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Chart Beat

Shaboozey Ties Record for Most Weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 with 'A Bar Song (Tipsy)'

He only needs to maintain one more week at No. 1 to hit 20 weeks and bypass Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" and claim the title for the most weeks at No. 1.

Shaboozey
Shaboozey
Daniel Prakopcyk

Shaboozey has made history on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100.

This week, on the chart for the week of October 12, the Virginia singer ties the record for most weeks at No. 1. His country hit "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" has now spent 19 weeks in the top spot, a run only matched by Lil Nas X and "Old Town Road."


If Shaboozey can hold on one more week, he'll break the record, marking the first time that a song has spent 20 weeks atop the chart since its launch in 2007.

"A Bar Song" first hit No. 1 back in May, and dominated all summer, with brief interruptions by Eminem's "Houdini" and Morgan Wallen and Post Malone's "I Had Some Help."

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Shaboozey's road to No. 1 has been building since he first gained momentum in 2018 with his track "Start a Riot," featured on the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack. He got a big boost earlier this year from Beyoncé, when he featured on two songs off her country opus Cowboy Carter.

That album came out March 29 and "A Bar Song" dropped just two weeks later on April 12, which made the timing ripe for Shaboozey to climb the charts in his own right. "A Bar Song" first hit No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart on May 5, following Beyoncé's "Texas Hold 'Em" and marking the first time that two Black musicians topped the chart in a row.

It hit No. 1 on the Canadian Hot 100 the week after, two months before it reached No. 1 on the U.S. Hot 100 in July.

The folk-country sound of "A Bar Song" may make it resonate with Canada and its deep history of folk-rock, though Shaboozey has a different thought: "I guess you guys got a lotta drinkers here, huh?" he joked.

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The song works as both a call to the dancefloor and a moodier reflection on hard times. The song speaks frankly about the affordability crisis and the drain of hustle culture.

The song also interpolates a 2000s hip-hop hit J-Kwon's "Tipsy," during an intense moment for 2000s nostalgia, and it subverts the conventions of two wildly popular genres, bringing hip-hop flow to a country instrumental. Together, those factors have helped it become one of the biggest songs in Canadian chart history.

Last month, Billboard Canada presented Shaboozey with a plaque at his Toronto concert honouring his chart achievement. If he can keep momentum for one more week, he'll break the record for longest-running No. 1 on the Canadian Hot 100.

Check out a list of the other longest-running No. 1 hits below.

Most Weeks Spent at No. 1 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100

1. “Old Town Road,” Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus, 19 weeks

1. “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Shaboozey, 19 weeks

3. “As It Was,” Harry Styles, 18 weeks

4. “Despacito,” Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee ft. Justin Bieber, 16 weeks

4. “Shape of You,” Ed Sheeran, 16 weeks

4. “I Gotta Feeling,” The Black Eyed Peas, 16 weeks

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Executive of the Week: Justin West of Secret City Records on the Secrets of Independent Music Success​
FYI

Executive of the Week: Justin West of Secret City Records on the Secrets of Independent Music Success​

The man behind one of Canada's most successful indie labels talks about the late-blooming success of French-language streaming record-holder Patrick Watson, why he builds long-term relationships with artists, and why it's important for the indie sector to work together.

Justin West is a leader and advocate in Canada’s independent music scene, but he didn’t plan it out that way. When he started his record label Secret City Records in Montreal in the mid-2000s, it was out of necessity. He had met an artist he loved and wanted to build a career with, and the label was a means to do it. That artist was Patrick Watson, and 20 years later he — and Secret City — are more successful than ever.

West — a multiple time Billboard Canada Power Player – leads one of the biggest indie labels in Canada while also advocating for the sector on multiple boards both locally and internationally. When we speak to him for this Executive of the Week interview, he’s just returned from Banff for the National Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Culture, and is a central figure in discussions around the Online Streaming Act and collective negotiations with online streaming platforms.

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