Drake Tops The Beatles

BY Abraham Seabrook

Staff Reporter

On Oct. 27, Drake broke the record for most #1 singles to reach the U.S Billboard Hot 100 in a calendar year, a record previously held by The Beatles for 54 years.

Drake, born Aubrey Drake Graham, is a Canada-born singer, actor and rapper who is considered to be one of the most successful artists in recent years. He is a three-time Grammy Award-winner and holds records in the Hot 100 for most charted songs among solo artist and most debuts in a week.

“I like listening to Drake because he puts so much creativity with his music. He has so much variety that it can help with whatever mood anyone is in by how he can rap and sing,” said senior Adrienne Hoffman.

The Beatles were an English rock band, known worldwide to be one of the most prominent rock bands in history. The band holds the record for most number one hits on the Hot 100 chart, has received seven Grammy Awards, and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

According to Apple Music, “they were the greatest and most influential act of the rock era and introduced more into popular music than any other rock band of the 20th century. They synthesized all that was good about early rock and roll and changed it into something original and even more exciting.”

“The Beatles are legendary, I always heard about them and how they were the best rock band in the world. I do not really listen to them, but they did influence a lot of the music I listen to now. I would just rather listen to something faster with more rhythm and flow,” said junior Parker Tuthill.

Throughout the year Drake released 12 songs that helped him surpass The Beatles in 2018. The songs that made the Hot 100 this year are “God’s Plan,” “Diplomatic Immunity,” “Look Alive,” “Walk It Talk It,” “Nice For What,” “Yes Indeed,” “Nonstop,” “I’m Upset,” “Emotionless,” “Don’t Matter to Me,” “In my Feelings” and “MIA.”

“I really enjoyed listening to ‘Look Alive’ and ‘Nonstop.’ Those songs gave me this feeling of wanting to go out and have fun,” said Tuthill.

“I really enjoyed listening to ‘Walk It Talk It’ and ‘Nice For What’ because I would always find myself dancing at some point during either of the songs,” said Hoffman.

According to Billboard, Drake has led the Hot 100 for 29 weeks, breaking the previous record held by Usher. He accomplished this with “In My Feelings,” “Nice For What” and “God’s Plan” staying popular among fans.

As internet has changed over the years, there haave been multiple new ways to listen and buy someone’s new or old music. For example, using streaming services that you can access on your phone or laptop.

During The Beatles era, rock and roll was the most popular genre of music at the time. People would have to go to their local record store and having to buy physical copies of their albums or songs.

Today, with the help of streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify, it has become easier to listen and download music. It has allowed for Drake’s music to reach his fans within minutes of releasing it.

According to Rolling Stone, Drake became the first artist ever to reach 10 billion streams on Apple Music. He has achieved the highest number of single-day streams on both Apple Music and Spotify, and also the most streams per hour on Spotify.

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