Drake ties Michael Jackson’s record for number one hits
Written by Brooklyn Masuku on 20 October, 2023
Canadian recording artist Drake does it again! With his recent release “For All the Dogs” topping the Billboard 200 chart, he also ties The King of Pop, Michael Jackson, as having the most No. 1 songs by a solo male act, according to Billboard.
Drake jumped from the No. 8 slot to the top of the Billboard Artist 100 chart. The star also launched at No. 1 with his latest project, For All the Dogs, on the Billboard 200 with 402,000 equivalent album units earned from the period of Oct. 6-12 for its opening week, according to Luminate. With that number, Drake’s latest album is one of the top five (No. 4) of this year thus far.
Image: Drake, Twitter
This album marks the fourth-biggest release week of the year. Taylor Swift’s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) had 716,000 units to win the top spot, while Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time, with 501,000 units, slides in at number two, and Travis Scott’s Utopia hitting third with 496,000 units.
Drake’s “First Person Shooter,” which features fellow rapper J. Cole, debuted at No. 1. The song became J. Cole’s very first No.1 record, but it is Drake’s 13th, and matches the same number of singles Jackson had for the most No. 1s among solo male recording artists.
For All the Dogs had 514 million on-demand streams in its first week. That was good enough to be the fourth highest single-week total for an album. Drake holds three of the top four single-week totals. His first-week total of Scorpion totaled 745.9 million in 2018, while Certified Lover Boy had a number of 743.7 million streams in 2021. The only non-Drake entry in the top four is Swift’s Midnights, which saw 549.3 million streams in 2022.
When it comes to the most number one hits in U.S. history, The Beatles maintain their unrivaled status with a staggering 20 chart-toppers. Mariah Carey comes in second place with an impressive 19 number one hits, followed by Rihanna with 14. Drake is now steadily advancing towards Rihanna’s record.