The Longest-Leading Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s

Beginning with Debby Boone’s “You Light Up My Life” in 1977, a relatively select few smashes have led the Billboard Hot 100 for at least 10 weeks. How few? Just a mere 4% of all Hot 100 No. 1s dating to the chart’s launch on Aug. 4, 1958, have earned the achievement.

Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical” flexed 10 weeks at No. 1 in 1981-82, and that smash and Boone’s shared the mark for the longest Hot 100 reign for more than a decade, until Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road” dominated for 13 weeks in 1992. That best lasted briefly, as Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” led for 14 weeks in late 1992/early 1993. In 1995-96, Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day” ran up 16 weeks at No. 1, a milestone that held for more than 23 years. (Songs began logging longer No. 1 stays after the Hot 100 adopted electronically tracked data, according to Luminate, in late 1991.)

In 2017, Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito,” featuring Justin Bieber, tied the No. 1 run of “One Sweet Day.” By 2019, Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, collected 19 weeks atop the Hot 100, a mark matched by Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” beginning in July 2024.

Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is the newly anointed record-holder: 22 weeks, having jingled to No. 1 on the Hot 100 in each holiday season since December 2019.

In honor of the singles that have claimed the Hot 100’s top spot the longest, here’s a look at the elite leaders to rule for double-digit weeks.

• 22 weeks, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Mariah Carey

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Dec. 21, 2019

• 19 weeks, “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Shaboozey

  

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: July 13, 2024

  “I spent so much of my life working and just trying to get here, and because of you guys, my life is forever changed,” Shaboozey said in a thank you to his fans in November 2024, when the song hit its 19th week at No. 1. “Love y’all. Cowboys are forever.”

• 19 weeks, “Old Town Road,” Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: April 13, 2019

• 18 weeks, “Choosin’ Texas,” Ella Langley

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Feb. 14, 2026

• 16 weeks, “Last Night,” Morgan Wallen

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: March 18, 2023

• 16 weeks, “Despacito,” Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee feat. Justin Bieber

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: May 27, 2017

• 16 weeks, “One Sweet Day,” Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men

  

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Dec. 2, 1995

  Carey, Boyz II Men — thanks in part to their touching ballad together — and Drake share the record for the most Hot 100 No. 1s to rule for 10 or more weeks: three each.

• 15 weeks, “As It Was,” Harry Styles

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: April 16, 2022

• 14 weeks, “Uptown Funk!,” Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Jan. 17, 2015

• 14 weeks, “I Gotta Feeling,” The Black Eyed Peas

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: July 11, 2009

• 14 weeks, “We Belong Together,” Mariah Carey

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: June 4, 2005

• 14 weeks, “Candle in the Wind 1997”/“Something About the Way You Look Tonight,” Elton John

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Oct. 11, 1997

• 14 weeks, “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix),” Los Del Rio

  

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Aug. 3, 1996

  “We have no words to thank everyone,” the pair’s Antonio Romeo Monge told Billboard in 2016 of the endurance of the song, which became a mid-‘90s pop-culture craze. “We’re just two guys from a small town, doing things very humbly because we come from very humble families.”

  Added Rafael Ruiz, “That girl Macarena really was something.”

• 14 weeks, “I’ll Make Love to You,” Boyz II Men

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Aug. 27, 1994

• 14 weeks, “I Will Always Love You,” Whitney Houston

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Nov. 28, 1992

• 13 weeks, “Luther,” Kendrick Lamar & SZA

  

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: March 1, 2025

  The song’s journey to double-digit weeks at No. 1 began with Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “If This World Were Mine,” which hit No. 27 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (then named Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles) in 1968. Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn’s cover reached No. 4 on the chart (then Hot Black Singles) in 1982, and is sampled on “Luther.”

• 13 weeks, “The Boy Is Mine,” Brandy & Monica

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: June 6, 1998

• 13 weeks, “End of the Road,” Boyz II Men

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Aug. 15, 1992

• 12 weeks, “Shape of You,” Ed Sheeran

  

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Jan. 28, 2017

  “It’s the effective blend of the familiar and the unique that helps a song connect with a wide audience,” Dave Penn, Hit Songs Deconstructed co-founder, told Billboard in 2017 of the success of “Shape of You,” and that of many mass-appeal hits. “That truly is the key.”

• 12 weeks, “Closer,” The Chainsmokers feat. Halsey

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Sept. 3, 2016

• 12 weeks, “See You Again,” Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: April 25, 2015

• 12 weeks, “Blurred Lines,” Robin Thicke feat. T.I. & Pharrell

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: June 22, 2013

• 12 weeks, “Boom Boom Pow,” The Black Eyed Peas

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: April 18, 2009

• 12 weeks, “Yeah!,” Usher feat. Lil Jon & Ludacris

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Feb. 28, 2004

• 12 weeks, “Lose Yourself,” Eminem

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Nov. 9, 2002

• 12 weeks, “Smooth,” Santana feat. Rob Thomas

  

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Oct. 23, 1999

  Following the 12-week No. 1 run of “Smooth,” Santana’s follow-up “Maria Maria” ran up 10 weeks on top. The band became the first act to release back-to-back singles that have both led the Hot 100 for double-digit weeks.

• 11 weeks, “The Box,” Roddy Ricch

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Jan. 18, 2020

• 11 weeks, “God’s Plan,” Drake

  

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Feb. 3, 2018

  Thanks to the reigns of “God’s Plan” (11 weeks), “In My Feelings” (10) and “Nice for What” (eight), Drake broke the record for the most weeks spent atop the Hot 100 in a single year: 29, in 2018. He surpassed Usher’s mark of 28 set in 2004.

• 11 weeks, “Independent Women Part I,” Destiny’s Child

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Nov. 18, 2000

• 11 weeks, “I’ll Be Missing You,” Puff Daddy & Faith Evans feat. 112

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: June 14, 1997

• 11 weeks, “Un-Break My Heart,” Toni Braxton

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Dec. 7, 1996

• 11 weeks, “I Swear,” All-4-One

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: May 21, 1994

• 10 weeks, “The Fate of Ophelia,” Taylor Swift

  

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Oct. 18, 2025

  The song is from Swift’s album The Life of a Showgirl. The set became just the fifth ever to lead the Billboard 200 for 10 or more weeks and spin off a single that has likewise topped the Hot 100 for at least that long.

• 10 weeks, “Ordinary,” Alex Warren

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: June 7, 2025

• 10 weeks, “Easy on Me,” Adele

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Oct. 30, 2021

• 10 weeks, “Butter,” BTS

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: June 5, 2021

• 10 weeks, “In My Feelings,” Drake

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: July 21, 2018

• 10 weeks, “One Dance,” Drake feat. WizKid & Kyla

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: May 21, 2016

• 10 weeks, “Hello,” Adele

  

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Nov. 14, 2015

  Adele notched 10-week No. 1s from her 2021 album, 30 (“Easy on Me”), and 2015’s 25 (“Hello”). Meanwhile, her LP before 25 holds the record for the longest command on the Billboard 200 chart for an album by a woman: 21 ruled for 24 weeks in 2011-12.

• 10 weeks, “Happy,” Pharrell Williams

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: March 8, 2014

• 10 weeks, “We Found Love,” Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Nov. 12, 2011

• 10 weeks, “Low,” Flo Rida feat. T-Pain

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Jan. 5, 2008

• 10 weeks, “Irreplaceable,” Beyoncé

  

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Dec. 16, 2006

  Beyoncé is the only artist to claim double-digit weeks atop the Hot 100 both as a soloist and a group member. Prior to “Irreplaceable,” Destiny’s Child’s “Independent Women Part I” dominated for 11 weeks in 2000-01.

• 10 weeks, “Gold Digger,” Kanye West feat. Jamie Foxx

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Sept. 17, 2005

• 10 weeks, “Dilemma,” Nelly feat. Kelly Rowland

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Aug. 17, 2002

• 10 weeks, “Foolish,” Ashanti

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: April 20, 2002

• 10 weeks, “Maria Maria,” Santana feat. The Product G&B

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: April 8, 2000

• 10 weeks, “Physical,” Olivia Newton-John

  

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Nov. 21, 1981

  “Livvy Works Up a Sweat,” Paul Grein headlined the Jan. 23, 1982, Chart Beat column, as “Physical” muscled its way to a 10th week at No. 1. The flipside of long-leading hits? Tracks below can log lengthy runs at No. 2. Blocked in part by “Physical,” Foreigner’s “Waiting for a Girl Like You” spent 10 weeks peaking at No. 2. In 2002-03, Missy Elliott’s “Work It” reached a runner-up best for 10 weeks, tying the mark that still stands for the most time lodged at a No. 2 high. Ultimately, everybody won: Foreigner hit No. 1 in 1985 with “I Want to Know What Love Is” and “Work It” topped Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for five weeks.

• 10 weeks, “You Light Up My Life,” Debby Boone

  First week at No. 1 on Hot 100: Oct. 15, 1977