Miley Cyrus Sets New Billboard Record with ‘Flowers’
Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” now holds the record for the longest-charting single by a female artist to debut at #1 in Billboard Hot 100 history.
2024 has been off to an excellent start for Cyrus. The singer won Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 66 Annual Grammy Awards for “Flowers” off her eighth studio album, Endless Summer Vacation, released on March 10, 2023. Her first live performance of the smash-hit single was widely lauded as one of the night’s best performances, appearing on numerous “Best 2024 Grammy Performances” lists, such as Billboard and Cosmopolitan.
Now, Cyrus can add another marker of success to her extensive list. “Flowers” is now the longest-charting #1 debut by a female artist in Billboard Hot 100 history. The song has been present on the chart for 54 non-consecutive weeks. Taylor Swift previously held the record with her single “Anti-Hero,” which charted for 53 weeks.
“Flowers” by Miley Cyrus is now the longest-charting #1 debut by a female artist in Hot 100 history (54 weeks). pic.twitter.com/H8JkpNZXiN
— Buzzing Pop (@BuzzingPop) March 5, 2024
Cyrus also joins a list of fellow female artists with the longest-charting solo songs. Adele’s 8x platinum single, “Rolling in the Deep,” charted for 65 weeks upon its release in 2010. “Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood spent 64 weeks on the chart, peaking at #8. Sza’s “Snooze,” which won Best R&B Song at the 66 Annual Grammy Awards, was the only song to chart all of 2023. Its continued success has set it for a current standing of 63 weeks. Finally, “Lights” by Ellie Goulding charted for 57 weeks and more recently had a resurgence in popularity in 2022 from TikTok and Instagram usage.
Despite the success of “Flowers,” Cyrus has not hesitated to release new music. On March 1, the songstress reunited with frequent collaborator Pharrell Williams on their new single “Doctor (Work It Out).” Willams produced four songs on Cyrus’ fourth studio album, Bangerz, released in 2013, and she provided backing vocals on his single, “Come Get It Bae,” a year later. “Doctor (Work It Out)” was written for Bangerz but did not make the standard or deluxe tracklist.
In an Apple Music, New Music Daily interview with Zane Lowe, Cyrus explained why the pair believed now was the perfect time for the song to be released:
“We just believe so much in timing and in everything happening when it’s supposed to. And around the Grammys, Pharrell and I were talking about putting the song out, and it just felt like it was so serendipitous, and there were so many alignments and so many moments that made me know that now was the perfect time. And then sometimes things in our past make more sense in our present than they ever did then. And so this song, I think the nature, the celebration, the feeling, especially with the video, the joy, the dancing, the letting go, it’s what this song really always needed.”
Both “Flowers” and “Doctor (Work It Out)” are available on all streaming services.
Isaiah is an entertainment writer for Glitter Magazine with a focus on music and film stories. He enjoys the aforementioned topics as well as performing, yoga, and fashion.
