Glass Animals’ ‘Heat Waves’ by the Numbers: All the Stats Behind Its Record-Breaking Hot 100 Run
Written by djfrosty on October 17, 2022
After a staggering 91 weeks, Glass Animals‘ “Heat Waves” is now solely the longest-charting hit in the Billboard Hot 100‘s 64-year history.
On the latest Oct. 22, 2022-dated Hot 100, “Heat Waves” passes the 90-week run of The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” (in 2019-21), which had held the record since August 2021.
“Wow, all I can say is wow,” Glass Animals frontman Dave Bayley marveled to Billboard about the band’s feat. “Many of you know when I wrote this song I was writing about missing someone I loved very dearly. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that it would lead to so much love and connection across the globe.”
As “Heat Waves” adds a new record to its repertoire, here is a breakdown of the song’s biggest stats, as of Billboard charts dated Oct. 22, 2022.
91: Record number of weeks that “Heat Waves” has spent on the Hot 100, dating to its debut on the chart dated Jan. 16, 2021.
37: Number of weeks “Heat Waves” spent in the top 10 of the Hot 100, the fifth-most all-time, after “Blinding Lights” (57 weeks in the region), The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s “Stay” (44), Dua Lipa’s “Levitating” (41) and Post Malone’s “Circles” (39).
57: Number of weeks “Heat Waves” logged in the top 20 of the Hot 100, tied for the fourth-most with “Stay,” after “Blinding Lights” (80 weeks in the tier), “Levitating” (62) and “Circles” (60).
76: Number of weeks “Heat Waves” has tallied in the top 40 of the Hot 100, the second-most after “Blinding Lights” (86).
59: The record number of weeks that “Heat Waves” took to hit No. 1 on the Hot 100, as it began a five-week domination in March.
12: The number of U.S.-specific Billboard charts on which “Heat Waves” has hit No. 1. It topped the Hot 100, Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, Hot Rock Songs, Hot Alternative Songs, Radio Songs, Alternative Airplay, Pop Airplay, Adult Pop Airplay, Alternative Streaming Songs, Alternative Digital Song Sales, Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts.
37: Number of weeks that “Heat Waves” spent at No. 1 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, Hot Rock Songs and Hot Alternative Songs charts. Only Panic! At the Disco’s “High Hopes” has spent more time atop Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Rock Songs (65 weeks on both). “Heat Waves” holds the record on the Hot Alternative Songs, which launched in June 2020.
3.3 billion: Total cumulative audience for “Heat Waves” on U.S. radio, according to Luminate.
1.3 billion: Total on-demand official U.S. streams for “Heat Waves,” audio and video combined.
255,000: Total U.S. downloads sold for “Heat Waves.”
11: Number of countries in Billboard‘s international charts menu in which “Heat Waves” has hit No. 1: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic/Czechia, Germany, Iceland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Slovakia and Switzerland.
2: Weeks that “Heat Waves” has not appeared on the Hot 100, dating to its debut. The song entered at No. 100 on Jan. 16, 2021, and fell off the ranking for two weeks, before re-entering at No. 91 that Feb. 6. The song has, thus, appeared on the Hot 100 over a span of 93 weeks since its debut. (It was released in June 2020.)
28: Total number of songs that have topped the Hot 100 since “Heat Waves” debuted on Jan. 16, 2021 (excluding “Heat Waves”). In chronological order, the leaders are 24kGoldn’s “Mood,” featuring iann dior (which was in its eighth and final week at No. 1); Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License,” Drake’s “What’s Next”; Cardi B’s “Up”; Justin Bieber’s “Peaches,” featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon; Lil Nas X’s “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)”; Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open”; Polo G’s “Rapstar”; The Weeknd and Ariana Grande’s “Save Your Tears”; Rodrigo’s “Good 4 U”; BTS’ “Butter” and “Permission To Dance”; The Kid LAROI and Bieber’s “Stay”; Drake’s “Way 2 Sexy,” featuring Future and Young Thug; Coldplay and BTS’ “My Universe”; Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow’s “Industry Baby”; Adele’s “Easy On Me”; Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)”; Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You”; Carolina Gaitán, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz and Encanto Cast’s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”; Harry Styles’ “As It Was” (which dethroned “Heat Waves” upon its debut); Future’s “Wait for U,” featuring Drake and Tems; Harlow’s “First Class”; Drake’s “Jimmy Cooks,” featuring 21 Savage; Lizzo’s “About Damn Time”; Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul”; Nicki Minaj’s “Super Freaky Girl”; and Steve Lacy’s current leader “Bad Habit.”
1,266: Total number of songs that have charted on the Hot 100 alongside “Heat Waves” since its debut.
4: Total number of No. 1 hits that Drake has earned on the Hot 100 since “Heat Waves” debuted on Jan. 16, 2021, the most among all acts in that span. BTS has earned three leaders in that window, while Bieber, Future, Harlow, Lil Nas X and Rodrigo have each earned two.
60: Total number of entries that Lil Durk has tallied on the Hot 100 since “Heat Waves” debuted, the most among all acts. Drake is next with 53, followed by Lil Baby (49), YoungBoy Never Broke Again (48) and Taylor Swift (41).
66: Total number of weeks that “Heat Waves” spent on the Hot 100 alongside The Weeknd and Ariana Grande’s “Save Your Tears,” the most of any song over the former’s run on the chart. Dua Lipa’s “Levitating” follows with 64 shared weeks, then The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s “Stay” (63).
12: Total number of songs to debut at No. 100 on the Hot 100 and hit No. 1. They are: Wilbert Harrison’s “Kansas City” (in 1959); Mark Dinning’s “Teen Angel” (1960); The Highwaymen’s “Michael” (1961); Steve Lawrence’s “Go Away Little Girl” (1963); Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves A Woman” (1966); Vicki Lawrence’s “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” (1973); UB40’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” (1993); Chris Brown’s “Kiss Kiss,” featuring T-Pain (2007); Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again,” featuring Charlie Puth (2015); “Heat Waves”; and, as of two weeks ago, Steve Lacy’s “Bad Habit.”
3: Total number of songs to chart in the Hot 100’s history with “heat wave” in their titles. Martha & The Vandellas’ “Heat Wave” was the first in 1963 (No. 4 peak), followed by Linda Ronstadt’s cover of that classic (No. 5, 1975) before Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves.”
134 degrees Fahrenheit: The hottest recorded heat wave in history. Furnace Creek Ranch in California’s Death Valley recorded a high temperature of 134.1°F (or 58°C) on July 10, 1913, the highest ambient air temperature recorded on earth, according to the World Meteorological Organization.