25 Billboard Chart Feats That Never Happened Until the 21st Century

As Billlboard celebrates the first 25 years of the 21st century with charts recapping the top artists, albums and songs in that span, we’re also looking back at 25 first-time feats, spotlighting chart successes never achieved prior to clocks striking Y2K. (Spoiler alert: They kept working after.)

Since the start of 2000, such firsts include BTS becoming the first all-South Korean group to top the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, Bad Bunny and Karol G claiming the first all-Spanish-language No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and Beyoncé becoming the first Black woman to crown the Top Country Albums and Hot Country Songs charts.

Plus, *NSYNC, Adele, Drake, Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter are among other acts that notched unprecedented chart honors over the quarter-century.

Below, relive 25 firsts achieved on Billboard charts over the first 25 years of the century. Also check out Billboard’s Top Artists of the 21st Century, Top Billboard 200 Albums of the 21st Century and Top Hot 100 Songs of the 21st Century charts in full, as well as all in-depth coverage of Billboard’s 21st Century charts here.

Billboard’s Top Artists, Top Billboard 200 Albums and Top Hot 100 Songs of the 21st Century recaps reflect performance on weekly charts dated Jan. 1, 2000, through Dec. 28, 2024. The Top Artists category ranks the best-performing acts in that span based on activity on the Billboard 200 and Hot 100. (Titles released prior to mid-1999 are excluded, although such entries that appeared on the Billboard 200 or Hot 100 in that span contribute to the calculation of the Top Artists chart.)