Adele is on top of the Hot 100 once again this week with her nearly-unstoppable hit single “Easy on Me,” which has turned out to be one of the longest-running leaders in recent memory. The British singer-songwriter’s smash has now ruled over Billboard’s weekly ranking of the most-consumed songs in the U.S. for 10 nonconsecutive frames, which is a milestone not many tunes can reach.
What makes Adele’s performance this week even more impressive is the fact that this isn’t the first time one of her singles has reached 10 stays at No. 1. With her second entry in that exclusive club, the Grammy and Oscar winner becomes just the second woman to manage a pair of such massive smashes.
Adele joins Mariah Carey as the only solo female musicians to score more than one Hot 100 ruler that has managed to hold on for double-digit frames. The former of the two earned her first 10-week champion with “Hello,” which debuted in first place with ease back in late 2015. The track then went on to keep its control over the most important singles ranking in the largest music market in the world for 10 frames in a row, extending its reign into 2016.
Unlike “Hello” before it, “Easy on Me” didn’t start its time on the Hot 100 at No. 1. Due to strong early radio play and the fact that it was released a few hours before the new tracking frame began, Adele’s comeback tune launched low on the chart and then bolted to the summit one week later, after a full seven days had passed.
Carey was the first woman to score more than one hit single on the Hot 100 that went on to control the tally for double-digit frames, and she collected her initial smash decades before Adele launched her career. The elusive chanteuse was joined by Boyz II Men on the track “One Sweet Day,” which led the charge for a whopping 16 turns between 1995 and 1996. For many years, it held as the longest-running champion in the Hot 100’s tenure, though now it’s both been tied and passed.
The Grammy winner nearly repeated her success in 2005 when "We Belong Together" ruled for 14 weeks. At the time, the R&B/pop behemoth was tied with several other cuts as the second-longest-running leader ever. Now, it stands as one of the third-longest-running champions of all time on the Hot 100.
Looking beyond just solo female singers, only a handful of other musical acts have kept more than one tune at No. 1 on the Hot 100 for 10 weeks or more. The group includes such luminaries as Drake, the Black Eyed Peas, Pharrell and Santana, according to Billboard.
