Harry Styles’ ‘As It Was’ Tops Hot 100 for 15th Week – Longest Reign Ever for a British Act

Gary Trust
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Harry Styles‘ “As It Was” logs a 15th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. Only three songs have led longer over the survey’s 64-year history, while “As It Was” claims outright the longest reign for a song by a British artist, as well as by an act with no accompanying artists.

Styles also sports the rare achievement of holding the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 while starring in the top movie at the box office, as Don’t Worry Darling premiered as the weekend’s top film domestically.

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Meanwhile, Luke Combs adds his second Hot 100 top 10, as the country star’s “The Kind of Love We Make” jumps from No. 14 to No. 8.

The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data. All charts (dated Oct. 1, 2022) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Sept. 27). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

“As It Was,” released on Erskine/Columbia Records, tallied 66 million radio airplay audience impressions (down 2%), 13.5 million streams (down 6%) and 3,000 downloads sold (up 13%) in the Sept. 16-22 tracking week, according to Luminate.

The single scores a seventh week atop the Radio Songs chart; dips 6-9 on Streaming Songs, after two weeks on top starting in its debut week in April; and rebounds 24-15 on Digital Song Sales, following a week in the lead in May.

Fourth-Longest No. 1 Hot 100 Run, Longest for a Song With No Accompanying Acts

“As It Was” now solely boasts the fourth-longest reign in the Hot 100’s history, dating to the chart’s Aug. 4, 1958, inception. It has achieved the longest command since Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus (also on Columbia), ruled for a record 19 weeks in 2019.

Most Weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100:

  • 19, “Old Town Road,” Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus, beginning April 13, 2019

  • 16, “Despacito,” Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee feat. Justin Bieber, May 27, 2017

  • 16, “One Sweet Day,” Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men, Dec. 2, 1995

  • 15 (to date), “As It Was,” Harry Styles, April 16, 2022

  • 14, “Uptown Funk!,” Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars, Jan. 17, 2015

  • 14, “I Gotta Feeling,” The Black Eyed Peas, July 11, 2009

  • 14, “We Belong Together,” Mariah Carey, June 4, 2005

  • 14, “Candle in the Wind 1997″/”Something About the Way You Look Tonight,” Elton John, Oct. 11, 1997

  • 14, “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix),” Los Del Rio, Aug. 3, 1996

  • 14, “I’ll Make Love to You,” Boyz II Men, Aug. 27, 1994

  • 14, “I Will Always Love You,” Whitney Houston, Nov. 28, 1992

Further, “As It Was” breaks out of a tie for the longest Hot 100 domination among singles by artists with no accompanying acts, as it passes the 14-week leaders above by The Black Eyed Peas, Mariah Carey, Elton John, Los Del Rio, Boyz II Men and Whitney Houston.

Longest Hot 100 Reign for a Song by a British Artist

With Styles from Redditch, Worcestershire, England, “As It Was” surpasses Ronson and John’s hits listed above for the longest Hot 100 rule ever by a British artist.

(In the rundown below, * denotes British artists on songs with multiple acts.)

Most Weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 by British Artists:

  • 15 (to date), “As It Was,” Harry Styles, beginning April 16, 2022

  • 14, “Uptown Funk!,” Mark Ronson* feat. Bruno Mars, Jan. 17, 2015

  • 14, “Candle in the Wind 1997″/”Something About the Way You Look Tonight,” Elton John, Oct. 11, 1997

  • 12, “Shape of You,” Ed Sheeran, Jan. 28, 2017

  • 10, “Easy on Me,” Adele, Oct. 30, 2021

  • 10, “One Dance,” Drake feat. WizKid & Kyla*, April 23, 2016

  • 10, “Hello,” Adele, Nov. 14, 2015

  • 10, “We Found Love,” Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris*, Nov. 12, 2011

  • 10, “Physical,” Olivia Newton-John, Nov. 21, 1981

  • 9, “Hey Jude,” The Beatles, Sept. 28, 1968

Most Weeks Ever in Hot 100’s Top Two & Top Three

“As It Was” extends its record for the most weeks spent in the Hot 100’s top two positions, having logged 24 weeks, of its 25 total weeks on the chart, in the top two, from its April 16 debut at No. 1 through the newest, Oct. 1-dated survey.

The song also extends its mark for the most weeks, 25, tallied in the Hot 100’s top three in the chart’s history.

“As It Was” is additionally the first song ever to spend its first 25 weeks on the Hot 100 all in the top three.

No. 1 on Hot 100 for 15 Weeks Over 25 Weeks

“As It Was” has now topped the Hot 100 for 15 weeks over a span of 25 weeks, from its debut through the current chart. (In its other 10 weeks on the list, it ranked at No. 2 for nine weeks and No. 3 for one frame.) The song extends the longest span of a title leading the list in a single release cycle. (Overall, Mariah Carey’s 1994 carol “All I Want for Christmas Is You” holds the record for the longest stretch from a song’s first to its most recent week at No. 1: two years and three weeks [Dec. 21, 2019-Jan. 8, 2022]).

On the Radio Songs chart, “As It Was” has led for seven weeks over a span of 20 weeks, the second-longest span of a song ranking at No. 1. The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” ruled for 26 weeks over a stretch of 28 weeks (2020).

Styles No. 1 in Music & Movies

Meanwhile, Styles can celebrate having the top song and starring in the top movie in the U.S. While “As It Was” holds atop the Hot 100, Don’t Worry Darling premiered with a weekend-winning $19.2 million domestically in theaters. The film stars — in addition to Styles and others — Chris Pine, Florence Pugh and Olivia Wilde, the latter of whom also directed and co-produced it.

Such a double domination is rare, with Styles following such notable examples as Prince, whose five-week Hot 100 reign in 1984 with “When Doves Cry” coincided with the rule in theaters of Purple Rain, and Eminem, whose “Lose Yourself” controlled the Hot 100 for 12 weeks in 2002-03, aligning with his box office-topping acting debut in parent film 8 Mile.

(Going back to Back to the Future, Huey Lewis made a comical cameo in the 1985 blockbuster, which reigned as the top movie as his and The News’ “The Power of Love” [not Marty McFly’s version …] led the Hot 100.)

Steve Lacy’s first Hot 100 top 10 “Bad Habit” spends a fourth week at its No. 2 high, with 37.8 million in airplay audience (up 10%), 19.6 million streams (essentially even week-over-week) and 2,000 sold (up 39%). The track rebounds from No. 2 for a fifth week at No. 1 on Streaming Songs; becomes Lacy’s first Radio Songs top 10, surging 13-8; and debuts at No. 37 on Digital Song Sales.

“Bad Habit” leads the multi-metric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, Hot Rock Songs and Hot Alternative Songs charts for a fifth week each and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot R&B Songs charts for a fourth frame each, having become the first song to rule all five rankings (dating to October 2012, when Billboard‘s main genre-based song charts adopted the Hot 100’s methodology).

Post Malone’s “I Like You (A Happier Song),” featuring Doja Cat, rises 5-3 for a new Hot 100 best; Nicky Youre and Dazy’s “Sunroof” holds at its No. 4 high; and Nicki Minaj’s “Super Freaky Girl” drops 3-5, after it soared in at No. 1 on the Aug. 27 chart, as it tops the multi-metric Hot Rap Songs chart for a sixth week.

Morgan Wallen’s “You Proof” keeps at its No. 6 Hot 100 highpoint, while leading the multi-metric Hot Country Songs chart for a sixth week, and OneRepublic’s “I Ain’t Worried” ascends 8-7 for a new top rank.

Luke Combs notches his second Hot 100 top 10, as “The Kind of Love We Make” bounds 14-8 with 32.7 million in airplay audience (up 5%), 13.9 million streams (up 13%) and 3,000 sold (up 8%).

Combs previously hit the Hot 100’s top 10 with “Forever After All,” which debuted at its No. 2 peak in November 2020 (the highest entrance ever for a core country male soloist).

Two Country Hits in Hot 100’s Top 10

Thanks to Wallen’s “You Proof” and Combs’ “The Kind of Love We Make,” two top 10 Hot Country Songs hits place in the Hot 100’s top 10 together. The tracks rank at No. 1 (for a sixth week, as noted above) and No. 2 on Hot Country Songs (after four weeks on top), respectively.

The songs combine for the fourth such double-up in just over two years – after none had occurred in over 20 years, since May 13, 2000, when Faith Hill’s “Breathe” and Lonestar’s “Amazed” ranked at Nos. 3 and 10 on the Hot 100, respectively.

Here’s a recap of the five most recent instances of Hot Country Songs top 10s sharing space in the Hot 100’s top 10, with Wallen, Combs and Gabby Barrett factoring into two each:

  • Oct. 1, 2022: “You Proof,” Morgan Wallen (No. 6 on the Hot 100), “The Kind of Love We Make,” Luke Combs (No. 8)

  • Nov. 27, 2021: “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version),” Taylor Swift (No. 1), “Fancy Like,” Walker Hayes (No. 10)

  • Nov. 7, 2020: “Forever After All,” Combs (No. 2), “I Hope,” Gabby Barrett feat. Charlie Puth (No. 6)

  • Aug. 29, 2020: “7 Summers,” Wallen (No. 6), “I Hope” (No. 10)

  • May 13, 2000: “Breathe,” Faith Hill (No. 3), “Amazed,” Lonestar (No. 10)

Notably, unlike the four most recent team-ups until this week, both “Proof” and “Kind” appear in the Hot 100’s top 10 without the assistance of pop/adult radio promotion. “All Too Well,” “Fancy Like” and “I Hope,” as well as “Breathe” and “Amazed,” all drew multi-format airplay support. Wallen and Combs’ latest hits are both scaling the tier largely thanks to their streaming and country radio strength, as they rank at Nos. 5 and 7, respectively, on Streaming Songs and Nos. 3 and 2, respectively, on the Country Airplay chart.

Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Lizzo’s “About Damn Time” descends 7-9, after two weeks at No. 1 beginning in late July, and Future’s “Wait for U,” featuring Drake and Tems, repeats at No. 10, following a week on top in its debut frame in May.

Again, for all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram and all charts (dated Oct. 1), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (Sept. 27).

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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