NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 07: Taylor Swift performs onstage during Z100’s Jingle Ball 2012, presented … [+]
Taylor Swift almost snagged another Hot 100 No. 1 this week as her single “Karma” vaults up the ranking. The tune benefits from a new remix featuring rapper Ice Spice, and it’s that version that shoots to No. 2. While it’s disappointing that Swift and Spice didn’t conquer the chart, the lead star has matched another powerhouse by simply coming close to the summit.
“Karma” is Swift’s milestone twenty-fifth top five hit on the Hot 100. The song isn’t new to the top 10, as it debuted inside the region when Midnights, the album it’s featured on, arrived at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in late 2022. But now that it’s up to No. 2, the track not only hits a new high, but it reaches the top five for the first time.
With 25 top five placements on the Hot 100 now to her name, Swift is tied with Rihanna. The two women are on the same level with the sixth-most top five hits on the chart.
Leading the way with 35 top fives on the Hot 100 is Drake. His sum keeps growing consistently, and he’s even added to it this year. He is not only in a distant first place, but releases so much music that he may never be beaten.
Coming in behind Drake are The Beatles, with 29 top fives. Impressively, 20 of those songs hit No. 1, and the rock band still holds the record for the most leaders in Hot 100 history.
Three solo women come next, with just one top five hit separating all of them. Madonna has thus far accrued 28 top fives on the Hot 100—one fewer than The Beatles. Behind the Queen of Pop comes Mariah Carey, with 28. And just one spot below that singer is Janet Jackson, who managed 27 top five placements on the Hot 100 during her heyday.
Swift is still releasing music regularly, and she’s at the height of her fame and power, so there’s no reason to believe she’s done racking up massive hits on the Hot 100. It’s surely only a matter of time before she earns another top five, or perhaps many. In the coming years, Swift will likely match, and then pass, some of the women mentioned above, if not all of them.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2023/06/08/taylor-swift-ties-rihanna-with-her-latest-hot-100-smash-single/