Kelly Clarkson set the current record for the largest one-week jump on the Hot 100 to no. 1 with her single "My Life Would Suck Without You." The record has changed hands only seven times over the last 50 years, including The Beatles, Britney Spears and T.I. Check out how it has played out (and why) below. All of them dominate 2014's biggest jump (Taylor Swift's "Blank Space" moving from no. 14 up to the top).
07) "Can't Buy Me Love" by The Beatles (27-to-1, April 1964)
The earliest anyone over at Billboard indicated a record-breaking jump to no. 1 on the Hot 100 was when The Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love" leapt 26 places and took no. 1. This occurred at the height of of Beatlemania in the United States, just prior to the band actually visiting. The song was part of a slew of records that (unlike this one) currently stand: When it took no. 1, it was the third consecutive separate song from the band to top the charts (no other act has done so since). It was one of seven singles to go to no. 1 for the band during 1964, also still a record. The most impressive was that spots nos. 2-5 were also occupied by Beatles tracks, a radio monopoly unlike any we're likely to ever see again.
06) "A Moment Like This" by Kelly Clarkson (52-to-1, October 2002)
American Idol took America by storm during 2002, so much so that The Beatles finally coughed up its record—which had stood for nearly 40 years by that point—to competition winner Kelly Clarkson (obviously she wouldn't hold nearly as long as they did). The track debuted at no. 53, which seemed rather disappointing considering that Will Young, the winner of Britain's Pop Idol, had become the fastest debut artist ever in the UK by selling 1.2 million copies of his single "Anything Is Possible." Clarkson came hard during Week 2 however, adding another 25 spots between herself and The Beatles. She would hold the record for nearly five years.
05) "Makes Me Wonder" by Maroon 5 (64-to-1, May 2007)
It's tough to tell why there was such a stutter-step for Maroon 5 when "Makes Me Wonder" dropped during 2007. The band had a smash with Songs About Jane when it was released during 2002, so you would imagine listeners would be crazy to hear the first single off of the band's first album in five years. Eventually someone figured something out and a rash of Adult Top 40 play pushed the song from its no. 64 debut up to no. 1 by the next week. This also marked the band's first no. 1, a feat Maroon 5 has only accomplished twice since then.
04) "Whatever You Like" by T.I. (71-to-1, September 2008)
The year 2008 was two things: a huge year for breaking the record for largest jumps to no. 1, and also a huge year for T.I. His first jump to the top of the charts came with "Whatever You Like," which took three weeks to get warmed up. It debuted at no. 99, moved a fairly impressive 28 spots to no. 71 during week 2 and then blew listeners out of the water when it made the 70 spot jump to no. 1. The key was that the song didn't become available for download until the third week in circulation, which launched it to no. 1 on both the Hot 100 and the Download charts. He would hold the record for less than a month before he was replaced by...
03) "Live Your Life" by T.I. feat. Rihanna (80-to-1, October 2008)
Not content to simply hold the record, he pushed it even further by having his next single "Live Your Life" jump from no. 80 to no. 1 during October, no doubt thanks in part to the contributions of Rihanna, a proven single-maker. He took the no. 1 spot on the Hot 100 from himself (although it should be noted P!nk's "So What" interrupted the reign of "Whatever You Like" for one week before his first single came back to the top). The bad news is that although T.I. broke the record twice, the total time he managed to hold the record was a mere seven weeks.
02) "Womanizer" by Britney Spears (96-to-1, October 2008)
Although T.I. set the record for longest jump to no. 1 again with "Live Your Life," by the end of the month he wouldn't even have the record for highest jump to no. 1 during the month of October, 2008. It's interesting to note than prior to "Womanizer," Britney Spears hadn't had a no. 1 single since "Baby One More Time." Although she only waited 13 months between the releases of Blackout and Circus, plenty happened in the downtime, including the messiest moments of Spears' well-publicized personal life. Despite how much the public enjoyed reading tabloid fodder about the performer (including the infamous head-shaving), they were just as eager to hear how she bounced back.
01) "My Life Would Suck Without You" by Kelly Clarkson (97-to-1, January 2009)
Obviously Clarkson held a deep-seeded hatred of Maroon 5 deep inside her for years because they stole her record several years before, but finally she found closure with the no. 97 to no. 1 jump that her single "My Life Would Suck Without You" underwent during 2009. Oddly, there's not much evidence as to why this track made the jump. Obviously it's a great song, but plenty of great songs have graced the Hot 100 over the years. Therefore we can only conclude that "My Life" was pushed to the fore by Clarkson's iron will alone. Regardless of cause, there's finally some calm on that front, as the track has held the record for six years as of the date of publication.
