The charts changed, the political landscape changed, culture changed, social media changed, and my daughter was born. Welcome to the second half of the 2010s run down of chart toppers.
The Number Ones—2015
Weeks of January 3rd & 10th: “Blank Space”, Taylor Swift
Weeks of January 17th-April 17th: “Uptown Funk”, Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars
Weeks of April 25th-May 31st: “See You Again”, Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth
Week of June 6th: “Bad Blood”, Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar
Weeks of June 13th-July 18th: “See You Again”, Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth (recapture)
Weeks of July 25th-August 15th: “Cheerleader”, OMI
Week of August 22nd: “Can’t Feel My Face”, The Weeknd
Weeks of August 29th-September 5th: “Cheerleader", OMI (recapture)
Week of September 12th: “Can’t Feel My Face”, The Weeknd (recapture)
Week of September 19th: “What Do You Mean”, Justin Bieber
Week of September 26th: “Can’t Feel My Face”, The Weeknd (recapture)
Weeks of October 3rd-November 7th: “The Hills”, The Weeknd
Weeks of November 14th-December 26th: “Hello”, Adele
Notes on 2015
“Uptown Funk” was the top performing single of the year. There were only eight songs that topped the charts this particular year, in part because “Uptown Funk” topped the charts for 14 weeks, the longest consecutive stretch in some time atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This would set a pattern for months-long Number One songs in the second half of the decade.
There’s just not that much to say about this year? Not a whole lot of patterns, except The Weeknd recapturing the Number One not once but twice? And then replacing himself at the top of the charts? Interesting. And for all of the bouncing bombast and dancing inspired by many of the 2015 Number Ones, the song “The Hills” is a representation of the downtempo, grittier, not at all child safe R&B and hip-hop with sparse instrumentation that would find its way to the top of the charts over the course of the next couple of years.
Chart-topping artists of 2015:
The Weeknd (x2)
Taylor Swift (x2, including her holdover Number One from 2014)
Mark Ronson
Bruno Mars
Wiz Khalifa
Charlie Puth
Kendrick Lamar
OMI
Justin Bieber
Adele
The Number Ones—2016
Weeks of January 2nd-16th: “Hello”, Adele
Weeks of January 23rd-February 6th: “Sorry”, Justin Bieber
Week of February 13th: “Love Yourself”, Justin Bieber
Week of February 20th: “Pillowtalk”, Zayn
Week of February 28th: “Love Yourself”, Justin Bieber (recapture)
Weeks of March 5th-April 30th: “Work”, Rihanna ft. Drake
Weeks of May 7th-14th: “Panda”, Desiigner
Week of May 21st: “One Dance”, Drake ft. WizKid & Kyla
Week of May 28th: “Can’t Stop the Feeling”, Justin Timberlake
Weeks of June 4th-July 30th: “Once Dance”, Drake ft. WizKid & Kyla (recapture)
Weeks of August 6th-27th: “Cheap Thrills”, Sia ft. Sean Paul
Weeks of September 3rd-November 19th: “Closer”, The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey
Weeks of November 26th-December 31st: “Black Beatles”, Rae Sremmurd ft. Gucci Mane
Notes on 2016
“Love Yourself” was the top performing single of 2016, despite only being atop the charts for two non-consecutive weeks. Much like we remember, nothing about 2016 seemed to make much sense. (I swear, I still hear my daughter singing “Can’t Stop the Feeling”, which for all of my distaste for Justin Timberlake, is a super catchy & well-crafted song. How the Biebs came out on top, well, that’s not the only mystery of 2016.)
There was some significant variety at the top of the charts, but the real story is the prevalence of hip-hop, especially by heretofore unknown artists like Desiigner and Rae Sremmund. Drake had the longest running Number One of the year, but his almost cheesy form of rap would give way to the path cleared by The Weeknd with “The Hills” the year before — discussing sex, drugs, and self-image while accompanied by minimal instrumentation — this year and in the future.
More so than in any year before this one, new artists climbed atop the charts. Only the Justins, Adele, and Rihanna had topped the charts prior to this year, so there was a lot of room for newcomers, for better or for worse.
Let’s not discuss 2016 any further.
Artists to top the charts in this year:
Justin Bieber (x2)
Drake (x2)
Adele
Zayn
Rihanna
Desiigner
WizKid
Kyla
Justin Timberlake
Sia
Sean Paul
The Chainsmokers
Halsey
Rae Sremmurd
Gucci Mane
The Number Ones—2017
Week of January 7th: “Starboy”, The Weeknd ft. Daft Punk
Week of January 14th: “Black Beatles”, Rae Sremmurd ft. Gucci Mane (recapture from 2016)
Week of January 21st: “Bad and Boujee”, Migos ft. Lil Uzi Vert
Week of January 28th: “Shape of You”, Ed Sheeran
Weeks of February 4th & 11th: “Bad and Boujee”, Migos ft. Lil Uzi Vert (recapture)
Weeks of February 18th-April 29th: “Shape of You”, Ed Sheeran (recapture)
Week of May 6th: “HUMBLE.”, Kendrick Lamar
Week of May 13th: “That’s What I Like”, Bruno Mars
Week of May 20th: “I’m the One”, DJ Khaled ft. Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, and Lil Wayne
Weeks of May 27th-September 9th: “Despacito”, Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee (& in a second charting version, Justin Bieber)
Weeks of September 16th-30th: “Look What You Made Me Do”, Taylor Swift
Weeks of October 7th-21st: “Bodak Yellow”, Cardi B
Weeks of October 28th-December 16th: “Rockstar”, Post Malone ft. 21 Savage
Weeks of December 23rd-December 30th: “Perfect”, Ed Sheeran & Beyonce
notes on 2017
“Shape of You” was the top performing single of the year. Although he is not representative of the exceedingly diverse cast of chart toppers this year, Sheeran had originally written the song to be sung by Rihanna. I don’t blame him, and honestly I’d have liked it a lot (a lot a lot) more had she sung it, but what can you do.
In 2017, the United States witnessed the peaceful transfer of executive power between the country’s first Black president, widely considered one of the most consequential geopolitical thinkers of the modern era, to a game show host with no electoral politics experience who delighted in leading crowds in chants about jailing his enemies and degrading people of other races & ethnicities. But in the same year that the US took on a Muslim Ban and quadrupled down on heinous immigration policies, leaving tens of thousands of children separated from their families, the Billboard charts did not at all reflect the politics of the day.
Instead, the charts were dominated by diversity. The year started out with a Black Canadian atop the charts, aided by a constantly helmeted French DJ duo, and saw a huge uptick in Latinx representation on the chart. Sure, there was still room for Sheeran & Bieber & Swift, but they were all overshadowed this year. Both a Palestinian Muslim man and a Dominican-Trinidadian female rapper (the latter the first solo female rapper to top the charts since 1998) hit Number One.
The song that tied the 1996 record of longest consecutive Number One was a Spanish language jam from a Puerto Rican torch singer (and former FSU College of Music student), in a year that saw the decimation of Puerto Rico by Hurricane Maria followed by governmental incompetence. “Despacito” was inescapable all summer, from coast to coast, but many who spent their season jamming out to it did not seem to be as concerned with the lives of folks in Puerto Rico. One issue with cultural consumption is that the dominant culture consumes art made by underrepresented cultures and then acts against the interest of the people of those same underrepresented cultures. Either way, it’s something for anyone who consumes art & music to be keenly aware of.
Bruno Mars hit Number One again (and dominated the Grammys the next year), even as he’d already become a chart-topping mainstay this far into the decade. Even though he’s a safe bet as a best-seller, he still represents as a Filipino/Puerto Rican/Jewish artist who had both experienced racial discrimination at the hand of record executives as well as been accused of appropriating from Black artists. Whew.
And the year ended with Beyonce’s first appearance at the top of the chart this decade. This seems totally illogical, seeing that Mrs. Carter had record-breaking album releases & tours and amassed a fan base throughout the 2010s that would put Beatlemania to shame. What a year.
Artists to top the charts in 2017:
Ed Sheeran (x2)
Justin Bieber (x2)
The Weeknd
Rae Sremmurd
Gucci Mane
Migos
Lil Uzi Vert
Kendrick Lamar
Bruno Mars
DJ Khaled
Quavo
Chance the Rapper
Lil Wayne
Luis Fonsi
Daddy Yankee
Taylor Swift
Cardi B
Post Malone
21 Savage
Beyonce
The Number Ones—2018
Weeks of January 3rd-20th: “Perfect”, Ed Sheeran & Beyonce
Week of January 27th: “Havana”, Camilla Cabello ft. Young Thug
Weeks of February 3rd-April 14th: “God’s Plan”, Drake
Weeks of April 28th-May 12th: “Nice for What”, Drake
Weeks of May 19th-26th: “This Is America”, Childish Gambino
Weeks of June 2nd & 9th: “Nice for What”, Drake (recapture)
Week of June 16th: “Psycho”, Post Malone ft. Ty Dolla Sign
Week of June 23rd: “Nice for What”, Drake (recapture)
Week of June 30th: “Sad!” XXXtentacion
Week of July 7th: “I Like It”, Cardi B & Bad Bunny & J Balvin
Week of July 14th: “Nice for What”, Drake (recapture)
Weeks of July 21st-September 22nd: “In My Feelings”, Drake
Weeks of September 29th-November 10th: “Girls Like You”, Maroon 5 ft. Cardi B
Weeks of November 17th-December 1st: “Thank U, Next”, Ariana Grande
Week of December 8th: “Sicko Mode”, Travis Scott
Weeks of December 15th-29th: “Thank U, Next”, Ariana Grande (recapture)
Notes on 2018
“God’s Plan” was the top performing single of 2018. Unlike previous top performers in 2016 & 2017, it was also the longest running Number One single of the year, spending 11 weeks at the top. In total, Drake spent 39 weeks at the top of the charts in 2018, setting that particular record for a solo (lead) artist. As I’d mentioned in the prior entry, Drake made very little splash on the charts earlier in the decade only to dominate it this year.
This was the year that the Billboard Charts started to properly credit streaming services for contributing to the Hot 100. While Soundcloud rappers became the butt of cultural jokes (there’s even a line about them in Black Panther), this development clearly worked in their favor. This policy also worked in favor of pop starlets with legions of devoted fans hungry to make their faves into chart toppers, such as Ariana Grande, who had steadily become a pop darling before achieving her first Number One this year.
While there was not a Spanish language single that left a scorched earth trail behind it this year like “Despacito” did last year, there was increased representation of Latinos on the chart this year again. Camila Cabello sang about Cuba, and Cardi B continued to represent, adding Bad Bunny & J Balvin over a famous Latin boogaloo song from Pete Rodriguez in the 1960s. There is a rumor that when Pete Rodriguez was told by his grandkids that Cardi B had sampled the song, he was thrilled.
More hip-hop was present, and much of it a great deal darker than “Thrift Shop.” For my money, XXXTentacion represented the pinnacle of grit, dark minimalism, and interpersonal violence that cast a pall over his music in much of the rap by the prototypical Soundcloud rappers of the late 10s. I had arguments with my students about X, and how I could not support his music based on stories of his acts of domestic violence, even after his death. Childish Gambino attained a Number One by embodying elements of the fear & violence in hip-hop of the time along with the realities of being a Black man in America. Gambino also won several Grammys for “This Is America” and topped the Village Voice’s Pazz & Jop year end singles list.
Again, new artists came on yet again stronger in 2018. Despite Drake’s dominance, only he, Ed Sheeran, Post Malone, Cardi B, and Maroon 5 had ever reached Number One prior to 2018, leaving room for eight newcomers to the top of the chart. It was big change from 2015.
Artists who topped the chart in 2018:
Drake (x3)
Ed Sheeran (x2)
Cardi B (x2)
Beyonce
Camila Cabello
Childish Gambino
Post Malone
Ty Dolla Sign
XXXTentacion
Bad Bunny
J Balvin
Maroon 5
Ariana Grande
Travis Scott
The Number Ones—2019
Week of January 5th: “Thank U, Next”, Ariana Grande
Week of January 12th: “Without Me”, Halsey
Week of January 19th: “Sunflower”, Post Malone and Swae Lee
Week of January 26th: “Without Me”, Halsey (recapture)
Weeks of February 2nd-March 2nd: “7 Rings”, Ariana Grande
Week of March 9th: “Shallow”, Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
Week of March 16th: “Sucker”, Jonas Brothers
Weeks of March 23rd-April 6th: “7 Rings”, Ariana Grande
Weeks of April 13th-August 17th: “Old Town Road”, Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus
Week of August 24th: “Bad Guy”, Billie Eilish
Week of August 31st: “Señorita”, Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello
Weeks of September 7th-October 12th: “Truth Hurts”, Lizzo
Week of October 19th: “Highest in the Room”, Travis Scott
Week of October 26th: “Truth Hurts”, Lizzo (recapture)
Week of November 2nd: “Someone You Loved”, Lewis Capaldi
Week of November 9th: “Lose You to Love Me”, Selena Gomez
Weeks of November 16th & 23rd: “Someone You Loved”, Lewis Capaldi (recapture)
Weeks of November 30th & December 7th: “Circles”, Post Malone
Week of December 14th: “Heartless”, The Weeknd
Weeks of December 21st & 28th: “All I Want for Christmas Is You”, Mariah Carey
Notes on 2019
Oh, 2019. Where do we begin?
The top performing single of the year was “Old Town Road”, at first just the Lil Nas X version, followed quickly by the Billy Ray Cyrus-added remix. The etymology of the song is absolutely bonkers, as is the fact that it shattered the record once held by Boyz II Men & Mariah Carey (tied by Luis Fonsi & crew in 2017) for longest running Number One single. The folks over at Switched on Pop do a pretty good job of connecting the dots between Lil Nas X, a beat-making Dutch teenager named Lil Kio, Trent Reznor, Ira Glass, and Billy Ray Cyrus in discussing the genesis of this song. Not only that, but just as Lil Nas X was chased out of his hiding spot in the video, he was chased off of the Billboard Country chart because apparently “Old Town Road” did not adhere to genre specifications enough. OK Boomers. All the better for him. I personally love this song, and I’m glad to see a young artist who is having some fun out there.
ALSO: as mentioned in the last entry, Lil Nas X came to fame via the app Tik Tok, which shares a name with the first Number One single of the 2010s. Like whoa.
Despite the summer being dominated in an unprecedented fashion by “Old Town Road”, so many other artists were able to find a foothold in the charts. In 2015, only eight songs hit Number One, and although Bruno Mars was responsible for many of those weeks, “Old Town Road”’s streak made “Uptown Funk” look paltry in comparison. Only Ariana Grande and Post Malone, two relative newbies to Number One themselves, had more than one chart topping song this year. Lady Gaga had her first Number One since 2011’s “Born This Way”, and it also happened to be an Oscar winner, too. Newcomer Lewis Capaldi and pop workhorses the Jonas Brothers and Selena Gomez all attained their first Number Ones this year.
I’m going to show my incredible bias here, but not only did a Black woman reclaim the (tied) title for longest running female rap Number One, as well as have the longest running Number One for a Black woman in the entire decade, but she’s also a band geek. My heart simply cannot take it. And when she starts talking woodwind geekery, I have to uninstall Instagram or else I might implode due to fangirling.
When I started this project, wanting to nail down the songs that had been Number One in the 2010s, Lizzo was my reason. I started to do all of this work (when we had a couple of down days due to a hurricane warning) to try & further show why Lizzo is a very big deal. And she is. At so many intersections of culture, and so much of what has happened in this decade, we have needed Lizzo. I know she just wants to have a good time and keep making music and not be a savior, but I’m just so grateful that I get to live in a time when she’s famous.
With charts that started the decade ruled by the new breed of pop tarts (Taylor & Katy replaced Britney & Christina, but more on them later), the 2010s veered hard into the direction of hip-hop as the decade wore on. Now, they’ve veered again. As others have noted, particularly music philosopher & sound studies scholar Dr. Robin James (via twitter), this was a year in which the Billboard charts were fun again. It was as if we’d all been transported back to 2011, shuffling every day again.
And what better way to end this unpredictable decade than to turn the way that so many of us are still facing: back toward the 90s. The last number one song of the decade is 25 years old, and the first Christmas song to top the Billboard Charts since “The Chipmunk Song” in 1958-59. Mariah Carey made it in under the wire and becomes the third female artist to have Number Ones in the 90s, 00s, and 10s, joining Britney & Christina. What a decade indeed.
Artists who topped the charts in 2019:
Ariana Grande (x2)
Post Malone (x2)
Halsey
Swae Lee
Lady Gaga
Bradley Cooper
Jonas Brothers
Lil Nas X
Billie Eilish
Shawn Mendes
Camila Cabello
Lizzo
Travis Scott
Lewis Capaldi
Selena Gomez
The Weeknd
Mariah Carey
I read somewhere that the Billboard Hot 100 charts are about to incorporate YouTube views in tabulation starting in 2020. (If you’re wondering how on earth “Gangam Style” never topped the Hot 100, it’s because no one counted those billions upon billions of YouTube views.) Someone out there said that the Billboard charts are about to become unrecognizable to most people. I would argue that they are fairly unrecognizable to many pop culture appreciators now because so many of us are older than we realize. I turned 33 in 2015, which is not just a great Smashing Pumpkins song, but the age where apparently you stop listening to new music. Those of us at the tail end of Generation X and the dawn of the Millennials are falling out of touch, and we’re not always able to keep up with what the younger kids are doing. And they are outpacing us at incredible rates in so many cultural contexts.
But if innovators like Lil Nas X and Lizzo are at the forefront of the “unrecognizable” chart toppers? I will follow them into the future, because there is great work being done. I cannot wait to see what the pop future brings.