Sunday, July 12, 2026

Aretha Franklin, Almost 75, Still Has the Most Hits Ever on Billboard’s Hot 100–73

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Ah, Billboard.

The female artist with the most Hot 100 singles under her own name, and no one else’s, is the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. She’s had 73, and she’s likely to have more.

Now Billboard says that Nicki Minaj has tied that record with 73 of her own. She has not. This is fake music news. Nicki’s a lot of fun, but she’s only 29 hits with her own name. She’s been featured as a guest rapper on 44 others.

I like how Billboard says this is “due to the collaborative nature of rap.” BS. Big time. You either have the hits or ya don’t. How many Nicki Minaj songs can you name, let alone sing? Or rap? How many of Aretha’s? I rest my case.

Nicki Minaj is also a novelty act. She’s not Missy Elliott. Let’s get real. Her claim to fame is fighting with Mariah Carey on “American Idol.” And getting plastic surgery. Aretha Franklin is ranked as the number 1 popular singer of all time.

Aretha is appearing this Sunday in Poughkeepsie, New York at the famed Bardavon Opera House, and March 23rd at Mohegan Sun Casino– where she will celebrate her birthday in style.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009, where he covered Michael Jackson, and previously wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine in the mid-1990s, where he covered the O.J. Simpson trial. He also edited Fame magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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