(January 2, 2026) – Between Jan. 1 and December 31, 2025, ten different songs spent time at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100. Two of them — Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” and Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” — had been there in previous years.
That means only eight songs were added to Billboard’s long ledger of No. 1 hits in 2025—an unusually low total for a full calendar year. Those eight were: “Die With A Smile” (the year’s biggest hit) by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, “4×4” by Travis Scott, “Luther” by Kendrick Lamar & SZA, “What I Want” by Morgan Wallen ft. Tate McRae, “Ordinary” by Alex Warren, “Manchild” by Sabrina Carpenter, “Golden” by Huntrix, and “The Fate of Ophelia” by Taylor Swift.
Only once during the Hot 100’s 67-year history was there a year with fewer No. 1s: 2002, which had seven. That was a year of many extended runs at the top. Only two of 2002’s seven No. 1 songs spent fewer than six weeks in the penthouse: Ja Rule’s “Always on Time” (with Ashanti; two weeks) and Kelly Clarkson’s American Idol victory song “A Moment Like This” (also two weeks).
The past year also leaned heavily toward extended stays at No. 1. Three of the tunes — those by Scott, Wallen & McRae, and Carpenter — spent a lone week at the top, while all the others had at least five frames at No. 1. It was only the second time in the Hot 100’s archives where at least four songs spent eight or more weeks at No. 1 during the calendar campaign. In 2005, songs by Mario, 50 Cent, Mariah Carey and Kanye West each spent nine or more weeks at the top. This past year saw the tunes by Lamar & SZA, Warren, Huntrix, and Taylor Swift each spend 8+ weeks ruling the roost.
Three other years are tied with 2025 for the second-fewest new No. 1 songs, each with eight apiece: 1996, 2005, and 2015. If 1996’s had been just a year earlier, you could definitely see a ten-year pattern developing.
Many of us are old enough to remember (and still long for) the fast-turnaround of No. 1 hits during earlier eras. In 1974 and 1975, for instance, there were 35 new No. 1 singles…in each year! That two-year total of 70 No. 1s dwarfs the two-year total from 2024-25, which saw only 23.
What will 2026 have in store? Well, so far in the early going it’s been more of the same. Mariah’s “All I Want” kicked off the year at the top and will exit next week’s chart. And in the holiday’s wake, three of last year’s leftovers are in line to take over No. 1: “Ophelia,” “Golden,” and “Ordinary.”
Where’s “Opalite” when you need it?
For those of us who grew up watching No. 1 songs rotate weekly—or at least monthly—this new reality can feel a little…stuck. The top of the Hot 100 used to be a revolving door. Now it’s more like a gated community.
That doesn’t mean today’s hits matter less. If anything, it means they matter differently. In an era where attention is fractured and choice is endless, the songs that reach the summit tend to arrive with bigger fanbases, deeper cultural footprints, and longer shelf lives.
It felt like 2025 lacked hits—but it really lacked turnover. And as long as streaming, algorithms, and fandom economics rule the charts, don’t expect the No. 1 slot to loosen its grip anytime soon.
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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