The Weeknd is still number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with “Blinding Lights,” but it was Post Malone who made history. His song “Circles,” which previously spent three weeks at the top spot, landed at number-six on the chart dated May 2, which officially makes it the longest-running top-10 hit in history, a record he held already.
This is the 34th week for “Circles” in the top 10. In fact, the song has never not been in the top 10 in its entire run so far. The previous record was set by Ed Sheeran‘s “Shape of You,” which spent 33 weeks in the top 10 in 2017. Then Maroon 5 and Cardi B tied that record with their hit “Girls Like You” from 2018 to 2019. And Post Malone himself tied it with “Sunflower” featuring Swae Lee, also from 2018 to 2019.
So it seems like more and more songs are sticking around for longer. But before these four songs achieved their unheard of milestones, the record was 32 weeks and it had held up for almost two decades. LeAnn Rimes spent that long in the top 10 with “How Do I Live” from 1997 to 1998. No one even tied that record until The Chainsmokers and Halsey with “Closer” from 2016 to 2017.
Rimes’s achievement remains historic, though: no other song has spent that long in the top 10 without ever hitting number-one (“How Do I Live” peaked at number-two). And “How Do I Live” is the oldest song to have spent 30 or more weeks in the top 10. Eight songs that have pulled that off have come in the 2010s. The only other song from the ’90s to achieve it was “Smooth” by Santana and Rob Thomas, which spent 30 weeks in the upper echelons from 1999 to 2000.
How much longer will “Circles” hold out before falling from its unprecedented heights?
Be sure to make your Grammy predictions so that record executives and top name stars can see how their music is faring in our Grammy odds. Don’t be afraid to jump in now since you can keep changing your predictions until nominees are announced. And join in the fierce debate over the 2021 Grammys taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our music forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.
