A few days ago, rapper Nicki Minaj released her new single “Bed of Lies”, which this past week charted on Billboard’s Hot 100, the chart that measures the most popular tracks in the country.
The song is her 56th time on the chart, and so by doing so, Nicki made history, tying for third place with Madonna and Dionne Warwick when it comes to the most appearances on the Hot 100. Besting the three of them are Taylor Swift (in second place with 66 entries) and Aretha Franklin, who leads the pack with an almost-insurmountable 73 hits.
While it is certainly an achievement all on it’s own (placing 56 songs in the top one hundred is incredible), what is perhaps most astonishing about Minaj’s feat is the time frame in which she accomplished it. Minaj’s first charting hit was only a little over five years ago, with the song “BedRock”, which made it to number two. The track was released by Young Money, the hip-hop collective that Minaj is a part of (it was founded by fellow rapper Lil Wayne, who was instrumental in bringing Minaj to mainstream prominence).
“BedRock” was her only charting hit in 2009, so that means that between 2010 and today, she has placed 55 songs in the Hot 100, an average of almost one a month for the past five years. While many of these are due to her many featured guest spots on hip-hop and pop records—she has notably shared frames on the tally with the likes of Kanye West, David Guetta, Rihanna, Alicia Keys, and Justin Bieber—more than a few are singles where she has lead billing.
Madonna’s name first appeared on the Hot 100 in 1983 with her celebratory single “Holiday”, which went all the way to number 16. That song was actually the third single off her self-titled debut album, following “Everybody” and “Burning Up”, both of which failed to chart on the main tally. After the track’s success, the following two singles would chart even higher, with both “Lucky Star” and “Borderline” reaching the top ten.
Coincidentally, the pop diva’s last appearance on the Hot 100 is partially thanks to Nicki herself. The two scored another top ten hit with “Give Me All Your Luvin’”, the lead single off Madonna’s last album MDNA. The two, along with M.I.A. (who also shares charting history with them) performed the single during the Superbowl Halftime Show in 2012, the publicity around which helped it jump into the upper reaches of the chart.
Dionne Warwick’s charting career is unsurprisingly the longest of the three women, running 36 years so far. She got her singles start in 1962 with the song “Don’t Make Me Over”, and the most recent track Warwick charted on the Hot 100 was a remake of “What The World Needs Now Is Love” in 1998.
Later this month, Nicki is set release her third album The Pinkprint, which has already seen several songs hit the Hot 100, and will likely chart several more. Madonna also has been working on a new record, which is expected in the near future, though it doesn’t have a release date or title yet.
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