Beyoncé
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Beyoncé is that girl. The music icon is named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2023. She is featured in the Titans section, joining notables including Angela Bassett, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Lauren Powell Jobs, and Lionel Messi.

House producer/DJ Honey Dijon, who collaborated with Beyoncé for one of four “Break My Soul” remixes, wrote her tribute.

“In 2003, Beyoncé performed her hit single ‘Crazy in Love’ for the BET Awards. Her performance embodied the legacy and culture of Black artists from Josephine Baker to Tina Turner, James Brown, and Prince. The way she commanded the stage and led her band was transcendent. That performance secured her place in the pantheon as one of the greatest Black female artists of our time,” Dijon wrote.

“After being approached to work on her 2022 album Renaissance, I realized very quickly that I was contributing to yet another historic moment—not only for dance music, but also as a celebration of the foundations of Black music. From R&B to house, gospel to techno, hip-hop to vogue, Beyoncé wove a tapestry of music on Renaissance that celebrated all facets of Black music, including the immense contributions of the Black gay and queer community. Then she became the most-decorated Grammy winner ever. Beyoncé’s fearlessness, talent, beauty, and artistry will continue to influence and inspire Black female artists for millennia.”

Beyoncé banks a new milestone on the Billboard Hot 100, as “Cuff It” becomes the longest-charting hit on the survey of her solo career. The song adds a 34th week on the Hot 100, ranking, fittingly, at No. 34 on the April 15-dated chart, and surpasses the 33 weeks that “Telephone” with Lady Gaga logged in 2009-10.

“Cuff It” was released on Beyoncé’s album Renaissance, which launched as her seventh No. 1 on the Billboard 200 last August. The set’s lead single, “Break My Soul,” became her eighth Hot 100 No. 1 the same week, while “Cuff It” reached No. 6 this February. The latter song became her 21st top 10 as a soloist, while Renaissance became her first album with multiple top 10s since I Am…Sasha Fierce in 2008-09.

Here’s a look at Beyoncé’s longest-charting Hot 100 hits:

Weeks on Hot 100, Title, Peak Pos./Year:
34, “Cuff It,” No. 6, 2023
33, “Telephone,” Lady Gaga feat. Beyoncé, No. 3, 2010
31, “Halo,” No. 5, 2009
30, “Irreplaceable,” No. 1 (10 weeks), 2007-07
29, “Sweet Dreams,” No. 10, 2009
29, “Baby Boy,” feat. Sean Paul, No. 1 (nine weeks), 2003
28, “Check On It,” feat. Slim Thug, No. 1 (five weeks), 2006
27, “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” No. 1 (four weeks), 2008-09
27, “Crazy in Love,” feat. Jay-Z, No. 1 (eight weeks), 2003
24, “Me, Myself and I,” No. 4, 2004

Beyoncé’s “Cuff It” charges 15-6 for a new Billboard Hot 100 high, besting its prior No. 10 peak. It tallied 55.8 million in airplay audience (up less than 1%), 9.4 million streams (up 37%) and 78,000 sold (up 4,026%, good for the chart’s top Sales Gainer nod), fueled by a range of remixes released during the tracking week, joining its previously available original clean and explicit versions: its “Wetter” remix (clean and explicit) was put up for purchase on Beyoncé’s official webstore Feb. 3, followed by its a cappella (clean and explicit) and instrumental versions (Feb. 5), with all mixes released wide on streaming services and digital retailers by Feb. 8. The track becomes her 10th No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales chart, where it blasts 44-1 (surpassing its prior No. 4 high).

Beyoncé’s fan-favorite track from her recent Renaissance album, “Cuff It,” has jumped from No. 38 to No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart dated Jan. 14, 2023, giving the superstar her 21st Hot 100 top 10 hit as a soloist.

The achievement is her second top 10 from Renaissance, after “Break My Soul” spent two weeks at No. 1 beginning in August. The set is her first to spin off multiple top 10s since I Am…Sasha Fierce yielded four in 2008-09: “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” (No. 1, four weeks), “If I Were a Boy” (No. 3), “Halo” (No. 5) and “Sweet Dreams” (No. 10).

What’s even more impressive, is that “Cuff It” climbed the chart without a music video or a pushed promotional strategy. The song gained traction on its own from Beyoncé fans and TikTok users, the latter of which taking part in a fun dance trend started by users Maycee (@maycsteele) and Kaitlyn (@ogpartyhardy26).

Beyoncé’s Renaissance album, which was released in July by Parkwood/Columbia Records and debuted atop the all-genre Billboard 200, as well as Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top R&B Albums, now arrives on Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart at No. 1 (on the list dated Nov. 26). The set’s arrival on the list follows a reevaluation of its album genre chart categorization by Billboard, after Renaissance’s further embrace by the dance community in the months following its release.

Upon its release, the 16-track album launched a quartet of hits on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart (“Break My Soul,” “Pure/Honey,” “Summer Renaissance,” and “Thique”). Since then, the album spawned a new dance hit in its second single, “Cuff It.” The song debuted on the Hot Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart dated Nov. 19 at No. 28, following its explosion as a viral dance phenomenon (termed the “Cuff It” Challenge). The disco-leaning track was co-written by dance icon Nile Rodgers, who also plays bass on it.

Starting in September, “Cuff It” was added to dance-focused playlists across all major streamers, including Amazon, Apple Music and Spotify. Beyond “Cuff It,” further album cuts picked up new dance playlist adds in the months following the album’s release.

Beyoncé‘s “Break My Soul” banks a second week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, a week after the song became her eighth leader on the list.

“Break My Soul,” released on Parkwood/Columbia Records, drew 65.2 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 7%) and 14.5 million streams (down 23%) and sold 36,000 downloads (up 174% – as the song wins the Hot 100’s top Sales Gainer award for a second week) in the Aug. 5-11 tracking week, according to Luminate.

The track pushes 5-2 on Digital Song Sales, which it led for a week in July, and 4-3 for a new high on Radio Songs, while falling from its No. 3 best to No. 7 on Streaming Songs.

Sparking the song’s sales gain, its “The Queens Remix” — which features Madonna and shouts out a host of influential Black female entertainers — dropped Aug. 5. (Madonna is not listed on “Soul” on the Hot 100, as the remix did not account for the majority of the song’s overall consumption Aug. 5-11.) In addition to its original version and “The Queens Remix,” “Soul” was available for purchase in six alternate forms during the tracking week: its Honey Dijon, Terry Hunter and will.i.am remixes; its Nita Aviance club mix; and a cappella and instrumental versions.

Concurrently, “Soul” tops the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart for a seventh week and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot R&B Songs charts for a second week each, with all three tallies using the same multi-metric methodology as the Hot 100.

Meanwhile, “Soul” parent album Renaissance ranks at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart (89,000 equivalent album units, down 73%), a week after it soared in as Beyoncé’s seventh No. 1 set.

On Monday (August 8), as Beyoncé topped the Billboard 200 with RENAISSANCE and the Hot 100 chart with “Break My Soul,” she also gained 70 new RIAA certifications in a single day. But she wasn’t the only Carter in the family to rack up a plaque. Her eldest child, Blue Ivy, also gained two gold RIAA certifications, for “BROWN SKIN GIRL” from The Lion King: The Gift album and “Blue” from Beyoncé.

Among Beyonce’s new certifications, two of her biggest singles—”Halo” and “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”—are nearing Diamond status. Homecoming: The Live Album has earned gold status, as well as the singles “Don’t Hurt Yourself (Ft. Jack White),” “Broken-Hearted Girl,” “Dangerously In Love,” “Jealous,” and “I’d Rather Go Blind” from the Cadillac Records soundtrack.

In 2019, Blue Ivy took home her very first Grammy Award for the “BROWN SKIN GIRL” music video. The 10-year-old also became the youngest person in history to chart on Billboard when her father, Jay-Z, featured her on 2012’s “Glory” just two days after her birth.

See Bey’s other new gold and platinum certifications below:

Beyoncé charts all 16 songs from her new album Renaissance on the latest Billboard Hot 100 (dated Aug. 13).

Leading Beyoncé’s total on the Hot 100 is the album’s single, “Break My Soul,” which jumps 6-1, becoming her eighth solo No. 1.

Here’s a recap of Beyoncé’s entries on the newest Hot 100. (All are debuts except for “Break My Soul.”)

Rank, Title

No. 1, “Break My Soul” (up from No. 6; first week at No. 1)
No. 13, “Cuff It”
No. 19, “Alien Superstar”
No. 22, “Church Girl”
No. 26, “I’m That Girl”
No. 27, “Energy,” feat. BEAM
No. 30, “Cozy”
No. 41, “Plastic Off the Sofa”

Beyoncé‘s “Break My Soul” bounds to No. 1, from No. 6, on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. The song marks the superstar’s eighth solo leader on the list. The track, which debuted at No. 15 six weeks earlier, is from her new LP Renaissance, which launches as her seventh No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

“Break My Soul,” released on Parkwood/Columbia Records, becomes the 1,140th No. 1 in the Hot 100’s 64-year history.

Airplay, sales & streams: “Soul” drew 61.7 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 8%) and 18.9 million streams (up 114%) and sold 13,000 downloads (up 113%) in the July 29-Aug. 4 tracking week, according to Luminate, as the song claims dual top Streaming and Sales Gainer honors on the Hot 100.

The track vaults 25-3 on Streaming Songs and holds at its No. 4 high on the Radio Songs chart.

In addition to its original version on Renaissance, “Soul” was available in six alternate forms during the tracking week: its Honey Dijon, Terry Hunter and will.i.am remixes; its Nita Aviance club mix; and a cappella and instrumental versions. (Its “The Queens Remix,” with Madonna and which shouts out a host of influential Black female entertainers, arrived Aug. 5, the first day of the tracking week for next week’s Billboard charts, dated Aug. 20.)

Beyoncé’s Renaissance blasts in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Aug. 13) with 2022’s biggest week by a woman – and the second-largest week of the year overall – as the set launches atop the chart with 332,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Aug. 4, according to Luminate.

Notably, Renaissance – Beyoncé’s seventh solo No. 1 album – is the first album released by a woman in 2022 to top the Billboard 200. The last woman at No. 1 was Adele with 30, which ruled for its first six weeks on the list (charts dated Dec. 4, 2021-Jan. 8, 2022). Notably, both 30 and Renaissance were released via Columbia Records (with Renaissance issued through Parkwood/Columbia).

Renaissance is Beyoncé’s seventh solo studio album, and first since the chart-topping Lemonade in 2016. Since then, she teamed with husband Jay-Z on The Carters’ Everything Is Love (2018), released Homecoming: The Live Album and led The Lion King: The Gift soundtrack (both in 2019; all three reached the top five of the Billboard 200). All seven of her solo studio albums have also opened atop the tally (outside of her output as part of Destiny’s Child), starting with Dangerously in Love in 2003.

Unlike Beyoncé’s last two solo albums (Lemonade and her self-titled set in 2013), Renaissance wasn’t a surprise release. The new set was announced in mid-June, preceded by its first single “Break My Soul” on June 20, and was available to purchase on physical formats (both CD and vinyl LP) by street date (July 29). Comparably, her last two solo studio sets before Renaissance were both initially available exclusively only through streamers and digital retailers, and their physical release came later.

Also, unlike her last two studio efforts, Renaissance was not ushered in alongside a longform visual component – or, in fact, any official music videos. The Lemonade project debuted initially on HBO through its same-titled film, while her self-titled effort was initially sold exclusively through iTunes accompanied by 18 music videos. As of Aug. 7, no official videos for Renaissance have been released – only lyric videos and visualizers.

Beyoncé claims her fourth solo UK Number 1 album with RENAISSANCE this week, marking her first chart-topper in six years.

The superstar’s acclaimed seventh studio album outsells its closest competition 3:1 to reach the summit. Prior to this, Beyoncé reached Number 1 with debut LP Dangerously in Love (2003), 4 (2011) and Lemonade (2016). As a member of Destiny’s Child, Beyoncé boasts another chart-topper; with Survivor going the distance in 2001.

RENAISSANCE also tops the Official Vinyl Albums Chart, proving the country’s most-purchased record on wax this week.

RENAISSANCE’s chart-topping release sees lead single BREAK MY SOUL fly up four spots to a new peak of Number 2 on the Official Singles Chart. Excluding her 2010 appearance as a featured artist on Lady Gaga’s chart topper Telephone, BREAK MY SOUL is now Beyoncé’s highest-charting solo hit in 14 years, since If I Were A Boy hit Number 1 in 2008, and secures the UK’s most downloaded track of the week.

Two further cuts from RENAISSANCE also debut inside the Top 20, with CUFF IT (14) and ALIEN SUPERSTAR (16) taking Bey’s UK Top 40 tally to an impressive 38.

Beyoncé bounces to her first leader on Billboard‘s multi-metric Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart (dated July 9) with “Break My Soul” (4-1). The track soars following its first full tracking week June 24-30 (after its arrival on Tidal at 9 p.m. ET June 20 and its wide release at midnight June 21).

“Break” reigns with 23 million all-format radio airplay audience impressions June 24-30 (up from 10.7 million June 20-23), 15.6 million U.S. streams (up from 14 million) and 11,000 sold, according to Luminate. It also bounds to No. 1 on Dance/Electronic Streaming Songs, likewise becoming Beyoncé’s inaugural leader, and spends a second week at No. 1 on the Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart (after it launched with 22,000 sold in its first three-plus days).

The song bursts 15-7 on the Hot 100, soars 17-8 on Streaming Songs and enters Radio Songs at No. 28, while falling to No. 4 on Digital Song Sales after it opened at No. 1.

Beyoncé banks her landmark 20th solo Hot 100 top 10 and first since Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage,” on which she’s featured, became her seventh No. 1 in May 2020. Beyoncé notches her first top 10 in a lead role since “Formation” debuted and peaked at No. 10 in May 2016.

Beyoncé’s new single “Break My Soul” debuts at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the week of June 27, after just three days of tracking.

It marks Beyoncé’s sixth-highest debut on this chart as a solo artist and seventh overall, followed by “Walk On Water” with Eminem. That collaboration, taken from his Revival album, opened at No. 14 in December 2017.

“Break My Soul,” co-produced by The-Dream and Tricky Stewart, also debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s Digital Sales chart. It’s her fifth song to debut atop this list, followed by 2020’s “Black Parade.”

Additionally, “Break My Soul” made chart splashes on the Dance/Electronic Digital Songs Sales (No. 1), Hot R&B Songs (No. 4), R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (No. 10), and Adult R&B Airplay (No. 17), to name a few.

Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time was originally published in 2003, with a slight update in 2012. Over the years, it’s been the most widely read — and argued over — feature in the history of the magazine (last year, the RS 500 got over 63 million views on the site). But no list is definitive — tastes change, new genres emerge, the history of music keeps being rewritten. So we decided to remake our greatest albums list from scratch. To do so, we received and tabulated Top 50 Albums lists from more than 300 artists, producers, critics, and music-industry figures (from radio programmers to label heads, like Atlantic Records CEO Craig Kallman). The electorate includes Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and Billie Eilish; rising artists like H.E.R., Tierra Whack, and Lindsey Jordan of Snail Mail; as well as veteran musicians, such as Adam Clayton and the Edge of U2, Raekwon of the Wu-Tang Clan, Gene Simmons, and Stevie Nicks.

When we first did the RS 500 in 2003, people were talking about the “death of the album.” The album —and especially the album release — is more relevant than ever. (As in 2003, we allowed votes for compilations and greatest-hits albums, mainly because a well-made compilation can be just as coherent and significant as an LP, because compilations helped shaped music history, and because many hugely important artists recorded their best work before the album had arrived as a prominent format.)

Of course, it could still be argued that embarking on a project like this is increasingly difficult in an era of streaming and fragmented taste. But that was part of what made rebooting the RS 500 fascinating and fun; 86 of the albums on the list are from this century, and 154 are new additions that weren’t on the 2003 or 2012 versions. The classics are still the classics, but the canon keeps getting bigger and better.

You can see the entire list, which includes Beyoncé's "Lemonade" at No. 32, here.

Beyoncé never waits too long in between projects, and while she may not have a new album out, fans are flocking to an updated version of a 2019 release thanks to the Queen’s latest visual masterpiece...and that has led to her dominating a number of Billboard charts yet again.

This week, many of the tracks featured on the singer-songwriter’s The Lion King: The Gift album either rise or return entirely (or even debut) on over half a dozen of Billboard’s rankings. They perform best on the R&B-only lists, where she has established herself as a force to be reckoned with.

Here is a look at how the tunes featured on the deluxe edition of The Lion King: The Gift perform this week on the R&B rankings.

R&B/Hip-Hop Songs

As Megan Thee Stallion and Bey’s “Savage,” which isn’t connected to The Lion King: The Gift at all, dips to No. 6, Beyoncé’s own “Black Parade” re-enters the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs race at No. 47. The track was originally released as a standalone cut earlier this year, but now it’s been included in the deluxe edition of the singer-songwriter’s latest full-length.

About two weeks ago, Beyoncé changed the game once again by releasing her new film Black Is King, which premiered exclusively on Disney+ on July 31. The artistic venture uses her 2019 album The Lion King: The Gift as both a soundtrack and inspiration for a new story, and as countless fans of the singer-songwriter rushed to watch what she’d come up with this time around, the tracks from the full-length benefit immensely on at least one Billboard chart this frame.

As the album holds the No. 1 spot on the World Albums chart (as well as the Soundtracks and Top R&B Albums charts), Beyoncé also rules this week’s World Digital Song Sales ranking with the tracks from her latest project, which all return to the roster thanks to impressive sales during the past tracking frame, with a number of tunes hitting new high points on the list.

The Queen narrowly missed landing another No. 1 from the studio effort, as “Already,” which now seems to be the focus cut from the set, bounces back onto the World Digital Song Sales list at No. 2. It comes in behind only BTS’s “My Time,” which vaults from No. 15 to the highest rung.

Bey occupies three positions inside the top five, as “My Power” and “Find Your Way Back” land at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively. Looking at the entire top 10, the superstar lays claim to half of all the available rungs in the region, as “Brown Skin Girl” and “Mood 4 Eva” settle at Nos. 7 and 10, respectively.

Of the 10 The Lion King: The Gift tracks that are present on this week’s 25-spot World Digital Song Sales chart, only three don’t credit Beyoncé as an artist, though she was involved in their inclusion on the set and their current popularity.

Beyoncé’s The Lion King: The Gift album re-enters the Billboard 200 chart at No. 10, following the July 31 premiere of Black Is King on Disney+.

The set earned 27,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Aug. 6 (up 1,462%), according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.

The album originally debuted and peaked at No. 2 on the Aug. 3, 2019-dated chart.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Aug. 15-dated chart (where The Lion King: The Gift re-enters at No. 10) will be posted in full on Billboard's website on Aug. 11.

Black Is King is based on the music of The Lion King: The Gift, and was written, directed and executive produced by Beyoncé. The Lion King: The Gift album also benefits from its reissue on July 31 with three additional tracks.

The Lion King: The Gift album was first released on July 19, 2019, as a companion project to last year’s film remake of The Lion King (in which Beyoncé voices the character Nala).

Megan Thee Stallion's "Savage," featuring Beyoncé, bounds from No. 5 to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. The track, which previously reached a No. 2 high after the arrival of its Beyoncé remix, becomes Megan Thee Stallion's first Hot 100 leader and Beyoncé's seventh.

"Savage," released on 1501 Certified/300 Entertainment, is the 1,102nd No. 1 in the Hot 100's 61-year history.

Here's a deeper look at the song's Hot 100 coronation.

No. 1 in sales: "Savage" concurrently climbs 4-1 on the Digital Song Sales chart, up 55% to 30,000 downloads sold in the week ending May 21, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data, good for the Hot 100's top Sales Gainer award.

The song was on sale in a variety of physical/digital combination offerings during the tracking week, including autographed CD and vinyl copies put up for purchase in Megan Thee Stallion's webstore beginning May 15. Consumers could purchase CD and vinyl singles, each with a digital download; the download would be sent to consumers upon purchase, with physical versions due to arrive at a later date.

Megan Thee Stallion earns her first Digital Song Sales No. 1, while Beyoncé adds her eighth (the eighth-best total in the chart's archives).

Megan Thee Stallion locks up the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart as “Savage,” featuring Beyoncé, rises from the runner-up rank on the list dated May 23. The duo takes over thanks to a 5 percent boost to 27.3 million in audience in the week ending May 17, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.

With their ascent, the Houston natives return female artists to the chart summit for the first time in nearly a year. The last woman at No. 1 was Cardi B, who posted the last of 20 straight weeks in charge through “Money” (nine weeks) and then “Please Me,” (11) a collaboration with Bruno Mars, on the June 15, 2019, list.

“Savage” gives Megan Thee Stallion her first leader on the chart, after a trio of prior top five showings. Her debut hit, “Big Ole Freak,” reached No. 5 in May 2019, while two later hits both went to No. 3: “Cash S--t,” featuring DaBaby last September, and “Hot Girl Summer,” a collaboration with Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign, in November.

Beyoncé nabs her eighth visit to the penthouse to tie Alicia Keys for the most No. 1s among women since the chart began in 1993. The superstar also ends a five-year drought from the summit, having last topped R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay with “7/11” in February 2015. Between the two chart champs, Bey logged eight other entries, with six entering the top 10. Lemonade single “Sorry” was the most successful, climbing to No. 3 in July 2016.

Here’s a full count of Beyoncé’s eight leaders:

Megan Thee Stallion's "Savage," featuring Beyoncé, rises from No. 4 to No. 2 on the Hot 100, sparked by Beyoncé having joined on a remix. (Beyoncé now shows on the title on the Hot 100 for the first time, following the first full tracking week for the remix, which drove the majority of overall activity for the song.) Already the former's first top 10 on the chart, Beyoncé achieves her 19th.

"Savage" jumps 3-1 on Streaming Songs, up 53% to 42.1 million U.S. streams, becoming Megan Thee Stallion's first No. 1 on the chart and Beyoncé's third.

On Digital Song Sales, "Savage" holds at No. 2, gaining by 90% to 50,000 sold. "Savage" was on sale in physical/digital combination offerings during the tracking week, whereby consumers could purchase any of three vinyl singles with a download; the download would go to consumers upon purchase, with vinyl versions set to arrive at a future date.

"Savage" pushes 18-14 on Radio Songs, up 27% to 51.3 million in reach, and hits No. 1 on the multi-metric Hot Rap Songs chart, where Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé each earn their first leader.