Lil Nas X's 'Old Town Road' Rules Billboard Hot 100 For Record-Tying 16th Week
7/22/2019 by Gary TrustThe song matches the reigns of "Despacito" & "One Sweet Day."
Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road," featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, rules the Billboard Hot 100 for a 16th week, tying the record for the most time tallied at No. 1 in the chart's six-decade history.
"Road" matches Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's "Despacito," featuring Justin Bieber, and Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men's "One Sweet Day," which spent a record 16 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 2017 and 1995-96, respectively.
Let's run down the top 10 of the newest Hot 100 (dated July 27), which blends all-genre U.S. streaming, radio airplay and digital sales data. All charts will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (July 23).
With a 16th week atop the Hot 100 for "Old Town Road," here's a look at the 10 longest-leading No. 1s in the chart's archives:
Weeks at No. 1, Title, Artist, Date Reached No. 1
16, "Old Town Road," Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus, beginning April 13, 2019
16, "Despacito," Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee feat. Justin Bieber, May 27, 2017
16, "One Sweet Day," Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men, Dec. 2, 1995
14, "Uptown Funk!," Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars, Jan. 17, 2015
14, "I Gotta Feeling," The Black Eyed Peas, July 11, 2009
14, "We Belong Together," Mariah Carey, June 4, 2005
14, "Candle in the Wind 1997"/"Something About the Way You Look Tonight," Elton John, Oct. 11, 1997
14, "Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)," Los Del Rio, Aug. 3, 1996
14, "I'll Make Love to You," Boyz II Men, Aug. 27, 1994
14, "I Will Always Love You," Whitney Houston, Nov. 28, 1992
As on the Hot 100, "Road" (on Columbia Records) leads the Streaming Songs chart for a 16th week, a likewise record-tying mark, equaling the run of "Despacito." "Road" rules Streaming Songs with 86.2 million U.S. streams, up 22%, in the week ending July 18, according to Nielsen Music. Helping power the surge, a new remix of "Road," with Young Thug and Mason Ramsey, was released July 12 (and accounts for less than a quarter of the song's overall streams in the tracking week).
"Road" set the record for the top streaming week (143 million) following the April 5 arrival of its remix solely with Cyrus (who has been billed on 15 of the song's 16 weeks atop the Hot 100) and claims nine of the 11 biggest streaming frames to date, including the top three.
"Road" spends a 12th week atop the Digital Song Sales chart with 45,000 downloads sold (up 4%; under 15% from the Young Thug and Ramsey remix), in the week ending July 18. On Radio Songs, where it reached No. 2, "Road" retreats 8-10, with 53.5 million audience impressions, down 18%, in the week ending July 21.
"Road" concurrently leads the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts for a 16th week each and the Songs of the Summer chart for an eighth frame, having topped the tally each week since its annual return after Memorial Day.
Billie Eilish's "Bad Guy" notches a sixth total week at its No. 2 Hot 100 high, as it pushes 4-2 on Streaming Songs (55.7 million, up 39%), as it wins the top Streaming Gainer award on the Hot 100, and 7-2 on Digital Song Sales (33,000, up 64%) and keeps at No. 5 on Radio Songs (85 million, up 7%).
Just as a new remix of "Road" helped boost the song in the latest tracking week, a remix of "Bad Guy" with Justin Bieber was released Thursday (July 11) afternoon, just ahead of the July 12-18 streaming and sales tracking week that fed this week's July 27-dated charts. (The Bieber remix accounts for around a third of streams and less than half of sales for "Bad Guy" in the tracking week.)
With each song helped by respective new remixes, "Road" increases by 13% in overall metrics on the July 27 Hot 100 and "Bad Guy" bounds by 32%. Despite the latter's greater growth, "Road" sports a 1.3-to-1 points difference over "Bad Guy," after leading by 1.5-to-1 last week (and 1.9-to-1 two weeks ago).
Looking ahead to next week, does "Old Town Road" appear likely to notch a record-breaking 17th week atop the Hot 100, besting "Despacito" and "Day"? Notably, "Despacito" in its 16th week at No. 1 also held a 1.3-to-1 points lead over its runner-up, DJ Khaled's "Wild Thoughts," featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller. And, "Day" in its 16th No. 1 frame led Brandy's "Sittin' Up in My Room" by a 1.2-to-1 margin. Still, neither challenger went on to dethrone the song above it: Taylor Swift's "Look What You Made Me Do" vaulted 77-1 following its first full tracking week to unseat "Despacito," while Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me" soared 5-1 to supplant "Day."
With no songs appearing likely to blast to the top, as Swift's "Look" or Dion's "Because" did, or to debut at No. 1, and with "Bad Guy" possibly regressing significantly in the second tracking week for its Bieber remix (moreso than "Road," given the greater gains for the former on this week's charts), the stage could be set for "Road" to rewrite history with a 17th week at No. 1 on next week's Hot 100, dated Aug. 3 and whose top 10 is scheduled to be revealed next Monday, July 29.
Beyond the Hot 100's top two contenders, Ed Sheeran and Bieber's No. 2-peaking "I Don't Care" ascends 6-3. As previously reported, the duet hits No. 1 on the Pop Songs radio airplay chart, while parent album No.6 Collaborations Project launches as Sheeran's third No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
Rounding out the Hot 100's top five, Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello's "Señorita" climbs 5-4, after debuting at its No. 2 high, and Khalid's "Talk" backtracks 4-5, after reaching No. 3, as it leads Radio Songs for a sixth week (133.3 million, essentially even week-over-week), as well as the streaming-, airplay- and sales-fueled Hot R&B Songs chart for a 13th frame.
Lizzo's "Truth Hurts" rebounds to its Hot 100 peak so far (7-6), scoring top Airplay Gainer kudos (65 million, up 24%), and Post Malone's "Goodbyes," featuring Young Thug, falls 3-7 in its second week.
Jonas Brothers' "Sucker" is steady at No. 8 on the Hot 100, after spending a week at No. 1 upon its debut in March, and Post Malone and Swae Lee's "Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)" holds at No. 9, after logging a week at No. 1 in January. "Sunflower" spends a 31st week in the top 10, becoming just the seventh single ever to reach the longevity milestone; Maroon 5's "Girls Like You," featuring Cardi B, and Sheeran's "Shape of You" share the record with 33 weeks each totaled in the top 10.
Capping the Hot 100's top 10, Chris Brown's "No Guidance," featuring Drake, returns to the tier (12-10), after debuting at its No. 9 high five weeks ago.
Find out more Hot 100 news on Billboard.com this week, and, for all chart news, you can listen (and subscribe) to Billboard's Chart Beat Podcast and Pop Shop Podcast and follow
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billboardcharts . And again, be sure to visit Billboard.com tomorrow (July 23), when all charts, including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh. The next issue of Billboard magazine is on sale Friday (July 26).
