Beyonce’s ‘Break My Soul’ Soars to No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100
Plus, Steve Lacy and Nicky Youre & dazy all earn their first Hot 100 top 10s.
By Gary Trust
08/8/2022
Beyoncé‘s “Break My Soul” bounds to No. 1, from No. 6, on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. The song marks the superstar’s eighth solo leader on the list. The track, which debuted at No. 15 six weeks earlier, is from her new LP Renaissance, which launches as her seventh No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
Concurrently, two songs ascend to the Hot 100’s top 10: Steve Lacy‘s “Bad Habit” (11-7), which also rises to the top of the Streaming Songs chart, and Nicky Youre and dazy’s “Sunroof” (12-9), marking all three acts’ first trips to the Hot 100’s top tier.
The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data. All charts (dated Aug. 13, 2022) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Aug. 9). For all chart news, you can follow
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“Break My Soul,” released on Parkwood/Columbia Records, becomes the 1,140th No. 1 in the Hot 100’s 64-year history.
Airplay, sales & streams: “Soul” drew 61.7 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 8%) and 18.9 million streams (up 114%) and sold 13,000 downloads (up 113%) in the July 29-Aug. 4 tracking week, according to Luminate, as the song claims dual top Streaming and Sales Gainer honors on the Hot 100.
The track vaults 25-3 on Streaming Songs and holds at its No. 4 high on the Radio Songs chart.
In addition to its original version on Renaissance, “Soul” was available in six alternate forms during the tracking week: its Honey Dijon, Terry Hunter and will.i.am remixes; its Nita Aviance club mix; and a cappella and instrumental versions. (Its “The Queens Remix,” with Madonna and which shouts out a host of influential Black female entertainers, arrived Aug. 5, the first day of the tracking week for next week’s Billboard charts, dated Aug. 20.)
Beyoncé’s eighth solo Hot 100 No. 1: Beyoncé lands her eighth Hot 100 No. 1 as a soloist. Here’s a recap:
“Crazy in Love,” feat. Jay-Z, eight weeks at No. 1, beginning July 12, 2003
“Baby Boy,” feat. Sean Paul, nine, Oct. 4, 2003
“Check on It,” feat. Slim Thug, five, Feb. 4, 2006
“Irreplaceable,” 10, Dec. 16, 2006
“Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” four, Dec. 13, 2008
“Perfect” (Ed Sheeran duet with Beyoncé), five (on which she was credited; the song led for six weeks total), Dec. 23, 2017
“Savage” (Megan Thee Stallion feat. Beyoncé), one, May 30, 2020
“Break My Soul,” one week to-date, Aug. 13, 2022
Additionally, Destiny’s Child, with Beyoncé as a member, notched four Hot 100 No. 1s: “Bills, Bills, Bills” (for one week in 1999); “Say My Name” (three weeks, 2000); “Independent Women (Part 1)” (11, 2000-01); and “Bootylicious” (two, 2001).
Beyoncé’s 19-year span of solo Hot 100 No. 1s: From the first week at No. 1 on the Hot 100 for “Crazy in Love” through, now, the coronation of “Soul,” Beyoncé spans 19 years and one month of appearing atop the chart – the eighth-best mark in the ranking’s archives.
Longest Spans of Hot 100 No. 1s:
Mariah Carey – 31 years, five months, one week (Aug. 4, 1990-Jan. 8, 2022)
Cher – 28 years, five months (Nov. 6, 1971-April 3, 1999)
Beach Boys – 24 years, four months (July 4, 1964-Nov. 5, 1988)
Elton John – 24 years, 11 months, one week (Feb. 3, 1973-Jan. 10, 1998)
Michael Jackson – 22 years, 10 months, three weeks (Oct. 14, 1972-Sept. 2, 1995)
Stevie Wonder – 22 years, six months (Aug. 10, 1963-Feb. 8, 1986)
Rod Stewart – 22 years, four months (Oct. 2, 1971-Feb. 5, 1994)
Beyoncé – 19 years, one month (July 12, 2003-Aug. 13, 2022)
George Harrison – 17 years, three weeks (Dec. 26, 1970-Jan. 16, 1988)
Madonna – 15 years, nine months, one week (Dec. 22, 1984-Oct. 7, 2000)
Notably, in looking at acts’ group and solo careers combined, Beyoncé’s span of appearing atop the Hot 100 stretches over 23 years and three weeks, from the first week at No. 1 for Destiny’s Child’s “Bills, Bills, Bills” (July 17, 1999) through this week’s takeover on top for “Soul.” Similarly among the acts above, Cher’s career span including Sonny & Cher and her solo No. 1s would encompass (a record) 33 years, seven months and two weeks (1965-99); Michael Jackson’s Jackson 5 and solo output would span 25 years, seven months and a week (1970-95); and George Harrison’s time with The Beatles and as soloist would amount to a No. 1 span of 23 years, 11 months and two weeks (1964-88).
Meanwhile (as first noted when Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage,” featuring Beyoncé, hit No. 1), Beyoncé and Mariah Carey are the only acts to place atop the Hot 100 in four distinct decades – the 1990s, 2000s, ’10s & ’20s for both – thanks to the former’s runs at No. 1 with Destiny’s Child in the ’90s and solo in the ’00s-’20s, and Carey’s reigns in each decade, including in the ’10s and ’20s with “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
Beyoncé’s wait between Hot 100 No. 1s in lead roles: With “Soul,” Beyoncé scores her first Hot 100 No. 1 in a lead role in 13 years and seven months, since “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” in 2009. That gap marks the longest among acts with lead billing on both bookending leaders since Cher, whose “Believe” ascended to the top of the chart in March 1999, a record 10 days shy of 25 years since she’d last led with “Dark Lady” in March 1974.
Seventh-most weeks at No. 1: Beyoncé boasts the seventh-most weeks spent atop the Hot 100, as “Soul” ups her count to 43 in her solo career.
Most Weeks at No. 1 on Hot 100:
87, Mariah Carey
60, Rihanna
59, The Beatles
54, Drake
50, Boyz II Men
47, Usher
43, Beyoncé
37, Michael Jackson
34, Adele
34, Elton John
34, Bruno Mars
Further, Destiny’s Child spent 17 weeks at No. 1 among their four Hot 100 leaders, making for 60 weeks at the summit for Beyoncé if we were to combine her solo and the group’s songs. (Among the acts above, Paul McCartney [89 weeks total; 30 solo], both George Harrison and John Lennon [65; six] and Ringo Starr [61; two] would also sport higher sums of weeks at No. 1 mixing their solo leaders and those by The Beatles with them as members, while Michael Jackson’s total would extend to 47, thanks to 10 weeks at No. 1 for the Jackson 5.)
A No. 1 ‘Show’-ing: “Break” indirectly brings a house classic to No. 1 on the Hot 100, as it contains elements of Robin S.’s “Show Me Love,” co-written by Allen George and Fred McFarlane. The latter two talents receive songwriting credit on “Break” and rank atop the chart as writers for the first time. “Show Me Love” hit No. 5 in June 1993.
Beyoncé is among the eight credited writers and four billed producers on “Break.”
‘Break’-ing down ‘Soul’ music at No. 1: Beyoncé’s new Hot 100 No. 1 marks the latest with the words “break” or “soul” in a song title. Here’s a recap of each:
“Don’t Break the Heart That Loves You,” Connie Francis, 1962
“Breaking Up Is Hard To Do,” Neil Sedaka, 1962
“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” Elton John & Kiki Dee, 1976
“Un-Break My Heart,” Toni Braxton, 1996-97
“Heartbreaker,” Mariah Carey feat. Jay-Z, 1999
“Break Your Heart,” Taio Cruz feat. Ludacris, 2010
“Break My Soul,” Beyoncé, 2022
(Beyoncé joins husband Jay-Z for the distinction.)
“(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration,” The Righteous Brothers, 1966
“Crank That (Soulja Boy),” Soulja Boy Tell’em, 2007
“Break My Soul,” Beyoncé, 2022
(Beyoncé is, thus, the … sole … woman with a Hot 100 No. 1 with “soul” in its title, with all due … respect … to the Queen of Soul.)
No. 1 Hot 100, R&B/hip-hop, R&B & dance: As it reaches No. 1 on the Hot 100, “Soul” concurrently climbs to the top of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot R&B Songs charts, which use the same multi-metric methodology as the Hot 100. Beyoncé adds her 10th No. 1 on the former and her third on the latter (which began in October 2012). The track also tops the multi-metric Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart for a sixth week. “Soul” makes history as the first song to lead all four lists (dating to start of the youngest survey among them, Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, in January 2013).
“Break” dethrones Lizzo’s “About Damn Time” atop the Hot 100, after the latter, at No. 2, led the last two weeks. Still, “Time” tallies a fifth week at No. 1 on Radio Songs (93.9 million, up 3%).
Harry Styles’ former 10-week Hot 100 No. 1 “As It Was” slips 2-3. It adds a 10th week atop the Songs of the Summer chart, as it has led the seasonal survey, which tracks the biggest hits between Memorial Day and Labor Day, each week this summer.
Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” backtracks to No. 4 from its No. 3 Hot 100 high. Its revival sparked by its sync in the fourth season of Netflix’s Stranger Things, the song, originally released in 1985 (when it reached No. 30), tops the multi-metric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, Hot Rock Songs and Hot Alternative Songs charts for a ninth week each.
Future’s “Wait for U,” featuring Drake and Tems, is stationary at No. 5 on the Hot 100, after a week at No. 1 beginning in its debut frame in May, as it rebounds for a second week atop the multi-metric Hot Rap Songs chart, and Jack Harlow’s “First Class” falls 4-6 on the Hot 100, following three weeks at No. 1 starting upon its debut in April.
Steve Lacy achieves his first Hot 100 top 10, as “Bad Habit” jumps 11-7, largely fueled by its coronation on Streaming Songs (2-1; 20 million, up 8%). It also drew 10 million in radio airplay audience (up 247%) and sold 800 downloads (up 26%) in the tracking week.
The song, which made Lacy a Hot 100 First-Timer when it debuted at No. 100 on the chart dated July 16, follows the Compton, Calif., native’s appearances as a recording artist on other Billboard charts, first as a member of The Internet and then via collaborations as a soloist alongside acts including Frank Ocean, Tyler, The Creator and Vampire Weekend. “Bad Habit” is from Lacy’s LP Gemini Rights, which bowed on multiple charts dated July 30, including at No. 1 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums, No. 3 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and No. 7 on the Billboard 200.
Bad Bunny and Chencho Corleone’s “Me Porto Bonito” repeats at No. 8 on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 6, and tops the multi-metric Hot Latin Songs chart for a 12th week.
Nicky Youre and dazy’s “Sunroof” rides 12-9 on the Hot 100, marking each act’s first top 10. It lifts 8-6 on Radio Songs (55.7 million, up 18%, as it wins the Hot 100’s top Airplay Gainer nod) and drew 8.6 million streams (up 6%) and sold 3,000 (up 21%) in the tracking week.
The team-up marks the first title to reach Billboard‘s charts for both artists, with Orange County, Calif., native Nicky Youre having received a DM from dazy on Instagram, spurring the song, which the former wrote and the latter produced.
Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Harry Styles’ “Late Night Talking” dips 7-10, after it hit No. 4 upon its debut in June.
Again, for all chart news, you can follow
billboard and
billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram and all charts (dated Aug. 13), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (Aug. 9).
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes an exhaustive and thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data, removing any suspicious or unverifiable activity using established criteria before final chart calculations are made and published. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious and unverifiable is disqualified prior to final calculations.
