She now has the most simultaneous Hot 100 hits of any female artist. Will she target Justin Bieber’s record next?
And now, another win for the Beyhive. As anyone could have predicted, Beyoncé’s Lemonade is tearing up the Billboard Hot 100, as all 12 tracks made it onto this week’s list. This is a record-nabbing coup for the singer/idol, as it’s the most simultaneous Hot 100 hits any female artist has ever held. Taylor Swift has held the record ever since 11 hits from her 2010 album Speak Now graced the chart together. Unfortunately, Queen Bey missed an opportunity here: if she’d just added six more songs to her album, bringing the track total to 18, she probably could have stolen the record for most simultaneous Hot 100 hits overall from Justin Bieber, who currently holds the record with 17 Purpose tracks. Because let’s face it, whatever Beyoncé giveth, the public taketh with open arms—and wallets.
For those wondering, Beyoncé’s spots break down like so: “Formation,” which Beyoncé surprise-dropped in February, is No. 10. “Sorry,” the pointedly D.G.A.F. song that features Serena Williams twerking in its accompanying video, directly follows at No. 11, “Hold Up,” the reggae-infused song with a Yeah Yeah Yeahs-like chorus, trails close behind at No. 13. A few spots down, “6 Inch” holds 18, “Don’t Hurt Yourself” 28, “Freedom” 35, “Pray You Catch Me” 37, and “All Night” 38. “Daddy Lessons,” which the Dixie Chicks covered, landed at 41, followed by “Sandcastles” at 43, “Love Drought” at 47, and finally “Forward” at 63.
When Bieber grabbed the simultaneous-hits record, he bested not only Drake, but also the Beatles; they’d been tied at 14 songs apiece. Obviously, nabbing the record now would be a feat of serious star power—something only a handful of artists could muster. But Beyoncé is perhaps the best in the business at the very thing that propelled Bieber to his record-holding position: infusing her art with personal narrative. By all accounts Purpose was a critical success, but a large part of what fueled its hit status was the long-winding road of fame, downfall, and redemption behind it—and the release of music videos to accompany each song. We’d watched Bieber catapult to fame, fall from grace, and then embark on a determined redemption tour that culminated in this album, which even contained a track called “Sorry.” Beyoncé obviously has the video-album thing down, and she also harnessed a similarly personal approach in selling Lemonade, as her relationship with Jay Z served as a juicy, well-kept celebrity relationship secret to entice fans and critics. And something tells us Beyoncé is far from finished with it.
0 评论:
Post a Comment