Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia - Toppermost of the Poppermost Edition Part 2
In the rarefied world of smash pop singles, there are No. 1s—and there are No. 1 debuts. Entering Billboard’s Hot 100 at the top is one of the hardest tricks in music. In fact, it wasn’t possible in the U.S. until 1995. That’s when the record labels hacked the Hot 100 and figured out how to send new singles straight into the chart penthouse.
But scoring a No. 1 in Week One doesn’t mean it’s built to last. For every enduring hit like “Fantasy,” “Shake It Off” or “Hello,” there are plenty of one-off oddities, coronation pabulum from American Idol finalists, and even a few missteps from chart…
The skinny
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