Well, you can never accuse Rihanna and Fifth Harmony of being lazy. Both acts are, quite literally, working their way toward crushing the preliminary Song of Summer competition, one hit at a time: For the seventh consecutive week, Rihanna has the No. 1 song in the country on the Billboard Hot 100: “Work,†with her partner-in-grind, Drake. If she keeps this streak up for one more week, she’ll tie the Beatles for most collective weeks at No. 1, with 59, behind only Mariah Carey’s 79 weeks. (Remember, “Work†also already gave her the third-most No. 1 songs in Billboard history.) She’s also closing in on her longest No. 1 takeover ever, which came when “We Found Love†spent ten weeks at the top of the chart between 2011 and 2012. And all this after she’s already announced two more singles, “Needed Me†and “Kiss It Better,†dropping a video for the latter last week. That Rihanna reign just won’t let up, baby.
But Rihanna’s not the only one chasing career numbers: Fifth Harmony just hit a new peak, making their top ten debut with the punny “Work From Home†at No. 10 — their best since “Worth It†topped out at No. 12 last summer. Are 5H headed for a massive summer on the heels of their sophomore album, out, appropriately, right before Memorial Day weekend? That sure seems like a plan that’s — wait for it — working. (Sorry.) Either way, their new chart high also ends a drought that most probably didn’t realize was even happening. “Work From Home†is now the first song from a girl group to enter the top ten this decade. No, seriously; it’s not just the boy bands who’ve been slacking of late. According to Billboard, there hasn’t been a girl group in the top ten since the Pussycat Dolls (RIP) went to No. 9 in 2008 with “When I Grow Up†— a sentence you could never utter in the world of K-pop, but, sigh, Americans.
Elsewhere on the chart, Meghan Trainor now has her biggest song since “All About That Bass†was all about the top of the charts, with “No†reaching No. 3 this week. So get ready for another summer (or at least spring) in which she, Rihanna, and Fifth Harmony are virtually inescapable.