Beyoncé and Olivia Rodrigo behind the scenes at The 66th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 4, 2024. Francis Specker/CBS via Getty Images
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Being crazy in love, even if you seem pretty sad about it, is a good recipe for rare Billboard chart success.
As previously reported, Olivia Rodrigo’s you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love blasts in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (dated June 27) with a personal-best 485,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States in its first week (June 12-18), according to Luminate. In early May, its lead single, “Drop Dead,” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first of four top 10s from the set.
The album and song have made Rodrigo three-for-three in beginning her career with studio albums that have topped the Billboard 200 and yielded at least one Hot 100 leader apiece. Here’s a recap:
- Billboard 200 No. 1: Sour / Hot 100 No. 1s: “Drivers License,” “Good 4 U,” 2021
- Billboard 200 No. 1: Guts / Hot 100 No. 1: “Vampire,” 2023
- Billboard 200 No. 1: you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love / Hot 100 No. 1: “Drop Dead,” 2026
Since the Billboard 200 began as weekly chart in 1956 and the Hot 100 launched in 1958, just one other artist has released three initial studio albums that have led the Billboard 200, each containing at least one Hot 100 topper: Beyoncé, who parlayed her success in Destiny’s Child to solo superstardom. Here’s a rundown of her first three studio LPs and their singles triumphs:
- Billboard 200 No. 1: Dangerously in Love / Hot 100 No. 1s: “Crazy in Love” (feat. Jay-Z), “Baby Boy” (feat. Sean Paul), 2003
- Billboard 200 No. 1: B-Day / Hot 100 No. 1: “Irreplaceable,” 2006-07
- Billboard 200 No. 1: I Am…Sasha Fierce / Hot 100 No. 1: “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” 2008-09
Beyond Beyoncé and Rodrigo, other high-profile names came close to the achievement, including The Beatles and Mariah Carey. The Beatles’ first (fab) four U.S. albums each yielded one or more Hot 100 No. 1s, while three of them (mop) topped the Billboard 200. Only Introducing…The Beatles missed, peaking at No. 2 for nine weeks — all below Meet the Beatles!, which reigned for 11 weeks. The band ran up those totals over a span of just six months in 1964.
Carey, meanwhile, scored at least one Hot 100 No. 1 from each of her first six (non-seasonal) studio albums in 1990-99, though of them, four hit No. 1; her second, Emotions, and sixth, Rainbow, peaked at Nos. 4 and 2, respectively.
Acts including The Monkees, Lionel Richie, Whitney Houston, Alicia Keys and Harry Styles also fell just shy of opening with three Billboard 200-leading albums each with Hot 100 No. 1s.
Plus, other stars have linked streaks of three or more Billboard 200 No. 1 studio sets that each spun off Hot 100 leaders, just not from the start of their careers, including Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Drake, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift.
