“Die With a Smile” Hits No. 1 After 20 Weeks on the Billboard Hot 100
Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ ballad “Die With a Smile” has officially reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Released in late August, the collaboration initially debuted at No. 3 before peaking at No. 2 for four weeks in November. The song’s climb to the summit took 20 weeks, making it the longest ascent to No. 1 since Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control,” which took 32 weeks in March 2024.
“Die With a Smile” marks Gaga’s sixth Hot 100 chart-topper and Mars’ ninth. It’s also their second No. 1 hits of the decade, following Gaga’s “Rain on Me” with Ariana Grande (2020) and Mars’ “Leave the Door Open” with Anderson .Paak as Silk Sonic (2021).
The Numbers Behind the Success
This week, “Die With a Smile” garnered 59.7 million radio airplay audience impressions, 27.1 million official streams, and 6,000 U.S. sales. The hit also helped push another Bruno Mars collaboration, “APT” with BLACKPINK’s ROSÉ, back into the top 5, climbing from No. 34 to No. 5.
Other Chart Highlights: SZA Dominates the Albums Chart
While Gaga and Mars celebrated their Hot 100 milestone, SZA continued her reign on the Billboard 200. Her deluxe reissue of SOS, titled SOS Deluxe: Lana, earned 130,000 album units this week, securing its second consecutive week at No. 1 this year and 12th overall since its original release in December 2022.
SZA’s reissue includes 15 new tracks, bringing the total to 38, and racked up 166 million streams this week. With 12 cumulative weeks at the top, SOS now holds the record for the most weeks at No. 1 for an R&B/hip-hop album by a woman since Whitney Houston’s self-titled debut in 1986.
The Billboard 200 Top 10
The post-holiday shuffle cleared Christmas albums from the charts, paving the way for Grammy-nominated projects to dominate:
- SZA – SOS Deluxe: Lana
- Kendrick Lamar – GNX (70,000 units)
- Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet (56,000 units)
- Wicked Soundtrack
- Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft
- Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department
- Chappell Roan – The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
- Morgan Wallen – One Thing at a Time
- Gracie Abrams – The Secret of Us
- Tyler, the Creator – Chromakopia
Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, and SZA continue to make waves, setting the tone for a blockbuster year in music. Keep streaming “Die With a Smile” and SOS while awaiting more chart-shaking surprises!