Drake Breaks Longstanding Record Set by Michael Jackson

Rapper Drake appeared to pay homage to the legendary Michael Jackson with the album cover for his latest album, ICEMAN, which seemingly featured one of Jackson's iconic, crystal-studded gloves on the cover photo.

Now, shortly after the album's release, Drake has actually topped the King of Pop by surpassing one of his longstanding records.

Michael Jackson's Record

For decades, Michael Jackson held the record for the male solo artists with the most Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles with 13.

His first came in 1972 with "Ben," followed by "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock with You" off Off the Wall in 1979 and 1980. His 1982 album Thriller produced two chart-toppers in "Billie Jean" and "Beat It," and he also hit No. 1 that year with "Say Say Say," his collaboration with Paul McCartney.

His 1987 album Bad then produced a record five No. 1 singles: "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," "Bad," "The Way You Make Me Feel," "Man in the Mirror," and "Dirty Diana." "Black or White" from Dangerous added a 12th in 1991, and "You Are Not Alone" closed out his run at No. 1 in 1995, becoming the first song in Hot 100 history to debut at the top spot.

Drake Tops Michael Jackson

Since 2023, Drake has been tied with Michael Jackson with 13 singles to reach No. 1 on the Billboard charts.

Drake's first two No. 1s came as a featured artist on Rihanna tracks - "What's My Name?" in 2010 and "Work" in 2016. He then broke through as a lead artist with "One Dance" featuring Wizkid and Kyla, which held the top spot for 10 weeks in 2016.

His dominant 2018 run produced three No. 1s– "God's Plan," "Nice for What," and "In My Feelings," which exploded after the viral #InMyFeelingsChallenge and spent 10 weeks at the top. "Toosie Slide" followed in 2020, which made Drake the first male artist to debut three songs at No. 1.

In 2021, "What's Next" debuted at No. 1, and "Way 2 Sexy" featuring Future and Young Thug gave him his ninth No. 1 later that year. "Wait for U" with Future and Tems and "Jimmy Cooks" featuring 21 Savage followed in 2022. "Slime You Out" featuring SZA and "First Person Shooter" featuring J. Cole both debuted at No. 1 in 2023, tying Drake with Jackson at 13.

And as of this week, though, Drake now has the record all by himself as "Janice STFU," from his new album ICEMAN, debuted at No. 1 to give Drake his record-breaking 14th top single.

It's only fitting for Drake to break Jackson's record with a song from an album that paid homage to the King of Pop.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 26, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 4:57 PM.