Pick a Day

Music History Events: Charts

October 25, 2008 Britney Spears returns to the top of the Hot 100 with "Womanizer," her first #1 on that chart since her debut single, "...Baby One More Time," in 1999.More

October 4, 2008 Darius Rucker, known as the frontman for the '90s pop band Hootie & the Blowfish, hits #1 on the Country chart with his first country single, "Don't Think I Don't Think About It," making him the first African American singer to top that tally since 1985, when Ray Charles hit the top with "Seven Spanish Angels," a duet with Willie Nelson.

July 5, 2008 Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" hits #1 in the US, where it stays for seven weeks. Perry's first chart-topper, it's a startling turnabout from just seven years earlier, when she was a gospel singer recording under her real name: Katy Hudson.More

April 19, 2008 Donna Summer scores a #1 Dance hit with "I'm A Fire," making her the first artist to top that chart in every decade since its 1974 debut.

April 17, 2008 With Spirit, Leona Lewis becomes the first British woman to go straight to the top of the Billboard 200 album chart with a debut album.

April 5, 2008 Leona Lewis hits #1 in the US with "Bleeding Love." It's the first American hit for Lewis, who won the UK version of The X Factor in 2006.

November 17, 2007 Twenty-eight years after their last #1 album (The Long Run), the Eagles return to the top spot in America with Long Road Out Of Eden, a double album initially sold only at Walmart for the bargain price of $11.88. The group released the album on their own label, allowing them to keep a hearty chunk of the profits.

November 10, 2007 For the first time, country(ish) artists occupy the top three spots on the US albums chart: 1) Carrie Underwood - Carnival Ride 2) Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raising Sand 3) Gary Allan - Living Hard

September 15, 2007 At 17 years and one month old, Soulja Boy boy becomes the youngest artist to write, produce and perform a #1 Hot 100 hit when "Crank That" goes to the top. The record was previously held by Debbie Gibson, who was 17 years and 9 months old when "Foolish Beat" went to #1 in 1988.

June 9, 2007 Rihanna's "Umbrella," with a guest verse from her label boss Jay-Z, reaches #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it stays for seven weeks.

September 16, 2006 65-year-old Bob Dylan becomes the oldest person to top Billboard's Albums chart when Modern Times goes to #1.

September 9, 2006 "SexyBack," the lead single from Justin Timberlake's second solo album, FutureSex: LoveSounds, hits #1 in America, where it stays for seven weeks. Timbaland and Nate "Danja" Hills are the producers - they're red hot, coming off Nelly Furtado's #1 "Promiscuous."

August 26, 2006 Taylor Hicks' "Do I Make You Proud?" drops out of the Hot 100 after just eight weeks, establishing a new record for the shortest stay on the chart for a #1 hit. A little perspective: "London Bridge" by Fergie is the 2006 #1 with the next-fewest weeks on the chart, with 21.

July 1, 2006 During the brief time when American Idol Season 5 winner Taylor Hicks is the most popular Taylor in music, his first single, "Do I Make You Proud?," hits #1 in America.More

June 17, 2006 Shakira lands her first #1 hit on the Hot 100 when her single "Hips Don't Lie," featuring Wyclef Jean, reaches the top of the tally. It also breaks the record for the most-played pop song in a single week when it's aired on American radio 9,637 times.More

May 27, 2006 For the first time in their 22-year career, Red Hot Chili Peppers score a #1 album in the US: the two-disc set Stadium Arcadium.

April 2, 2006 Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" makes history by becoming the UK's first-ever #1 single to top the chart solely on download sales.More

March 11, 2006 "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt goes to #1 in America. Blunt later explains that the song is "about a guy who's high as a f--king kite on drugs in the subway stalking someone else's girlfriend."

March 11, 2006 The High School Musical soundtrack reaches #1 on the US albums chart, the first TV soundtrack album to top the tally since the Miami Vice soundtrack, which was #1 for eight weeks in 1985 and another three in 1986. Nine songs from the album make the Hot 100, led by "Breaking Free," sung by Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, which reaches #4.

January 1, 2005 Gavin DeGraw's "I Don't Want To Be," the theme song to the popular teen drama One Tree Hill, peaks at #10 on the Hot 100 in the midst of the show's second season.More

October 28, 2004 Rod Stewart's Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Vol. 3 is #1 on the Billboard 200, marking the first time the singer reached the top of the albums chart since 1979's Blondes Have More Fun.

October 3, 2004 Teenage English soul star Joss Stone becomes the youngest female solo artist to top the British albums survey as Mind Body & Soul debuts at #1. The 17-year-old's second release, and first full-length album, bows ahead of Top 10 entries by Marilyn Manson, Tom Jones and Brian Wilson. Billie Eilish sets a new mark in 2019 when she hits #1 with When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? two months younger than when Stone took the top spot.

September 1, 2004 Under pressure to account for download sales, the Official Charts company releases its first UK Download Chart. The boy band Westlife claims the #1 spot with a live release of their 1999 song "Flying Without Wings."More

June 28, 2003 After Ruben Studdard beats Clay Aiken to win Season 2 of American Idol, their first singles debut at the top of the Hot 100. Aiken takes the top spot, becoming the first new artist to go straight to #1 on the chart.More

March 8, 2003 50 Cent's first single, "In Da Club," tops the Hot 100 for the first of nine weeks. The bumpin' beat comes from 50's producer, Dr. Dre, who is also his label boss.

November 9, 2002 Madonna breaks The Beatles' record for most Top 10 hits on the Hot 100 when "Die Another Day" goes to #8, giving her 35 Top 10 hits on the chart.

November 9, 2002 Eminem hits #1 on the Hot 100 for the first time when "Lose Yourself," from his movie 8 Mile, tops the chart.

October 2, 2002 Return of the King: 25 years after his death, Elvis Presley has a #1 album in 17 countries - including the United States - when Elv1s 30 No. 1 Hits makes its debut.

August 17, 2002 Nelly becomes the fifth artist to replace himself at #1 on the Hot 100 when "Dilemma" takes the top spot from "Hot In Herre."

June 16, 2002 A remixed version of Elvis Presley's 1968 single "A Little Less Conversation" hits #1 in the UK, released as part of a successful plan by his estate to claim the UK record for most #1 hits on the tally from The Beatles.