Music Artists Who Have Had Multiple Top 5 Hits but Never Had a Number One Hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.
Sometimes music artists peak near the top of the Billboard charts but just miss the number one spot. However, there are some artists who have multiple songs in the top 5, none of which reached number one. Basically as long as an artist that I missed has had at least two top 5 hits but no number ones, feel free to add them. Also this was just the first 10 I could find that qualified in order of points (2nd gave 4 points, 3rd 3 points, 2 for 4th and 1 point given for 5th). If it was a tie the one I found first got the higher place. Also I added a random fun fact for each artist to make it a little more interesting.
One Direction (commonly abbreviated as 1D) were a British-Irish pop boy band based in London, composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously, Zayn Malik until his departure from the band on 25 March 2015. The group signed with Simon Cowell's record label Syco Records... read more Best Song Ever peaked at number 2, Drag Me Down and Live While We're Young peaked at number 3 and What Makes You Beautiful peaked at number 4 (12 points).
Also fun fact: What Makes You Beautiful, despite being only their 4th highest peaking song is considered their biggest song due to staying on the charts longer (stayed for 33 weeks). On the other hand, Live While We're Young is only considered their 11th biggest hit, despite tying for their 2nd highest peaking song (only spent 12 weeks on the charts).
Twenty One Pilots is an American musical duo that is originally from Columbus, Ohio, who are best known for their songs "Stressed Out", "Heathens" and "Ride". Currently there are two members, Tyler Joseph (lead vocals, piano, keyboards, synthesizers, ukulele, bass and guitar) and Josh Dun (drums and... read more Stressed Out and Heathens each peaked at number 2 and Ride peaked at number 5 (9 points).
Also fun fact: Even though Heathens has over 500 million views less than Stressed Out on YouTube, it got 93rd on the Billboard end chart for the entire 2010s while Stressed Out didn't make it in the top 100 at all.
Umm. Chlorine was #1 and level of concern is also #1.
OneRepublic is an American pop rock band. Formed in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2002 by lead singer Ryan Tedder and guitarist Zach Filkins, the band achieved commercial success on Myspace as an unsigned act. Counting Stars and Apologize each peaked at number 2 (8 points).
Also fun fact: Apologize, despite being number 2, in the 2000s the band had no song that peaked higher than 40.
Imagine Dragons is an American pop rock band from Provo, Utah, and are now based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. Imagine Dragons' lineup consists of lead vocalist Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee, and drummer Daniel Platzman. The band first gained exposure with the release of their... read more Radioactive peaked at number 3 and Believer and Thunder each peaked at number 4 (7 points).
Also fun fact: Radioactive was the second highest song on the Billboard End Chart for the 2010s decade that was not a number one hit at 36th, only behind Happier which got 33rd, and in that case, it was the highest rank song that didn't reach the top 2. On that note, it was in the chart for 87 weeks!
Elena Jane "Ellie" Goulding is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, born on December 30th, 1986 in Hereford, England. She is most well-known in the U.S. for her singles "Lights”, "Love Me Like You Do” and "Burn", and has been featured in other songs with artists like Calvin Harris... read more Lights peaked at number 2 and Love Me Like You Do peaked at number 3 (7 points).
Also fun fact: Burn is actually considered a higher hit than Love Me Like You Do, despite only peaking at 13th.
Florida Georgia Line is an American country music duo formed in 2010 by Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley. Their breakout hit "Cruise" became the best-selling digital country single of all time and has been certified 11x platinum with over 7 million downloads. Meant to Be peaked at number 2 and Cruise peaked at number 4 (6 points).
Also fun fact: Both of those songs are collaborations, so I feel like they might be relying on other artists to get major hits... I may never know.
Why is there a picture of Flo Rida and not the actually Florida Georgia line group
Park Jae-sang, better known by his stage name Psy, stylized PSY, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, record producer and rapper. Gangnam Style peaked at number 2 and Gentleman peaked at number 5 (5 points).
Also fun fact: Gangnam Style is the most viewed song on YouTube that didn't peak at number one (well unless you count Baby Shark but really that's just a nursery rhyme for kids).
Khalid Donnel Robinson, known mononymously as Khalid, is an American singer and songwriter. He is signed to Right Hand Music Group and RCA Records. Talk and 1-800-273-8255 (please don't click that number because well you know why) each peaked at number 3 (6 points)
Also fun fact: Neither of these songs are his most streamed song on Spotify (that would be Lovely, possibly thanks to Billie Eilish).
Alessia Caracciolo, born on July 11th, 1996 is professionally known as Alessia Cara, is a Canadian singer and songwriter.
Holly Brook Hafermann, who goes by the stage name Skylar Grey, is an American singer and songwriter from Mazomanie, Wisconsin. Song 'Love the Way You Lie' was originally sung by her, but the producer choose Rihanna because she was touring at Irelend and couldn't record the song. The song peak at no.1 on the chart.
Not sure she would be a big time pop star.
Creedence Clearwater Revival, often shortened to Creedence and abbreviated as CCR, was an American rock band active in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Train is an American roots rock band from San Francisco, formed in 1993. The band currently consists of Patrick Monahan, Jimmy Stafford, Jerry Becker, Luis Maldonaldo, Hector Maldonado, Drew Shoals, Nikita Houston and Sakai Smith. Hey Soul Sister peaked at number 3 and Drops of Jupiter/Tell Me picked at number 5 (4 points).
Also fun fact: Hey Soul Sister is one of the few songs that never reached the top 2 but made the decade end chart.
Karen Marie Aagaard Ørsted Andersen, better known by her stage name, MØ, is a Danish singer, song writer, and pianist. She was born on August 13, 1988 in Ubberud, Denmark . Danish singer it won't show her picture for some reason.
Zedd is a Russian- German DJ known for his hits such as Clarity, Transmission, and Break Free. He is best known for his album True Colors, which has the highest debut on the Billboard 200 for an EDM album (tied with Skrillex's Recess). He is one the the richest EDM artists in the industry.
Miles Parks McCollum, known professionally as Lil Yachty, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. Yachty first gained recognition in August 2015 for his singles "One Night" and "Minnesota" from his debut EP Summer Songs. He released his debut mixtape Lil Boat in March 2016.
Pierre David Guetta is a French DJ, songwriter, record producer and remixer who has sold over nine million albums and thirty million singles worldwide. In 2011, Guetta was voted as the number one DJ in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs poll. There are so many artists who qualify for this list.
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and humanitarian. He is known for his work with the E Street Band. Nicknamed "The Boss", Springsteen is widely known for his brand of poetic lyrics, Americana, working class and sometimes political... read more
Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of pop, rock, folk, country and blues.
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, author, and artist who has been an influential figure in popular music and culture for more than five decades.
Shania Twain is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and among the best-selling music artists of all time.
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. A progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century popular music and dance, he is often referred to as the "Godfather of Soul".
Melissa Arnette Elliott is an American musician, hip hop recording artist, dancer and record producer.
Donald Hugh "Don" Henley is an American singer-songwriter, producer, and drummer, best known as a founding member of the Eagles before launching a successful solo career.
