Why Wiz Khalifa and 'See You Again' Won't Break Hot 100 Hip-Hop Record

Wiz Khalifa (and Charlie Puth) stand on the brink of history, having tied the streak for the longest period for any hip-hop song atop the Billboard Hot 100 with "See You Again," the showcase number from the Furious 7 soundtrack. Unfortunately, the likelihood that they break that record upon the release of next week's numbers.

Our first bit of logic, and the least compelling, is that history stands against Khalifa and Puth. It's not that they've tied the sole holder of the record...they've tied both holders of the record. "See You Again" joins The Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow" and Eminem's "Lose Yourself" as the third hip-hop track to reach the 12-week plateau. The honest fact is that people tend to lose interest in a single after such a long period of time...not just with hip-hop, but with any genre. Only ten songs have ever spent 13 or more weeks at no. 1 (and Mariah Carey/Boyz II Men make up 40 percent of that total).

The second problem: "See You Again" is standing on awkward footing like Indiana Jones, mere feet from a gold idol but mere inches away from stepping on a trap.

The song attained an entirely different kind of accomplishment when it placed no. 1 last week: It joined a rare few songs that managed to be the no. 1 song in the United States without topping any of the qualifying standards that add up to the Hot 100's final rankings. It dropped to no. 2 on the radio songs chart (behind Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood"), to no. 3 on the streaming charts (behind Fetty Wap's "Trap Queen" and Silento's "Watch Me") and, perhaps most relevant, Khalifa is only at no. 10 in terms of actual downloads. All three of the aforementioned competitors stand a chance at no. 1 next week, but the biggest scare has to be OMI's "Cheerleader." The hot track has risen on the charts for ten weeks since entering during early May...and there's only one place left to rise.

All that said, Khalifa and Puth shouldn't feel too bad for for freezing at 12 weeks (assuming they do). After all, the length between hip-hop songs with that kind of staying power has been about seven years on average, making "See You Again" a rare breed. If anyone should feel stupid for failing to get the record, it's the Black Eyed Peas: The only thing stopping "Boom Boom Pow" from getting a 13th week at no. 1 was "I Gotta Feeling," the group's next single, which replaced "Boom" at no. 1.

Tags

Wiz Khalifa, Charlie Puth, Black Eyed Peas, Eminem, Taylor Swift, Fetty Wap, OMI, Silento, Mariah Carey