On Dec. 5, 1998, Billboard changed the way it calculates the Hot 100 to account for airplay. Basically, that means that for the first time, songs did not need to be released as commercial singles to appear on the Hot 100, with the goal to show the most popular songs in the country.

According to Billboard, the premise of the Hot 100 was introduced on July 27, 1940, with a ranking of the best-selling songs in the U.S. By 1958, the premier national songs chart was birthed.

Over the years, Hip-Hop has made a huge splash on the chart, with a number of artists dominating the top 10. In particular, Drake has reigned supreme on the chart, and in 2020, broke the record for the most Hot 100 entries ever when he made his 208th appearance with "Oprah's Bank Account."