Tems sets new ‘Billboard’ record with 2020 track “Free Mind”

Tems has set a new Billboard record with her 2020 single “Free Mind.” According to Luminate, the song placed at #1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart dated May 20, making it the most-heard song on adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop radio stations in the week ending May 11.

With 17 weeks on top, the track now has the longest run for any song by a lead female artist in the chart’s history. It surpasses previous record holder Ella Mai‘s “Boo’d Up,” which spent 16 weeks at #1 in 2018, and joins a class of artists that also includes Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Alicia Keys, Rihanna and Cardi B.

“Free Mind” was released in 2020 as part of Tems’ For Broken Ears EP, but saw an increase in streams after Tems’ features on Wizkid‘s “Essence,” Drake’s “Fountains” and Future’s “Wait for U.” It first topped the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay in November 2022, before going on to dominate the Adult R&B Airplay chart for nine weeks.

Tems also holds the record for the song with the most weeks at #1 as a featured female artist. Tied with Chris Brown’s “No Guidance” featuring Drake at 27 weeks, “Essence” is the second-longest-leading #1 in R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay history. The first is Chris and Young Thug‘s “Go Crazy,” which spent 29 weeks on top of the chart in 2020 and 2021.

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