Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s hit single “Luther” continues its historic run atop the Billboard Hot 100, claiming the No. 1 spot for a 12th consecutive week. With this milestone, the song now stands alone as the longest-leading duet between co-billed male and female solo artists in the chart’s history, which dates back to 1958. It surpasses the previous record of 11 weeks set by Puff Daddy and Faith Evans’ “I’ll Be Missing You” in 1997.
“Luther” also becomes the longest-reigning R&B/hip-hop No. 1 of the 2020s on the Hot 100, overtaking Roddy Ricch’s “The Box,” which held the position for 11 weeks in 2020. The track, a tribute to the late Luther Vandross who is sampled on the song, marks Lamar’s sixth Hot 100 chart-topper and SZA’s third. It is also the longest-running No. 1 for both artists in their respective careers.
During the tracking week of May 2–8, “Luther” pulled in 65.4 million radio airplay impressions, 19.1 million official U.S. streams, and 2,000 sales, despite slight week-over-week declines across all metrics.
On additional charts, “Luther” notched its sixth week atop the Radio Songs chart and climbed back to No. 2 on Streaming Songs after previously spending seven weeks at the summit. It also celebrated a 20th week at No. 1 on both the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs rankings.
That 20-week reign ties Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus for the third-longest run on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart and the second-longest on the Rap Songs chart. Only Lamar’s “Not Like Us” and SZA’s “Kill Bill” have spent more time at the top on the former, while “Not Like Us” leads the latter with 26 weeks.
With “Luther,” Kendrick Lamar and SZA have cemented their place in chart history, blending artistry and commercial appeal in a track that honors the past while dominating the present.