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2013 Billboard Number One Hits: Every Hot 100 Chart-Topper

The 2013 Billboard Number One Hits list was loud, weird, catchy, controversial, and very online. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis dominated the first half of the year, Baauer’s Harlem Shake showed the chart-changing power of viral video, Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines ruled the summer, and Lorde’s Royals gave the fall a cool minimalist reset.

This page follows the Billboard Hot 100 issue dates for 2013, shown here as reader-friendly weekly date ranges. Because Billboard chart weeks can cross calendar years, this list begins with Bruno Mars’ late-2012 carryover and continues into early January 2014 with Eminem and Rihanna’s The Monster.

The Billboard Hot 100 ranks the most popular songs in the United States using streaming activity, radio airplay, and sales. These are official Billboard No. 1 songs, not personal favorites, playlist picks, or “that song that took over YouTube before anyone fully understood what was happening” rankings.

2013 Billboard Number One Hits by Week

  • December 30, 2012 – January 26, 2013: Locked Out of Heaven – Bruno Mars
  • January 27 – February 23, 2013: Thrift Shop – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz
  • February 24 – March 30, 2013: Harlem Shake – Baauer
  • March 31 – April 13, 2013: Thrift Shop – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz
  • April 14 – April 20, 2013: When I Was Your Man – Bruno Mars
  • April 21 – May 11, 2013: Just Give Me a Reason – Pink featuring Nate Ruess
  • May 12 – June 15, 2013: Can’t Hold Us – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Ray Dalton
  • June 16 – September 7, 2013: Blurred Lines – Robin Thicke featuring T.I. & Pharrell
  • September 8 – September 21, 2013: Roar – Katy Perry
  • September 22 – October 5, 2013: Wrecking Ball – Miley Cyrus
  • October 6 – December 7, 2013: Royals – Lorde
  • December 8 – December 14, 2013: Wrecking Ball – Miley Cyrus
  • December 15, 2013 – January 11, 2014: The Monster – Eminem featuring Rihanna

Song-by-Song Notes on the 2013 Billboard No. 1 Hits

Locked Out of Heaven – Bruno Mars

Bruno Mars opened the 2013 Billboard Hot 100 calendar with Locked Out of Heaven, a late-2012 carryover that continued into January. The song mixed pop, rock, funk, and a strong Police-style rhythmic feel, giving Mars one of his most energetic early-career No. 1 hits.

Its January run gave 2013 a bright, punchy start before the year shifted into thrift stores, viral dance clips, and a summer-long chart debate involving a lot of striped suits.

Thrift Shop – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz

Thrift Shop became one of the defining early-2013 hits, spending six total weeks at No. 1 across two separate runs. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis turned secondhand shopping, comic swagger, and a booming saxophone hook into a massive pop-rap crossover.

The song also finished as Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 song of 2013. It was a novelty-adjacent rap hit with a real chart engine, proving that a fur coat and a bargain bin could apparently go platinum in the same trip.

Harlem Shake – Baauer

Baauer’s Harlem Shake spent five weeks at No. 1 after exploding through viral video culture. Its rise came during a major Billboard chart-methodology moment, when YouTube streaming data became more influential in Hot 100 rankings.

The song’s chart run was less about traditional radio dominance and more about the internet turning a short electronic track into a global meme. It was chaotic, brief, and very 2013 — the kind of hit that made everyone ask whether the chart had just been hacked by office break rooms.

When I Was Your Man – Bruno Mars

Bruno Mars returned to No. 1 with When I Was Your Man, a stripped-down piano ballad from his album Unorthodox Jukebox. The song stood out because it leaned almost entirely on voice, piano, regret, and emotional directness.

Its one-week run showed Mars’ range in 2013. He could top the chart with upbeat pop-rock energy and then come back with a heartbreak ballad that sounded like it was written under a very judgmental lamp.

Just Give Me a Reason – Pink featuring Nate Ruess

Pink and Nate Ruess reached No. 1 with Just Give Me a Reason, a dramatic pop duet about trying to repair a damaged relationship. The song paired Pink’s emotional force with Ruess’ theatrical vocal style, creating one of the year’s strongest adult-pop ballads.

Its three-week run at No. 1 showed that big, well-written pop duets still had plenty of room on the Hot 100, even during a year increasingly shaped by streaming and viral behavior.

Can’t Hold Us – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Ray Dalton

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis scored their second No. 1 of 2013 with Can’t Hold Us, featuring Ray Dalton. The song’s stomping rhythm, motivational hook, and high-energy delivery made it a natural fit for sports, commercials, trailers, and every montage that needed to sound like someone just found extra confidence.

Its five-week run confirmed that Thrift Shop was not a one-off. In 2013, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were not just having a moment; they were practically renting the top floor of the Hot 100.

Blurred Lines – Robin Thicke featuring T.I. & Pharrell

Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell spent 12 consecutive weeks at No. 1, the longest Hot 100 run of 2013. Its groove, handclaps, falsetto hook, and retro-funk feel made it one of the year’s most unavoidable songs.

The song also became one of the decade’s most controversial hits because of its lyrics, video, and later legal arguments involving musical similarity to Marvin Gaye’s Got to Give It Up. It was a chart giant, but not a quiet one.

Roar – Katy Perry

Katy Perry’s Roar ended the long run of Blurred Lines and spent two weeks at No. 1. The song introduced her album Prism with a self-empowerment chorus, bright pop production, and a hook built for stadium sing-alongs.

Its success showed Perry still had major mainstream pop power after the enormous Teenage Dream era. The title was not subtle, but neither was the chorus.

Wrecking Ball – Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus reached No. 1 with Wrecking Ball, a power ballad that became inseparable from its headline-making music video. The song spent two weeks at No. 1 in its first run, then returned for one more week in December.

It marked a major turning point in Cyrus’ pop image during the Bangerz era. The song itself was emotional and dramatic, while the video ensured that nobody was going to describe the rollout as low-key.

Royals – Lorde

Lorde’s Royals spent nine weeks at No. 1 and became one of 2013’s most distinctive pop breakthroughs. The song’s minimalist production, cool vocal delivery, and anti-luxury lyrics made it stand apart from the flashier pop hits around it.

Lorde was still a teenager when Royals reached No. 1, making her one of the youngest solo artists to top the Hot 100. While other hits of the year shouted, Royals won by barely raising its voice.

The Monster – Eminem featuring Rihanna

Eminem and Rihanna closed the 2013 Hot 100 year with The Monster, another major collaboration between the two artists. The song mixed Eminem’s verses about fame, mental pressure, and self-awareness with Rihanna’s huge pop chorus.

Its run continued into January 2014, making it the bridge between the 2013 and 2014 Billboard chart years. After Love the Way You Lie, this pairing already had proven chart chemistry, and The Monster gave them another No. 1 together.

Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Stories of 2013

Blurred Lines Ruled the Summer

Blurred Lines spent 12 consecutive weeks at No. 1, the longest run of any 2013 Hot 100 chart-topper. It also became Billboard’s Song of the Summer for 2013, reflecting how thoroughly it dominated the middle of the year.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Had a Huge First Half

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis reached No. 1 twice in 2013 with Thrift Shop and Can’t Hold Us. Across those two songs, they spent 11 total weeks at the top, making them one of the year’s biggest Hot 100 stories.

YouTube Changed the Hot 100 Conversation

Harlem Shake became one of the clearest examples of viral video culture affecting the Hot 100. Its No. 1 run arrived as online streaming and YouTube activity were becoming harder to separate from mainstream chart success.

Lorde Brought Minimalism to No. 1

Royals sounded very different from most of 2013’s biggest hits. Its spare beat and anti-bling message cut through a chart year full of louder, brighter, and more expensive-sounding songs.

Miley Cyrus Had a Major Reinvention Year

Wrecking Ball gave Miley Cyrus her first Hot 100 No. 1 and became one of the biggest pop-culture moments of her Bangerz era. It followed the attention around We Can’t Stop, which was a major hit but did not reach No. 1.

2013 Billboard Number One Hits Trivia

  • Thrift Shop by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz was Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 song of 2013.
  • Blurred Lines spent 12 consecutive weeks at No. 1, the longest Hot 100 reign of the year.
  • Harlem Shake spent five weeks at No. 1 after becoming a viral video phenomenon.
  • Macklemore & Ryan Lewis spent 11 total weeks at No. 1 in 2013 across Thrift Shop and Can’t Hold Us.
  • Royals made Lorde one of the youngest solo artists to top the Hot 100.
  • Wrecking Ball gave Miley Cyrus her first Hot 100 No. 1.
  • We Can’t Stop was one of Miley Cyrus’ biggest 2013 songs, but it peaked at No. 2 and never topped the Hot 100.
  • The Monster continued Eminem and Rihanna’s successful Hot 100 partnership after Love the Way You Lie.
  • Timber by Pitbull featuring Kesha reached No. 1 in early 2014, not during the 2013 Billboard No. 1 chart year.

Why the 2013 Billboard Number One Hits Matter

The 2013 Billboard Number One Hits list showed the Hot 100 becoming more visibly shaped by streaming, viral video, and online behavior. Harlem Shake made that shift impossible to ignore, while Thrift Shop and Can’t Hold Us showed how independent-minded pop-rap could dominate mainstream charts.

The year also had major pop reinventions. Miley Cyrus rebuilt her image with Wrecking Ball, Lorde brought minimalist cool into the center of pop, Bruno Mars balanced retro-pop and piano-ballad success, and Robin Thicke had the year’s longest-running No. 1 with one of the most debated hits of the decade.

For chart fans, 2013 was not tidy, but it was fascinating. The year bounced from thrift-store comedy to viral chaos, emotional ballads, summer controversy, teenage minimalism, and superstar rap-pop collaboration. The Hot 100 was starting to sound less like a radio chart and more like the internet had found the controls.

Sources

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