«Dance Monkey» is also the first top five hit written solely by a woman in over eight years.
Roddy Ricch‘s «The Box» spends a fifth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Plus, Tones and I‘s «Dance Monkey» ascends to the Hot 100’s top five, rising from No. 7 to No. 5, adding its latest chart honor after ruling multiple surveys worldwide. The song is additionally the first top five Hot 100 hit solely written by a woman in over eight years.
«The Box,» released on Bird Vision/Atlantic Records, notches a sixth week at No. 1 on the Streaming Songs chart, despite a 6% drop to 63.2 million U.S. streams in the week ending Feb. 6, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.
The track rebounds 16-9 on Digital Song Sales, up 7% to 12,000 sold in the week ending Feb. 6, and surges 25-15 on Radio Songs, gaining by 34% to 46.1 million all-format airplay audience impressions in the week ending Feb. 9, as it wins the Hot 100’s top Airplay Gainer award for a third consecutive week.
Notably, «The Box» is the 14th song released on Atlantic to lead the Hot 100 for at least five weeks in the chart’s six-decade history, a figure that has swelled by four since just the start of 2017. The label’s other such leaders in that recent stretch: Lizzo’s «Truth Hurts» (seven weeks, 2019) and Ed Sheeran’s «Perfect,» with Beyoncé (six weeks, 2017-18), and «Shape of You» (12 weeks, 2017).
«The Box» concurrently crowns the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts, which employ the same multi-metric methodology as the Hot 100, for a sixth week each.
Future’s «Life Is Good,» featuring Drake, spends its fourth consecutive week at No. 2 on the Hot 100, encompassing its entire run on the chart so far. It also keeps at No. 2 on Streaming Songs (37.6 million, down 13%).
The song is the second ever to log its first four weeks on the Hot 100 at No. 2, after Mariah Carey’s «Always Be My Baby» became the first entry (of 32 to-date) to launch in the runner-up spot, on the chart dated April 6, 1996. «Baby» waited patiently for four frames as Celine Dion’s «Because You Loved Me» ran up its No. 1 run to six weeks before ascending for a two-week reign of its own.
Post Malone’s «Circles» is steady at No. 3 on the Hot 100, after three nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1, and returns to No. 1 on Radio Songs, from No. 2, for a seventh week at the summit (103.6 million, up 2%).
Maroon 5’s «Memories» holds at No. 4 on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 2. It dips to No. 2 on Radio Songs (although with a less than 1% increase to 102.3 million), after it interrupted the reign of «Circles» on the ranking a week earlier, when it became the band’s seventh leader, the most among groups.
Tones and I’s «Dance Monkey» climbs 7-5 on the Hot 100, reaching the top five for the first time, as it rises 5-3 on Digital Song Sales (16,000, down 2%), 5-4 on Streaming Songs (22.8 million, up 2%) and 12-11 on Radio Songs (54.6 million, up 2%).
The song by the Australian singer-songwriter, real name Toni Watson, previously became the longest-leading No. 1 in her homeland, while topping multiple other global surveys, including the Official UK Singles chart, where it broke the record for the most time at No. 1 by a female soloist.
Meanwhile, Watson solely wrote «Dance Monkey,» and longtime chart fan Mark Blankenship recently tweeted about the rarity of a song written by one woman rising to the Hot 100’s upper reaches. Research reveals that the track is the first top five Hot 100 hit penned solely by a woman in nearly eight years, since Whitney Houston’s version of Dolly Parton’s «I Will Always Love You,» which Parton wrote by herself, reached No. 3 in March 2012 after Houston’s passing; the cover originally ruled for 14 weeks in 1992-93. Before that, Taylor Swift sent two songs that she solely wrote into the top five in 2010: «Mine» (No. 3 that August) and «Today Was a Fairytale» (No. 2 that February).
Solo-written top five Hot 100 hits in recent years by men are uncommon, too. The late Johnny Marks boasted two over the holidays (classics «Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree» by Brenda Lee and «A Holly Jolly Christmas» by Burl Ives), while, before that, J. Cole notched one in 2019, «Middle Child.»
The last Hot 100 No. 1 written by just one person? Sheeran’s «Perfect.» And, the last such leader by a woman? Alicia Keys’ self-authored «Fallin’,» back in 2001. (Of the 247 songs to spend time at No. 1 since the start of 2000, only 11, or 4%, have been penned by a single writer.)
More «Monkey» business: «Dance Monkey» is the second top five Hot 100 hit with the word «monkey» in its title, after George Michael’s «Monkey,» which ruled for two weeks in 1988. (Hey, hey, an honorable mention: The Monkees earned six top five hits, in 1966-68; all reached the top three, with three hitting No. 1.)
Lewis Capaldi’s «Someone You Loved» slips 5-6 on the Hot 100, after it spent three weeks at No. 1; Arizona Zervas’ «Roxanne» rises 8-7, after reaching No. 4; and Dan + Shay and Justin Bieber’s No. 4-peaking «10,000 Hours» drops 6-8, as it tops the multi-metric Hot Country Songs chart for an 18th week.
