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Drake Ties Michael Jackson For Most No. 1 Records On Billboard Hot 100
Drake’s “First Person Shooter” secured the leading position on the Billboard Hot 100 this week. The feat tied the Canadian rapper with Michael Jackson for the most hits by a male solo artist. The song, a collaboration with J. Cole, also marked the North Carolina artist’s inaugural summit on the chart.
Drizzy’s achievement is part of the broader success of his latest LP, For All The Dogs, which debuted at the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200. It generated an equivalent of 402,000 units, of which streaming constituted 391,000. The remainder came from album sales.
In terms of overall acts with the most leading tracks, both Drake and Jackson occupy the fourth spot. The Beatles remain unchallenged with 20, followed by Mariah Carey with 19 and Rihanna with 14. Furthermore, the Toronto native’s past seven top-ranked songs each experienced a brief one-week tenure at No. 1.
“‘Sicko Mode’ technically makes 14, but they didn’t count my feature, so we got work to do,” he wrote on his Instagram Story. The post referred to his 2018 collaboration with Travis Scott, which, according to him, should’ve added to his total.
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In a 2009 interview with MTV, Drake spoke about his admiration for Jackson. He shared, “I used to feel like, as a kid, it was the most amazing place for me to escape to because it was this world that Michael created. He was the first artist that I ever experienced that really… You’d get lost in Michael Jackson, in his music, the imagery.”
He added, “Now that I’m older, I can look back and be like, ‘Wow.’ You know, he was one of the most consistent entertainers of all time. For me, I remember just how much I used to watch that movie and study it.”
Beyond his record-tying accomplishment, Drake displayed a commanding presence on this week’s Hot 100 by occupying seven of the top 10 slots. Songs like “IDGAF” featuring Yeat and “Virginia Beach” claimed the second and third spots, respectively, while additional tracks such as “Calling for You” also made a strong showing.