(January 7, 2025). In fact, I didn’t know Michael and Janet had been the sole owners of this unique chart accomplishment until Monday (Jan 6) when the announcement of Gaga’s latest No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 put her in exclusive company with the two Jackson titans.
The feat is this: with the ascension of Gaga & Bruno Mars’ song “Die With a Smile” to No. 1 on the new Hot 100 chart (dated Jan. 11), the “Poker Face” singer joins Michael and Janet as the only artists who’ve had multiple No. 1 songs in three distinct decades.
Gaga’s latest topper joins “Rain on Me,” her 2020 duet with Ariana Grande to become her second No. 1 hit this decade. They follow two No. 1s in the 2010s: “Shallow” (2019 duet with actor Bradley Cooper) and “Born This Way” (2011), and two No. 1s in the 2000s: “Just Dance” and “Poker Face” (both in 2009).
Before this latest chart, Michael and Janet had been the only other artists to do this as solo musicians.
First, the King of Pop accomplished it in the 1970s (two No. 1s), ‘80s (nine) and ‘90s (two). Then Janet joined her big brother with two in the ‘80s, six in the ‘90s, and two more in the ‘00s.
Even more astonishing, all three artists accomplished this by getting their second No. 1 in the first decade’s waning months. Michael’s second No. 1 of the ‘70s — “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” — didn’t happen until October 1979 with just eleven weeks remaining before the flip of the calendar.
Janet’s return trip to the top in the ‘80s similarly didn’t happen until October of ‘89 when “Miss You Much” became her second career solo No. 1 as the decade was about to end.
And finally, Gaga’s first and second No. 1s of the ‘00s occurred in the decade’s last year when both “Just Dance” and “Poker Face” crowned the chart in ‘09.
Lady Gaga has also proven to be the model of efficiency as she is the only one of the three artists to do this with exactly two No. 1s in each of her three decades (since Janet and Michael pealed off at least a half dozen apiece in their middle decades of success).
Of course, this statistic doesn’t include Michael’s four No. 1s with his brothers in 1970 billed as the Jackson 5 but, as Billboard appropriately pointed out, if it did, then you’d have to include two other artists who’ve had at least two No. 1s in each of three decades, with some coming as part of their legendary groups.
Paul McCartney had 18 No. 1s in the 1960s with the Beatles, and two more in the ‘70s with that group plus six in the’70s under various configurations with his wife Linda or the band Wings. Then he had three in the 1980s (including one with MJ).
Separately, Diana Ross had 12 with the Supremes in the 1960s, four in the 1970s (solo), plus two more in the ‘80s (those last two happened to be her biggest: “Endless Love” with Lionel Richie and “Upside Down” with Chic).
Of course, Gaga joins the two Jacksons in 2025, a year that marks a couple of major anniversary milestones for the superstar siblings. This year, in September, marks the 30th anniversary of Michael’s last Hot 100 No. 1: “You Are Not Alone.” It also is the tenth anniversary of Janet’s last release (to date) — the No. 1 album Unbreakable (2015).
Of all the artists discussed here, Gaga is the only one whose streak is active and she has the best shot of extending it to a fourth decade if she can achieve multiple No. 1s in the 2030s. We’ll have to wait at least another five years to see if that happens.
But even if she just gets one No. 1 in that decade, she would join Mariah Carey — the woman she displaced this week from the top of the chart. Mariah is the only artist who has had at least one No. 1 song in four decades — the ‘90s, ‘00s, ‘10s, and ‘20s — thanks mostly to “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” which caught the tail-end of the ‘10s and has been No. 1 every Christmas season since.
In the meantime, congrats to the lady whose model of efficiency has placed her in a category that only the two most successful Jacksons could claim previously.
DJRob
DJRob (he/him) is a freelance music blogger from the East Coast who covers R&B, hip-hop, disco, pop, rock and country genres – plus lots of music news and current stuff! You can follow him on Bluesky at @djrobblog.bsky.social, X (formerly Twitter) at @djrobblog, on Facebook or on Meta’s Threads.
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