Billboard Explains: Beyoncé’s Reign on the Charts

Saddle up, y’all! Cowboy Carter season is finally in full effect. Beyoncé‘s eighth solo studio album hits digital streaming platforms midnight local time on March 29, and if the success of “Texas Hold ‘Em” is anything to go by, the new LP will add several new hits to Queen Bey’s collection of Billboard smashes.

Beyoncé’s chart history doesn’t begin with “16 Carriages,” or even “Break My Soul.” From girl group anthems by way of Destiny’s Child to era-defining releases such as 2003’s “Crazy In Love” or 2016’s Lemonade, her storied career has impacted practically every Billboard ranking.

She first topped the Billboard Hot 100 with her Grammy-winning group Destiny’s Child. The group — which featured an ever-evolving lineup including Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson — reached the chart’s apex with four different songs: 1999’s “Bills, Bills, Bills” (one week), 1999’s “Say My Name” (three weeks), 2000’s “Independent Women, Part I” (11 weeks) and 2001’s “Bootylicious” (two weeks).

With Dangerously In Love, her Billboard 200-topping debut solo studio album, Beyoncé collected her first few solo Hot 100 chart-toppers, including her Jay-Z-assisted “Crazy in Love,” which spent eight weeks at No. 1. That album, which also featured the Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Baby Boy” (with Sean Paul), became the first of Beyoncé’s seven solo studio albums to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Should Cowboy Carter also debut atop Billboard’s marquee albums chart, Beyoncé will have launched all of her solo studio albums at No. 1.

Throughout her career, Queen Bey has collected nine solo Hot 100 No. 1 hits, including 2008’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” (four weeks), 2006’s “Irreplaceable” (10 weeks) and 2024’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” (two weeks). Upon release, “Texas” made history as the first song by a Black woman to top Hot Country Songs. Beyoncé has spent 46 cumulative weeks atop the Hot 100, the third-most amongst women behind Mariah Carey (93 weeks) and Rihanna (60 weeks).

Needless to say, Beyoncé’s Billboard chart history is one fit for a queen.

After the video, catch up on more Billboard Explains videos and learn about Peso Pluma and the Mexican music boom, the role record labels play, origins of hip-hop, how Beyoncé arrived at Renaissance, the evolution of girl groups, BBMAs, NFTs, SXSW, the magic of boy bands, American Music Awards, the Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Hot 100 chart, how R&B/hip-hop became the biggest genre in the U.S., how festivals book their lineups, Billie Eilish’s formula for success, the history of rap battles, nonbinary awareness in music, the Billboard Music Awards, the Free Britney movement, rise of K-pop in the U.S., why Taylor Swift is re-recording her first six albums, the boom of hit all-female collaborations, how Grammy nominees and winners are chosen, why songwriters are selling their publishing catalogs, how the Super Bowl halftime show is booked and more.