Drake & SZA’s ‘Slime You Out’ Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100

Gary Trust
·9 min read
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Drake’s “Slime You Out,” featuring SZA, soars in at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart.

The collaboration, from Drake’s album For All the Dogs, expected Oct. 6, is Drake’s 12th Hot 100 leader, tying him for the fifth-most in the list’s history, and SZA’s second.

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SZA also surges to a new No. 3 Hot 100 high with her own single “Snooze,” boosted by a new remix with Justin Bieber.

Plus, Luke Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” at No. 4 on the Hot 100, hits No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart for the first time, after a lengthy wait parked in the runner-up spot.

The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data, the lattermost metric reflecting purchases of physical singles and digital tracks from full-service digital music retailers; digital singles sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites are excluded from chart calculations. All charts (dated Sept. 30, 2023) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Sept. 26). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

Here’s a look at the coronation of “Slime You Out,” the 1,156th single to top the Hot 100 over the chart’s 65-year history, and the 71st to debut at No. 1.

Streams, sales & airplay: Released Sept. 15 at 12 p.m. ET on OVO Sound/Republic Records, “Slime You Out” drew 32.6 million streams and 5.2 million radio airplay audience impressions and sold 2,000 downloads in the tracking week ending Sept. 21, according to Luminate.

The single also debuts at No. 1 on the Streaming Songs chart and No. 29 on Digital Song Sales.

Drake’s 12th Hot 100 No. 1: Drake achieves his 12th Hot 100 No. 1. He ties for the fifth-most leaders among all acts – and moves to within one of Michael Jackson’s mark for the most among solo males.

Most Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s:

  • 20, The Beatles

  • 19, Mariah Carey

  • 14, Rihanna

  • 13, Michael Jackson

  • 12, Drake

  • 12, Madonna

  • 12, The Supremes

  • 11, Whitney Houston

  • 10, Janet Jackson

  • 10, Stevie Wonder

Meanwhile, here’s a recap of Drake’s 12 Hot 100 No. 1s:

  • “Slime You Out,” Drake feat. SZA  (one week to-date, Sept. 30, 2023)

  • “Jimmy Cooks,” Drake feat. 21 Savage (one week, July 2, 2022)

  • “Wait for U,” Future feat. Drake & Tems (one week, May 14, 2022)

  • “Way 2 Sexy,” Drake feat. Future and Young Thug (one week, Sept. 18, 2021)

  • “What’s Next,” Drake (one week, March 20, 2021)

  • “Toosie Slide,” Drake (one week, April 18, 2020)

  • “In My Feelings,” Drake (10 weeks, beginning July 21, 2018)

  • “Nice for What,” Drake (eight weeks, beginning April 21, 2018)

  • “God’s Plan,” Drake (11 weeks, beginning Feb. 3, 2018)

  • “One Dance,” Drake feat. WizKid & Kyla (10 weeks, beginning May 21, 2016)

  • “Work,” Rihanna feat. Drake (nine weeks, beginning March 5, 2016)

  • “What’s My Name?,” Rihanna feat. Drake (one week at No. 1, beginning Nov. 20, 2010)

SZA’s second No. 1: SZA earns her second Hot 100 No. 1. She first reigned for a week in April with “Kill Bill.” She claims her first No. 1 debut, after “Kill Bill” reached the summit in its 19th week on the chart, and after a wait of seven nonconsecutive weeks at No. 2.

Notably, SZA is the first artist with multiple Hot 100 No. 1s in 2023. Last year, one artist doubled up at the summit: none other than Drake, with “Jimmy Cooks” and “Wait for U.”

Drake’s record eighth No. 1 debut: “Slime You Out” is Drake’s record-extending eighth song to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100. He previously started at the top with “Jimmy Cooks,” “Wait for U,” “Way 2 Sexy,” “What’s Next,” “Toosie Slide,” “Nice for What” and “God’s Plan.”

Drake’s records in top 5, 10, 40 & overall: “Slime You Out” extends multiple other Drake records on the Hot 100. Here’s an updated look at his leading ranks among acts with the most hits in the following tiers.

  • Top 5: Now with 37 top five Hot 100 hits, Drake moves further ahead of runners-up The Beatles (29). Madonna follows with 28.

  • Top 10: Now with 70 top 10 Hot 100 hits, Drake surges further past Taylor Swift, in second place with 42. Madonna is next with 38.

  • Top 40: Now with 178 top 40 Hot 100 hits, Drake likewise lifts further ahead Swift, second with 119. Lil Wayne follows with 88, while Elvis Presley ranks fourth with 81 (with his career having predated the chart’s inception by two years).

  • Overall: Now with 299 total Hot 100 hits, Drake extends his record for the most over Swift, who places second with 212. The Glee Cast is third with 207.

Drake ties BTS for most No. 1s in the ‘20s: Drake ups his count to six Hot 100 No. 1s in the 2020s – tying BTS for the most so far this decade. Ariana Grande and Swift follow with four each in that span.

Drake earned six Hot 100 No. 1s in the ‘10s, the fourth-best sum, after Rihanna (nine), Katy Perry (eight) and Bruno Mars (seven).

Here’s a recap of the artists with the most Hot 100 leaders in each decade starting with the 1960s, dating to the chart’s Aug. 4, 1958 inception:

  • ‘20s, to date: BTS, Drake, six each

  • ‘10s: Rihanna, nine

  • ‘00s: Usher, seven

  • ‘90s: Mariah Carey, 14

  • ‘80s: Michael Jackson, nine

  • ‘70s: Bee Gees, nine

  • ‘60s: The Beatles, 18

(Frankie Avalon and The Fleetwoods tied for the most Hot 100 No. 1s, two each, in 1958-59.)

‘Slime’ also No. 1 on Streaming Songs, R&B/hip-hop charts: As “Slime You Out” concurrently crowns the Streaming Songs chart, Drake adds his record-extending 18th No. 1. Bieber and Swift rank next with six each. SZA notches her second No. 1, after “Kill Bill” reigned for four weeks.

“Slime You Out” likewise launches atop the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot R&B Songs charts, which use the same multi-metric methodology as the Hot 100. Drake claims his record-padding 29th Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs No. 1, further distancing himself from legends Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder, each with 20. SZA achieves her third Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs No. 1, after “Kill Bill” ruled for a record 21 weeks beginning last December and “I Hate U” led for a week in 2021.

On Hot R&B Songs, which began in 2012, Drake posts his eighth No. 1, and SZA, her fifth.

Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red” holds at No. 2 on the Hot 100, two weeks after it became her second No. 1. The song drew 44.9 million in radio reach (up 19%), 26.7 million streams (down 2%) and sold 8,000 (up 4%) – as it becomes her second leader (5-1) on Digital Song Sales and her ninth top 10 (13-9) on the Radio Songs chart. It also tops the multi-metric Hot Rap Songs chart for a fifth week.

SZA’s “Snooze” reawakens with an 8-3 leap on the Hot 100, surpassing its prior No. 7 best. Following the Sept. 15 release of its remix featuring Bieber, it’s up 50% to 21.4 million streams and 86% to 3,000 sold; already an established airplay hit, it rises to a new No. 3 high, from No. 5, on Radio Songs (70.1 million, up 4%). SZA now has four career top five Hot 100 hits, among nine top 10s, as “Snooze” and “Slime You Out” join “Kill Bill” and “Kiss Me More,” featuring Doja Cat (No. 3, 2021).

(All versions of “Snooze” roll up into one chart listing; Bieber is not listed on the song on the Hot 100, as the remix did not account for the majority of the single’s overall consumption during the tracking week.)

Notably, the Hot 100’s top three, of “Slime You Out,” “Paint the Town Red” and “Snooze,” mirrors that of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart – for the first time in over two years. The lists last lined up in the region on the charts dated Sept. 18, 2021, when Drake’s LP Certified Lover Boy premiered atop the Billboard 200 and its tracks “Way 2 Sexy,” featuring Future and Young Thug, “Girls Want Girls,” featuring Lil Baby, and “Fair Trade,” featuring Travis Scott, debuted at Nos. 1, 2 and 3, respectively, on the Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Country and pop have dominated the Hot 100’s top 10 in 2023, while “Paint the Town Red” became the chart’s first rap No. 1 in over a year.

(Helping spark the feat, two RCA Records artists rank in the Hot 100’s top three this week, with SZA at Nos. 1 and 3 and Doja Cat at No. 2.)

Luke Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s No. 6-peaking 1988 Hot 100 classic “Fast Car” holds at No. 4 after eight weeks at its No. 2 high. Still, it tops Radio Songs for a fourth week (76.6 million, down 2%) and ascends to No. 1 on the multi-metric Hot Country Songs chart, after 19 weeks at No. 2. Combs claims his sixth Hot Country Songs No. 1 with the remake, which previously topped Country Airplay for five weeks and Adult Pop Airplay for two frames and has reached the top 10 on the Pop Airplay and Adult Contemporary charts.

Zach Bryan’s “I Remember Everything,” featuring Kacey Musgraves, drops 3-5 on the Hot 100, three weeks after it debuted at No. 1. It leads the multi-metric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Rock Songs charts for a fourth week each.

Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Swift’s “Cruel Summer” descends 5-6, after reaching No. 3; Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire” falls to No. 7 following its second nonconsecutive week at No. 1; Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” slips 6-8, following 16 weeks at No. 1, the most ever for a non-collaboration; Gunna’s “Fukumean” holds at No. 9, after hitting No. 4; and Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” repeats at No. 10, after reaching No. 6.

Again, for all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram and all charts (dated Sept. 30), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (Sept. 26).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

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