It looks like Taylor Hicks is about to disappear from the Hot 100 with "Do I Make You Proud" (and very likely has disappeared by the time you read this). Is his eight-week run on the Hot 100 the shortest amount of time a No. 1 song has stayed on this chart? What song had the shortest run previously?
Brian Lynch Los Angeles, Calif.
Dear Brian,
Taylor Hicks' "Do I Make You Proud" did indeed fall off the Hot 100 this week. Its eight-week run on the entire chart is the shortest I can find for any No. 1 hit on this chart. There are a number of chart-toppers that had 10-week runs, including classic Beatles songs like "Can't Buy Me Love" and "Paperback Writer," as well as the more recent "American Idol" finale tune "I Believe" by Fantasia, but no No. 1 hit ever had a single-digit run on the entire chart until now.