Drake Just Broke Michael Jackson’s Billboard Record

Drake just did something no solo male artist has done in the 67-year history of the Billboard Hot 100. And then he did about five more things on top of it.

“Janice STFU” debuted at No. 1 this week, giving Drake his 14th career Hot 100 leader and breaking him out of a tie with Michael Jackson for the most No. 1 hits by a solo male artist in the chart’s history. He now ties Rihanna and Taylor Swift at 14 apiece across all acts. Only Mariah Carey (19) and the Beatles (20) have more.

The song drew 69.4 million streams and 3,000 sales worldwide in its first week, according to Luminate.

The Numbers Are Absurd

The No. 1 was just the headline. The full picture is staggering.

Drake charted a record 42 songs on the Hot 100 in a single week — all from his three new albums, ICEMAN, HABIBTI, and MAID OF HONOUR, which dropped May 15 on OVO Sound/Republic. That demolishes Morgan Wallen’s previous single-week record of 37 entries from last year. With 40 of those 42 being debuts, Drake also became the first artist ever to accumulate more than 400 career Hot 100 entries.

He occupies nine of the top 10 slots. The only song in the top 10 that isn’t his is Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas.”

On the Billboard 200 albums chart, ICEMAN debuted at No. 1 with 463,000 equivalent album units — the vast majority from streaming, pulling in over 462 million official on-demand streams. HABIBTI landed at No. 2 and MAID OF HONOUR at No. 3, making Drake the first artist in the chart’s 70-year history to hold the top three spots simultaneously.

That also pushed his career total to 15 No. 1 albums, surpassing Jay-Z for the most by a solo male artist and tying Taylor Swift among all solo acts.

What It Means

The records Drake broke this week span decades of chart history. He passed Michael Jackson, Jay-Z, and Morgan Wallen in a single chart cycle. He tied Taylor Swift and Rihanna. The only names still ahead of him on any list are Mariah Carey and the Beatles — and at 39, with three albums dropped in one night, he doesn’t appear to be slowing down.

On the Global 200, “Janice STFU” also debuted at No. 1, with Drake claiming eight of the top 10 globally. He joins BTS and Taylor Swift as the only artists to ever hold the chart’s top seven positions in a single week.

Fourteen No. 1s. Forty-two songs on the chart in one week. Three albums in the top three at once. Whatever the opposite of a quiet week is, Drake just had it.