Drakes 100th Top 40 Hit

It always felt like a matter of when this moment would happen than if, but Drake has now scored hits 100th UK Top 40 hit. In true Drake style he doesn't have just one 100th Top 40 hit but 3 of them taking his total to 102.

The last music act to reach that milestone was Cliff Richard and a lot has changed with the charts since then, most notably the fact the general public don't pay that much attention to the charts anymore.

Back in 1989 when Cliff Richard was about to release his 100th single "The Best Of Me" it was big news. It missed out on the top spot thanks to "Sealed With A Kiss" by Jason Donovan going straight in at number 1. It went straight in at number 2 though in an era where singles typically entered in the lower reaches and climbed up to their peak. Incidentally Drake also went straight in at number 2 with one of his 100th Top 40 hits.

One thing about Cliff Richards moment back in 1989 was that it wasn't actually his 100th Top 40 hit and in terms of singles that charted outside the Top 40 he'd already passed that landmark so quite what criteria made that his 100th single is a mystery. It was his 92nd Top 40 hit and he reached 100 in 1991. 

The only other music act to reach that milestone is Elvis Presley who reached it in 1980, 3 years after his death. He reached 102 Top 40 hits in 1983 but then a gap of 12 years followed until his 104th followed by a 7 year gap until his 105th.

The midweek chart update indicates Drake may reach 103 Top 40 hits on Friday which depends on any change to the Top 3 of his own songs because of the 3 song rule. Had that rule not existed he would of likely passed that landmark a long time ago and other artists may have joined him in reaching it.

Another notable change is the fact that the casual listener could name a handful of Elvis and Cliff hits but they'd struggle with Drake. I'd struggle myself, I can tell you the one he topped the charts for 15 weeks with is "One Dance" and whilst I have heard it I couldn't hum it to you.

The question is has Drake got enough in the tank to overtake Elvis and Cliff for most Top 40 hits?

He's not quite 40 yet so younger than Elvis was when he died and over a decade younger than Cliff was when he reached this milestone. He has youth on his side but there's still some way to go and I'm certain the hits will dry up one day.