BY: Walker
Published 14 hours ago
Kendrick Lamar‘s “Not Like Us” was (and continues to be) a cultural phenomenon, but technically, it’s not the biggest hit of his career. That distinction belongs to “Luther,” which has topped the Billboard Hot 100 for a fourth week in a row.
Lamar rewrites his longest Hot 100 domination. He previously reigned for three nonconsecutive weeks with “Not Like Us” between last May and this February, and for three weeks in a row last April with “Like That,” with Future and Metro Boomin. (His other No. 1s led for a week each: “Squabble Up,” in December; “Humble.,” in 2017; and Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood,” on which he’s featured, in 2015.)
SZA extends her longest No. 1 Hot 100 stay. She previously topped the chart for a week each as featured on Drake’s “Slime You Out” and with her own “Kill Bill,” both in 2023.
Plus, Lamar logs three songs in the Hot 100’s top five for a sixth week, as “Not Like Us” holds at No. 3 and “TV Off,” featuring Lefty Gunplay, dips 4-5. He ties Drake for the most weeks tripling up in the top five among soloists all-time; overall, only The Beatles have more (eight).
“Luther,” on pgLang/Interscope/ICLG, totaled 55.6 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 3% week-over-week), 31.3 million official streams (down 9%) and 3,000 sold (down 24%) in the U.S. March 7-13.
The track adds a fourth week at No. 1 on the Streaming Songs chart; rises 3-2 for a new high on Radio Songs; and falls 8-17, after reaching No. 4, on Digital Song Sales.
“Luther” is No. 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and Adult R&B Airplay charts for a third week each. It became the first song ever to rule both Adult R&B Airplay and Rap Airplay, and has also hit No. 1 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and Rhythmic Airplay. Meanwhile, it ascends to the top 10 (11-8) on the latest Pop Airplay chart; SZA adds her seventh top 10 at the format and Lamar, his fifth – and first since “Pray for Me,” with The Weeknd, reached No. 3 in 2018.
“Luther” concurrently collects a 12th week at No. 1 on both the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts, which use the same methodology as the Hot 100. The song became Lamar’s seventh No. 1 on each genre chart and SZA’s fourth and first on the respective lists.
Below “Luther,” Lamar lands two other songs in the Hot 100’s top five: “Not Like Us,” which holds at No. 3, and “TV Off,” featuring Lefty Gunplay, down 4-5 after reaching No. 2.
Lamar adds his sixth week with at least three songs in the Hot 100’s top five simultaneously, after he first scored such a triple in December. He ties Drake for the most such frames among soloists, with The Beatles the only act with more.
Here’s a recap of all acts who have achieved the feat for at least one week in the chart’s 66-year history.
Most Weeks With 3 or More Songs in Hot 100’s Top 5:
8 weeks, The Beatles, in 1964
6, Kendrick Lamar, 2024-25
6, Drake, 2018-23
5, Justin Bieber, 2015-16
3, Taylor Swift, 2022-24
2, 50 Cent, 2005
2, Sabrina Carpenter, 2024
1, 21 Savage, 2022
1, Ariana Grande, 2019
(Swift – twice – Lamar, Drake and The Beatles are the only acts ever to monopolize the entire top five on the Hot 100 in a single week. Swift scored the most songs from No. 1 on down – 14 – on the May 4, 2024, chart, thanks to the arrival of her album The Tortured Poets Department.)
via: Billboard
