Entertainment

Drake lords it over the music charts

SOUNDS FAMILIAR - Baby A. Gil - The Philippine Star

July 29, 2016 | 12:00am

Canadian singer, songwriter, actor and hip-hop star Drake just marked another milestone. This is the 11th week stay at No. 1 in the Hot 100 Chart of Billboard Music Magazine of his made for grooving single One Dance featuring Wizkid and Kyla. This means that Drake has now joined that very exclusive club of long-staying-at- the-top artists. One Dance is also No. 1 in the Radio Chart.

At the same time, Views, the album that features One Dance, continues to lord it over the Top 200 Albums aside from being No. 1 in the R&B Hip-Hop Chart. Not only that, Views is one of only three albums that have already sold a million copies this year. Only three? You ask? Yes. Times are really bad for physical CDs. These lucky albums are 21 by Adele, Lemonade by Beyoncé and Views by Drake. Streaming is also very good for Views, 250 million in less than a week and still counting.

Drake is feeling the pride and wants to share it with Canada. See him perched on the top of the CN Tower in his hometown Toronto on the cover. The Canadian serenity in the album must be the reason why his swagger is smooth. His rapping indulgent. He is just out to tell his stories. He is not out to shatter cultural mores or to take on the system. If the listener finds something to relate to in his music, in his poetry, that is fine. If you feel like dancing to his tunes, that is fine, too. The entire album plays like a guy just venting his feelings in whispery tones and it turned out that a lot of people like the way he does it.

Views by Drake includes the following tracks. Keep The Family Close; 9; U With Me; Feel No Ways; Hype; Weston Road Flows; Redemption; With You featuring PartyNextDoor; Faithful feat. Pimp C and dvsn; Still Here; Controlla; One Dance feat. Wizkid and Kyla; Grammys feat. Future; Child’s Play; Pop Style; Too Good feat. Rihanna; Summer’s Over Interlude; Fire & Desire; Views; and Hotline Bling as a bonus track.

And now for a closer look at that Hot 100 fraternity, here are the members. As per Billboard Magazine’s Hot 100 tabulation that dates back to Aug. 4, 1958, these are the singles that remained in the No. 1 spot for 10 weeks or more. Would you believe there are only 22 songs by 27 artists that made the grade in over 50 years? His One Dance is at present under threat from Sia’s latest release, Cheap Thrills, but no matter what happens, Drake is now part of one illustrious company. Here they are, weeks at No. 1, artist and the date the song reached No. 1.

16, One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men, Dec. 2, 1995.

14, Uptown Funk! by Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars, Jan. 17, 2015.

14, I Gotta Feeling by The Black Eyed Peas, Jul. 11, 2009.

14, We Belong Together by Mariah Carey, June 4, 2005.

14, Candle In The Wind 1997 backed with Something About The Way You Look Tonight by Elton John, Oct. 11, 1997.

14, Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix) by Los Del Rio, Aug. 3, 1996.

14, I’ll Make Love To You by Boyz II Men, Aug. 27, 1994.

14, I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston, Nov. 28, 1992.

13, The Boy Is Mine by Brandy & Monica, June 6, 1998.

13, End Of The Road by Boyz II Men, Aug. 15, 1992.

12, See You Again by Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth, April 25, 2015.

12, Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke feat. T.I. + Pharrell, June 22, 2013.