Bruno Mars Becomes First Male Artist to Land Three Top Five Billboard Hot 100 Hits from First Three Proper Albums

Bruno Mars has finessed his way into the music history books…

The 32-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer’s “Finesse (Remix),” featuring Cardi B, skyrockets from No. 35 debut to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Jan. 20).

Bruno Mars & Cardi B

The song’s performance on the charts gains Mars entrance to an exclusive club: artists with at least three top five Hot 100 hits from each of their first three proper albums.

He’s the first male and third act overall to boast such career-opening consistency, following only Mariah Carey and Beyoncé.

Here’s a chronological look at the elite three superstars, now including Mars, to earn such triple-triples (or, in Carey’s case, more) over the Hot 100’s 59-year history.

Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
“Vision of Love,” No. 1 on the Hot 100 for four weeks, beginning Aug. 4, 1990
“Love Takes Time,” No. 1 (three weeks), Nov. 10, 1990
“Someday,” No. 1 (two weeks), March 9, 1991
“I Don’t Wanna Cry,” No. 1 (two weeks), May 25, 1991

Emotions
“Emotions,” No. 1 (three weeks), Oct. 12, 1991
“Can’t Let Go,” No. 2, Jan. 25, 1992
“Make It Happen,” No. 5, April 11, 1992

Music Box
“Dreamlover,” No. 1 (eight weeks), Sept. 11, 1993
“Hero,” No. 1 (four weeks), Dec. 25, 1993
“Without You”/”Never Forget You,” No. 3, March 19, 1994

Daydream
“Fantasy,” No. 1 (eight weeks), Sept. 30, 1995
“One Sweet Day,” with Boyz II Men, No. 1 (16 weeks), Dec. 2, 1995
“Always Be My Baby,” No. 1 (two weeks), May 4, 1996

Carey is the only artist with at least three top five Hot 100 hits from each of her first four proper albums … a feat that Mars could match with his next LP.

Beyoncé (as a soloist apart from Destiny’s Child)
Dangerously in Love
“Crazy in Love,” feat. JAY-Z, No. 1 on the Hot 100 for eight weeks, beginning July 12, 2003
“Baby Boy,” feat. Sean Paul, No. 1 (nine weeks), Oct. 4, 2003
“Me, Myself and I,” No. 4, Feb. 21, 2004
“Naughty Girl,” No. 3, June 5, 2004

B’Day
“Deja Vu,” feat. JAY-Z, No. 4, Aug. 12, 2006
“Irreplaceable,” No. 1 (10 weeks), Dec. 16, 2006
“Beautiful Liar,” with Shakira, No. 3, April 7, 2007 (from the set’s deluxe version)

I Am…Sasha Fierce
“If I Were a Boy,” No. 3, Nov. 8, 2008
“Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” No. 1 (four weeks), Dec. 13, 2008
“Halo,” No. 5, May 23, 2009 

Bruno Mars
Doo-Wops & Hooligans
“Just the Way You Are,” No. 1 on the Hot 100 for four weeks, Oct. 2, 2010
“Grenade,” No. 1 (four weeks), Jan. 8, 2011
“The Lazy Song,” No. 4, June 18, 2011

Unorthodox Jukebox
“Locked Out of Heaven,” No. 1 (six weeks), Dec. 22, 2012
“When I Was Your Man,” No. 1 (one week), April 20, 2013
“Treasure,” No. 5, Aug. 3, 2013

24K Magic
“24K Magic,” No. 4, Dec, 10, 2016
“That’s What I Like,” No. 1 (one week), May 13, 2017
“Finesse,” with Cardi B, No. 3 (as of Jan. 20, 2018)

Mars first released the EP It’s Better If You Don’t Understand in 2010, prior to Doo-Wops & Hooligans later that year.

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