Top 10 Artists With The Most No.1 Hits On The Billboard Hot 100

Scoring a number-one hit song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart is literary the dream of every musician on the planet. The chart which is no doubt the biggest chart in the world is the music industry’s standard record chart in the United States. Its ranking is based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming in the United States.

It might be surprising to reveal that a few musicians like Bruce Springsteen One Direction, Backstreet Boys, and Missy Elliot have never scored a number hit song on the Billboard Hot 100 despite their popularity. They however a few who have dominated the chart, with multiple entries at the top of the chart. Without any further ado here top 10 artists with the most no.1 Hits On The Billboard Hot 100

10. Stevie Wonder  (10 Billboard No. 1  Hits)

American Prodigy, Stevie Wonder takes the tenth spot with 10 no 1 hits on Billboard Hot  100. The Now 72-year-old singer scored his first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with the song “Fingertips” at the age of 13, making him the youngest artist ever to top the chart.

Following the success of “Fingertips,” Stevie Wonder has had 9 other number ones since then. Some of his other most popular singles which topped the chart are “Superstition,” “I Just Called To Say I Love You,” “Part-Time Lover,” and his duet with Sir Paul McCartney “Ebony & Ivory,” which topped the chart for seven consecutive weeks.

9. Janet Jackson (10 Billboard No. 1  Hits)

American triple-threat entertainer, Janet Jackson takes ninth place among the artists with the most no.1 Hits On The Billboard Hot 100, as she has also topped the chart on 10 different occasions.  She scored her first No. 1 entry, with “When I Think Of You” in 1986, at the age of 20.

She has since then made 9 other number-one entry, which includes  “Miss You Much” in 1989; “Escapade,” “Black Cat,” and “Love Will Never Do (Without You)” in 1990. “That’s the Way Love Goes” and “Again” in 1993;  “Together Again” in 1997, “Doesn’t Really Matter” in 2000  and  “All for You in 2001.

8. Whitney Houston (11 Billboard No. 1  Hits)

Whitney Houston is an American singer, actress, and one of the artists with the most no.1 Hits On The Billboard Hot 100, with a total of 11 no 1 hits on the chart. “Saving All My Love For You” was the first song of hers to top the chart, it did so in 1985 when Whitney was just 22 years old. That same year, she also had “How Will I Know.”

Whitney had 9 other number-one hits, among which include “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me),” “So Emotional,” “I’m Your Baby Tonight,” and the timeless, heartbreaking single “I Will Always Love You.” She also holds the record the only artist to have had seven consecutive number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, from “Saving All My Love for You” in 1985 to “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” in 1988.

7. Madonna (12 Billboard No. 1  Hits)

The elegant Queen of Pop, Madonna is one one of the artists with the most no.1 Hits On The Billboard Hot 100, with a total of 12 no 1 hits on the chart. She is the most successful solo artist in the history of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart with over 50 entry in the over all chart. She also has the  most number-one singles by a woman in Australia, Canada, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Madonna  had first number-one hit with “Like a Virgin” In 1984 , at the age of 26  The next 11 No. 1 singles go as follows: “Crazy for You” in 1985, “Live to Tell,” “Papa Don’t Preach,” and “Open Your Heart” in 1986, “Who’s That Girl” in 1987, “Like a Prayer” in 1989, “Vogue” and “Justify My Love” in 1990, “This Used to Be My Playground” in 1992, “Take a Bow” in 1994, and “Music” in 2000.

6. The Supremes (12 Billboard No. 1  Hits)

With also 12 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits, the American girl group, the Supremes joins the list of  artists with the most no.1 Hits in the history of the chart. They had five No. 1 singles in a row: “Where Did Our Love Go,” “Baby Love,” and “Come See About Me” in 1964, then “Stop! In the Name of Love” and “Back in My Arms Again” in 1965.

Afterwards, there was “I Hear a Symphony,” also in 1965, “You Can’t Hurry Love” and “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” in 1966, “Love Is Here and Now You’re Gone” and “The Happening” in 1967, “Love Child” in 1968, and “Someday We’ll Be Together” in 1969. They were ranked by Billboard as  the 16th greatest Hot 100 artist of all time.

5. Michael Jackson (13 Billboard No. 1  Hits)

Michael Jackson, takes the fifth place among the list of artists with the most Billboard no.1 Hits, having a total of 13 No 1 hits on the charts. The King of Pop  had his first chart topping entry with “Ben” in 1972, he was 14 years old as at that time. He Followed it up with “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” and “Rock with You” in 1979, “Billie Jean,” “Beat It,” and “Say Say Say” in 1983, “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” “Bad,” and “The Way You Make Me Feel,” in 1987.

“Man in the Mirror” and “Dirty Diana” topped the chart in 1988, “Black or White” in 1993, and “You Are Not Alone” in 1995. Michael’s 1987 album “Bad”  was the first album to produce five U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles. His 1995 single “You Are Not Alone”  is also the first song to debut at No. 1 on the chart.  He also holds the record for the  first artist to have a top-ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades.

4. Rihanna (1 Billboard No. 1  Hits)

American Barbadian singer, Rihanna, takes her place among  the artists with the most no.1 Hits On The Billboard Hot 100, with 14th No. 1 hits to her name. She  is the most modern singer on the list and was just  18 years old when she released “S.O.S” in 2006, her first number one hit on the Hot 100.

Next there was “Umbrella” in 2007, “Take a Bow,” “Live Your Life,” and “Disturbia” in 2008, “Rude Boy,” “Love the Way You Lie,” “Only Girl (In the World),” and “What’s My Name” in 2010, “S&M” and “We Found Love” in 2011, “Diamonds” in 2012, “The Monster” in 2013, and “Work” in 2016.

3. Elvis Presley (18 Billboard No. 1  Hits)

The King of Rock & Roll, Elvis Presley, with 18 entry  the third place among the artist withthe most no.1 Hits On The Billboard Hot 100.  It imperative to note that Elvis Presley’s case is peculiar because many of the songs that are now considered number one singles came out before the Billboard Hot 100 chart was created in 1958.

Elvis was one of the creators of the rock and roll genre, so it makes sense that his success precedes the charts. Some of his greatest pre-Hot 100 hits are “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Hound Dog,” and “Love Me Tender” back in 1956. Then during the 60s he had the songs “Stuck On You,” “Now Or Never,” and “Are You Lonesome Tonight,” along with many others.

2. Mariah Carey (19 Billboard No. 1  Hits)

Mariah Carey is the the solo artist with the most number-one songs on the Billboard Hot 100, having 19 top charting entries to her name. Her first number-one single was also her debut song, “Vision Of Love,” in 1990 at the age of 20. That same year she would go on to have another number one with “Love Takes Time,” and in 1991, she topped the charts again with the songs “Someday,” “I Don’t Wanna Cry,” and “Emotions.”

Mariah was the first artist to have their first five singles reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100, from “Vision of Love” to “Emotions”. Other chart topping records in her discography includes:  “I’ll Be There,” in 1992, “Dreamlover” and “Hero,”  in 1993, 1994’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You”  in 2019 ,  among others

1. The Beatles (20 Billboard No. 1  Hits)

The English rock band, The Beatles are the artists with the most number-one songs on the Billboard Hot 100, having a total of 20 top charting hits in thier discography. “Love Me Do, She Loves You,” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand” were some of thier first No 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100.

They also hold the record for most number-one albums on the UK Albums Chart(15) and are considered by many as the the greatest rock band of all time.  Some of thier chart topping records include “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “A Hard Day’s Night,” and “I Feel Fine,” in 1964, “Eight Days a Week,” “Ticket to Ride,” “Help!,” “Yesterday,” and “We Can Work It Out” in 1965, among others

Conclusion

As seen in the article, The Beatles are the artists with the most number-one songs on the Billboard Hot 100, while Mariah Carey, is the solo artist with the most number-one songs on the Billboard Hot 100, having a total of 20 and 19 entry respectively. For the sake of simplification here is a table indicating top 10 artists with the most no.1 Hits On The Billboard Hot 100 and thier total number of entry on top of the chart.

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Sources

• https://www.billboard.com/photos/surprising-artists-who-never-had-hot-100-no-1-hit/
• https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Billboard_Hot_100_chart_achievements_and_milestones