What do Iggy Azalea and The Beatles have in common? Not too much. They both share an impressive charts record however: They are the only two acts to occupy both the no. 1 and no. 2 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time.
Azalea joined the ranks of the greatest band in history last week when her track "Fancy" reached the top spot on the chart, followed by "Problem," a single from Ariana Grande that features Azalea doing a guest verse. The Beatles was the first group to accomplish the feat when its tracks "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You" took the top spots during February of 1964, just more than 50 years before Azalea matched the accomplishment.
Obviously music purists everywhere are going to point out a few reasons why Azalea's claim to fame should be watered down. She only appears as a guest on Grande's track, whereas The Beatles were the main performer on both of their tracks. And, although impossible to predict at this point, our children will probably not recognize the lyrics to "Fancy" as well as we know "She Loves You." However, in Azalea's defense, despite the rise of Top 40 radio, it's much tougher to rise to the top of the charts today as a performer on her first album than it was for The Beatles, who had released two hit albums by the time "I Want To Hold Your Hand" debuted on the radio. Plus, a lot of big acts have come and gone in the last 50 years. We're not saying Iggy Azalea is better than Michael Jackson or anything...but she does have the record.
