Mary J. Blige’s ‘Breathing’ Rises to No. 1 on the Adult R&B Airplay Chart

The celebrations continue for the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul. On the heels of Mary J. Blige’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday (Oct. 19), the singer-songwriter banks the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart as “Breathing,” featuring Fabolous advances from No. 3 on the list dated Oct. 26.

The track achieves its coronation by becoming the most-played song on U.S. monitored adult R&B radio stations in the tracking week of Oct. 11 – 17, according to Luminate. With a 16% jump in play count for the tracking period, “Breathing” wins the weekly Greatest Gainer honor for the largest increase in plays among the chart’s 30 titles.

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“Breathing” gives Blige her ninth No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay. Here’s a review of her chart-topping collection on the radio ranking since it launched in 1993:

“Not Gon’ Cry,” four weeks at No. 1, beginning March 2, 1996
“Be Without You,” 14, Feb. 4, 2006
“Take Me As I Am,” one, Jan. 27, 2007
“IfULeave,” Musiq Soulchild featuring Mary. J. Blige, eight, Jan. 10, 2009
“Thick of It,” 16, Nov. 12, 2016
“U + Me (Love Lesson),” three, May 6, 2017
“Good Morning Gorgeous,” four, Feb. 26, 2022
“Still Believe in Love,” featuring Vado, eight, Dec. 30, 2023
“Breathing,” featuring Fabolous, one (to date), Oct. 26, 2024

Notably, it’s Blige’s third consecutive year with a new No. 1. In the last three years, only she, Chris Brown and Tank have posted annual champs.

With nine career leaders, Mary J. Blige moves into a tie with Maxwell, Tank and Usher for the fourth-most No. 1s among all artists in the Adult R&B Airplay chart’s 31-year history. The crew trails only Alicia Keys (14), Toni Braxton (11) and Charlie Wilson (10) on the overall leaderboard.

Elsewhere, “Breathing” rises 17-13 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, which ranks songs by combined audience totals from adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop stations. There, the single jumps to 5.3 million audience impressions, a 9% increase from the previous week. Radio gains help return the track to the airplay, streaming and sales-based Hot R&B Songs chart, where it re-enters at No. 24, after having reached No. 23 in September.

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