Here Are Drake’s Record-Breaking Wins in 2016 So Far
Drake has had one of the biggest years in hip-hop history. Just when you thought Drizzy couldn't possibly beat the competition again, he does. The amount of records the 6 God has broken in 2016 is ridiculous.
Most recently, he beat the record set by Michael Jackson with the most American Music Awards nomination 32 years ago. The Views creator received 13 American Music Awards nods. Jackson previously held the record with 11 nominations in 1984. Drake also tied The Notorious B.I.G.'s for most No. 1 debuts on the Billboard charts. In the mid 1990s, Biggie had two tracks hit No. 1. On June 24, 1995, “One More Chance” took the spot and on May 3, 1997, “Hypnotize” did the same. The Toronto native's track "Summer Sixteen" helped him tie Biggie's record.
For the last couple of years, Drake's dominance has been more evident. Last year, he landed his 100th Billboard Hot 100 single and his mixtape, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, broke Spotify’s streaming record. If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late had 23.6 million streams in its first four days of release. Who did he move out of the top spot? Himself. Drake previously held the record with his 2013 album, Nothing Was the Same, which received 15.6 million streams in its first week. In 2014, he also scored his 14th No. 1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, passing Usher for the most leaders in the chart’s 22-year history.
Over the last 10 months, Drake has been on a roll. We look back at his magical year so far to highlight his record-breaking wins.
Drake Beats Justin Bieber for Most Streamed Artist on Spotify
Drake beat Justin Bieber as the most streamed artist ever on Spotify. The week after Drake’s Views album was put on Spotify, every single song on the project was streamed at least 2,000,000 times -- a surprising feat.
Drake Breaks Billboard Hot 100 Record With 20 Simultaneous Hits
After debuting atop the Billboard 200 with his new album, Views, Drake made history. Twenty of the rapper's songs placed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, more than any act has charted on the ranking in one week.
Take a look at the 20 songs that placed on the Hot 100 that week, including 16 debuts. A big reason for the songs all finding a place on the chart is streaming.
No. 1: "One Dance" Featuring WizKid and Kyla
No. 6: "Work" Rihanna Featuring Drake
No. 21: "Pop Style" Featuring The Throne
No. 33: "Hype"
No. 34: "Controlla"
No. 38: "Grammys" Featuring Future
No. 40: "Still Here"
No. 44: "U With Me?"
No. 45: "9"
No. 47: "With You" Featuring PARTYNEXTDOOR
No. 49: "Childs Play"
No. 52: "Too Good" Featuring Rihanna
No. 53: "Feel No Ways"
No. 54: "Weston Road Flows"
No. 61: "Redemption"
No. 68: "Keep the Family Close"
No. 72: "Faithful," feat. Pimp C and dvsn
No. 75: "Fire & Desire"
No. 86: "Views"
No. 89: "Summer Sixteen"Drake’s Views Album Sets One Week Streaming Record
Drake’s Views broke the one week streaming record on a platform. The songs on the album were streamed a record of 245.1 million times in the U.S. in its first week. Views became his sixth straight No. 1 project to chart, following last year’s releases of What a Time to Be Alive and If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late.
Drake Ties 50 Cent’s Billboard Record
Drake became the first rapper and male artist since 50 Cent to simultaneously lead the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200 charts for at least three weeks.
The performance of Drake’s “One Dance” on the Hot 100 and Views on the Billboard 200 chart helped him achieve the feat. 50 Cent did it over a decade ago with the song “Candy Shop” and his sophomore album, The Massacre. Drake is the first artist to land this honor since Adele's hit single “Hello” and 25 album.
Drake Breaks Michael Jackson's American Music Awards Nomination Record
Drake broke Michael Jackson’s American Music Awards nomination record, landing 13 nods in categories like Artist of the Year and Favorite Album, among others. Michael Jackson previously held the record 32 years ago with 11 nods in 1984.
Drake’s Views Beats Eminem’s Billboard Record for Rap Album With Most Weeks at No. 1
Drake passed Eminem’s Billboard record for rap album with most weeks at No. 1 when Views topped the Billboard 200 for nine straight weeks. Previously Eminem’s 2000 album, The Marshall Mathers LP, held third place and topped the chart with eight weeks.
The two top spots are held by Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer. Vanilla Ice’s To the Extreme album sat on top of the charts for 16 weeks when it dropped back in 1990. The record holder is MC Hammer’s 1990 album, Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em, which was No. 1 on Billboard for 21 weeks straight. Hammer continues to kill the competition with this record.
Drake’s “One Dance” Breaks Adele’s U.K. Streaming Record
Drake's "One Dance" broke Adele's U.K. streaming record. The British hit-maker previously held the record with her single “Hello," which received 7.32 million streams in one week. Drizzy's “One Dance” featuring Wizkid and Kyla took over the top spot with 7.8 million streams in seven days.
Drake’s Views Earns Over 1 Billion Streams
Views was the first to be streamed one billion times on Apple Music. Drake made the announcement by posing for a photo with Apple’s CEO Tim Cook, iTunes lead Eddy Cue and head of content Larry Jackson. He also shared an image of a plaque that Cook signed congratulating him on hitting one billion plays before any other artist.
Drake's "One Dance" Is the Most-Streamed Song Ever on Spotify
Drake's smash hit “One Dance” is officially the most streamed song in Spotify history. The radio-friendly, dancehall-inspired banger surpassed 880 million streams. Major Lazer, DJ Snake and MØ’s banger “Lean On” had 526 million plays when it gained the top spot in November 2015 and is now in second place. According to Spotify, Drake’s entire discography on the music platform has more than 8 billion total streams.