Billboard Women in Music 2025

Submit questions about Billboard charts, as well as general music musings, to askbb@billboard.com. Please include your first and last name, as well as your city, state and country, if outside the United States.

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Let’s open the latest mailbag.

Hi Gary,

Remember when you, myself and another Billboard reader went over music acts with the longest streaks of gaining a new Billboard Hot 100 top 10 year after year? We had come to the consensus that, with 12 years apiece, Mariah Carey (1990-2001) and Prince (1983-94) were the two front-runners in that club. Well, now we have a third.

Thanks to his “Rather Lie,” with Playboi Carti, which debuted on the March 29 chart, The Weeknd has now put a new song in the Hot 100’s top 10 for a 12th consecutive year.

Here’s a rundown of all of his top 10s, in chronological order of their peaks:

  • 2014: “Love Me Harder,” with Ariana Grande (No. 7 peak)
  • 2015: “Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)” (No. 3); “Can’t Feel My Face” (No. 1, three weeks); “The Hills” (No. 1, six weeks)
  • 2016: “Starboy,” feat. Daft Punk (entered the tier that October at No. 3, on its way toward topping the first Hot 100 of 2017)
  • 2017: “I Feel It Coming,” feat. Daft Punk (No. 4)
  • 2018: “Pray for Me,” with Kendrick Lamar (No. 7); “Call Out My Name” (No. 4)
  • 2019: “Heartless” (No. 1, one week)
  • 2020: “Blinding Lights” (No. 1, four weeks, eventually earing the honor of the Hot 100’s all-time biggest hit); “Smile,” with Juice WRLD (No. 8)
  • 2021: “Save Your Tears,” with Ariana Grande (No. 1, two weeks); “Take My Breath” (No. 6); “One Right Now,” with Post Malone (No. 6)
  • 2022: “Creepin’,” with Metro Boomin & 21 Savage (debuted at No. 5 that December and then hit a No. 3 high in 2023)
  • 2023: “Die for You,” with Ariana Grande (No. 1, one week); “K-POP,” with Travis Scott & Bad Bunny (No. 7)
  • 2024: “Young Metro,” with Future & Metro Boomin (No. 9); “Timeless,” with Playboi Carti (No. 3)
  • 2025: “Rather Lie,” with Playboi Carti (No. 4, as this email is being typed)

Who else to tie such a historic streak than The Weeknd, right? Someone who happens to be: A, one of my favorite popular music acts of all time, and B, known for citing Prince as an influence.

Regards,

Jake Rivera
Mashpee, Mass.

Hi Jake,

Thanks for pointing out the update, and congrats to The Weeknd on his record-tying streak of Hot 100 top 10s in 12 consecutive years (or more than 600 weekends).

Notably, another act has joined the mix for potentially matching the mark: Drake is now up to an active streak of 11 years in a row with new Hot 100 top 10s, from 2015 (“Hotline Bling”) through 2025 (“Gimme a Hug” and “Nokia”). He could, thus, tie the record next year — or The Weeknd could claim the honor all to himself with at least one new top 10 in 2026.

Meanwhile, what about the same feat on the Billboard 200 albums chart? On first thought, a lengthy streak of annual new top 10s might seem less likely there, as, compared to singles, acts for the most part don’t release as many as albums, and somewhat rarely every year historically.

Let’s count down the artists, from The Beatles to Taylor Swift, Drake and more, with the most consecutive years of sending at least one new album to the Billboard 200’s top 10 (dating to Aug. 17, 1963, when the chart began combining mono and stereo releases into one ranking). The act atop the list might seem surprising, although perhaps less so once looking into why.

Seven consecutive years with new Billboard 200 top 10s:

  • Taylor Swift: 2019-25
  • Future: 2014-20
  • Pentatonix: 2013-19
  • Luke Bryan: 2011-17
  • Kenny Chesney: 2004-10
  • Dave Matthews/Dave Matthews Band: 2001-07
  • Earth, Wind & Fire: 1975-81
  • The Beatles: 1964-70
  • Andy Williams: 1963-69

Eight consecutive years:

  • Blake Shelton: 2010-17
  • Chicago: 1970-77

Nine consecutive years:

  • Drake — the record-holder among soloists (or groups with largely fixed lineups): 2015-23

And, the act with the longest such streak overall …

12 consecutive years (the same as the Hot 100 record):

The leading group – of rotating members – tallied all 24 of its Billboard 200 top 10s from Kidz Bop 7 through Kidz Bop 32. (In that run, only Kidz Bop 17 and Kidz Bop 30 missed the tier, both reaching No. 12; meanwhile, the collective has hit a No. 2 best with five releases.)

The act scored its record run of consistency in the Billboard 200’s top 10 thanks to its steady stream of all-ages covers of big pop hits. Kidz Bop Kids additionally earned 101 entries, including 42 top 10s, on the Kid Digital Song Sales chart, both bests in the list’s history. Four reached No. 1, led by their family-friendlier take on Meghan Trainor’s former Hot 100 No. 1 “All About That Bass,” which led for six weeks in 2015.

In 2014, Victor Zaraya, then an executive for the ensemble, mused about its win-win nature. “It’s favorable to have your song being sung,” he said. “Maybe a kid heard the Kidz Bop cover of an artist’s song before they heard the actual version. Will they remember it as a Kidz Bop song? Maybe. Will they remember it with the original artist? Maybe. But it’s only furthering that artist’s song.”

Beyond remakes of familiar songs, Zaraya noted that the act’s singers contributed to the enduring appeal of Kidz Bop, which in 2025 celebrates its 25th year, including with tour dates. To date, the troupe has sold 18.7 million albums and drawn 8.1 billion official streams for its songs in the U.S., according to Luminate.

“We want to let kids know that [the Kidz Bop Kids] are real — they sing, dance and perform,” Zaraya said. “They can be brand ambassadors for us. They have personalities. They are stars.”



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