This Week in Billboard Chart History: 10 Years Ago, Rihanna’s ‘SOS’ Became Her First Hot 100 No. 1
RiRi earned her first of 14 Hot 100 leaders. Plus, remembering chart feats by Roxette, Lionel Richie & Janet Jackson.
Your weekly recap celebrating significant milestones from more than seven decades of Billboard chart history.
May 9, 1998
The Titanic soundtrack spent its 16th and final week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The following week, Dave Matthews Band’s Before These Crowded Streets replaced Titanic at the summit.
May 10, 1986
They didn’t work in a pet shop, and, thankfully so, since they make pretty good musicians. Thirty years ago today, England’s Pet Shop Boys danced to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with their debut smash, “West End Girls.” The pair continues to pad its legacy, having recently scored its first No. 1 on Top Dance/Electronic Albums, Super, in more than 13 years, while the set’s first single, “The Pop Kids,” became Pet Shop Boys’ 11th career No. 1 on Dance Club Songs.
May 11, 1991
Sweden’s most famous musical duo, Roxette, reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Joyride.” The album from the pair also produced the No. 2-peaking “Fading Like a Flower (Every Time You Leave)” and the top 40 hits “Spending My Time” and “Church of Your Heart.” Roxette’s new album, Good Karma, arrives June 3.
Related
May 12, 1984
Before there was Adele’s … 32 years ago today, Lionel Richie‘s “Hello” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of two weeks.
May 13, 2006
A decade of dominance: 10 years ago today, Rihanna hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time with “SOS.” Amazingly, she’s added 13 more No. 1s since then, tallying the second-most leaders (14 total), among women all-time. Among all acts, only the Beatles (20) and Mariah Carey (18) have more. As Def Jam CEO Steve Bartels told Billboard in 2015, “Rihanna felt like a massive star the very time I met her. You could feel her burning drive to succeed when you looked in her eyes.”
May 14, 1988
Gloria Estefan made her first trip to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with love song “Anything for You” (with Miami Sound Machine). She reigned again with “Don’t Wanna Lose You” in 1989 and “Coming Out of the Dark” in 1991.
May 15, 1993
After scoring seven Billboard Hot 100 top 10s from her 1989 album Rhythm Nation 1814, Janet Jackson picked up right where she left off, as “That’s the Way Love Goes,” the first single from janet., began an eight-week run at No. 1.
More From Pro
