Drake & J. Cole’s ‘First Person Shooter’ Debuts Atop Billboard Hot 100, Tying Drake With Michael Jackson for Record

Drake’s “First Person Shooter,” featuring J. Cole, launches at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. The collaboration, from Drake’s LP For All the Dogs – which concurrently debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart – is his 13th Hot 100 leader, tying him with Michael Jackson for the most in the list’s history among solo males, and the fourth-most among all acts.

J. Cole achieves his first Hot 100 No. 1.

Drake, meanwhile, charts seven songs in the Hot 100’s top 10, including six debuts, upping his record total to 76 career top 10 hits.

The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data, the lattermost metric reflecting purchases of physical singles and digital tracks from full-service digital music retailers; digital singles sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites are excluded from chart calculations. All charts (dated Oct. 21, 2023) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Oct. 17). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

Here’s a look at the coronation of “First Person Shooter,” the 1,157th single to top the Hot 100 over the chart’s 65-year history, and the 72nd to debut at No. 1.

Streams, airplay & sales:Released Oct. 6 at 6 a.m. ET on For All the Dogs, on OVO Sound/Republic Records, “First Person Shooter” drew 42.2 million streams and 4.3 million radio airplay audience impressions and sold 4,000 downloads in the tracking week ending Oct. 12, according to Luminate.

The single also debuts at No. 1 on the Streaming Songs chart and No. 7 on Digital Song Sales.

Drake ties MJ with 13th Hot 100 No. 1: “I’m one away from Michael,” chart-watcher Drake notes in “First Person Shooter,” while also shouting out Jackson’s classic 1983 Hot 100 No. 1 “Beat It.” Upon the former song’s debut, the lyric is outdated, as Drake now ties Jackson for the most leaders among solo males: 13 each.

Drake and Jackson tie for the fourth-most Hot 100 No. 1s among all acts, dating to the chart’s Aug. 4, 1958, inception.

Most Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s:

Here’s a recap of Drake’s 13 Hot 100 No. 1s:

J. Cole’s first No. 1: J. Cole earns his first Hot 100 No. 1, with his 72nd entry on the chart. He previously reached No. 2 twice, as featured on Lil Durk’s “All My Life” (this May) and with “my.life,” with 21 Savage and Morray (May 2021). As “First Person Shooter” debuts, he now totals 12 career top 10s.

Drake’s record ninth No. 1 debut: “First Person Shooter” is Drake’s record-extending ninth song to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100. He previously started at the top with “Slime You Out,” “Jimmy Cooks,” “Wait for U,” “Way 2 Sexy,” “What’s Next,” “Toosie Slide,” “Nice for What” and “God’s Plan.”

Drake passes BTS for most No. 1s in the ‘20s: Drake ups his haul to seven Hot 100 No. 1s in the 2020s – pushing him past BTS for the most so far this decade. Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift follow with four each in that span.

Drake earned six Hot 100 No. 1s in the ‘10s, the fourth-best sum, after Rihanna (nine), Katy Perry (eight) and Bruno Mars (seven).

Here’s a recap of the artists with the most Hot 100 leaders in each decade:

(Frankie Avalon and The Fleetwoods tied for the most Hot 100 No. 1s, two each, over 1958-59.)

Drake claims 7 of top 10: Drake tallies seven songs overall in the latest Hot 100’s top 10. He infuses the entire top three for a third time (after he tripled up on the Sept. 18, 2021, and March 20, 2021, charts). He and The Beatles (five weeks, 1964) are the only acts with multiple such weeks, while Grande and Swift have monopolized the top three once each.

Here’s a rundown of Drake’s tracks in the latest Hot 100’s top 10 (all of which are debuts except for No. 6):

As J. Cole lands his first Hot 100 No. 1, and 12th top 10, Yeat earns his first top 10 and 21 Savage, his 15th (and 10th in collaboration with Drake).

Drake’s records in top 2, 5 & 10: “First Person Shooter” also contributes to Drake’s marks for the most top two, top five and top 10 Hot 100 hits.

Here’s an updated look at Drake’s leading ranks among acts with the most hits in those tiers:

No. 1 on Streaming Songs, R&B/hip-hop charts: As “First Person Shooter” concurrently crowns the Streaming Songs chart, Drake adds his record-extending 19th No. 1. (Justin Bieber and Swift rank next with six each.) J. Cole notches his second No. 1, after “Interlude” led for a week in May 2021.

“First Person Shooter” likewise premieres atop the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts, which use the same multi-metric methodology as the Hot 100. Drake claims his record-padding 30th Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs No. 1, further distancing himself from legends Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder, each with 20. J. Cole collects his third Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs No. 1, after “All My Life” ruled for seven weeks and “my.life,” for one frame. On Hot Rap Songs, Drake and J. Cole also swell their No. 1 totals to a record-extending 30 and three, respectively.

Plus, on the multi-metric Hot R&B Songs chart, “Slime You Out” rebounds for a second week at No. 1.

‘First’ things first: Last but not least, “First Person Shooter” is the fifth Hot 100 No. 1 with the word “first” in its title. Here’s an updated firsthand look:

Elsewhere, three songs not by Drake make the latest Hot 100’s top 10, led by Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red,” which falls to No. 4 following three nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1.

SZA’s “Snooze” retreats to No. 7 on the Hot 100 from its No. 2 high. It rules the Radio Songs chart for a second week (77.9 million in audience, up 3%).

Plus, Swift’s “Cruel Summer” slips to No. 9 on the Hot 100 from its No. 3 peak.

Again, for all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram and all charts (dated Oct. 21), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (Oct. 17).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

This article first appeared on Billboard U.S.