thumb|150px|R&B singer [[Usher (entertainer)|Usher broke Billboard records with four number-one singles for 28 weeks on the top spot in a calendar year.|alt=A young black man in a black-and-white checked suit, waistcoat and tie, with his left hand in his trouser pocket and his right hand raised.]]
The Billboard Hot 100 is a chart that ranks the best-performing singles of the United States. Published by Billboard magazine, the data are compiled by Nielsen SoundScan based collectively on each single's weekly physical sales and airplay. In 2004, there were 11 singles that topped the chart. Although there were 12 singles that claimed the top spot in the 52 issues of the chart, hip hop duo Outkast's "Hey Ya!" began its peak position in 2003, and is thus excluded.
In 2004, 13 acts achieved their first U.S. number-one single, either as a lead artist or featured guest, including Sleepy Brown, Twista, Kanye West, Jamie Foxx, Lil Jon, Fantasia Barrino, Juvenile, Soulja Slim, Terror Squad, Ciara, Petey Pablo, Snoop Dogg, and Pharrell. Barrino and Ciara were the only acts to have earned a number-one debut single this year. R&B singer Usher had four number-one singles that appeared in the 2004 issues, and Outkast had two. Soulja Slim became the sixth artist to have a number one song posthumously, after his death in November 2003. During the year, seven collaboration singles reached the number-one position, tying the record set in 2003.
Usher's "Yeah!" is the longest-running number-one single of 2004, remaining in that position for 12 straight weeks. It is followed by his other single "Burn", whose streak on the top spot reached eight non-consecutive weeks. Other singles with extended chart runs include Ciara's "Goodies", which features Petey Pablo, and Usher's "My Boo", a duet with Alicia Keys, each topping the chart for seven and six weeks, respectively.
Usher is the most successful act of 2004. He had four singles that topped the Billboard Hot 100: "Yeah!, "Burn", "Confessions Part II", and "My Boo"; he is the only act in 2004 to have earned multiple number-one singles. Overall, Usher had 28 weeks on top in a calendar year, becoming the first act to have achieved such an extended chart run on the Billboard Hot 100. The feat broke the record set by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra in 1940; their records spent 26 consecutive weeks at the top spot of Record Buying Guide, a jukebox chart Billboard magazine published in the late 1930s and early 1940s. "Yeah!" is the best-performing single of the calendar year, having topped the Top Hot 100 Hits of 2004.
Following periods of fluctuating success, urban music attained commercial dominance during the early 2000s, which featured massive crossover success on the Billboard charts by R&B and hip hop artists.
Chart history
thumb|150px|Singer [[Ciara's first number-one single, "Goodies", topped the chart for seven consecutive weeks.|alt=A young black woman in a dark leather jacket, smiling, with large, circular earrings.]]
thumb|150px|Hip hop duo [[Outkast's number-one single "Hey Ya!", self-replaced the top spot with their "The Way You Move".|alt=Two members of a musical group, on-stage. The nearest is wearing blue trousers and a gray jacket, while the farthest is wearing shorts, a short-sleeved shirt and a hat.]]
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%;"
|+Key
|style="background-color:#FFFFBB"|
|Indicates best-performing single of 2004
|}
{|class="wikitable"
! width=31|
!align="center"|Issue date
!align="center"|Song
!align="center"|Artist(s)
!align="center"|
|-
| bgcolor=#EDEAE0 align=center rowspan=6|899
|align="left"|January 3
|align="center" rowspan="6"|"Hey Ya!"
|align="center" rowspan="6"|OutKast
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|January 10
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|January 17
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|January 24
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|January 31
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|February 7
|align="center"|
|-
| bgcolor=#EDEAE0 align=center|900
|align="left"|February 14
|align="center"|"The Way You Move"
|align="center"|OutKast featuring Sleepy Brown
|align="center"|
|-
| bgcolor=#EDEAE0 align=center|901
|align="left"|February 21
|align="center"|"Slow Jamz"
|align="center"|Twista featuring Kanye West and Jamie Foxx
|align="center"|
|-
| bgcolor=#EDEAE0 align=center rowspan=12|902
|align="left"|February 28
|bgcolor=#FFFF99 align="center" rowspan="12"|"Yeah!"
|align="center" rowspan="12"|Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|March 6
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|March 13
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|March 20
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|March 27
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|April 3
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|April 10
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|April 17
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|April 24
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|May 1
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|May 8
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|May 15
|align="center"|
|-
| bgcolor=#EDEAE0 align=center rowspan=7|903
|align="left"|May 22
|align="center" rowspan="7"|"Burn"
|align="center" rowspan="7"|Usher
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|May 29
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|June 5
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|June 12
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|June 19
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|June 26
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|July 3
|align="center"|
|-
| bgcolor=#EDEAE0 align=center|904
|align="left"|July 10
|align="center"|"I Believe"
|align="center"|Fantasia
|align="center"|
|-
| bgcolor=#EDEAE0 align=center|re
|align="left"|July 17
|align="center"|"Burn"
|align="center" rowspan="3"|Usher
|align="center"|
|-
| bgcolor=#EDEAE0 align=center rowspan=2|905
|align="left"|July 24
|align="center" rowspan="2"|"Confessions Part II"
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|July 31
|align="center"|
|-
| bgcolor=#EDEAE0 align=center rowspan=2|906
|align="left"|August 7
|align="center" rowspan="2"|"Slow Motion"
|align="center" rowspan="2"|Juvenile featuring Soulja Slim
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|August 14
|align="center"|
|-
| bgcolor=#EDEAE0 align=center rowspan=3|907
|align="left"|August 21
|align="center" rowspan="3"|"Lean Back"
|align="center" rowspan="3"|Terror Squad
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|August 28
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|September 4
|align="center"|
|-
| bgcolor=#EDEAE0 align=center rowspan=7|908
|align="left"|September 11
|align="center" rowspan="7"|"Goodies"
|align="center" rowspan="7"|Ciara featuring Petey Pablo
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|September 18
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|September 25
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|October 2
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|October 9
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|October 16
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|October 23
|align="center"|
|-
| bgcolor=#EDEAE0 align=center rowspan=6|909
|align="left"|October 30
|align="center" rowspan="6"|"My Boo"
|align="center" rowspan="6"|Usher and Alicia Keys
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|November 6
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|November 13
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|November 20
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|November 27
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|December 4
|align="center"|
|-
| bgcolor=#EDEAE0 align=center rowspan=3|910
|align="left"|December 11
|align="center" rowspan="3"|"Drop It Like It's Hot"
|align="center" rowspan="3"|Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|December 18
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|December 25
|align="center"|
|}
Number-one artists
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of number-one artists by total weeks at number one
! Position
! Artist
! Weeks at No. 1
|-
| 1
| Usher
| 28
|-
| rowspan=2| 2
| Lil Jon
| rowspan=2| 12
|-
| Ludacris
|-
| rowspan=3| 4
| OutKast
| rowspan=3| 7
|-
| Ciara
|-
| Petey Pablo
|-
| 7
| Alicia Keys
| 6
|-
| rowspan=3| 8
| Terror Squad
| rowspan=3| 3
|-
| Snoop Dogg
|-
| Pharrell
|-
| rowspan=2| 11
| Juvenile
| rowspan=2| 2
|-
| Soulja Slim
|-
| rowspan=5| 13
| Sleepy Brown
| rowspan=5| 1
|-
| Twista
|-
| Kanye West
|-
| Jamie Foxx
|-
| Fantasia
|}
See also
- 2004 in music
- Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2004
- List of Billboard number-one singles
- List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of the 2000s
References
Additional sources
- Fred Bronson's Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, 5th Edition ()
- Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2008, 12 Edition ()
- Joel Whitburn Presents the Billboard Hot 100 Charts: The 2000s ()
- Additional information obtained can be verified within Billboard's online archive services and print editions of the magazine.