“Despacito” Ties “One Sweet Day” For Longest At #1
Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito,” featuring Justin Bieber, matches perhaps the most vaunted record for a song in the 59-year history of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, as it leads the list (dated Sept. 9) for a 16th week, the most weeks at #1 ever for a single. It equals the reign of Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day,” which spent 16 weeks at #1 in 1995-96.
As “Despacito” (released on Universal Music Latino / Raymond Braun / SchoolBoy / Def Jam / UMLE / Republic Records) moves into a first-place tie for the most weeks at #1 on the Hot 100, dating to the chart’s Aug. 4, 1958, inception, here’s an updated look at the titles with the most time on top:
The Longest-Leading Billboard Hot 100 #1s
Weeks at #1, Title, Artist, Date Reached #1
16 (to date), “Despacito,” Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Feat. Justin Bieber, May 27, 2017
16, “One Sweet Day,” Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men, Dec. 2, 1995
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
“One Sweet Day” held the record for the Hot 100’s longest rule for 21 and a half years, establishing the longevity mark when it tallied its 15th week on top on the March 9, 1996-dated chart (passing Boyz II Men’s own “I’ll Make Love To You” and Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You,” both 14-week leaders). “Sweet” added its final and, until this week unmatched, 16th week at #1 on March 16, 1996.
“Despacito” extends its record command on the Digital Song Sales chart to 17 weeks at #1, with 80,000 downloads sold (down 3 percent) in the week ending Aug. 24, according to Nielsen Music; both the original version and Bieber remix were sale-priced for 69 cents in the iTunes Store during the tracking week (with the former on sale for 69 cents in the prior week, as well). The single additionally leads the Streaming Songs chart for a record-extending 16th week, with 44.6 million U.S. streams (down 4 percent) in the week ending Aug. 24. On Radio Songs, “Despacito” holds at #5 after five prior weeks on top, drawing 105 million in all-format airplay audience (down 11 percent) in the week ending Aug. 27.
“Despacito” tallies a 30th week atop the Hot Latin Songs chart and extends its reign on the Songs Of The Summer survey to 13 weeks, having led the latter list each week since its annual return after Memorial Day; the summer champion and entire top 20 will be revealed next week.
If you can’t get enough of this song, check out Billboard’s deeper dive into “Despacito”‘s meaning with a lyrical analysis.
A version of this article originally appeared on Billboard.