While Cardi B, Bad Bunny, and J Blavin claimed this week’s No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with “I Like It,” making Cardi the only female rapper to have two No. 1 entries on the chart, another femcee was making noise elsewhere on the board.
As Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande’s “The Light Is Coming” collaboration debuted at No. 95, it marked the duo’s fifth entry as a unit on the Hot 100 as it garnered 6.7 million streams in the United States.
The pair first entered together with Jessie J’s “Bang Bang” in 2014, peaking at No. 3. The following year Nicki’s Ariana-assisted “Get On Your Knees” would hit at No. 88 while Ariana’s Nicki-assisted “Side To Side” appeared at No. 43 in 2016. They’d take a break before joining each other again for Minaj’s “Bed” which previously peaked at No. 43 this year.
“The Light Is Coming” also marks Nicki Minaj’s 92nd entry on the Hot 100 chart, tying her with Kanye West and continuing to propel her as the woman with the most entries on the chart. The next in line would be Taylor Swift who trails with 77 tracks sandwiched between Ray Charles (75) and Chris Brown (90). As far as hip-hop is concerned, Nicki did have a point when she made that Big Three reference on her “Barbie Tingz” track as Drake and Lil Wayne sit consecutively atop the rankings with 164 and 138 entries, respectively.
Currently, members of the Glee Cast hold the crown with 207 entries in the Billboard Hot 100.