Top 10 Longest Billboard Top 100 Reigns
#10: “Macarena (Bayside Boys Remix)” (1995)
Los del Rio Macarena’s legacy might be limited to weddings and other such events, but this song was actually a massive hit in the fall of 1996. Macarena was already an established hit in various South American countries and North American cities with a significant Latino presence, including Miami and New York. In 1995, the Bayside Boys remixed the song with English lyrics and the song shot off in North America. The remix reached #1 in August of 1996 and remained at the top for fourteen weeks, making the Macarena remix one of the most successful songs in Hot 100 history.
#9: “Despacito” (2017)
Top 5 Despacito Facts
Luis Fonsi feat. Daddy Yankee Yeah, you knew this was coming. There was seemingly no stopping the freight train that was Despacito. The song first made its appearance on the charts in February 2017, when it debuted at #88, and it peaked at #44 before Justin Bieber was brought on. Thanks to Biebs, the song shot to #1, where it remained for sixteen weeks. This makes Despacito tied for the longest reign at #1 in Hot 100 history. It also spent a whopping 52 weeks atop the Latin songs chart, and its music video became the most-watched video on YouTube after reaching three billion views. It has since surpassed 7 billion. Is there no stopping this song!?
#8: “Candle in the Wind 1997/Something About the Way You Look Tonight” (1997)
Elton John Candle in the Wind was originally released in 1973 in honor of Marilyn Monroe. Elton John and Bernie Taupin re-worked the song and re-released it 24 years later as a tribute to the late Princess Diana, who was famously killed in a car crash. It was released as a double-A side along Something About the Way You Look Tonight, and the double single was an instant success. It became Elton John’s ninth number one and topped the Hot 100 for fourteen weeks. It was also the first single to ever be certified diamond in the US, meaning ten million sales, and it is currently the second-highest selling single of all time at 33 million copies.
#7: “God’s Plan” (2018) & “Nice for What” (2018) & “In My Feelings” (2018)
Top 20 Craziest Billboard Music Award Moments
Drake Though “One Dance” topped the Hot 100 for 10 non-consecutive weeks in 2016, Drake’s year was undeniably 2018. It was then that “God’s Plan” debuted at number one and remained at the top of the Hot 100 for eleven weeks. Pretty impressive, until you take into account that Drake dethroned himself with “Nice for What”, and then it just becomes mind boggling. With “Nice for What” debuting at number one, Drake became the first artist in history to have a number one debut dethrone a previous number one debut. “Nice for What” lasted four consecutive weeks at number one, giving Drake fifteen consecutive weeks atop the Hot 100. Then, later that same year, “In My Feelings” would go on to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart for ten weeks!
#6: “I Will Always Love You” (1992)
Innersleeve # 23 Monster Magnet | L.A. Rats | Billboard Music Awards 2021
Whitney Houston It’s not often that a voice like Whitney Houston’s comes along, so it’s nice that it got the sort of enduring recognition it deserved. This song has always been considered Houston’s masterpiece due to her incredible vocals, and it is also her most popular. The song debuted at #40 but reached #1 only two weeks later. It then remained at the top of the charts for fourteen weeks, which set the record for the longest-running number one single in Hot 100 history up to that point. While Houston has since been dethroned, her song and memory have lived on - and we will always love her.
#5: “One Sweet Day” (1995)
Top 20 Best Billboard Music Awards Performances
Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men Both Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men dominated the ‘90s. So why not collaborate and get the double the dominance? That’s what they did with “One Sweet Day”.It was an instant and insanely massive success, debuting at number one and remaining at the top of the chart for sixteen consecutive weeks, a record that stood for over twenty years before Despacito tied it in 2017. It was also Mariah Carey’s tenth number one single, but if you think she peaked in the ‘90s, think again. Almost ten years after the release of “One Sweet Day,” Carey released “We Belong Together”, her comeback single that spent fourteen non-consecutive weeks at number one.
#4: “I Want to Hold Your Hand” (1963), “She Loves You” (1963) & “Can’t Buy Me Love” (1964)
Standing Eight - Hold On (Official Music Video)
The Beatles Yeah, suffice it to say that The Beatles were pretty popular. “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was a massive and unexpected success, spending seven weeks atop the Billboard chart before being declared the #1 song of 1964. They then knocked themselves off with “She Loves You”, the first time an act had dethroned itself since Elvis did it nearly ten years earlier. They replaced themselves yet again with “Can’t Buy Me Love”, making The Beatles the only artist in history to have three consecutive, self-replacing number one singles. The three songs spent a combined fourteen weeks atop the Billboard chart, a feat that was unheard of in 1964.
#3: “Old Town Road” (2018) & “Old Town Road (Remix)” (2019)
Salio - Another Road
Lil Nas X When it comes to fusion genres, country rap probably isn’t the first name to come to mind as a particularly popular one. Neither is Billy Ray Cyrus, if we’re talking country superstars after the 2000s. And yet, American rapper Lil Nas X wasn’t only able to effortlessly put the two together in the late 2010s; he was also able to make history with them when two versions of “Old Town Road” topped the Billboard Hot 100… for 19 weeks no less! And this, despite the fact that Billboard had previously removed the original version from the Hot Country Songs chart! Following viral success on TikTok, the “Hannah Montana” actor and country singer showed his support by contributing to the 2019 remix - and the rest is, as they say, history!
#2: “I’ll Make Love to You” (1994) & “On Bended Knee” (1994)
Top 10 Billboard Chart Topping Rocks Songs of All Time
Boyz II Men Remember what we said about Boyz II Men dominating the 90s? Yeah, we weren’t kidding. Their single “End of the Road” peaked for thirteen consecutive weeks in the fall of 1992. “I’ll Make Love to You” then reached number one in 1994 and remained at the top for fourteen weeks, tying the record that Whitney Houston had set two years earlier. They then replaced themselves at number one with “On Bended Knee”, the first time that an artist had done so since The Beatles accomplished the feat thirty years earlier. The two songs spent a combined twenty weeks at number one. For four straight months, it was nothing but Boyz II Men. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. “See You Again” (2015) Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth “Hot in Herre” (2002) & “Dilemma” (2002) Nelly “The Boy Is Mine” (1998) Brandy & Monica “I’ll Be Missing You” (1997) & “Mo Money Mo Problems” (1997) Puff Daddy “Uptown Funk” (2014) Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars
#1: “Boom Boom Pow” (2009) & “I Gotta Feeling” (2009)
The Black Eyed Peas Remember in 2009 when The Black Eyed Peas were everywhere? Good times. “Boom Boom Pow” was the band’s first number one single in the US, and it held the peak position for twelve consecutive weeks. Not bad for your first number one. But they were just getting started. “I Gotta Feeling” debuted at number two, securing the band the top two positions on the chart. It then dethroned “Boom Boom Pow” and held the top for a further fourteen weeks; together the two songs spent a combined 26 consecutive weeks atop the Hot 100. This means that The Black Eyed Peas held the number one spot for basically half of 2009.
