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Drake's 'God's Plan' Joins Smashes by Taylor Swift, Adele & More as One of Most Dominant Hot 100 No. 1s of Last 25 Years

As Drake's "God's Plan" spends a fifth week atop the Billboard Hot 100 (dated March 3), the colossal hit joins rarefied air, becoming a smash so big that it flaunts more than twice as many Hot 100 chart points as its nearest competitor -- the current No. 2, "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran. In essence, "Plan" is twice as popular as the No. 2 song of the week.

Yup, we're getting deep into the numbers in this one.

First, though, there's some fine print to explain: The Hot 100 ranks the most popular songs of the week in the U.S. based on a blend of streaming, airplay and sales data. The chart, which launched on Aug. 4, 1958, began using Nielsen Music's electronically-measured point-of-sale and radio airplay information on the list dated Nov. 30, 1991, which is when our research for this post begins. Since that date, only 20 songs have run away with enough sales, airplay and, since 2012, streaming activity to rule with at least a two-to-one points lead. With 311 No. 1s in that span (beginning with P.M. Dawn's "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss"), a mere 6 percent of all leaders have ballooned to such heights.

Unsurprisingly, the list contains enduring megahits such as Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You," which recorded the first two-to-one points lead. The ballad blasted the competition with a lead of that ratio (or more) for nine of its 14 weeks at No. 1, the most for song in the past 25-plus years.

Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997"/"Something About the Way You Look Tonight," meanwhile, claims the biggest ratio lead over a No. 2 song: It debuted at No. 1 on Oct. 11, 1997, with a massive points lead of 17 times the amount of the No. 2 challenger (Boyz II Men's "4 Seasons of Loneliness").

How did John score the most lopsided lead? "Candle," his tribute to the then-recently deceased Diana, Princess of Wales, sold a Nielsen-record 3.4 million physical singles in its first week of tracking. (And remember! This occurred in 1997, before the dawn of consumer-friendly options such as YouTube and digital downloads. At the time, the only way to access a Hot 100 hit on-demand was to go to a physical retail venue and buy a commercially-released single on CD, cassette tape or even 7-inch vinyl.)

With "God's Plan" achieving such double-dominance on the Hot 100, Drake secures his place as the latest all-star to have outscored his competition by at least a two-to-one points margin. Here's the full roster:

Roster:
Link

[Cuban0]

Daddy Drake! ha

[🦚]

Still haven?t heard the song 

[Kaeli.]

Slay @ Bran being perched

[LOONA.]

...huh

This song has been #1 for 5 weeks?       

[RAY7]

Bran, Whit, Boyz>>>>

[AIDS]

wow Bran and Mon are cemented in history lol