The Day

Drake surpasses the Beatles for most top 10 hits in a year

- By AUGUST BROWN Los Angeles Times

By any measure, Drake is an inescapabl­e force in pop music. But now one can credibly argue that he’s having one of the best years on the charts of any artist or group in modern history.

With his new cameo on Bad Bunny’s smash hit “Mia,” the rapper notched his 12th appearance on a Billboard top 10 single in 2018. That sets a new record over the prior landmark set by the Beatles in their world-conquering year of 1964.

Drake’s remarkable 2018 run includes solo staples such as “God’s Plan,” “Nice for What” and “In My Feelings,” each of which spent significan­t time at No. 1, often on the back of extremely meme-able videos.

His collaborat­ions with Migos on “Walk It Talk It,” Lil Baby on “Yes Indeed” and BlocBoy JB on “Look Alive” helped push him past the Beatles’ previous record of 11 singles that made the top 10. So now when he wants to stare up at the stars and put the Beatles on, he can do so with an extra little glimmer of triumph.

The Beatles shouldn’t feel too bad about their old record being shattered, however.

Any year that saw the release of “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” Can’t Buy Me Love” and “A Hard Day’s Night” is one you can walk away from with your head high. The band still holds the record for most No. 1 hits in a single year, notching six in that very transforma­tive year. Drake has three No. 1 songs this year.

 ?? GONZALES/SAMY KHABTHANI/AVALON/ZUMA PRESS/TNS ?? Drake
GONZALES/SAMY KHABTHANI/AVALON/ZUMA PRESS/TNS Drake

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States