Cardi B Becomes First Female Rapper With Two Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s, as ‘I Like It’, With Bad Bunny & J Balvin, Follows ‘Bodak Yellow’ to the Top
Bad Bunny & Balvin each earn their first No. 1.
Cardi B, Bad Bunny and J Balvin‘s “I Like It” lifts from No. 2 to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, granting Cardi B an unprecedented feat in the chart’s history, as she becomes the first female rapper with two No. 1s. She first reigned with her debut hit, “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves),” for three weeks beginning Oct. 7, 2017.
Meanwhile, Latin music stars Bad Bunny and Balvin earn their first Hot 100 No. 1 each.
Let’s run down the top 10 of the Hot 100 (dated July 7), which blends all-genre streaming, radio airplay and digital sales data. All charts will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (July 3).
Cardi B’s Record Second Hot 100 No. 1: “Like” is the 1,076th No. 1 in the Hot 100’s archives, which dates to the chart’s Aug. 4, 1958, inception.
Thanks to “Bodak Yellow” and now “Like,” Cardi B passes four female rappers who previously topped the tally with one No. 1 apiece: Lauryn Hill, with “Doo Wop (That Thing),” for two weeks in 1998; Lil’ Kim, with “Lady Marmalade,” with Christina Aguilera, Mya and P!nk (five weeks, 2001); Shawnna, as featured on Ludacris’ “Stand Up” (one, 2003); and, Iggy Azalea, with “Fancy,” featuring Charli XCX (seven, 2014).
‘Like’ No. 1 at Last: “Like,” of which a portion is Spanish-language, reworks the venerable “I Like It Like That,” originally performed by Pete Rodriguez in 1967 and taken to No. 25 on the Hot 100 in 1997 (titled “I Like It”) by The Blackout Allstars; the latter act included Tito Nieves, who also recorded a notable solo version. (In between, the composition appeared in the 1994 film I Like It Like That and earned a synch in a 1996 Burger King commercial.)
Two No. 1s From a Debut Album: “Like” is from Cardi B’s debut album, Invasion of Privacy, which launched atop the Billboard 200 chart dated April 4 and includes “Bodak Yellow.”
Cardi B is the first artist to notch a pair of Hot 100 No. 1s from a debut album since Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, whose The Heist yielded “Thrift Shop,” featuring Wanz (six weeks at No. 1), and “Can’t Hold Us,” featuring Ray Dalton (five), both in 2013.
Cardi B is the first soloist with a pair Hot 100 leaders from a debut LP since Bruno Mars, whose Doo-Wops & Hooligans produced “Just the Way You Are” (four weeks at No. 1, 2010) and “Grenade” (four, 2011).
And, Cardi B is the first female soloist with two Hot 100 No. 1s from a debut album this decade, and the first since Lady Gaga, whose The Fame generated “Just Dance,” featuring Colby O’Donis (three weeks on top), and “Poker Face” (one), both in 2009.
Bad Bunny & Balvin Bank First Hot 100 No. 1 Each: Prior to “Like,” Bad Bunny reached a No. 36 Hot 100 high with “Te Bote,” with Casper Magico, Nio Garcia, Darell, Nicky Jam and Ozuna (June 9). Balvin notched a prior No. 3 best with “Mi Gente,” with Willy William and featuring Beyoncé, last October.
Balvin and Bad Bunny each boast impressive histories on Billboard‘s Hot Latin Songs chart. Balvin has tallied 14 Hot Latin Songs top 10s, including five No. 1s, led by his 22-week topper “Ginza” in 2015-16. Bad Bunny has notched seven top 10s, including the No. 1 “Te Bote,” which extends its command to seven weeks at the summit (on the new, July 7-dated chart).
No. 2 in Sales, No. 3 in Streaming, Top 10 in Airplay: While “Like” is not No. 1 on any of the Hot 100’s three main component charts, its overall performance is strong enough to send it to the Hot 100’s top spot.
The track keeps at No. 2 on the Digital Song Sales chart, charging by 33 percent to 44,000 downloads sold in the week ending June 28, according to Nielsen Music, marking the Hot 100’s greatest sales gain (aided by a 69-cent sale price in the iTunes Store during the tracking week). It holds at No. 3 on Streaming Songs, up 7 percent to 37.5 million U.S. streams in the same tracking week.
“Like” additionally reaches the Radio Songs top 10, ascending 11-7 with 80 million in audience, up 17 percent, in the week ending July 1. Cardi B collects her third Radio Songs top 10, after “Bodak Yellow” (No. 10) and “Finesse,” with Mars (No. 1, four weeks). Balvin earns his second Radio Songs top 10 and Bad Bunny, his first.
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No. 1 in R&B/Hip-Hop & Rap: “Like” concurrently takes over atop the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, where Cardi B previously led with “Bodak Yellow,” for six weeks, and “Finesse” (one). “Like” becomes her second No. 1 on Hot Rap Songs, after “Bodak Yellow” (eight).
Bad Bunny and J Balvin lead each list for the first time.
Rap Rules for 23rd Straight Week: Rap songs have now led the Hot 100 for a record-extending 23 consecutive weeks. Before “Like,” five rap tracks reigned: Drake‘s “God’s Plan” (for 11 weeks) and “Nice for What” (seven, nonconsecutively); Childish Gambino‘s “This Is America” (two); Post Malone‘s “Psycho,” featuring Ty Dolla $ign (one); and, last week’s leader, XXXTentacion‘s “Sad!” (one).
We’re No. 1!: Meanwhile, Billboard itself appears atop the Hot 100, at least in the lyrics of “Like.” “Y no te me hagas / Que en cover de Billboard tú has visto mi cara,” Balvin raps. The line loosely translates in English to: “Don’t play dumb,
XXXTentacion’s “Sad!” falls to No. 2 after a week at No. 1 on the Hot 100; last week, the song jumped from No. 52 for its first week atop the chart after the rapper/singer died June 18 at age 20 after being shot in Deerfield Beach, Florida. “Sad!” vaulted 34-1 on Streaming Songs a week ago, up 264 percent to 48.9 million U.S. streams in the week ending June 21; it remains at No. 1 on the new, July 7 Streaming Songs chart, down 3 percent to 47.5 million in the week ending June 28.
Juice WRLD’s breakthrough hit “Lucid Dreams” climbs 4-3 on the Hot 100, hitting a new high, and Maroon 5‘s “Girls Like You,” featuring Cardi B, rebounds from No. 5 back to its No. 4 peak, as it rules Digital Song Sales for a fourth week (46,000, down 12 percent) and adds top Airplay Gainer honors on the Hot 100 for a fourth consecutive week, as it climbs 19-15 on Radio Songs (59.6 million, up 27 percent).
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Post Malone’s “Psycho” rises 6-5 on the Hot 100; Drake’s “Nice for What” drops 3-6, while remaining atop the Songs of the Summer chart; and Ella Mai‘s “Boo’d Up” keeps at No. 7 on the Hot 100, after reaching a No. 6 peak, while leading the Hot R&B Songs chart for a seventh week.
Ariana Grande‘s “No Tears Left to Cry” pushes 9-8 on the Hot 100, after debuting at its No. 3 peak (on the May 5-dated chart); Drake’s “God’s Plan” descends 8-9; and, rounding out the top 10, Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line‘s No. 2-peaking “Meant to Be” revisits the top tier (11-10), while topping Hot Country Songs for a 31st week, extending the longest reign for a song by a duo or group in the chart’s 59-year history.
Find out more Hot 100 news in the weekly “Hot 100 Chart Moves” column and by listening (and subscribing) to Billboard‘s Chart Beat Podcast and Pop Shop Podcast. And again, be sure to visit Billboard.com tomorrow (July 2), when all charts, including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh.
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