The Beatles boast the most No. 1s on Billboard’s premier all-genre song and album charts: 20 leading songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and 19 chart-topping albums on the Billboard 200.
While those records remain two of the most vaunted in Billboard chart history (dating to the first national songs survey in the July 27, 1940, issue), a select group of acts have earned 40 or more No. 1s on individual listings.
Madonna holds the mark for the most No. 1s on any Billboard chart: 50 on Dance Club Songs, from 1983 through 2020 (when the chart went on indefinite hiatus). The achievement even led to an album: In 2022, she released Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones, itself a No. 1 on Top Dance Albums. “Dance is my first love,” she told Billboard upon becoming the only member of the 50 No. 1s club, “so every time one of my songs is celebrated in the clubs and recognized on the charts, it feels like home!”
Few other stars have each earned at least 40 No. 1s on singular Billboard charts — spanning pop, country, dance, K-pop, Latin and R&B/hip-hop. The honoree of the most recent induction ceremony? J Balvin, who notched his 40th leader on the Latin Rhythm Airplay chart (dated March 14, 2026) with “Si Te Vas,” with Jay Wheeler; a week later, it likewise became his 40th No. 1 on Latin Airplay. “To break another record and see the fans embrace the song like this means a lot,” J Balvin beamed to Billboard.
To hit No. 1 a Billboard chart even once is a feat to celebrated. Multiply that by 40 … or 50? Below, browse the elite acts that have reigned a staggering 40 more times each on individual rankings (dating to the Billboard 200’s launch in 1956).
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Madonna
Madonna first led Dance Club Songs with “Holiday” and “Lucky Star” in 1983. She tallied nine No. 1s in the 1980s, 13 in the ’90s, 18 in the 2000s and nine in the ’10s, with “I Don’t Search I Find” extending her dominance into the ’20s.
“I never take the support of my fans for granted,” Madonna said upon her 50th No. 1 in 2020, “and it’s always like the very first time.”
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Drake
Drake is the only artist with at least 40 No. 1s on as many as three Billboard charts. Leading his haul, he has collected 46 No. 1s, from 2009 to 2024, on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay — the most for any act on a radio ranking. He has also amassed 45 leaders on Rap Airplay and 43 on Rhythmic Airplay.
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Kidz Bop Kids
The group of rotating members has run up 45 No. 1s on the Kid Albums chart (naturally), between 2001 and 2023. Thanks to the collective’s family-friendly covers of big pop hits, it has also made history on the Billboard 200: In 2005-16, it charted at least one new top 10 every year, the longest streak of top 10s for any act in the chart’s archives.
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George Strait
The King of Country held the record for the most No. 1s on a single Billboard chart until he was passed by the Queen of Pop. Strait scored his 44th and most recent Hot Country Songs leader, “River of Love,” in 2009. He first reigned in 1982 with “Fool Hearted Memory.” In 2006, Strait hit No. 1 with “Give It Away” — his 41st leader, breaking him out of a tie with Conway Twitty for the most.
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BTS
BTS runs the World … Digital Song Sales chart, where a record 42 of its tracks have hit No. 1. As of the chart dated March 21, the septet’s tally of leaders stretches from “Burning Up (Fire)” in May 2016 through “Run BTS” this January — making BTS the only act to accumulate at least 40 No. 1s on a single survey in less than a decade’s span.
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J Balvin
J Balvin first clocked in at No. 1 on Latin Airplay in May 2014 with “6 AM,” featuring Farruko. With “Si Te Vas” marking his milestone 40th leader on both Latin Airplay and Latin Rhythm Airplay, he furthered a who’s who of star collaborators. Other acts, from a variety of home genres, with whom he has shared No. 1s on the chart include Beyoncé, Black Eyed Peas, Karol G, Maluma, Ed Sheeran, Usher and Pharrell Williams. (Put another way, his roster of No. 1 partners spans from Anitta to Zion & Lennox.)
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Conway Twitty
The pop-turned-country legend made history as the first artist to notch at least 40 No. 1s on a Billboard chart when “Desperado Love” topped the Hot Country Songs survey dated Sept. 6, 1986. He first led in 1968 with “Next in Line,” a decade after he crowned the Hot 100 with “It’s Only Make Believe.” In 2017, Twitty’s daughter Joni marveled at the enduring appeal of her father (who died in 1993), telling Billboard, “We have people that write to us in their teens and early 20s. Every word he sang dripped with emotion. He made you believe it. It’s so neat to see the younger generation and how impacted they are by the music he left behind.”
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