Kid Cudi sets the mark on the Hot 100 dated Dec. 26, 2020, a year after Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, became the shortest No. 1 hit by length since 1965, running 1:53 in its briefest iteration.
Still, last year also brought a new record for the lengthiest Hot 100 hit by run time: Tool’s “Fear Inoculum” spent a week at No. 93, on the Aug. 17, 2019-dated tally, becoming the first song in the chart’s history with a run time exceeding 10 minutes (10:21).
Long story short, here’s an updated look at the shortest and longest Hot 100 hits all-time, as confirmed by the invaluable Paul Haney of Joel Whitburn’s Record Research. (Songs are measured by the shortest version of a song for the first list and the longest for the second.)
The Shortest Hot 100 Hits
(:37) “Beautiful Trip,” Kid Cudi, No. 100 peak (to date), 2020
(:45) “PPAP (Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen),” Piko-Taro, No. 77, 2016
(1:02) “Little Boxes,” The Womenfolk, No. 83, 1964
(1:06) “Deck the Halls,” Nat King Cole, No. 47 (to date), 2020
(1:13) “Pete Davidson,” Ariana Grande, No. 99, 2018
(1:16) “Difference (Interlude),” XXXTentacion, No. 84, 2018
(1:17) “Some Kind-A Earthquake,” Duane Eddy His Twangy Guitar and the Rebels, No. 37, 1959
(1:19) “Forward,” Beyonce feat. James Blake, No. 63, 2016
(1:20) “What I’ve Been Looking For (Reprise),” Andrew Seeley & Vanessa Anne Hudgens, No. 67, 2006
The Longest Hot 100 Hits
(10:21) “Fear Inoculum,” Tool, No. 93 peak, 2019
(9:57) “Blackstar,” David Bowie, No. 78, 2016
(9:30) “Better Place to Be (Parts 1 & 2),” Harry Chapin, No. 86, 1976
(8:55) “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail),” Hillsong UNITED, No. 83, 2014
(8:55) “November Rain,” Guns N’ Roses, No. 3, 1992
(8:50) “4 Your Eyez Only,” J. Cole, No. 29, 2016
(8:37) “American Pie (Parts I & II),” Don McLean, No. 1 (four weeks), 1972
Along with “Beautiful Trip,” Nat King Cole’s version of “Deck the Halls” debuts on the latest Hot 100, at No. 47. The ancient Yuletide carol, and the first track on Cole’s 1960 album The Magic of Christmas, is just 1:06 in length.
