3 Pop Songs From the 2010s That Broke Major Billboard Records

In the 2010s, pop music continued to dominate, and hip hop resurged. Streaming music became much more accessible with the popularization of platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. It was easier to track streaming, and charts blew up. Here are the No. 1 songs of the 2010s that broke Billboard records at the time of their release.

“TiK ToK” by Ke$ha

Ke$ha, whose legal name is Kesha Rose Sebert, came into the 2010s with a bang at the tail end of the 2000s. Her hit solo single “TiK ToK” was the first song to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2010, where it remained for nine weeks.

Despite the song’s major success, Ke$ha had doubts about “TiK ToK,” thinking that the song was dumb. “When I was writing ‘TiK ToK,’ it was weird, because the dumber it got, the better it got,” she told Billboard. “Which was confusing, because I like to think of myself as a fairly intelligent human being. But it just got dumber and dumber and better and better.”

But luckily, Ke$ha’s fans did not agree with her opinion on the song. To this day, the song is still an early 2000s staple.

“Grenade” by Bruno Mars

In 2011, Bruno Mars‘ “Grenade” was battling Katy Perry’s “Firework” for No.1 on the Billboard charts. But ultimately, “Grenade” came out on top, spending four weeks as the No. 1.

“Grenade” is the second single from Mars’ debut album Doo-Wops & Hooligans. At the time, it sounded drastically different from anything else on the radio. In a time period full of dub beats and electronic hooks, Mars built “Grenade” around heavy piano chords and a pleading voice. 

The song lasted 4 weeks on the charts. Mars continued to have several other No. 1 hits in the 2010s, including “Locked Out Of Heaven,” “Just the Way You Are,” and “Uptown Funk.”

“Sorry” by Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber‘s “Sorry” was not only one of the No. 1 songs of the 2010s. It also had the classic mid-2010’s post-EDM sound down. The song defined his remade image and cemented Bieber’s new “tropical house” sound as a dance-floor fixture. “Sorry” is rumored to be about the infamous and widely talked about breakup between him and Selena Gomez. Spending three consecutive weeks as No. 1, this was Bieber’s second time at the top of the Billboard 100.