Every Song in History That Debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 - Business Insider
Updated
The Billboard Hot 100 is widely considered the definitive all-genre singles chart in the US.
Although it was officially launched in 1958, Billboard began using modern airplay and sales data in 1991 — allowing for more time-sensitive calculations and accurate rankings.
Well over 1,000 songs have reached the coveted No. 1 spot, but it's far more difficult for a song to debut in the top position; it typically means a much-promoted single has met high expectations, or at least that an artist is supported and beloved by a legion of fans.
Keep reading for a complete list of instant chart-toppers throughout history.
Michael Jackson was the first artist to achieve this feat with "You Are Not Alone," which debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated September 2, 1995.
It was the second single from Jackson's ninth studio album "HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I."
"Fantasy" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated September 30, 1995. It was the lead single from Mariah Carey's fifth studio album "Daydream."
"Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated November 25, 1995. It was the lead single from the soundtrack for the film "Waiting to Exhale."
"One Sweet Day" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated December 2, 1995. It was the second single from Carey's fifth studio album "Daydream."
"I'll Be Missing You" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated June 14, 1997. It was the second single from "No Way Out," the debut album from Diddy, then known as Puff Daddy.
"Honey" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated September 13, 1997. It was the lead single from Carey's sixth studio album "Butterfly."
"Candle in the Wind 1997/Something About The Way You Look Tonight" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated October 11, 1997. The double A-side single later became the first song ever to be certified diamond.
"My Heart Will Go On" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated February 28, 1998.
The famous ballad was written for the soundtrack of "Titanic" and served as the movie's main romantic theme. It was also released as a single from Dion's fifth English-language album "Let's Talk About Love."
"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated September 5, 1998. It was recorded for the film "Armageddon," starring Liv Tyler.
"Doo Wop (That Thing)" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated November 14, 1998. It was the lead single from Lauryn Hill's debut album "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill."
"This Is the Night" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated June 28, 2003. It was Clay Aiken's debut single after competing on season two of "American Idol."
"I Believe" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated July 10, 2004. It was Fantasia's debut single after winning season three of "American Idol."
"Inside Your Heaven" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated July 2, 2005. It was Carrie Underwood's debut single after winning season four of "American Idol."
Underwood made history as the first country artist to have a No. 1 debut on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Do I Make You Proud" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated July 1, 2006. Taylor Hicks first performed the song on the fifth season finale of "American Idol," and it was released as a single shortly after his victory.
"3" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated October 24, 2009. It was the lead (and only) single from Britney Spears' second greatest hits album "The Singles Collection."
"Not Afraid" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated May 22, 2010. It was the lead single from Eminem's seventh studio album "Recovery."
"We R Who We R" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated November 13, 2010. It was the lead single from Kesha's debut EP "Cannibal."
"Hold It Against Me" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated January 29, 2011. It was the lead single from Spears' seventh studio album "Femme Fatale."
"Born This Way" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated February 26, 2011. It was the lead single from Lady Gaga's second studio album of the same name.
"Part of Me" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated March 3, 2012. It was the lead single from "Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection," a reissue of Katy Perry's third studio album.
"Harlem Shake" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated March 2, 2013.
Baauer's viral hit benefited from a recent adjustment to the Hot 100's formula, which saw the chart begin incorporating YouTube data. The chart methodology is updated at least once a year, to reflect rapidly evolving listening trends. (YouTube song user-generated content was later removed from chart calculations in 2020.)
"Shake It Off" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated September 6, 2014. It was the lead single from Taylor Swift's fifth studio album "1989."
"What Do You Mean?" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated September 19, 2015. It was the lead single from Justin Bieber's fourth studio album "Purpose."
"Hello" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated November 14, 2015. It was the lead single from Adele's third studio album "25," which sold over 3 million copies in its first week.
"Pillowtalk" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated February 20, 2016. It was the lead single from Zayn's debut solo album "Mind of Mine."
"Can't Stop the Feeling!" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated May 28, 2016. It was the lead single for the soundtrack of the film "Trolls."
"Shape of You" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated January 28, 2017. It was one of the lead singles, along with "Castle on the Hill," from Ed Sheeran's third studio album "Divide."
"I'm the One" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated May 20, 2017. It was the second single from DJ Khaled's 10th studio album "Grateful."
"God's Plan" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated February 3, 2018. It was the lead single from Drake's fifth studio album "Scorpion."
"Nice for What" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated April 21, 2018. It was released as the second single from "Scorpion."
"This Is America" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated May 19, 2018. It was released as a standalone single and later became the first rap song to win record of the year at the 2019 Grammys.
"Thank U, Next" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated November 17, 2018. It was the lead single from Ariana Grande's fifth studio album of the same name.
"7 Rings" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated February 2, 2019. It was the second single from "Thank U, Next."
"Sucker" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated March 16, 2019. It was the lead single from the Jonas Brothers' fifth studio album "Happiness Begins."
"Highest in the Room" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated October 19, 2019. It was featured on "JackBoys," a compilation EP by Travis Scott and other members of his label.
"Toosie Slide" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated April 18, 2020. It was the lead single from Drake's compilation mixtape "Dark Lane Demo Tapes."
"The Scotts" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated May 9, 2020. It was the debut single from newly formed hip-hop duo The Scotts, aka Travis Scott and Kid Cudi.
"Stuck With U" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated May 23, 2020. It was released as a charity single to raise money for the First Responders Children's Foundation.
"Rain On Me" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated June 6, 2020. It was the second single from Gaga's sixth studio album "Chromatica."
"Trollz" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated June 27, 2020. It became the fifth No. 1 debut in 2020 alone, marking a new single-year high.
"Cardigan" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated August 8, 2020 — the same week as its parent album "Folklore" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making Swift the first artist ever to debut at No. 1 on both charts in the same week.
"Folklore" received less than 24 hours' promotion before its release at midnight on July 24. The music video for "Cardigan" arrived at the same time.
"WAP" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated August 22, 2020. It was Cardi B's first single since 2019's "Press" and became her fourth No. 1 hit.
The raunchy song also became the fourth all-female collaboration to hit No. 1 in 2020 — and just the ninth in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 — while setting a record for first-week streams with 93 million.
"Dynamite," the septet's first all-English-language single, debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated September 5, 2020.
BTS is the first all-South Korean group to top the Hot 100.
"Franchise" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated October 10, 2020.
It became Scott's third single to debut atop the chart in less than a year — following "Highest in the Room" and "The Scotts" — setting a record for "the fastest accumulation of three No. 1 entrances by any artist in the Hot 100's history.
It was Scott's fourth No. 1 song overall, Young Thug's second, and M.I.A.'s first.
"Positions" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated November 7, 2020. It was the lead single from Grande's sixth studio album of the same name.
Grande made history as the first artist with three No. 1 Hot 100 debuts in a single calendar year.
"Life Goes On" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated December 5, 2020, the same week as its parent album "Be" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — making BTS the second artist in history to debut at No. 1 on both charts simultaneously, mere months after Swift became the first.
"Willow" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated December 26, 2020 — the same week as its parent album "Evermore" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
Swift became the first artist in history to debut on top of both charts simultaneously — twice.
She previously became the first artist to do so with "Folklore," less than five months previously.
"Willow" was also the 12th song in 2020 to arrive on the chart in its top position, handily setting a single-year record.
"Drivers License," Olivia Rodrigo's official debut single, debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated January 23, 2021.
At just 17 years old, the Disney Channel star is the youngest solo artist in history to arrive atop the Hot 100. The record was previously held by Fantasia, who was 20 when "I Believe" debuted at No. 1.
"What's Next" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated March 20, 2021.
The rapper became the first artist in history to have three songs arrive in the Hot 100's top three simultaneously. "What's Next" was joined by "Wants and Needs," featuring Lil Baby, at No. 2, and "Lemon Pepper Freestyle," featuring Rick Ross, at No. 3.
"Peaches" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated April 3, 2021, becoming Bieber's fourth instant chart-topper.
It was released as the fifth single from Bieber's sixth studio album "Justice," which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 the same week.
"Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated April 10, 2021. It was the lead single from Lil Nas X's debut studio album "Montero."
"Rapstar" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated April 24, 2021. It was the third single from Polo G's third album "Hall of Fame."
"Good 4 U" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated May 29, 2021. It was the third single from Rodrigo's debut studio album "Sour."
"Butter," the second all-English single from BTS, debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated June 5, 2021.
"Permission to Dance" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated July 24, 2021, giving BTS their fourth instant chart-topper in less than one year.
"Way 2 Sexy" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated September 18, 2021. It was the lead single from Drake's sixth studio album "Certified Lover Boy," which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 the same week.
"My Universe" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated October 9, 2021. It was the second single from Coldplay's ninth studio album "Music of the Spheres."
Thanks to their feature, BTS claimed their fifth No. 1 debut.
"All Too Well (Taylor's Version)" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated November 27, 2021.
It was released alongside Swift's rerecorded album "Red (Taylor's Version)," which simultaneously debuted atop the Billboard 200.
"All Too Well (Taylor's Version)" was included on the updated "Red" tracklist in two different iterations: its original five-minute length, as well the long-awaited 10-minute version, both of which are combined into one listing on Billboard's charts.
At 10 minutes and 13 seconds long, "All Too Well" is officially the longest No. 1 hit of all time.
The record was previously held by Don McLean's 1972 hit "American Pie (Parts I & II)," which ran for 8 minutes and 37 seconds.
"As It Was" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated April 16, 2022. It was released as the lead single from Harry Styles' third solo album "Harry's House."
The song dropped out of first place in its second week of tracking, but later returned to the No. 1 spot for 15 nonconsecutive weeks, setting a record for a British performer.
"First Class" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated April 23, 2022. It was released as the second single from Jack Harlow's sophomore album "Come Home the Kids Miss You."
"Wait For U" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated May 14, 2022. It was released as the seventh track on Future's album "I Never Liked You."
"Jimmy Cooks" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated July 2, 2022. It was released alongside Drake's album "Honestly, Nevermind," which also debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
"Super Freaky Girl" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated August 27, 2022.
"Anti-Hero" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated November 5, 2022.
It was released alongside Swift's 10th studio album "Midnights," which also arrived atop the Billboard 200.
Swift also became the first artist in history to debut 10 songs in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously, as "Anti-Hero" was joined by nine fellow tracks from "Midnights."
"Flowers" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated January 28, 2023. It was released as the lead single from Miley Cyrus' eighth album "Endless Summer Vacation."
"Like Crazy" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated April 8, 2023, making Jimin the first South Korean soloist to top the Hot 100. (He previously achieved the feat as a member of BTS.)
"Vampire" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated July 15, 2023. It was released as the lead single from Rodrigo's sophomore album "Guts."
Rodrigo is now the only artist in history to have both lead singles ("Drivers License" and "Vampire") from her first two albums ("Sour" and "Guts," respectively) arrive in the chart's top position.
"Seven" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated July 29, 2023, making Jung Kook the second member of BTS to have a chart-topping solo hit.
"Rich Men North of Richmond," Oliver Anthony Music's breakout single, debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated August 26, 2023.
The controversial country singer is the first artist to achieve the feat without any previous entries on a Billboard chart.
"I Remember Everything" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated September 9, 2023. It was released on Zach Bryan's self-titled album, which simultaneously arrived atop the Billboard 200.
"Slime You Out" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated September 30, 2023. It was released as the lead single for Drake's eighth studio album "For All the Dogs."
"First Person Shooter" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated October 21, 2023. It was released alongside "For All the Dogs," which simultaneously debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
Drake holds the record for the most No. 1 song debuts in history, with nine to his name.
"Is It Over Now?" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated November 11, 2023.
The vault track from "1989 (Taylor's Version)" dethroned Swift's own "Cruel Summer," which had reigned for two weeks. (It later returned to the summit for two more weeks.)
Swift is the only woman to have replaced herself atop the Hot 100; she previously achieved the feat in 2014 with the original "1989," when "Blank Space" climbed the chart to replace "Shake It Off."
"Yes, And?" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated January 27, 2024. It was released as the lead single for Grande's seventh album "Eternal Sunshine."
"Hiss" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated February 10, 2024. In the fiery track, Megan Thee Stallion seemed to take subliminal shots at Drake.
"We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated March 23, 2024. It was released as the second single from "Eternal Sunshine," which simultaneously arrived atop the Billboard 200.
The song marked Grande's seventh instant chart-topper, the most among women and second-most in history.
"Like That" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated April 6, 2024.
"Fortnight" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated May 4, 2024. It was released alongside Swift's 11th studio album "The Tortured Poets Department," which also arrived atop the Billboard 200 — making Swift the first and only artist in history to debut at No. 1 on both charts simultaneously on five separate occasions.
The Post Malone duet earned 76.2 million streams in its first week, breaking the record previously set by Rodrigo with "Drivers License" (76.1 million), according to Billboard.
Swift is now tied with Grande for the second-most No. 1 debuts of any artist in history (seven apiece), while Drake holds the all-time record.
"Not Like Us" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated May 18, 2024.
The diss track was released amid Kendrick Lamar's heated feud with Drake, ignited by Lamar's verse on "Like That."
Another of Lamar's anti-Drake songs, "Euphoria," peaked on the same chart at No. 3, while Drake's response, "Family Matters," debuted at No. 7.
"I Had Some Help" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated May 25, 2024.
The country duet is Malone's second song to arrive in the top spot after "Fortnight" — both within the same month — and his sixth No. 1 song overall.
As for Wallen, "I Had Some Help" marks his second Hot 100 leader after "Last Night" charted at No. 1 for 16 weeks in 2023, setting a record for a solo song. (It has since been broken by Shaboozey's "A Bar Song.")
"Love Somebody" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated November 2, 2024.
"Squabble Up" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated December 7, 2024, making Lamar the first solo male artist in history with three instant chart-toppers in a single year.
The song was released alongside Lamar's "GNX," which also arrived atop the Billboard 200.
"Squabble Up" was accompanied on Hot 100 by other "GNX" tracks, including "TV Off" (No. 2), "Luther" (No. 3), "Wacced Out Murals" (No. 4), and "Hey Now" (No. 5). Lamar joins Swift, Drake, and The Beatles as the only artists to blanket the entire top five with songs debuting in those positions.
"4X4" debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated February 8, 2025, becoming Scott's fourth song to arrive in the top spot and fifth No. 1 hit overall.
"What I Want" was released as the fourth track on Wallen's fourth studio album, "I'm the Problem."
It debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated May 31, 2025, becoming Wallen's third song to arrive in the top spot and Tate McRae's first No. 1 hit overall.
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