State Champ Radio Hot 100
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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.
In the long history of the Billboard Hot 100, it’s pretty rare for a specific word to appear across the title of multiple No. 1s. With the exception of “love” (because love songs have never and will never go out of style), the lack of commonalities make it impossible to say there’s a formula for crafting the title of a hit. But in digging through Billboard’s list of chart-toppers, we found another word that has surprisingly made quite the mark on the U.S. songs chart: “bad.”
The irony is obvious. While Merriam-Webster defines “bad” as “failing to reach an acceptable standard,” “morally objectionable” and “unpleasant,” musical acts across a handful of genres have defied tradition and hit No. 1 thanks to the word — and it’s happened numerous times over the decades. In 1961, Jimmy Dean’s “Big Bad John” became the first “bad” title to reach the chart’s peak. Bon Jovi did it twice in the ‘80s with “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Bad Medicine.” And, most recently, Steve Lacy earned his first-ever Hot 100 chart-topper with “Bad Habit” in October 2022.
We have to mention that “bad” has also evolved to encompass another meaning over the years. Confusingly, in many 21st-century cases, it’s slang for something more positive (like “good,” “sexy” or “badass”) — including its use in Migos’ 2017 No. 1 “Bad and Boujee,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert.
Whether an act is using the word’s dictionary definition or its slang meaning, check out all 15 No. 1s containing “bad” in their titles, listed from newest to oldest with their “baddest” lyrics below.
With his debut studio album Ivory, Omar Apollo shows listeners exactly who he is.
The previously elusive singer from Indiana leaned into all aspects of his identity throughout the 16-track effort — from raw, genre-defying cuts like “Invincible,” alongside Daniel Caesar, to Spanglish trap banger “Tamagotchi,” which reveals a refreshingly playful Apollo. But it was “Evergreen,” a soulful, R&B-tinged deep cut, that captured the hearts of fans and catapulted Apollo onto the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time, through what every artists hopes for in 2022: a viral TikTok moment.
It took a few tries for the bridge to take off, with Apollo’s own trendsetting efforts on the platform with “Evergreen” proving futile. “I remember my day-to-day [manager] showed me a TikTok, and it was the same part that I had already been posting, but someone else did it,” explains Apollo from his sunny Los Angeles home. “And then it started going and going. I didn’t expect that at all.”
An influx of users began posting compilations of a hardship soon after — be it depression, body image issues or heartbreak — followed by their post-struggle glow up, to the track’s climactic bridge. To date, “Evergreen” has soundtracked more than 370,000 TikTok videos, also clocking in at over 65.8 million plays across streaming platforms.
It’s proof that the 25-year-old singer’s vulnerability paid off, showing that the longtime alt artist with a cult following is fully equipped for a mainstream breakthrough. The sonically cohesive Ivory‘s popularity on the charts prove as much: after debuting atop Billboard‘s Heatseekers Albums chart in April, it returns to No. 1 for a third week on the chart dated Oct. 15. (“Evergreen” also reaches a new No. 51 high on the Hot 100 this week, after debuting on the Oct. 1-dated chart.)
Below, Omar tells Billboard about the making of “Evergreen,” leaning into his cultural identity, what pushed him to get active on TikTok and more.
What were your intentions while making Ivory?
I knew that it was definitely gonna be something that I put all my effort into. I knew I was going to be proud of it. In terms of how it was received, honestly, I wasn’t really sure. But when I was done, I knew I gave it all that I had. That made me [secure] about what happened after.
The project wasn’t heavy on features, but the two you had, Kali Uchis and Daniel Caesar, fit so beautifully. Tell me a bit about “Invincible.”
That song has a special place with me because the structure is really weird. That’s why I really loved it. [Daniel] told me come to the studio, so I pulled up and started playing a guitar riff. And then we made an eight-minute demo of “Invincible” and it had all the parts in it, but they weren’t structured. Then three or four months later, I opened it back up, added drums, restructured it and sent it to him.
“Tamagotchi” is a Tyler, the Creator-approved hit. It also felt like the song more likely to go viral on TikTok — but it ended up being “Evergreen.” Did you expect that?
When I wrote it, definitely not. It was kind of like a post-rationalize thing. I was like, I”‘m on TikTok all the time. I feel like this would be something that would work.” I tried to make a few TikToks and they didn’t really go up. I was like, “I guess I was wrong, whatever.” Then I remember my day-to-day [manager] Jake showed me a TikTok, and it was the same part that I had already been posting, but someone else did it. And then it started going and going. I didn’t expect that at all.
Tell us about the process of writing “Evergreen.”
I rented a house in Idyllwild [Calif.] to make music with my engineer and my childhood best friend [Manuel Barajas] who plays bass in my band. It felt like how I [made] music in the beginning. I made “Evergreen” and “Endlessly” in the same day. It was so simple. Being far away from everybody, not having access to do things, things become clear.
[For] the part people use on TikTok, I had another song called “How Do You Live in Your Skin” — I was like, “I’ll take [those lyrics] and put [them] on my bridge.” Then I brought in my friend Tao Halm, we got a studio a couple months later — Larrabee Studios — and we hired a band. We focused on [the bridge] so much. There are so many textures — if you listen to background vocals, even Teo [Halm, producer] is singing on that part. It’s beautiful to see that all the effort I put in with Teo, Manny and my engineer Nathan [Phillips] is the part that’s blowing up. That literally makes me so happy.
When you earned your first Hot 100 entry, you tweeted out, “my first hot 100 entry, b–ch. Wow.”
[Laughs.] You already know that was a real reaction in real time, as soon as I got the news.
How did you find out about it?
Like four texts from my manager Jake, my A&R, everyone. I was with Manny. I’ve known him since I was 11. This is like my brother. He’s the one that wrote the chords on the bridge. He’s the one that told me “Evergreen” should have a bridge, and I don’t really do bridges. It was just so crazy being with him. It’s very surreal. It’s bizarre, the feeling of, “Oh, my God. I did this.” I worked with a lot of great people in my life, but it really mattered for my career when I did it with my best friend. That’s why it was so cool.
Before Ivory, you had a pretty low public profile, but it seems that has changed. What inspired you to be more active on socials?
These damn numbers got me over here making TikTok videos! Before the pandemic, I was just touring, I wouldn’t really be on the internet like that. I was like, “I want to make music, I don’t want to be on the internet.” And then it just started popping off. I’m like, “Let me let me get these TikToks together. What we doing? What’s the vibe today?”
Your Twitter followers are loving it.
Literally, please don’t ever take anything I say on my Twitter seriously. [Laughs.] My Twitter is a place for empty thoughts. There’s no there’s no backbone to the thought.
Did you ever consider that singing in Spanish would impede your mainstream growth?
When I was very young, I think so. I thought that people weren’t gonna take me seriously because I didn’t see any Mexican artists that were buzzing at the time [in the mainstream]. I also wasn’t around the music industry, I was in Indiana. And now it’s funny because it’s like, oh, “first-generation Mexican artist!” It’s like, “Well, I was wrong.”
Now, it’s clear you’re leaning into your cultural identity more. In your recent NPR Tiny Desk Concert, you had a mariachi of all women. What has inspired you to make the change?
I started off [making] traditional Mexican music. That’s how I started dancing — I was in ballet folklórico, which is like Mexican folk ballet. My culture was traditional Mexican, Juan Gabriel type of thing. You grew up on that, you take it for granted. And I lived in Indiana, so I really fell in love with R&B music: Aretha Franklin, Lauryn Hill, Sly and the Family Stone, Bootsy Collins. As I got older, I found a new love for the corridos. It was healing for me. Especially that all my songs are about longing, that’s what all that music is about. And I wanted to start the Tiny Desk like that because I love the Mariachi Lindas Mexicanas — I literally hired them to sing at my brother’s birthday. That is something you’re definitely going to hear [more] in the future. It just feels like home.
A version of this story originally appeared in the Oct. 8, 2022, issue of Billboard.
