks, Rihanna, 2010-11
?44 weeks, The Weeknd, 2015
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The Weeknd also surges 19-12 on the Hot 100 with his latest single, “In the Night,” perhaps angling to keep his top 10 streak going with and/or beyond “The Hills.”
Alessia Cara‘s debut hit “Here” holds at its No. 8 Hot 100 high, while Shawn Mendes‘ “Stitches” retreats 7-9 after peaking at No. 4. As covered recently in the “Ask Billboard” reader mailbag, Canadians, including Mendes and Cara, along with Bieber, Drake and The Weeknd, continue to control the Hot 100, posting seven songs in the top 10 for a fifth week.
Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Meghan Trainor‘s “Like I’m Gonna Lose You,” featuring John Legend, stays at No. 10 after peaking at No. 8.
Among action outside the Hot 100’s top 10, in addition to The Weeknd’s move with “Night” and Jordan Smith’s debut, Drake and Future‘s “Jumpman” rises 14-13 (nearing its prior No. 12 peak) and twenty one pilots touch down in the top 20 for the first time with “Stressed Out” (28-19).
Find out more noteworthy news throughout the chart in the weekly “Hot 100 Chart Moves” column to post later this week. And, visit Billboard.com tomorrow (Dec. 22), when all rankings, including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh, as they do each Tuesday.