Area artists set record — they’re 1, 2, 3 and 4 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart,
The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, Drake scale to top four spots — a Canadian milestone in chart’s history
The 6 is ruling Billboard’s Hot 100 to record effect.
For the first time in the nearly 60-year history of the U.S. singles chart, the top four slots are all occupied by Canadian artists. In fact, all four artists leading the chart charge for the period ending Oct. 10 are from Toronto or nearby, with the Weeknd’s anti-romantic “The Hills” scaling to the top spot for the second week in a row. Next is Justin Bieber (who, to be fair, hails from Stratford, Ont.) with his tropical-tinged comeback smash “What Do You Mean?” Bieber’s tune — the biggest of his divisive career — sits amidst an Abel Tesfaye sandwich, with the Weeknd’s inescapable song of the summer “Can’t Feel My Face” coming in at No. 3.
Rounding out Toronto’s gang of four, meanwhile, is the artist perhaps most likely to next dial the chart’s top number: Drake, whose honeyed hit “Hotline
“Canadians have the best music right now, so that’s to be congratulated.” GARY TRUST BILLBOARD
Bling” leapt from the ninth to the fourth spot. With local pop phenom Shawn Mendes’ finger-plucked thumper “Stitches” standing at No. 11, it’s conceivable that the weeks ahead could herald further milestones.
“Canadians have the best music right now, so that’s to be congratulated,” said Gary Trust, co-director of charts for Billboard. “It’s not like England where, historically, that’s been one of the greatest exporters of U.S.-bought music.
“It’s pretty much England or the U.S. over the years, a little bit of Australia here and there as far as trends, but Canada — it’s more rare.”
Canada’s clean sweep is indeed without precedent, although stars of the past have come close.
For five straight weeks as 1998 turned to ’99, the R. Kelly-Céline Dion duet “I’m Your Angel” floated atop the chart with Deborah Cox’s R&B ballad “Nobody’s Supposed to Be Here” right behind at No. 2.
For part of that span, Shania Twain’s “From This Moment On” inched into the top four, but “Lately” by U.S. girl group Divine was always entrenched at No. 3.
Other Canadians to go 1-2 on the Hot 100 include Avril Lavigne and Nelly Furtado (singing alongside Justin Timberlake on Timbaland’s “Give it to Me”) in 2007, Dion and Bryan Adams (with Rod Stewart and Sting on “All For Love”) in 1994, Nick Gilder and Anne Murray in 1978, and Percy Faith and Paul Anka, way back in 1960.
“It tends to be cyclical,” Trust said. “There were five No. 1s by Canadians in 1974.
“We’ll have to wait a little longer to see if this represents the latest high point for Canada or if it is a bigger trend,” he added.
Drake, meanwhile, has also been setting individual records. He appears on 15 different songs currently charting, which means the 28-yearold has achieved a true rarity: 100 of his songs have hit the Hot 100.
Fourteen of those have reached the Top 10, with only his Rihanna collaboration “What’s My Name?” ascending to the top spot.
According to Billboard, only three other artists have appeared more frequently on the Hot 100 since its 1958 genesis: Elvis Presley, Lil Wayne and the cast of Glee.
“The most amazing thing is that he’s done this in only about six and a half years,” Trust said.
“Part of it is he’s featured on so many tracks . . . But if you chart on the Hot 100 whether you’re a feature or a lead, no matter how you did it, you had one of the hottest 100 hits that week, so that’s pretty cool.”