Artists With the Most Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s in the 21st Century

“Because Rihanna has remained in the public’s eye for two years, her recognition level is high,” Billboard wrote in 2007. “‘If you say her name, people know who she is,’ [radio programmer Cat] Thomas says. ‘But is she at a level where she can sell out an arena? No.’

“Pausing, he adds, ‘but that could change.’ ”

Long before the end of the 21st century, Rihanna’s profile had rocketed, in music and beyond, punctuated in 2023 by her appearance at a spectacle far bigger than an arena: the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. In addition to 67,827 ticketholders, the performance played to a then-record 121 million viewers on TV.

Rihanna had by then also notched the most No. 1 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 of any artist during the 21st century: 14. She first topped the chart dated May 13, 2006, with “SOS.” (“Normally, the universal signal for distress means that someone is in trouble. The opposite is true for Rihanna,” Fred Bronson wrote in the Chart Beat column that issue.)

Rihanna most recently ruled the Hot 100 with “Work,” featuring Drake, for 10 weeks in 2016.

As Billboard celebrates the top-performing artists, albums and songs of the first 25 years of the century since 2000, browse below the acts with the most No. 1 hits on the Hot 100 in that span.

Plus, check out Billboard’s Top Hot 100 Songs of the 21st Century chart, Top Artists of the 21st Century chart and Top Billboard 200 Albums of the 21st Century chart, as well as all coverage of Billboard’s 21st Century charts here.

Billboard’s Top Artists, Top Billboard 200 Albums and Top Hot 100 Songs of the 21st Century recaps reflect performance on weekly charts dated Jan. 1, 2000, through Dec. 28, 2024. The Top Artists category ranks the best-performing acts in that span based on activity on the Billboard 200 and Hot 100. (Titles released prior to mid-1999 are excluded, although such entries that appeared on the Billboard 200 or Hot 100 in that span contribute to the calculation of the Top Artists chart.)

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