List of Hot 100 Number-one Singles of 2002 (U.S.)

List Of Hot 100 Number-one Singles Of 2002 (U.S.)

The Billboard Hot 100 is a chart that ranks the best-performing singles of the United States. Published by Billboard magazine, the data are compiled by Nielsen SoundScan based collectively on each single's weekly physical sales and airplay. In 2002, there were seven singles that topped the chart, the lowest number of singles to top the chart in a single year ever (if the two songs which peaked in 2001 are included, 2002 would have the second lowest number of chart-topping singles in a year, behind 2005). Although nine singles reached number one in fifty-two issues of the magazine in the calendar year, two songs began their peak position in 2001 and are thus excluded.

In 2002, five acts earned their first U.S. number one single, either as a lead artist or featured guest. Singer Ashanti was the first act to achieve the feat with rapper Ja Rule's "Always on Time". She later scored her first number-one single as a lead artist with "Foolish". Singer Kelly Rowland, then-member of the girl group Destiny's Child, earned her first number-one solo single with "Dilemma", a song by rapper Nelly, who received his first number-one with "Hot in Herre" during this year. The ascent of "Lose Yourself" to number one gave rapper Eminem his first chart-topping single since he began releasing albums in 1999. Kelly Clarkson gained her first number-one single with "A Moment Like This". Clarkson and Ashanti were the only acts to have topped the chart this year with a debut single. In 2002, Ja Rule, Ashanti, and Nelly had two number-one singles in the Billboard Hot 100.

Most of the number-one singles in 2002 were extended chart-toppers. "Lose Yourself" is the longest-running single, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for 12 consecutive weeks, eight of which were in this calendar year. "Foolish" and "Dilemma" both stayed at number one for 10 weeks, the latter of which was non-consecutive. "Ain't It Funny" by Jennifer Lopez peaked at number one for seven weeks.

Rock band Nickelback's "How You Remind Me", which first peaked at number one in 2001, is the best-performing single of 2002. "Lose Yourself", which is the soundtrack to the 2002 film 8 Mile, is the second most-successful soundtrack song in the entire rock era. It is behind Whitney Houston's version of "I Will Always Love You", having topped the chart for 14 weeks. "Lose Yourself" is also the longest-running Oscar-winning number-one song since singer-actor Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" had 14 weeks on top in the 1940s. "A Moment Like This" is noted for its fifty-two-to-one leap in 2002, breaking the 38-year-old record set by The Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love", which jumped from number twenty-seven to one.