The Weeknd grabs sole possession of the third most No. 1s on Billboard’s Rhythmic Airplay chart as his current single, “Cry for Me,” reigns on the list dated April 26. As the new champ climbs from No. 3, The Weeknd claims his 15th Rhythmic Airplay leader, breaking from his tie with Chris Brown. He now trails only two artists for the most No. 1s in the chart’s 32-year history: Drake with 39 and Rihanna at 17.
The “Cry for Me” coronation cements its status as the most played song on U.S. panel-contributing rhythmic radio stations in the tracking week of April 11-17, according to Luminate. It remained essentially even in week-over-week plays, helping it win a tight race over SZA’s “BMF,” which climbs 3-2 amid a 3% gain in plays. “Cry for Me” replaces Doechii’s “Denial Is a River” at the Rhythmic Airplay summit, with the latter caving 1-7 after a 20% loss in weekly plays.
As noted, “Cry for Me” secures The Weeknd’s 15th No. 1 on Rhythmic Airplay. Here’s a review of his chart-topping collection on the radio ranking:
- “Love Me Harder,” with Ariana Grande; five weeks at No. 1, beginning Jan. 3, 2015
- “Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey),” three, May 2, 2015
- “Can’t Feel My Face,” five, Aug. 1, 2015
- “The Hills,” five, Sept. 19, 2015
- “In the Night,” one, Feb. 13, 2016
- “Might Not,” Belly feat. The Weeknd; three, April 30, 2016
- “Starboy,” feat. Daft Punk; six, Nov. 5, 2016
- “Party Monster,” one, April 1, 2017
- “Pray for Me,” with Kendrick Lamar; two, April 14, 2018
- “Heartless,” one, Feb. 8, 2020
- “You Right,” with Doja Cat; four, Aug. 28, 2021
- “One Right Now,” with Post Malone, one, Feb. 12, 2022
- “Creepin,” with Metro Boomin and 21 Savage, three, Feb. 11, 2023
- “Timeless,” with Playboi Carti, four, Nov. 23, 2024
- “Cry for Me,” one (to date), April 26, 2025
Notably, as “Timeless” and “Cry for Me” are both from The Weeknd’s Hurry Up Tomorrow album, the set is the singer’s first to produce multiple Rhythmic Airplay No. 1s since Starboy sent its title track and “Party Monster” to the top in 2016-17.
Elsewhere, “Cry for Me” bounds 12-7 on the Pop Airplay chart to become The Weeknd’s 18th top 10 hit at the format after a 13% surge in plays, but slides 19-24 on the Adult Pop Airplay list, after having reached No. 15, as it dropped 28% in plays. Still, with the base of mainstream pop and rhythmic support, “Cry for Me” pushes 16-13 on the all-genre Radio Songs chart. There, it improved to 34.6 million in total audience impressions in the tracking week, up 9% from the prior week’s total of 31.6 million in listenership.
