The Beatles’ Record For The Most Top Five Singles on The Billboard Hot 100 List is Broken by Drake
Drake has surpassed The Beatles’ previous record as the artist with the most Top Five singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 list.
The achievement was made possible by a cameo appearance on DJ Khaled’s most recent song, ‘Staying Alive,’ which was released on 5th August. The song heavily sampled the Bee Gees’ 1977 hit of the same name and also included bars from Lil Baby. According to Billboard, the song became Drake’s 30th Top Five hit when it debuted at Number Five on the most recent Hot 100 chart (dated for the week ending on 20th August).
However, a tally of Drake’s Hot 100 career reveals that he has really amassed 31 Top Five releases. The rapper’s second single from 2009, ‘Best I Ever Had,’ which peaked at Number Two, was the first track to chart in the bracket. In 2010, the same year he achieved his first Number One as a featured artist on Rihanna’s song ‘What’s My Name?’ He followed it up with the song ‘Thank Me Later’ cut ‘Find Your Love.’ With the help of Kyla and Wizkid, he achieved his first Number One as a lead artist in 2016 with the song ‘One Dance.’
The Beatles, in contrast, amassed 29 Top Five singles over the course of five years (compared to Drake’s 14), and outperformed Drake’s criteria with 20 songs reaching the top spot, three songs each reaching numbers two and three, two songs reaching numbers four, and one reaching number five. Additionally, the Fab Four were listed as the lead artist on each of their Top Five hits. The chart-topping songs released by or starring specific Beatles members are not included in this.
Drake performed earlier this month at the historic Young Money reunion event in Toronto alongside Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne. It was released the same week that he and Khalid released their duet ‘Staying Alive’ and the music video for his most recent solo single ‘Sticky.’
Drake’s seventh album, ‘Honestly, Nevermind,’ which was released in June, contains the song. NME’s Kyann-Sian Williams gave the album three stars and called it ‘an unexpected upgrade from the boring trap’ seen on ‘Certified Lover Boy’ from the previous year.
–Shantala
