(February 21, 2025). Most of the 1178 songs that have hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 followed a familiar trajectory: they rose, peaked, and eventually faded into chart history. Some even started at the top before they began that inevitable descent. But every so often, a song refuses to play by those rules, bouncing in and out of the top spot so many times that it feels like a musical yo-yo.
It’s a rare feat that a song has done this three or more times — so rare, in fact, that before 2008, only one song had ever pulled it off. But in the digital era, as streaming reshaped music consumption and fan engagement, plus with more favorable Billboard chart rules now in place, this once-unheard-of chart pattern has become more common. With Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” recently reclaiming the No. 1 position for a third time thanks to his historic Super Bowl performance, it joins an elite club of only 17 songs in the 66-year history of the Billboard Hot 100 — or 1.4% of all chart toppers — to do so, with sixteen happening since 2008.
From disco to rap, holiday staples to TikTok-fueled resurgences, these triple-dipping hits have one thing in common: they just couldn’t stay away from the top. Let’s take a look at each of them and how they kept coming back for more.
“Le Freak” – Chic (1978-79)
When Chic’s disco classic shot to No. 1 in December 1978, it seemed destined to remain there for a long time given its rapid rise. But it faced formidable competition in the song it displaced (Neil Diamond & Barbra Streisand’s “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers”) and the Bee Gees’ first post-Saturday Night Fever single (“Too Much Heaven”), both of which took turns with “Le Freak” in the No. 1 position. Chic’s persistence ultimately paid off as their hit made its third and final trip to No. 1 in January 1979, outlasting the hits by more proven artists and securing its place in the record books as the first single to ever make three separate moves to the top. Rod Stewart’s “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy” ended Chic’s run for good in February 1979.
“Bleeding Love” – Leona Lewis (2008)
It had been nearly 30 years since Chic’s feat when British singer and 2006 X Factor winner Leona Lewis added her name to the record books with her debut single, “Bleeding Love,” a song so massive that it topped the charts in 35 countries, including the U.S. But Lewis has Mariah Carey and Lil Wayne to thank for her entry here, as both those artists temporarily stopped the “Bleeding” long enough to send their hits — Mariah’s “Touch My Body” and Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop” (featuring Static Minor) — to No. 1 in alternating weeks with Leona. It was Rihanna who delivered Lewis the final blow with “Take A Bow” in May 2008.
“Whatever You Like” – T.I. (2008); “Live Your Life” – T.I. feat. Rihanna (2008)
Atlanta rapper T.I. shares a unique distinction with the Beatles and Drake. He moved in and out of the No. 1 spot six times in the same calendar year — something only the Fab Four had done in 1964 when they sent six different songs to No. 1. Drake did it with three songs in 2018 (see “Nice For What” below). The fact that T.I. did it with just two songs is what gets him on this list as both of his first No. 1 singles — “Whatever You Like” and “Live Your Life” (with Rihanna) — alternated with each other (and with other songs by P!nk, Britney Spears and Beyoncé) to yo-yo in and out of the No. 1 position three times apiece. Along with Leona Lewis, T.I. made 2008 the first year that three different songs did this, quadrupling the total number that had accomplished the No. 1 three-peat in the Hot 100’s entire 50-year history at that point.
“Grenade” – Bruno Mars (2011)
Bruno Mars and Katy Perry were at the peak of their powers in early 2011 as they spent the year’s first four weeks alternating at No. 1 with explosive hits “Grenade” and “Firework,” respectively. Then Britney Spears — a return player in these battles (see T.I. above) — interceded on Perry’s behalf by knocking “Grenade” from the top before it returned for its third and final frame that February, ultimately registering a nonconsecutive four-week run at No. 1 and becoming one of Mars’ biggest hits.
“Can’t Feel My Face” – The Weeknd (2015)
This blog’s very first article in 2015 was about a historic streak that had just ended when The Weeknd’s first major hit (a duet with Ariana Grande on “Love Me Harder”) exited the top 10. No one could have predicted then that the Canadian artist born Abel Tesfaye would have three of the year’s biggest hits with “Earned It,” “The Hills,” and “Can’t Feel My Face,” the latter song a three-week chart-topper that had each of those weeks separated by intervening hits (Omi’s “Cheerleader” and Justin Bieber’s “What Do You Mean?”). “Can’t Feel My Face” was also one of those rare cases where a song reached No. 1 before its predecessor — in this case “The Hills,” which delivered the knockout blow to “Face” in October 2015.
“Nice For What” – Drake (2018; 4 times)
Drake may be in a perpetual battle with Kendrick Lamar now, but Canada’s 6ixGod will always hold the distinction of having been the first of the two to pull off this kind of three-peat. Not only that, but Drizzy is also the first artist to ever return four times with the same song, “Nice For What,” which rang the bell by displacing four other rap hits: first, his own “God’s Plan,” then Childish Gambino’s “This Is America,” before toppling Post Malone’s “Psycho,” and finally knocking off Cardi B’s “I Like It” (with Bad Bunny & J Balvin). Drake’s occupancy at the top with the Lauryn Hill-sampling “Nice For What” was permanently ended by his own followup single, “In My Feelings,” which earned all ten of its weeks at No. 1 the traditional way: consecutively.
“Mood” – 24kgoldn feat. Iann Dior (2020-21; 4 times)
It didn’t take long for a song to join Drake’s in the record books as the only tunes to yo-yo four times in the No. 1 spot. Just over two years after “Nice For What” pulled the trick, one-hit-wonders 24kgoldn feat. Iann Dior became the second act to do it when the appropriately titled “Mood” had separate fickle runs of 2, 3, 1, and 2 weeks at the top, beginning in October 2020 and ending in January 2021. It was newcomer Olivia Rodrigo (“Driver’s License”) who finally ended the moody hit’s run, after other intervening No. 1 songs by proven veterans Ariana Grande, BTS, and Taylor Swift couldn’t sustain their top positions.
“Butter” – BTS (2021)
But what BTS couldn’t accomplish in 2020 it more than made up for in 2021. The K-Pop outfit’s biggest American hit, “Butter,” spread its ten total No. 1 frames across three tasty runs of 7, 2, and 1 weeks atop the Hot 100 beginning in June and ending that September. The intervening songs were their own “Permission to Dance” (for one week) and The Kid Laroi’s “Stay, featuring Justin Bieber (for four of its eventual seven; see below). It was Drake’s “Way Too Sexy” (featuring Future & Young Thug) that finally melted BTS’ “Butter,” even though it couldn’t prevent this next song from joining the list.
“Stay” – The Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber (2021)
“Staying” at No. 1 requires a special kind of dominance, the kind that “Stay” by The Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber lacked. But it did have resilience, which saw it prevail twice over songs by BTS — their “Butter” (see above) and their No. 1 hit with Coldplay, “My Universe” — plus Drake’s “Way Too Sexy.” The song that finally ended the run for “Stay” was “Industry Baby” by Lil Nas X, who knew a little something about staying power (“Old Town Road” anyone?), and featured guest Jack Harlow, who would join this elite club three years later (see “Lovin On Me” below).
“All I Want For Christmas Is You” – Mariah Carey (2019-25; 7 times)
The Queen of Christmas is the only act who arrived on this list by virtue of a song’s annual holiday return. Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas” first reached No. 1 in December 2019 and has returned every holiday season since, for a total of six annual trips (and counting) to the top. What’s more, she did a yo-yo in and out of the top spot during the 2020-21 season (interrupted by Taylor Swift’s “Willow”), which gives her a total of seven climbs in and out of No. 1. While that is impressive, it certainly deserves an asterisk as the seasonal hit is clearly in a class by itself.
“Easy On Me” – Adele (2021-22)
British superstar Adele made a highly anticipated return to the charts near the end of 2021 when her ballad “Easy on Me” debuted at No. 1. But she ran into some fierce competition from American pop chart queens Taylor Swift and Mariah Carey, both of whom gave their “all” to prevent Adele from having a long contiguous run atop the Hot 100. First, Taylor’s 10-minute recording of “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” displaced Adele for a week. Then Mariah’s “All I Want For Christmas” made its third-annual return (and fourth trip overall) to the top that December before Adele took advantage of the holiday’s end and returned for her third and final stint. The Encanto cast’s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” ended Adele’s run for good in March 2022.
“As It Was” – Harry Styles (2022; 5 times)
Although Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas” holds the record for most trips to No. 1 in Hot 100 history, the song that became the first to move in and out of No. 1 five times in the same chart run was Harry Styles’ “As It Was.” The former One Direction singer’s hit debuted at the top in April 2022 as the leaves were budding and spent its final week there in October as the leaves were changing colors and falling. The intervening No. 1 songs — six total — are too numerous to name but included hits by Jack Harlow, Future feat. Drake & Tems, Drake feat. 21 Savage, Lizzo, Beyoncé, and Nicki Minaj. The tune that finally did “As It Was” in was Steve Lacy’s “Bad Habit.” As it was, Harry Styles’ biggest hit proved too popular to be held back.
“Last Night” – Morgan Wallen (2023; 5 times)
A year after Harry Styles became the first artist to have a song bounce in and out of No. 1 five times during the same chart run, Morgan Wallen became the second. The controversial country crooner’s “Last Night” debuted at No. 1 in March then outlasted intervening No. 1 hits by Miley Cyrus, Jimin, SZA, Olivia Rodrigo, Jungkook feat. Latto, and Jason Aldean to return four more times. Incidentally, Wallen’s final two weeks at No. 1 were sandwiched between MAGA-friendly No. 1 hits by Aldean (“Try That In a Small Town”) and Oliver Anthony Music (“Rich Men North of Richmond”), which made for an interesting cultural dynamic atop the Hot 100 in the summer of 2023, but one that in retrospect could have foretold the 2024 election results a year later.
“Lovin’ On Me” – Jack Harlow (2023-24; 4 times)
Kentucky rapper Jack Harlow joined this list in 2024 by virtue of his No. 1 hit “Lovin On Me,” which made for some interesting symmetry at the top of the chart when it was replaced by Brenda Lee’s 1958 holiday nugget, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” which was in turn supplanted by Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas” for two weeks in December. Then, Lee’s classic returned for another week before finally being replaced by, you guessed it, Harlow’s hit. This made for the only three-song palindromic scenario among these 17 cases. Harlow would return two more times after being interrupted by Ariana Grande (“Yes, And?”) and Megan Thee Stallion (“Hiss”). Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” finally lassoed Harlow’s “Lovin On Me” and gave him the boot for good in March 2024.
“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” – Shaboozey (2024)
Beyoncé protégé Shaboozey likely wouldn’t have been on this list had it not been for his inclusion on Queen B’s Grammy-winning Cowboy Carter album. In a year that saw a record-breaking six different songs make return trips to No. 1 (the others by Brenda Lee, Harlow, Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen, Kendrick Lamar, and Mariah Carey), Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song” was by far the most impressive as it was the only one to do it three times that year and it also tied Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” for the most weeks at No. 1 (19) in Hot 100 history, albeit non-consecutively. As of this writing, “A Bar Song” is still in the top ten and a dark horse contender to return to No. 1 a fourth time.
“Not Like Us” – Kendrick Lamar (2024-25)
The song that inspired this article — thanks to a suggestion from fellow pop chart fan Bob Ridge — is Kendrick’s “Not Like Us,” which made its third trip to the penthouse 30 weeks after its second, which came nine weeks after its first. A one-week chart absence in January (due to the annual holiday hits takeover) prevented all three of Kendrick’s moves happening during a contiguous chart run, but the 40-week gap between his first and third weeks at the top is easily the longest for a song that is in its original release cycle. The songs it displaced at No. 1 were Taylor Swift & Post Malone’s “Fortnight,” Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song,” and Lady Gaga’s & Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile.” Kendrick has some very iconic moments to thank for his diss song’s resilience, including a viral video in July, the unprecedented five Grammy wins (all for one song), and the Super Bowl halftime show this month. And the song that will finally K.O. “Not Like Us” next week is another Super Bowl winner: Lamar’s own “Luther,” featuring SZA, which is projected to be No. 1 by a huge lead on the Hot 100 dated March 1.
Music trends come and go, but the above 17 songs prove that some hits have a little extra resiliency. Whether it’s the impact of streaming, strategic marketing, holiday traditions, or just undeniable cultural moments, the triple-dippers of the Hot 100 tell a story of how music consumption has evolved. Chic stood alone for the Hot 100’s first nearly 50 years, but with the way charts work today, it’s only a matter of time before the next song joins this exclusive club.
Who and what will it be? Do Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars have a chance to return for a third time? Or maybe Shaboozey or Kendrick for a fourth?
Stay tuned — history clearly has a way of repeating itself.
DJRob