Billboard Hot 100: Every #1 song of 2023

Daniel Montgomery
·10 min read
7

The Billboard Hot 100 singles chart tracks the most popular songs every week from Friday to Thursday based on a combination of their sales, online streams (audio and video), and radio airplay. Below is the list of every song that came out on top in 2023, updated weekly as each new chart is announced.

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Brenda Lee, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”

2 weeks at number-one
December 9 – December 16

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The classic holiday song reaches number one for the first time ever a remarkable 65 years after its release in 1958. This is just the third holiday song ever to top the chart, following The Chipmunks and David Seville’s “The Chipmunk Song” and Mariah Carey‘s “All I Want for Christmas is You.” It’s also Brenda Lee’s third song to reach the pinnacle.

Jack Harlow, “Lovin on Me”

1 week at number-one
December 2

This is Jack Harlow’s third time at number-one on the Hot 100, following “Industry Baby” with Lil Nas X and “First Class”  by himself. He’s the third artist to have a number-one hit in each of the last three years, following Drake and Taylor Swift.

Taylor Swift, “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) [From the Vault]”

1 week at number-one
November 11

This is the 11th number-one hit of Swift’s career, tying her with Whitney Houston for eighth place on the list of artists with the most chart-toppers. “Is It Over Now?” debuted at number-one the same week her re-recorded album “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” debuted at number-one on the Billboard 200 albums chart with massive sales and streaming numbers.

Taylor Swift, “Cruel Summer”

4 weeks at number-one
October 28 – November 4; November 18 – November 25

“Cruel Summer” is Swift’s 10th number-one single, making her one of just 11 artists to achieve double digit chart-toppers. It was originally released as a track on Swift’s “Lover” album in 2019 but was only properly released as a single in 2023 when it started achieving prominence again on Swift’s “Eras Tour.”

Drake feat. J. Cole, “First Person Shooter”

1 week at number-one
October 21

This is the 13th number-one single of Drake’s career and the first for J. Cole. Drake is now tied with Michael Jackson for the most number-one hits by a solo male artist. It’s Drake’s record ninth song to debut at number-one and extends his record for the most top-five and most top-10 hits of all time. “First Person Shooter” is one of seven Drake songs that charted in the top-10 the week his album “For All the Dogs” was released.

Drake feat. SZA, “Slime You Out”

1 week at number-one
September 30

This is the 12th number-one single of Drake’s career and the second for SZA. It’s Drake’s eighth song to debut in the top spot, extending his record. Drake also extends his record for the most top-five, top-10 and top-40 hits. The collaboration is featured on Drake’s album “For All the Dogs.”

Doja Cat, “Paint the Town Red”

3 weeks at number-one
September 16; October 7 – October 14

This is the second number-one hit for Doja Cat, following “Say So” in 2020. It’s also the first rap song to top the Billboard Hot 100 since August 2022 when Nicki Minaj‘s “Super Freaky Girl” topped the chart. “Paint the Town Red” is the second single from Doja’s fourth studio album, “Scarlet.”

Zach Bryan feat. Kacey Musgraves, “I Remember Everything”

1 week at number-one
September 9

This is the first number-one single for both Bryan and Musgraves. It debuted on top of the chart the same week that Bryan’s self-titled fourth album launched at number-one on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Following “Last Night,” “Try That in a Small Town” and “Rich Men North of Richmond,” this marks the first time in history that four straight number-one hits on the Hot 100 were country songs.

Oliver Anthony Music, “Rich Men North of Richmond”

2 weeks at number-one
August 26 – September 2

The controversial viral hit makes Oliver Anthony Music the first artist ever to debut at number-one without any previous history on the Billboard charts. He’s also the first unsigned artist to hit number-one since Lisa Loeb topped the chart with “Stay” in 1994.

Jason Aldean, “Try That in a Small Town”

1 week at number-one
August 5

Jason Aldean‘s career-first number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 is his 40th entry on the chart overall. It’s also by far the most controversial chart-topper of the year, sparking debate over whether it promotes violence against political opponents, racism, and even lynching. The chart dated August 5 also marks the first time in history that the top three on the Hot 100 are all country songs.

Jung Kook feat. Latto, “Seven”

1 week at number-one
July 29

Jung Kook is the second member of the boy band BTS to achieve a solo number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100. It’s also the first number-one hit for Latto, who previously peaked at number-three with her breakthrough hit “Big Energy.”

Olivia Rodrigo, “Vampire”

2 weeks at number-one
July 15; September 23

This is the third number-one hit for Olivia Rodrigo following “Drivers License” and “Good 4 U” from her previous album “Sour.” This is the lead single from her sophomore album “Guts,” so Rodrigo becomes the first artist ever to debut at number-one with the lead singles from both of her first two albums.

SZA, “Kill Bill”

1 week at number-one
April 29

This is SZA’s first number-one hit. It previously spent eight non-consecutive weeks at number-two, but finally ascended to the top spot thanks to the release of its remix featuring Doja Cat. The hit is featured on her critically acclaimed, chart-topping album “SOS.”

Jimin, “Like Crazy”

1 week at number-one
April 8

This is the first solo number-one single for Jimin, formerly of the boy band BTS. This also makes him the first solo South Korean artist to achieve s chart-topper on the Billboard Hot 100.

Morgan Wallen, “Last Night”

16 weeks at number-one
March 18; April 15 – April 22; May 6 – July 8; July 22; August 12 – August 19

The first number-one single of Wallen’s career jumped to the top spot the same week his album “One Thing at a Time” debuted at number-one on the Billboard 200. It’s the first number-one country song by an unaccompanied male artist since Eddie Rabbitt‘s “I Love a Rainy Night” in 1981. And it’s the longest-running chart-topper ever for a non-collaboration.

The Weeknd and Ariana Grande, “Die for You (Remix)”

1 week at number-one
March 11

“Die for You” was recorded years ago for The Weeknd‘s “Starbboy” album, but experienced a resurgence in 2022 and 2023 thanks in large part to its popularity on social media. He recorded a new remix with Ariana Grande, which immediately shot to the top of the chart. This is the seventh number-one hit for both artists, and it’s the second time they’ve hit number-one with a duet, following their “Save Your Tears (Remix).”

Miley Cyrus, “Flowers”

8 weeks at number-one
January 28 – March 4; March 25 – April 1

“Flowers” debuted at number-one on the chart dated January 28. It’s the second number-one hit for Miley Cyrus, coming almost 10 years after she previously topped the chart with “Wrecking Ball” in 2013. It’s the lead single off of Cyrus’s eighth studio album “Endless Summer Vacation,” and it’s her longest running chart-topper.

Taylor Swift, “Anti-Hero”

2 weeks at number-one in 2023 (8 weeks total)
January 14 – January 21

Swift’s ninth chart-topper debuted at number-one in 2022 and stayed there for six straight weeks but dropped off when Mariah Carey’s holiday juggernaut “All I Want for Christmas is You” took over. “Anti-Hero” returned to number-one once the festive season was over and became Swift’s longest-running chart leader

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

3 weeks at number-one in 2023 (14 weeks total)
January 7; December 23 – December 30

Originally released in 1994, Carey’s Christmas standard finally reached number-one in 2019 and has returned to the top every holiday season since, totaling 12 weeks on top (so far). It was her 19th number-one hit on the Hot 100, extending her record for the most number-one hits by a solo artist and getting her one step closer to the all-time record of 20 number-one singles held by The Beatles.

SEEMariah Carey number-one songs, ranked from worst to best: All 19 chart-topping hits

The Billboard Hot 100 has measured the most popular music since 1958, beginning with Ricky Nelson‘s “Poor Little Fool.” Since then well over 1,000 songs have reached the top, though Billboard’s methodology has changed over the years as the music industry and technology have evolved.

For instance, sales used to be tracked by Nielsen from Monday to Sunday, but in 2015 that changed to Friday to Thursday. Also, in the early years of the charts, sales were given more weight than radio airplay as single purchases were much more common than they have been in recent years. That was adjusted as full-length albums became more prevalent and single sales went down. In 1998 Billboard updated its rules yet again to allow a song to appear on the Hot 100 even if it was airplay-only and wasn’t available to purchase. Then in 2007 Billboard started counting audio streaming performance towards the Hot 100. And in 2013 YouTube video streams were added to the formula.

The Beatles hold the record for the most number-one hits with 20 different chart leaders. They’re followed closely by Mariah Carey, who has had 19 songs reach number-one. Carey’s 1995 duet with Boyz II Men, “One Sweet Day,” set the record for the most weeks at number-one with 16. That stood for more than two decades before it was tied by “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber in 2017, and then ultimately broken by Lil Nas X, whose “Old Town Road” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus dominated the chart for 19 weeks in 2019. But the song named by Billboard as the number-one of all time was The Weeknd‘s “Blinding Lights,” which spent only four weeks at number-one but obliterated the record for the most weeks in the top 10 with more than a year in that upper echelon.

How much history will be made on the Hot 100 in 2023? Come back every week for more.

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