Another week, another legendary record few thought Drake could match. Once again, Drake has the No. 1 album and No. 1 song in the country, which, given the year he’s having, isn’t exactly breaking news. But, on this particular week, having Views and “One Dance†lead their respective charts at the same time for as long as they have puts Drake in remarkable new territory: Drake and Michael Jackson are now the only two male artists in Billboard history to concurrently have the No. 1 song and album for seven consecutive weeks. Drake’s Views has been No. 1 for nine weeks straight, while “One Dance†has led the Hot 100 for eight nonconsecutive weeks (it was once dethroned by Justin Timberlake), and now seven straight.
The last time a man owned the charts in such a way was when Michael Jackson had the No. 1 album and song for seven weeks in 1983 with Thriller and “Billie Jean.†Drake is the first artist to hit a stride this ubiquitous since Whitney Houston conquered the charts for an astounding 12 weeks between 1992 and 1993. (She still holds that record, tied with the Beatles; the Monkees also have seven weeks.) All the more impressive: Drake still has yet to drop the “One Dance†video (“coming soon,†he says), but as no one knows better than Drake, Song of the Summer is just a meme away.