6 Musicians With More Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 Hits Than Elvis

Elvis Presley undoubtedly reached the absolute heights of musical fame during his prime. He was everywhere in the '50s, rocking the screen in the '60s, and has endured as a cultural icon into the modern day. Not only does everyone know his name — you can still find people who make their living pretending to be Elvis. But by the time the Billboard Hot 100 rolled out, he had some stiff competition, and his popularity wouldn't keep him at the top of the chart forever. In fact, every musical act on this list has scored more No. 1 hits on the Hot 100 than the King himself.

Elvis is sitting with a total of seven No. 1 hits on the chart, while the musicians on this list have more than 10 No. 1s each, with some going so far as to double or almost triple his count. To be fair, there are a number of factors that may have led to these artists beating Elvis on the Hot 100. Some of Elvis' most iconic songs came out during the few years separating Elvis' climb to stardom and the launch of the Hot 100 in 1958, for example. There are also nearly double the people in the United States today than there were during Elvis' peak, with more ways to access music than ever before.

So, while Elvis may be the King of Rock 'N' Roll, regardless of the cause, he isn't the king of the Hot 100. Let's see who beat him.

The Beatles are inarguably one of the most famous and best selling rock bands in all of history. It doesn't matter where on earth you live — even if that's under a rock — you've still probably heard of them. They were the absolute stars of the '60s British Invasion in the United States, and they dominated the airwaves on both sides of the pond. And, when it comes to No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, they're unbeatable.

Weighing in with a whopping 20 chart-toppers, the Beatles hold the crown for the most No. 1s on the Hot 100, and there are few others who even come close. The total weeks they were at the top adds up to more than a year — 59 weeks. Their longest lived hits are 1968's "Hey Jude," which spent 9 weeks at No. 1, and the 1964 hit "I Want To Hold Your Hand" at 7 weeks.

If that wasn't enough, the band had 15 other Top 10 singles on the Hot 100 and 19 albums take the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 album chart. Basically, they blew Elvis Presley's seven No. 1 hits on this chart out of the water.

While some people grow slightly annoyed with Mariah Carey around the winter holiday season and others love her (you know why), she comes in at a close second to the Beatles on the Billboard Hot 100. In total, the queen of pop-R&B has had 19 songs peak at No. 1, including a 1990 hit that still sounds incredible today. That's more than double what Elvis has, and it puts her one metaphorical Christmas tune away from taking the top spot herself.

For a solo artist, Carey has had a lot more songs land on the Hot 100 than you might expect. She's had 50 total, with more than half of them reaching the Top 10. Likewise, she's had 25 albums reach the Billboard 200, of which 19 made the Top 10 — including her 2025 "Here For It All" album — and 6 of those peaked at No. 1.

Carey's hit with the longest longevity on the top of the chart is — you guessed it — "All I Want For Christmas Is You" with a combined 22 weeks at No. 1 since it debuted in 2000. This is most likely because of how many radio stations flood their airtime with it around Christmas, though some might argue it has to do with the song's timelessness.

The Jacksons may have been five once upon a time, but two Jacksons clearly reached levels of fame the others couldn't follow — Michael and Janet Jackson. And both of these pop stars have individually amassed more No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 than Elvis Presley.

Between the two of them, Michael has had more Billboard 100 chart success than Janet, and while that's not surprising, the gap between them is a lot closer than you'd divine by media exposure alone. Michael is sitting with 13 chart toppers while Janet has a solid 10. Likewise, both of these Jackson siblings are three apart for total Top 10s, with Michael rocking 30 and Janet securing a close 27. There's no competition here, obviously, but there's still a chance Janet Jackson could overtake her brother in the future.

Michael also has more longevity in the top spot than Janet, totaling 37 weeks with hits like "Billie Jean" and "Black Or White" spending seven weeks each at No. 1. Janet isn't far behind at 33 total weeks at the top of the Hot 100, but she does edge out her brother by having a single song reach eight weeks of longevity — "That's The Way Love Goes" — gaining one week on the King of Pop's longest-lived No. 1 songs. Regardless, these Jackson siblings hold the highest combined top of the chart success of any two family members.

The Supremes had some of the best voices in Motown history. They were a pop-soul girl group out of Detroit, Michigan, who not only made fantastic and popular music, but also had a tangible impact on the Civil Rights Movement by helping to change how the white public perceived Black Americans. And, boy, were they popular.

The Supremes were at the height of their success throughout the '60s where they saw most of their charting singles. Elvis was still active at the time, and both acts were competing for the same spots on the Billboard Hot 100, but the Supremes won in the end. At least at the top of the chart.

They took home a total of 12 No. 1s on the Hot 100 and had 20 Top 10 hits. Now, they only beat Elvis specifically with No. 1 singles. The King had more Top 10s and significantly more total songs on the charts — with his 109 charted singles compared to the Supremes' 45 — but he didn't earn his moniker for nothing. 

Whitney Houston was one of the biggest names throughout the '80s and '90s. She spent well over a decade landing hits in the top half of the Billboard Hot 100 and had multiple top-selling albums that spanned all the way from her 1985 self-titled debut to her final studio album — "I Look To You" — in 2009. She even had a successful acting career that kicked off with the film "The Bodyguard." Given her popularity, it's not incredibly surprising that she had more No. 1 hits on this relatively newer pop chart than Elvis.

Houston has a total of 11 No. 1s on the Hot 100, which isn't lightyears away from Elvis, but it shows that her music was being played more often during these later decades than the King's. And, for a moment, her tracks were vastly more popular than anyone else on the scene given she's the only artist to have seven consecutive No. 1s on the same chart.

Would Houston — or any of the names on this list — beat Elvis for the No. 1 spot in the years before the Hot 100 came out? It's not something anyone can know for sure, but it certainly wouldn't have been easy to take on the King in his prime.