SZA’s “Kill Bill” achieves one of the biggest honors ever on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, as the track breaks the record for the most weeks at No. 1 by a lead female artist in the list’s nearly 65-year history. The single cements the feat with its 16th week on top, passing Mary J. Blige’s “Be Without You,” which captured 15 weeks at the summit in 2006.
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The “Kill Bill” coronation comes on the April 15-dated Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, which factors streaming, radio airplay and sales into its methodology. For the corresponding tracking week of March 31-April 6, “Kill Bill” earned 23.4 million official U.S. streams, according to Luminate, a 5% dip from the prior week. Despite the decline, the single logs a 15th nonconsecutive week at No. 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs chart. The song sold 6,000 downloads in the week (up 158%, helped by 69-cent sale-pricing in the iTunes Store), prompting a 3-1 jump for its first week atop the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart. In the radio world, “Kill Bill” registered 93 million in total airplay audience for the week, essentially even week-over-week. (All airplay, regardless of radio format origin, contributes to a title’s rank on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.)
As mentioned, a 16th week atop Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs gives “Kill Bill” sole possession of the record for the most weeks at No. 1 for a song by a woman in a lead role. It breaks from a tie, set last week, with Mary J. Blige’s “Be Without You,” which ruled for 15 weeks in 2006. Now that “Kill Bill” has defeated all such competitors, here’s a look at the longest-running No. 1s by women in lead roles, since the chart became an all-encompassing genre survey in 1958.
Weeks at No. 1, Song Title, Artist, Date Reached No. 1:
16, “Kill Bill,” SZA, Dec. 24, 2022
15, “Be Without You,” Mary J. Blige, Jan. 7, 2006
14, “Nobody’s Supposed to Be Here,” Deborah Cox, Nov. 7, 1998
14, “We Belong Together,” Mariah Carey, June 4, 2005
14, “Diamonds,” Rihanna, Oct. 20, 2012
13, “Fancy,” Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX, June 7, 2014
12, “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” Beyoncé, Nov. 29, 2008
12, “Un-Thinkable (I’m Ready),” Alicia Keys, May 22, 2010
Including featured artists, British singer Kyla owns the all-time mark among women. She, with Wizkid, guested on Drake’s smash “One Dance,” an 18-week champ in 2016.
On the overall scorecard, “Kill Bill” sits in the top five of the longest-leading Hot R&B/Hip-Hop champs since 1958. A 16th leading week ties it with Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines,” featuring Pharrell and T.I., for fourth place. The pair places behind, in order, Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus (20 weeks, 2019) and Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow’s “Industry Baby” (18 weeks, 2021-22) and the aforementioned “One Dance” (18). As “Kill Bill” has ranked at No. 1 for 16 of its 17 weeks on the chart since its debut last December, the song could likely challenge for the all-time title in just over a month’s time.
“Kill Bill” is SZA’s second career No. 1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, after “I Hate U” debuted at the summit and led for a week in December 2021. Both tracks appear on her latest album, SOS – itself a juggernaut in the genre. The album has posted 16 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart since it debuted in the top slot last December.
