HOLLYWOOD—Well, leave it to Drake to break the record. He has broken the record for the most top 10 singles in the history of the US Billboard Chart, overtaking the previous record-holder Madonna. The Canadian rapper and singer scored his 39th and 40th top 10 hits on this week’s countdown, as the vocalist on DJ Khaled’s singles Popstar and Greece.

Popstar has 28.4 million and Greece has 22.1 million U.S streams for the week ending July 23, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. Drake has tallied seven top 10s in 2020, starting with his feature on Future’s “Life is Good.”

Madonna had held the record since 2008, after surpassing The Beatles. The Beatles had hits such as the 1962’s “Love Me Do” and 1955’s “Free As A Bird,” which featured recovered vocals from the late John Lennon. Madonna tied the Beatles record with “Don’t Tell Me,” her 34th top 10, in February 2001; and overtook them with the Bond theme “Die Another Day” the following year. Back in 2012, with “Give Me All Your Luvin,” which she performed at the Super Bowl half-time concert. She still holds the record for the most top 10 singles as a lead artist. She’s credited as the main performer on all 38 of her appearances in the top 10.

Drake has his top 10 singles, he also holds the record for the most entries on the Hot 100 chart and top 40 hits. Let’s face it, making it big to me means you have like Drake over 59,526,065 monthly listeners. That’s big! That makes you number one in my book. It also means that when a hugely popular artist like Ariana Grande or Ed Sheeran release an album, they’re all but guaranteed multiple entries on the Hot 100 the following week.

Breaking it down, all but one of the 20 tracks on Drake’s album “Views” made the Hot 100 in 2016, with the singles “One/dance” and “Hotline Bling” leading the charge. One of Drake’s frequent collaborators Nicki Minaj, has achieved similar success thanks to a combination of hit singles and guest spots.  Nicki holds the record for the most entries on the Hot 100 by a female artist and has appeared on 19 top 10 hits. No surprise, that the duet with Drake, “Make Me Proud” reached number nine in October 2011.

While these artists are making the Top 100, artists like Mick Jagger, Lorde, Sia and Blondie are among artists that are seeking permission from politicians to play their songs at rallies. They’re among more than 50 acts who have signed an open letter calling for new rules on how their music is used. The letters calls on all politicians to seek consent from songwriters and artists. Campaign music has been a heated topic throughout the 2016 and 2020 elections. Artists including Rihanna, Adele, The Rolling Stones, Panic! At The Disco and the estate of Prince have asked President Trump to stop using their music at his rallies, with some threatening legal action.

Basically, US copyright laws give politicians carte blanche to use recorded music at their rallies as long as the venue has a public performance license issued through a songwriter’s association such as ASCAP or BMI. However, some artists found a loophole to complain if their image and reputation is being damaged by the repeated use of a song without their express permission.

In the letter organized by the Artists Rights Coalition, it addressed that point in its third paragraph. The artists that signed have requested that political parties, either Democratic or Republican respond by August 10. Among the stars endorsing the campaign are Sheryl Crow, Cyndi Lauper, REM, Alanis Morrisette, T Bone Burnett, Aerosmith and the estate of Nirvana front-man Kurt Cobain.

Rose’s Scoop: Who knew that the Fanning siblings, Dakota and Elle are distant cousins of Kate Middelton. Small world.