As reported here, Pop divas Taylor Swift and Rihanna are leading the latest iteration of the Billboard Hot 100 with their respective hits ‘Anti-Hero’ and ‘Lift Me Up.’
The latter, the lead single from the soundtrack of the highly anticipated film ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ (in theaters now), also serves as the first solo single Rih’s served up since the era that supported her last studio album – 2016’s ‘Anti.’
Met with thunderous fanfare, the Tems-penned tune’s top 10 debut on the Hot 100 brought it a number of history-making feats – primarily thanks to an unprecedented response at radio.
And while it was outpaced to the top spot by Swift’s ‘Anti-Hero,’ ‘Lift’ still managed to uniquely tie the Pop titan in another regard.
We reported here last week that Swift’s domination of the Hot 100 (thanks to her latest album ‘Midnights’) saw her surpass King and Queen of Pop Michael Jackson and Madonna‘s all-time top 10 record. As a result, the 32-year-old now sits in history books as the female artist who’s visited the chart region most.
Quietly, the win also upped her cumulative top 5 hit total up to 24 – tying the all-time record of mega Pop diva Janet Jackson for the same chart territory. Among women, they shared third place on the all-time list until this week when ‘Lift Me Up’ lifted Rih to the same career-wide count.
Now, the only female acts to have more top 5 hits than Jackson, Swift, and Rihanna are Madonna (28) and Mariah Carey (27). With all acts considered, Drake (30) and The Beatles (29) lead.
Click here to see who joins Tay and Rih on the refreshed edition of TGJ’s weekly chart recap, ‘Chart Check.’