Ariana Grande and the Weeknd Top the Billboard Hot 100: Who Has More No. 1 Hits?
Singers Ariana Grande and the Weeknd are two of the most successful artists in popular music these days. Especially when it comes to their chart-topping releases. They’ve done it again with their “Save Your Tears” remix. But between the two, who has more Billboard No. 1s?
Ariana Grande and the Weeknd collaborated on the ‘Save Your Tears’ remix
Grande and the Weeknd first teamed up back in 2014 for “Love Me Harder.” The single, off the former’s album My Everything, peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. The pair teamed up again for a song on Grande’s 2020 album, Positions, titled “Off the Table,” which they also wrote together.
Their latest collaboration is a remix of the Weeknd’s After Hours single “Save Your Tears.” After teasing the upcoming highly anticipated release, Grande and the Canadian singer dropped both the song and an animated music video on April 22, 2021.
The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100
The “Save Your Tears” remix debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. The following week, it rose up the chart to take the No. 1 spot. “thank you so much @billboard @theweeknd and to everybody listening and showing so much love,” Grande tweeted following the announcement. “honored and so grateful,” she added.
As Billboard itself wrote, “The song marks the sixth Hot 100 No. 1 each for The Weeknd and Grande.” The publication noted that Grande wasn’t credited the previous week’s chart (dated May 1, 2021) as the remix hadn’t yet outplayed the original for that week but did the following one.
Grande’s broken records with her No. 1 hits
Grande’s not a stranger to the Billboard Hot 100. In fact, she’s broken a handful of records with her singles. In 2020, she broke the record for the shortest amount of time (14 days) between No. 1 debuts with her collaborations “Stuck wit U” (with Justin Bieber) and “Rain on Me” (with Lady Gaga).
Before that distinction, Grande made history in other ways. In 2019, she expressed disbelief when she held the top three spots on the Billboard Hot 100 with singles “7 Rings,” “Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored,” and “Thank U, Next.”
“i laughed when i saw this bc i thought y’all edited it,” she tweeted. “thank u from the bottom of my heart. for so many reasons. first time since the beatles huh. that’s wild. i thought this was a joke when i saw it i’m not kidding. i love u. so much. always have n will. thank u for everything.”
How many No. 1 hits does The Weeknd have?
Not only are Grande and the Weeknd tied for their number of No. 1 hits, but both are record breakers in their own ways. As Billboard noted, “After Hours’ three Hot 100 No. 1s have led in three distinct years: “Heartless” in 2019, “Blinding Lights” in 2020 and now “Save Your Tears” in 2021.”
Why is this important? It’s the first time any artist has done this in 30 years and the first time for a male artist. “@TheWeeknd’s After Hours joins Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 by @JanetJackson as the only albums in HISTORY to spawn #1 singles on the Hot 100 in three calendar years” noted Pop Crave, in a tweet shared by the musician himself.
