More than 18 years after its release, Rihanna’s “Breakin’ Dishes” is a Billboard Hot 100 hit for the first time.
The song, from Rihanna’s third album, 2007’s Good Girl Gone Bad, debuts on the Sept. 27-dated Hot 100 at No. 86, driven primarily by 5.8 million official U.S. streams, up 8% week-over-week, Sept. 12-18, according to Luminate.
What sparked the cut’s Hot 100 start nearly two full decades after listeners were introduced to it?
The song is the latest classic track to reach the Hot 100 years after its release. Another is at No. 100: Radiohead’s “Let Down,” originally from 1997. As recently chronicled, older songs are eligible to appear on the Hot 100 and genre-focused offshoot charts that also blend streaming, radio airplay and sales data if experiencing significant growth.
“Breakin’ Dishes,” which hit No. 4 on the Dance Club Play Songs chart in 2008, has gained placement on prominent playlists on DSPs including Amazon, Apple and Spotify in recent weeks, while Rihanna’s catalog was recently added to TikTok. Notably, SiriusXM’s TikTok Radio (which reports to Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart) is now spinning the song in all dayparts.
The song also spends its 13th week on the Billboard Global 200, dating to its first frame in January. After ranking between Nos. 144 and 200 through March, it reentered the Aug. 30 chart at No. 152 and in the past three weeks has jumped 76-68-45. Plus, it opens at No. 7 on Hot Dance/Pop Songs.
“Breakin’ Dishes” bows as Rihanna’s 64th Hot 100 hit. Exactly half have hit the top 10, with 14 reaching No. 1. She first made the list more than 20 years ago, when “Pon De Replay” debuted on the June 11, 2005-dated chart. That track introduced her debut album, Music of the Sun, released Aug. 29, 2005.
“Breakin’ Dishes” becomes the ninth Hot 100 entry from Good Girl Gone Bad, including its 2007 original version and its 2008 Reloaded expanded reissue. Lead single “Umbrella,” featuring Jay-Z, reigned (rained?) for seven weeks, followed by “Shut Up and Drive” (No. 15); “Hate That I Love You,” featuring Ne-Yo (No. 7); “Don’t Stop the Music” (No. 3); “Take a Bow” (No. 1, one week); Maroon 5’s “If I Never See Your Face Again,” featuring Rihanna (No. 51); “Disturbia” (No. 1, two weeks); and “Rehab” (No. 18).
Good Girl Gone Bad debuted at its No. 2 Billboard 200 peak (June 23, 2007) and adds its 201st week on the latest chart. It rises 104-92, marking its first rank in the survey’s top half in more than two-and-a-half years, up 3% to 12,000 equivalent album units. The set has earned 8.6 million units to date.
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