The Year in Chart Achievements: BTS, Cardi B, Bruno Mars & More
A look at the most notable chart numbers of 2018, from 100 to 1.
As always, 2018 brought unprecedented feats, and some quirky happenings, to Billboard charts.
Let’s recap 10 of the most notable achievements on Billboard tallies, on the Billboard Hot 100, Billboard 200 and more, over the past year.
Explore All of Billboard‘s Year-End 2018 Charts
100 – Nicki Minaj became the first woman to reach 100 career Hot 100 appearances. She joined the Glee Cast (which leads with 207), Drake, Lil Wayne and Elvis Presley in the triple-digit club.
56 – Record total weeks atop Hot Latin Songs for Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee‘s “Despacito,” featuring Justin Bieber. The reign began in February 2017 and ran through this August.
50 – Similarly, Florida Georgia Line and Bebe Rexha shattered the mark for the most time atop Hot Country Songs: 50 weeks, with “Meant to Be.”
36 – With Egypt Station, Paul McCartney notched his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 in over 36 years, ending the longest gap between leaders for a living artist in the chart’s history. “You know, it feels really great,” he told Billboard. “‘Cause you can’t get much higher than No. 1, you know?”
34 – Record consecutive weeks that rap songs led the Hot 100, between Drake‘s “God’s Plan” in February and “In My Feelings” in September. Speaking of Drake …
33 – Total Hot 100 top 10s to date for Drake, who set the mark for the most among solo males. Only Madonna (38) and The Beatles (34) boast more.
26(th letter of the alphabet) – The highest-charting Hot 100 hit that begins with the letter “Z”? “ZEZE”! Kodak Black‘s track (featuring Travis Scott and Offset) reached No. 2 in October. It zoomed past the prior zenith: No. 8 for “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah,” by Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans, in 1963.
3 – Bruno Mars joined Mariah Carey and Beyoncé as the only artists with at least three top five Hot 100 hits from each of their first three proper albums, as “Finesse,” with Cardi B, reached, appropriately, No. 3 in January. It followed the title track and “That’s What I Like” from his 24K Magic LP.
2 – More Cardi B, who became the first female rapper with two Hot 100 No. 1s. In July, “I Like It,” with Bad Bunny and J Balvin, led, after her debut hit, “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves),” ruled for three weeks in October 2017.
1 – BTS earned the first two No. 1 albums by a K-pop act on the Billboard 200: Love Yourself: Tear, in June, and Love Yourself: Answer, in September.
Additional reporting by Keith Caulfield
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