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Let’s open the latest mailbag.
Hi Gary,
With Jimin debuting at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Aug. 3) with “Who,” I immediately thought of two “who”-titled hits that have peaked at that position: “Who Are You” by none other than The Who and “Who Is It” by Michael Jackson.
I didn’t know at the time of its release that The Who’s mesmerizing hit didn’t make the Hot 100’s top 10, but the recording always caught my attention, both for its musicality and the cursing that was allowed. For Jackson, his Dangerous album, from which “Who Is It” was released as a single, followed Bad and Thriller. The sets produced four, six and seven top 10s, respectively, with each generating seven top 40 hits.
I figured I’d ask Billboard – who else? – for a list of other charted songs starting with “who.”
(Should we count anything by Owl City?)
Pablo Nelson, that’s who
Oakland, Calif.
Hi Pablo,
This “Ask Billboard” answers the question of who’s had all the biggest Hot 100 hits whose titles start with “who,” with Jimin’s “Who” joining 50 others that have reached the top 40. Conversely, it does the opposite of what any good mailbag should do, as it’ll leave all of the titles unanswered. There’s simply no field in Billboard’s computerized chart archives to search for who let the dogs out, who that girl is, who it can be now, who is in the strawberry patch with Sally or who your daddy is. (There are other ways to find out that last one, if needed.)
Below is a look at all the top 40-peaking Hot 100 entries whose titles begin with “who,” making for a true who’s who of “who” hits, including one by, as noted, The Who (although not any by The Guess Who).
Upon its debut, Jimin’s “Who” is in the company of numerous memorable similarly titled hits.
Top 40-Peaking Hot 100 Hits Whose Titles Begin With ‘Who’
No. 1, 1987, “Who’s That Girl,” Madonna
The title cut to the Madonna-starring film became the sixth of her 12 career Hot 100 No. 1s.
No. 1, 1982, “Who Can It Be Now?,” Men at Work
The only other Hot 100 leader whose title starts with “who” introduced Men at Work, which landed its second No. 1 with follow-up and fellow ‘80s classic “Down Under.” “It doesn’t really happen, to hardly anybody,” Colin Hay, who fronted the band, told Billboard in 2023 of its breakthrough. “It was massive. Having said that, we were always very ambitious.”
No. 3, 1986, “Who’s Johnny,” El DeBarge
No. 3, 1975, “Who Loves You,” The 4 Seasons
No. 4, 1981, “Who’s Crying Now,” Journey
The song ranks as Journey’s second-highest-charting Hot 100 hit, outpaced only by “Open Arms,” which peaked at No. 2 for six weeks in 1982.
No. 5, 1999, “Who Dat,” JT Money feat. Sole
No. 5, 1968, “Who’s Making Love,” Johnnie Taylor
No. 6, 1985, “Who’s Holding Donna Now,” Debarge
No. 7, 1987, “Who Will You Run To,” Heart
No. 7, 1985, “Who’s Zoomin’ Who,” Aretha Franklin
The Queen of Soul added her 16th Hot 100 top 10 with the track. She earned one more, and her second No. 1 – after “Respect,” in 1967 – with “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me),” with George Michael, in 1987.
No. 7, 1961, “Who Put the Bomp (In the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp),” Barry Mann
No. 8, 1995, “Who Can I Run To,” Xscape
No. 9, 2024, “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?,” Taylor Swift
Who has the most Hot 100 top 10s in a single week, and from a single album? Swift swept the region thanks to her 2022 LP Midnights and repeated the feat this May via The Tortured Poets Department.
No. 9, 2007, “Who Knew,” P!nk
No. 11, 1996, “Who Will Save Your Soul,” Jewel
No. 14, 2024, “Who,” Jimin
The song starts with 14.7 million official U.S. streams and 70,000 sold in its first week. Its proper promotion to pop radio is set to begin the week of Aug. 12.
No. 14, 1993, “Who Is It,” Michael Jackson
No. 14, 1978, “Who Are You,” The Who
No. 15, 1989, “Who Do You Give Your Love To?,” Michael Morales
No. 15, 1974, “Who Do You Think You Are,” Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods
No. 16, 1987, “Who Found Who,” Jellybean feat. Elisa Fiorillo
No. 16, 1984, “Who Wears These Shoes?,” Elton John
John’s two earlier 1984 hits – “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues” and “Sad Songs (Say So Much),” which rose to Nos. 4 and 5, respectively, on the Hot 100 – are likely better known, but this track gave him a third top 20 entry that year, the first in which he logged such a triple since 1976.
No. 17, 2021, “Who Want Smoke??,” Nardo Wick feat. G Herbo, Lil Durk & 21 Savage
No. 17, 2009, “Who Says,” John Mayer
No. 17, 1996, “Who Do U Love,” Deborah Cox
No. 18, 1976, “Who’d She Coo?,” Ohio Players
No. 19, 1968, “Who Will Answer?,” Ed Ames
No. 21, 2011, “Who Says,” Selena Gomez & The Scene
With her ninth charted song, Gomez scored her highest Hot 100 peak to that point. She has since collected nine top 10s, including the 2019 No. 1 “Lose You To Love Me.”
No. 21, 1984, “Who’s That Girl,” Eurythmics
No. 21, 1966, “Who Am I,” Petula Clark
No. 22, 2002, “Who’s Your Daddy?,” Toby Keith
No. 22, 1977, “Whodunit,” Tavares
No. 23, 2006, “Who Says You Can’t Go Home,” Bon Jovi
The single, boosted by Jennifer Nettles’ guest turn, also brought Bon Jovi to No. 1 for two weeks on the Hot Country Songs chart.
No. 25, 1964, “Who Do You Love,” The Sapphires
No. 27, 1973, “Who’s in the Strawberry Patch With Sally,” Tony Orlando & Dawn
No. 28, 2001, “Who I Am,” Jessica Andrews
No. 29, 2011, “Who Dat Girl,” Flo Rida feat. Akon
No. 29, 1980, “Who’ll Be the Fool Tonight,” Larsen-Feiten Band
No. 30, 2003, “Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me,” Keith Urban
No. 31, 1996, “Who You Are,” Pearl Jam
No. 33, 1968, “Who Is Gonna Love Me?,” Dionne Warwick
No. 33, 1964, “Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me),” Tony Bennett
Bennett charted six top 40 Hot 100 hits from the survey’s start in 1958 through 1965. In 2011, he returned with the No. 87-peaking “Body and Soul,” with Amy Winehouse.
No. 34, 1965, “Who’ll Be the Next in Line,” The Kinks
No. 35, 1992, “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses,” U2
No. 37, 2005, “Who You’d Be Today,” Kenny Chesney
No. 39, 1981, “Who’s Making Love,” Blues Brothers
No. 40, 2000, “Who Let the Dogs Out,” Baha Men
Enduring more impressively than its peak would suggest, the song has drawn 288 million on-demand U.S. streams to date, according to (who, who, who, who, who?) data tracker Luminate.
No. 40, 1998, “Who Am I,” Beenie Man
No. 40, 1981, “Who Do You Think You’re Foolin’,” Donna Summer
No. 40, 1975, “Who’s Sorry Now,” Marie Osmond
No. 40, 1975, “Who’s Your Baby?,” The Archies
