As “Die with a Smile” soars to the summit, Lady Gaga scores her first No. 1 on Billboard’s Radio … [+]
Lady Gaga is indisputably one of the most successful pop musicians of all time. She has helped reshape and define the sound of top 40 for well over a decade, scoring smashes that cross genres and change what the mainstream public wants to listen to.
While she’s collected half a dozen No. 1s on the Hot 100, which is considered the most important songs chart in the U.S., the superstar has only managed half as many leaders on the Radio Songs ranking. That tally shows which singles reach the largest audience across all radio formats throughout the country.
Gaga adds to her career sum this week with a new No. 1. It’s the singer’s first leader in well over a decade. “Die With a Smile” steps up from No. 2 to No. 1 on this week’s Radio Songs chart. The smash earns Gaga her third career leader, following “Paparazzi” and “Born This Way.”
That latter track marked the Grammy and Oscar winner’s most recent No. 1 on the Radio Songs ranking until this week. The tune, which fronted her album of the same name, only managed one stay in first place in April 2011. Since then, the pop icon has come close to the summit on multiple occasions and landed several top 10 hits, but none of them have managed to expand her list of champions.
Mars eclipsed Gaga’s sum long ago, and he continues to beat her in this regard. He earns his milestone tenth No. 1 on the Radio Songs ranking as “Die with a Smile” finally scores its moment in the airplay spotlight.
Between the two musicians, Mars also claims the most top 10 hits, with 20. Gaga is up to an even dozen, but with a new album on the way in about a month, she may very well add to that total again.
“Die With a Smile” is also ruling several other Billboard charts this week. Just as is the case on the Radio Songs ranking, it advances from No. 2 to the top spot on both the Hot 100 and the Billboard Global 200, though it’s not new to the throne on either of those rankings.
The same single is also performing spectacularly well on all three of Billboard’s pop radio lists. It’s steady in second place on both the Pop Airplay and Adult Pop Airplay charts, and keeps at No. 5 on the Adult Contemporary roster. Gaga and Mars have previously sent their duet to No. 1 on the former two tallies, but No. 5 remains its all-time peak on the Adult Contemporary ranking, at least for the time being.
