2001 Billboard Number One Hits: Every Hot 100 Chart-Topper

The 2001 Billboard Number One Hits list captured a pop year filled with R&B, pop-rap, movie soundtrack power, teen-pop aftershocks, reality-adjacent cultural shifts, and the rise of Alicia Keys. Destiny’s Child opened the year, Janet Jackson ruled spring, Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mýa and Pink brought Moulin Rouge! to No. 1, and Nickelback closed the year with one of the biggest rock crossovers of the decade.

This page follows the Billboard Hot 100 issue dates for 2001, shown here as reader-friendly weekly date ranges. Because Billboard chart weeks can cross calendar years, this list begins with Destiny’s Child’s late-2000 carryover and continues into early 2002 with Nickelback’s How You Remind Me.

The Billboard Hot 100 ranks the most popular songs in the United States using radio airplay, sales, and later streaming activity. These are official Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 songs, not pop-only, rock-only, airplay-only, R&B-only, sales-only, or “that was definitely the song burned onto every mix CD” rankings.

2001 Billboard Number One Hits by Week

December 31, 2000 – January 27, 2001: Independent Women Part I – Destiny’s Child
January 28 – February 10, 2001: It Wasn’t Me – Shaggy featuring Ricardo “RikRok” Ducent
February 11 – February 17, 2001: Ms. Jackson – OutKast
February 18 – March 17, 2001: Stutter – Joe featuring Mystikal
March 18 – March 24, 2001: Butterfly – Crazy Town
March 25 – March 31, 2001: Angel – Shaggy featuring Rayvon
April 1 – April 7, 2001: Butterfly – Crazy Town
April 8 – May 26, 2001: All for You – Janet Jackson
May 27 – June 30, 2001: Lady Marmalade – Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mýa & Pink
July 1 – July 28, 2001: U Remind Me – Usher
July 29 – August 11, 2001: Bootylicious – Destiny’s Child
August 12 – September 1, 2001: Fallin’ – Alicia Keys
September 2 – October 20, 2001: I’m Real (Murder Remix) – Jennifer Lopez featuring Ja Rule
October 21 – December 1, 2001: Family Affair – Mary J. Blige
December 2 – December 15, 2001: U Got It Bad – Usher
December 16, 2001 – January 12, 2002: How You Remind Me – Nickelback

Song-by-Song Notes on the 2001 Billboard No. 1 Hits

Independent Women Part I – Destiny’s Child

Destiny’s Child opened the 2001 Billboard Hot 100 calendar with Independent Women Part I, a late-2000 carryover from the Charlie’s Angels soundtrack. The song’s financial-independence message, tight harmonies, and movie tie-in helped make it one of the group’s biggest hits.

Its early-2001 run bridged late-1990s teen-pop polish and the more R&B-heavy sound of the early 2000s. It also made budgeting sound unusually glamorous, which is no small achievement.

It Wasn’t Me – Shaggy featuring Ricardo “RikRok” Ducent

Shaggy reached No. 1 with It Wasn’t Me, featuring Ricardo “RikRok” Ducent. The song’s reggae-pop rhythm, comic storyline, and instantly repeatable title phrase made it one of 2001’s most memorable hits.

The track mixed humor, storytelling, and a smooth hook into a crossover smash. It also became one of the least convincing relationship defenses in pop history, which was very much the point.

Ms. Jackson – OutKast

OutKast reached No. 1 with Ms. Jackson, one of the group’s most emotionally direct crossover hits. The song addressed family tension, apology, breakup fallout, and co-parenting stress with a hook that became instantly recognizable.

Its one-week run helped move OutKast further into the mainstream before their even bigger 2003–2004 breakthrough with Hey Ya! and The Way You Move.

Stutter – Joe featuring Mystikal

Joe reached No. 1 with Stutter, boosted by a remix featuring Mystikal. The song blended smooth R&B with hip-hop energy, fitting the early-2000s pattern of R&B singles gaining extra chart life through rap remixes.

Its four-week run made it one of Joe’s biggest Hot 100 hits. The title described hesitation, but the chart performance did not stammer.

Butterfly – Crazy Town

Crazy Town reached No. 1 with Butterfly, a rap-rock and alternative-pop crossover built around a sample from Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Pretty Little Ditty. The song topped the Hot 100 in two separate one-week runs.

Its sunny groove made it sound far softer than the rap-rock scene around it. In 2001, that contrast helped it float above the noise, wings and all.

Angel – Shaggy featuring Rayvon

Shaggy returned to No. 1 with Angel, featuring Rayvon. The song followed It Wasn’t Me and gave Shaggy his second Hot 100 chart-topper of the year.

Its warm reggae-pop sound and romantic hook gave spring 2001 a lighter moment between louder and more dramatic hits. Shaggy was having a very good year, and apparently he brought Rayvon along for the sunshine.

All for You – Janet Jackson

Janet Jackson spent seven weeks at No. 1 with All for You, the title track from her 2001 album. The song sampled Change’s The Glow of Love and delivered a bright, dance-pop groove that became one of her biggest later-career hits.

Its long run made Janet one of the dominant artists of the spring. The song was sleek, flirtatious, and built for a dance floor that still believed in polished choreography.

Lady Marmalade – Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mýa & Pink

Lady Marmalade reached No. 1 as part of the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack. Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mýa and Pink turned the LaBelle classic into a high-gloss pop, R&B, and hip-hop collaboration.

The song spent five weeks at No. 1 and became one of the year’s biggest soundtrack moments. It was loud, theatrical, and dressed like it knew the video budget was not shy.

U Remind Me – Usher

Usher reached No. 1 with U Remind Me, the lead single from 8701. The song’s smooth R&B production and polished vocal performance helped strengthen Usher’s move from teen star to adult R&B-pop hitmaker.

Its four-week run set up an even bigger run for Usher later in the decade. This was the point where the chart started making more room for him.

Bootylicious – Destiny’s Child

Destiny’s Child returned to No. 1 with Bootylicious, a playful pop-R&B single built around a sample of Stevie Nicks’ Edge of Seventeen. The song’s title became so culturally familiar that “bootylicious” later entered major dictionaries.

Its two-week run gave Destiny’s Child another Hot 100 chart-topper during one of the group’s peak commercial periods. It was a song, a slogan, and eventually vocabulary. Not bad for a hook.

Fallin’ – Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys reached No. 1 with Fallin’, her debut single from Songs in A Minor. The song’s piano-driven soul sound, classical influence, and powerful vocal performance made Keys one of the year’s biggest breakthrough artists.

Fallin’ was Billboard’s No. 2 year-end Hot 100 song of 2001, behind Lifehouse’s Hanging by a Moment. It also introduced a major new singer-songwriter presence who sounded very different from much of the pop around her.

I’m Real (Murder Remix) – Jennifer Lopez featuring Ja Rule

Jennifer Lopez and Ja Rule reached No. 1 with I’m Real (Murder Remix). The remix was a major reworking of the original song and helped define the early-2000s trend of pop singles gaining new chart life through hip-hop/R&B remixes.

Its seven-week run made it one of the year’s biggest hits and strengthened Lopez’s position as both a pop star and a crossover radio force.

Family Affair – Mary J. Blige

Mary J. Blige earned her first Hot 100 No. 1 with Family Affair. Produced by Dr. Dre, the song brought a cleaner, club-ready sound to Blige’s hip-hop soul foundation.

Its six-week run was a major milestone for one of R&B’s most important artists. The song’s “no more drama” message also pointed directly toward the next chapter of her career.

U Got It Bad – Usher

Usher returned to No. 1 late in 2001 with U Got It Bad, another major single from 8701. The song’s slow-burn R&B style and emotional vocal helped it become one of his signature early hits.

Its run continued into 2002 after Nickelback briefly took over at year’s end. Usher’s 2001–2002 chart presence set the stage for the massive Confessions era a few years later.

How You Remind Me – Nickelback

Nickelback closed the 2001 Billboard Hot 100 year with How You Remind Me, which carried into January 2002. The song became one of the biggest post-grunge crossover hits of the decade and Nickelback’s only Hot 100 No. 1.

Billboard later ranked it as the top Hot 100 song of 2002, since its chart strength carried into the next year. It was gritty, direct, and extremely ready for early-2000s rock radio.

About Hanging by a Moment by Lifehouse

Hanging by a Moment by Lifehouse was Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 song of 2001, but it never reached No. 1 on the weekly Hot 100. It peaked at No. 2, making it one of the clearest examples of a song that was huge across the year without ever topping the weekly chart.

That makes it an important sidenote for this page. Many listeners remember Hanging by a Moment as one of the defining songs of 2001, and the year-end chart supports that memory. It just missed the weekly No. 1 slot, which is the kind of technical chart detail that keeps music nerds hydrated.

Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Stories of 2001

Hanging by a Moment Was the Year-End No. 1 Without Hitting Weekly No. 1

Lifehouse’s Hanging by a Moment was Billboard’s top Hot 100 song of 2001, but it peaked at No. 2 on the weekly chart. That unusual split makes it one of the most important “almost No. 1” songs in Hot 100 history.

R&B and Pop-Rap Dominated the Year

Destiny’s Child, Shaggy, Joe, Janet Jackson, Usher, Jennifer Lopez, Ja Rule, Mary J. Blige, and Alicia Keys all helped define the 2001 Hot 100. The year leaned heavily into R&B, pop-rap, and remix-driven crossover hits.

Alicia Keys Broke Through Immediately

Fallin’ made Alicia Keys one of the year’s biggest new artists. Its piano-soul sound stood apart from the glossy pop and remix-heavy hits surrounding it.

Soundtracks Still Had Major Chart Power

Independent Women Part I came from Charlie’s Angels, while Lady Marmalade came from Moulin Rouge!. Both songs showed that movie soundtracks could still produce major Hot 100 chart-toppers.

Remixes Could Completely Reshape a Hit

Stutter and I’m Real (Murder Remix) both showed how remixes could push songs higher on the Hot 100. In the early 2000s, a strong remix could function almost like a brand-new single.

2001 Billboard Number One Hits Trivia

Hanging by a Moment by Lifehouse was Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 song of 2001, but it peaked at No. 2 on the weekly Hot 100.
All for You by Janet Jackson spent seven weeks at No. 1, the longest run of any song that first reached No. 1 during the 2001 chart year.
I’m Real (Murder Remix) by Jennifer Lopez featuring Ja Rule also spent seven weeks at No. 1.
Family Affair gave Mary J. Blige her first Hot 100 No. 1.
Fallin’ gave Alicia Keys her first Hot 100 No. 1.
Bootylicious helped push a new word into mainstream pop culture.
Lady Marmalade brought together Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mýa and Pink for the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack.
How You Remind Me closed 2001 and became Billboard’s top Hot 100 song of 2002.

Why the 2001 Billboard Number One Hits Matter

The 2001 Billboard Number One Hits list showed a chart shaped by R&B, pop-rap, soundtrack singles, remix culture, and early-2000s rock crossover. It was a year where Destiny’s Child, Janet Jackson, Usher, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Lopez, Mary J. Blige, and Nickelback all reached the top through very different sounds.

It was also a year when the difference between weekly chart peaks and year-end performance mattered. Hanging by a Moment never hit No. 1, but it still became Billboard’s biggest overall song of 2001. That gives the page a useful chart-history wrinkle readers often find surprising.

For chart fans, 2001 was a bridge between late-1990s pop culture and the more R&B, hip-hop, and rock-driven early 2000s. The Hot 100 had movie songs, remixes, new stars, established icons, and one rock song waiting at the end to carry the chart into 2002.