One Of John Lennon's Most Impressive Billboard Records Has Finally Been Beaten
Ariana Grande scores a chart double in the U.S. this week, which means she sits at No. 1 on both the singles and albums tallies. The superstar’s latest full-length, Eternal Sunshine, launches atop the Billboard 200, while the second official single from the project, "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)," also begins its time on the Hot 100 in first place. As Grande earns another leader on the most competitive songs tally, one of her collaborators helps break a momentous milestone.
"We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" credits just three people as writers on the tune–Grande, Ilya, and Max Martin. With one more Hot 100 No. 1 to his credit, the latter of those three talents moves up on the ranking of the most successful songwriters in American history.
Martin has now written 27 songs that have risen to No. 1 on the Hot 100 throughout his decades as an in-demand hitmaker. As "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" opens in first place, he breaks his tie with John Lennon for the second-most Hot 100 champions among songwriters, according to Billboard.
Before this week, Martin and Lennon were tied, with 26 No. 1s on the Hot 100 apiece. Martin added to his sum earlier this year, thanks to another collaboration with Grande. The two co-wrote the lead Eternal Sunshine single “Yes, And?” (along with Ilya), which likewise started atop the tally.
The songwriter with the most No. 1 successes on the Hot 100 in history remains Paul McCartney. He and Lennon collected many of their leaders together, but after The Beatles split, they both went on to collect more on their own during their prolific solo careers. McCartney has scored 32 No. 1s on the chart.
Source: Hugh McIntyre/forbes.com
