Madonna and Billboard’s Hot 100 History

In the course of charting over a half-century of music, the Billboard Hot 100 — which now celebrates its 55th anniversary — has seen some songs transform into hits, but it has also chronicled major chart feats.

Billboard delved into the Hot 100’s rich history to take a look, by the numbers, at the chart’s Top 100 artists, the artists with the most Hot 100 No. 1’s and top tens, the artists with the most overall Hot 100 hits, the biggest No. 2 hits, and more.

Most Top 10 Hits By Artist
The artists with the most top 10 hits on the Hot 100.

1 – Madonna (38)
2 – The Beatles (34)
3 – Michael Jackson (28)
3 – Stevie Wonder (28)
5 – Mariah Carey (27)
5 – Janet Jackson (27)
5 – Elton John (27)
8 – Elvis Presley (25)
9 – Rihanna (24)
10 – Whitney Houston (23)
10 – The Rolling Stones (23)

Hot 100: Top 10 Artists

1 – THE BEATLES
2 – MADONNA
3 – ELTON JOHN
4 – ELVIS PRESLEY
5 – MARIAH CAREY
6 – STEVIE WONDER
7 – JANET JACKSON
8 – MICHAEL JACKSON
9 – WHITNEY HOUSTON
10 – THE ROLLING STONES

Hot 100: Most No. 1s By Artist
The all-time list of the artists with the most Hot 100 No. 1 hits.

1 – The Beatles (20)
2 – Mariah Carey (18)
3 – Michael Jackson (13)
4 – Madonna (12)
4 – Rihanna (12)
4 – The Supremes (12)
7 – Whitney Houston (11)
8 – Janet Jackson (10)
8 – Stevie Wonder (10)
10 – Bee Gees (9)
10 – Elton John (9)
10 – Paul McCartney (9)
10 – Usher (9)

Most Weeks at No. 1 By Artist
A ranking of the artists who have spent the most weeks at the Hot 100’s pole position.

1 – Mariah Carey (79)
2 – The Beatles (59)
3 – Boyz II Men (50)
4 – Rihanna (47)
4 – Usher (47)
5 – Michael Jackson (37)
7 – Beyonce (36)
8 – Elton John (34)
9 – Janet Jackson (33)
10 – Madonna (32)

The 55th anniversary edition of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs and Artists charts are based on actual performance on the weekly Billboard Hot 100, since the chart’s inception in August 1958 through the July 27, 2013 rankings. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 100 earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the Hot 100’s 55 years (i.e., the inclusion of Nielsen Entertainment airplay monitoring and point-of-sales tracking and the recent inclusion of streaming data, among earlier modifications), certain eras are weighted differently to account for chart turnover rates over various periods. The Artist chart utilizes the same point system and adjusted weighting as the Songs list, but aggregates all titles for each act that charted over the course of its career.

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