Beyoncé is back at No. 1 on the Hot 100 this week as her latest single “Texas Hold ‘Em” rises to the highest rung. The tune is an important win for the superstar for a number of reasons–including one that involves one of the most celebrated vocalists of all time in America.
With another No. 1 hit on the Hot 100 to her credit, Beyoncé expands her span of No. 1 songs into more than two decades. Billboard notes that the time between her initial leader on the tally (as a soloist) and this frame stretches 20 years, seven months, and three weeks.
Now that she’s been racking up Hot 100 champions for more than two decades, Beyoncé passes Aretha Franklin on the ranking of the musicians with the longest streak of leaders. The time between Franklin’s first and last No. 1s on the tally was 19 years, 10 months, and two weeks.
Before this week, Beyoncé’s winning run was still incredibly long, but it only now includes two full decades. Her last No. 1 before “Texas Hold ‘Em” was “Break My Soul,” which reached the summit in the summer of 2022.
Looking at all solo artists, the longest gap between a first No. 1 on the Hot 100 and the latest belongs to Brenda Lee. Her stretch is much, much longer than Beyoncé’s, as her career of sending tunes to the top of the tally is more than 63 years in length. She first summited the ranking in 1960 and last ruled it this past December when her smash “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” finally climbed to the top.
Beyoncé claims the ninth-largest gap between debut No. 1 and latest ruler on the Hot 100. In between Lee and the “Texas Hold ‘Em” superstar are Mariah Carey, Cher, Elton John, the Beach Boys, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Rod Stewart.
This list only includes the solo work of all of the aforementioned musicians. Some of them, such as Jackson and Beyoncé, also hit the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 as members of groups, usually in the earliest days of their careers. If those tunes are counted, the ranking changes, and some of the stars see their stretches grow longer.
Beyoncé first topped the Hot 100 in 1999, when Destiny’s Child’s “Bills, Bills, Bills” ruled. Including that track–one of four No. 1s by the girl group–her streak actually runs 24 years, seven months, and two weeks long.
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