Which Super Bowl 2022 Halftime Show Performer Has the Most No. 1 Songs?
The 2022 Super Bowl halftime show is set to be an unforgettable “Family Affair” with some of hip-hop’s biggest names from the past three decades taking the stage in front of millions of people. Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Kendrick Lamar have each cemented their spots in music history with their hit songs. But which artist can claim the most No. 1 songs to their name?
Dr. Dre’s No. 1 songs
Dr. Dre first came onto the rap scene in the 1980s as a part of the iconic hip-hop group N.W.A. The group popularized the genre of gangsta rap and redefined what it meant to be a rapper. But after just a few years together, the group split in 1991, and artists such as Dr. Dre and Ice Cube went on to work on their own solo careers.
The following year, Dr. Dre released his debut album The Chronic, which featured hit singles such as “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang.” “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang” put Dre on the map as a solo artist: it was certified platinum with over one million copies sold and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
To date, Dr. Dre has had no songs of his as a lead artist reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, he has topped the chart three times as a featured artist: twice in 1996 for his Tupac Shakur collab “California Love” and Blackstreet’s smash single “No Diggity,” and over a decade later on Eminem’s song “Crack a Bottle.”
Snoop Dogg has one No. 1 song
Snoop Dogg has been a wildly popular artist since he first debuted in the early ’90s under the name Snoop Doggy Dogg. His first three albums throughout the decade all reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
Still, despite the success of his early work in the ’90s, it wasn’t until 2004 when Snoop notched his first (and to date, only) No. 1 hit single on the Billboard Hot 100: “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” the classic track featuring Pharrell Williams.
Eminem has four No. 1 songs
Eminem rose through the hip-hop ranks in the late ’90s before bursting onto the scene after the turn of the century. In 2004, he earned his first No. 1 entry on the Billboard Hot 100 for his hit song “Lose Yourself.”
At the turn of the following decade, he added more No. 1s to his collection. In 2009, “Crack a Bottle” reached the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100, as did his Rihanna collab “Love the Way You Lie” the following year. In 2013, he and Rihanna topped the chart again with their song “The Monster.”
With four No. 1 singles to his name as a lead artist, Eminem leads the pack of his fellow Super Bowl LIV halftime performers with the most Hot 100 entries to top the chart.
Mary J. Blige has one No. 1 song
Mary J. Blige has been the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul for three decades. And with all those years in the industry have come many beloved songs that remain classics to this day.
Blige’s only song to top the Billboard Hot 100 was her Dr. Dre collab “Family Affair” in 2001. Coincidentally, that same year, Blige appeared in the Super Bowl halftime show for the first time. Other songs of hers to come close were “Be Without You” and “Not Gon’ Cry.”
Kendrick Lamar has one No. 1 song
Kendrick Lamar has released many songs that have resonated with his fan base around the world. But when it comes to the Billboard Hot 100, Lamar’s impact has been less strongly felt.
In 2017, his single “Humble” earned him his first (and to date, only) No. 1 single as a lead artist. But he first reached the top spot in 2015 when he appeared on a remix of Taylor Swift’s chart-topping single “Bad Blood.”
