Sia’s ‘Cheap Thrills’ Takes No. 1 on Hot 100 From Drake
Sia's "Cheap Thrills," featuring Sean Paul, crowns the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Aug. 6), rising 3-1 to become Sia's first Hot 100 No. 1 as an artist, while Paul earns his fourth topper and first in…
Sia‘s “Cheap Thrills,” featuring Sean Paul, crowns the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Aug. 6), rising 3-1 to become Sia’s first Hot 100 No. 1 as an artist, while Paul earns his fourth topper and first in more than 10 years. The song unseats Drake‘s “One Dance,” featuring WizKid and Kyla, which led the Hot 100 for 10 weeks, marking both the longest-leading No. 1 of 2016 and of Drake’s career.
As we do every Monday when the Hot 100 is refreshed, let’s run down the top 10. Highlights of the airplay, sales and streaming-based Hot 100 post on Billboard.com each Monday, with all charts updated each Tuesday.
“Thrills,” released on Monkey Puzzle/RCA Records, and from Sia’s album This Is Acting, becomes the 1,056th No. 1 in the Hot 100’s history (which dates to Aug. 4, 1958). While it’s Sia’s first No. 1 as an artist, she previously reigned as a writer, having co-written Rihanna’s “Diamonds,” which led for three weeks in 2012. “Thrills,” meanwhile, was intended to be recorded by Rihanna for her Anti album, but, as fortune would have it, Sia wound up recording it herself.
Paul tallies his fourth Hot 100 No. 1, following “Get Busy” (three weeks, 2003); as featured on Beyonce’s “Baby Boy” (nine weeks, 2003); and his own “Temperature” (one week, April 1, 2006). Paul ends the longest break (10 years and four months) between Hot 100 leaders since Dr. Dre went 12 years, two months and three weeks between “No Diggity,” by Blackstreet featuring Dr. Dre, in 1996, and “Crack a Bottle,” his collab with Eminem and 50 Cent, in 2009.
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Then, there’s this, from reader Eric M.:
“Great news regarding Sia: if ‘Cheap Thrills’ goes to No. 1 on Hot 100, she’ll be the first female over 40 to reach the top since Madonna and Cher back in 2000 and 1999. Madonna was 42 when ‘Music’ led for four weeks in 2000, and Cher was 52 when ‘Believe’ reigned for four in 1999.”
As Sia was born Dec. 18, 1975, she’s just past 40 years and seven months of age.
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More Sia superlatives: “Thrills” reaches No. 1 on the Hot 100 in its 23rd week on the chart, completing the longest climb to the summit since John Legend’s “All of Me” led at last in its 30th week on the chart dated May 17, 2014. As for songs by women, the rise to No. 1 on the Hot 100 for “Thrills” is record-tying: it matches the 23-week ascent of Patti Austin’s “Baby, Come to Me,” with James Ingram, which hit No. 1 on Feb. 19, 1983. (The record for steadiest climb to No. 1 among all acts: 33 weeks for Los Del Rio’s “Macarena,” which originally reached No. 45 in 1995, then, powered by its Bayside Boys Mix, re-entered the Hot 100 after a four-month break and ruled for 14 weeks beginning nearly 20 years ago, on Aug. 3, 1996.)
As “Thrills” reaches No. 1 on the Hot 100, it holds at its No. 2 high on the Digital Songs sales chart, up by 34 percent to 122,000 downloads sold in the week ending July 21, according to Nielsen Music, the song’s best weekly sales (and Sia’s top sales frame as a lead act); the increase is good for the Hot 100’s top Digital Gainer award (aided in part by 69-cent sale-pricing in the iTunes Store). “Thrills” also keeps at its No. 3 peak on Radio Songs (142 million in airplay audience, up 7 percent), while, on Streaming Songs, it pushes 7-6, hitting a new high (13.1 million U.S. streams, up 4 percent). “Thrills” is the first song to lead the Hot 100 while not ruling any of the chart’s three main component tallies (Digital Songs, Radio Songs and Streaming Songs) since Rihanna’s “Work,” featuring Drake (April 30).
“Thrills” additionally becomes Sia’s first No. 1 on Billboard’s mainstream top 40-based Pop Songs radio airplay chart (2-1). Paul earns his third Pop Songs No. 1 and first since “Temperature” in 2006, and his 10-year, two-month and three-month gap between Pop Songs No. 1s is record-breaking, passing Mariah Carey’s wait of nine years, four months and two weeks between “One Sweet Day,” with Boyz II Men (1995-96), and her own “We Belong Together” (2005).
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“Thrills” first found global success earlier this year and built further buzz following Sia’s April 17 Coachella set, when Kristen Wiig, Paul Dano, Tig Notaro and Dance Moms‘ Maddie Ziegler (aka, Sia’s go-to stand-in for her videos and live performances) appeared either onstage or onscreen, accompanying her vocals.
RCA Records executive vp/GM Joe Riccitelli predicted the chart-topping status of “Thrills” on the Billboard Chart Beat Podcast back in May, based on the song’s success in Europe and as it was rising on U.S. radio (then ranking in the 30s on Pop Songs). “I really believe that, come the end of this summer, this is going to be one of the biggest songs of the summer,” he said.
(As for Sia’s public persona, whereby she remains obscured by her trademark wig, Riccitelli said that “not showing her face comes from the fact that she does not want to be famous.” But, “she is not shy in person. When you talk to her, she talks a mile a minute. She is so quick-witted. She is so endearing.”)
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Drake’s “Dance” drops to No. 2 on the Hot 100, although it posts a record-breaking 14th week atop the audio subscription services-based On-Demand Songs streaming chart (15.8 million on-demand U.S. streams, down 3 percent). It passes Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Thrift Shop,” featuring Wanz (13 weeks, 2013) for the most time atop On-Demand Songs since the list began in 2012.
“Dance” dips 2-3 on the overall Streaming Songs chart, which it led for a week (May 21), with 17.5 million U.S. streams (down 2 percent); scores a fourth week at No. 1 on Radio Songs as the most-heard song on U.S. airwaves (155 million in audience, down 3 percent); while, on Digital Songs, which it topped for two weeks, it slips 7-9 (56,000 downloads sold, down 5 percent). “Dance” rules Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for a 12th week and the Songs of the Summer chart for an eighth week, having led the seasonal running tally each week since the ranking relaunched.
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More history for the superstar: Drake has now spent 45 consecutive weeks in the Hot 100’s top 10, dating to the Oct. 3, 2015, Hot 100, when “Hotline Bling” bounded 16-9. He matches the mark for the most consecutive weeks spent in the top 10 among males, as The Weeknd logged 45 straight weeks in the region from March 7, 2015, through Jan. 9, 2016. (Notably, The Weeknd was the lead artist in all 45 of those weeks; Drake has been credited as the lead on songs in 34 weeks of his current 45-week streak.) The record among all acts: Katy Perry ranked in the Hot 100’s top 10 for 69 consecutive weeks (all as a lead) in 2010-11.
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Calvin Harris’ “This Is What You Came For,” featuring Rihanna, hits a new high on the Hot 100, lifting 4-3. It rises 3-2 on Streaming Songs (18.4 million, up 5 percent) and 5-4 on Radio Songs (122 million, up 7 percent) and, despite falling 3-5 on Digital Songs, gains by 1 percent to 67,000 sold, all perhaps spurred partly by Harris’ confirmation July 13 that his ex-girlfriend Taylor Swift co-wrote the song, as this week’s Hot 100 covers the first full tracking week since that juicy news broke. (Still, “This” has sold more than 67,000 in seven different weeks, dating to its May 21 Digital Songs debut with 123,000, its best weekly total.) “This” concurrently tops Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart for a second week.
After debuting at No. 1 on the Hot 100 (May 28), becoming just the 26th single to start on top in the chart’s history, Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” descends 2-4. It drops to No. 4 after logging its first 10 weeks on Digital Songs at No. 1 (87,000, down 6 percent) and stays at No. 2 after five weeks atop Radio Songs (147 million, down 6 percent).
Rounding out the Hot 100’s top five, The Chainsmokers’ “Don’t Let Me Down,” featuring Daya, holds at No. 5 after reaching No. 3.
Twenty One Pilots’ “Ride” remains at its No. 6 Hot 100 high, and rules the Hot Rock Songs chart for a seventh week, and Rihanna’s “Needed Me” likewise keeps at its No. 7 Hot 100 highpoint.
Kent Jones’ breakthrough hit “Don’t Mind” returns to its No. 8 Hot 100 peak, from No. 9, and takes over atop Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart. Desiigner’s fellow debut hit, his former two-week No. 1 “Panda,” drops 8-9 on the Hot 100 (and departs the Hot Rap Songs throne after 15 weeks). Still, “Panda” breaks the record for the most weeks, 14, totaled atop Streaming Songs (20.1 million, down 8 percent). Dating to the chart’s January 2013 inception, two songs previously topped Streaming Songs for 13 weeks each: Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” (2013-14) and Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy,” featuring Charli XCX (2014).
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Capping the Hot 100’s top 10, Adele’s “Send My Love (To Your New Lover)” ranks for a second week at its No. 10 high, after entering the top 10 last week. The third single from her album 25 (and second top 10, following the 10-week No. 1 lead single “Hello”) continues to gain in all metrics, rising 9-8 on Radio Songs (90 million, up 15 percent), earning the Hot 100’s top Airplay Gainer award, and bulleting at No. 11 on Digital Songs (51,000, up 1 percent) and No. 22 on Streaming Songs (8.7 million, up 4 percent).
Find out more Hot 100 news in Billboard’s new weekly original video series, Charts Center, featuring chart information and commentary, interviews with artists, exclusive performances and more, posting this week. Also look for the weekly “Hot 100 Chart Moves” column later this week and visit Billboard.com tomorrow (July 26), when all rankings, including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh. The Hot 100 and other charts will also appear in the next issue of Billboard magazine, on sale Friday (July 29).