Editorial – Following Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s historic No. 1 debut on the Billboard Hot 100, the duo’s NSFW “WAP” single continues to break some of the biggest music industry records of 2020.
The mega-hit has already been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and broken streaming records on multiple platforms — doing so amid criticism from everyone from Ceelo Green to Tiger King star Carole Baskin.
In an effort to keep up with the precedent Bardi and Meg have set, HipHopDX took a moment to lay out all of the milestones “WAP” has reached so far.
Cardi B Explains Why She Put Kylie Jenner In Her ‘WAP’ Video With Megan Thee Stallion
First Female Rap Collaboration To Debut At No. 1 On Billboard Hot 100
The No. 1 debut for “WAP” is intensified by the sheer dominance of the appearance for both rappers. In one week, the single topped both the Hot Rap Songs chart and the R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart and also drew in 11.6 million radio audience impressions, according to a report from Billboard. The record makes the ninth song of all-female collaborations to reach the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.
First Female Rap Artist With Multiple Hot 100 No. 1 Hits In Multiple Decades
“WAP” elevated Cardi B as the only female rap artist to hold the top spot on the chart in two different decades. Female artists in R&B, urban and other popular music genres like Rihanna, Madonna, and Mariah Carey are among the elite category women to have achieved No. 1 hits in multiple decades (with Carey leading the way with four-decades of appearances).
Extends Record For Most No. 1. Records By A Female Rapper
Cardi B broke her own record when “WAP” secured her fourth No. 1 appearance on the Hot 100. It’s also her second No. 1 as the lead artist, following her 2017 No. 1 “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves).”
Highest First Week Audio Streams In 2020
“WAP” beat out Roddy Ricch’s “The Box” 77.2 million for the largest weekly streams in 2020. As it result, the record topped both the Streaming Songs and Digital Sales charts with a monstrous 93 million first-week streams and 125,000 downloads. It also serves as the second-largest first-week streaming single for a female artist of all time. To put the single’s success into perspective, “WAP” delivered the 18th highest first-week streaming sum of all-time. The other 17 spots are held by five singles which are led by Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” with the 143 million streams it posted in April 2019.
20 Rap Songs Just As Filthy As Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion’s ‘WAP’
Generated The Highest Streaming Week For A Female Rap Artist
Cardi beat both Ariana Grande and Mariah Carey in this category with the 93 million first-week streams of “WAP.” Grande previously held the record with the 85.3 million streams her 2018 single “Thank You Next” garnered. The single also serves as the third-highest audio streaming week for a Hip Hop artist in 2020.
Biggest All-Female Collaboration YouTube Debut
With 26 million views in it is first day, “WAP” broke the record for the biggest 24-hour debut for an all-female collaboration on YouTube. As of press time, “WAP” clocks in at more than 127 million YouTube views and sat at the No. 1 spot on YouTube’s Top Music Videos charts for two weeks.
Extends Record For Female Artist With The Most Apple Music No. 1 Hits
While “WAP” gives Cardi B her 7th Apple Music No. 1 hit, it also notches its place as the fastest No. 1 chart appearance on Apple Music by any female artist. The single topped Spotify’s U.S. charts with 2.340 million in opening day streams and appeared at No. 1 on U.S. iTunes charts, according to Headline Planet.
Revisit the video for “WAP” below.