These are the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

R&B singles chart

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...

 number-one singles of 2009.

Note that Billboard publishes charts with an issue date approximately 7-10 days in advance.

There were a total of 8 number-one singles, even though 9 claimed the spot as Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)

Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)

"Single Ladies " is a song by American recording artist Beyoncé Knowles from her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce. It was released by Columbia Records on October 12, 2008 as the album's lead single, and appeared with "If I Were a Boy" as a double A-side single, demonstrating the...

" reached its peak position in 2008, and thus is excluded.

In 2009, four acts achieved their first R&B number-one single either as a lead artist or a featured artist: Jeremih

Jeremih

Jeremiah Felton who performs under the mononym Jeremih , is an American recording artist and producer signed to Def Jam Recordings. Jeremih's debut single, "Birthday Sex" , peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100...

, Keri Hilson

Keri Hilson

Keri Lynn Hilson is an American R&B singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, Hilson began her music career as a songwriter, penning tracks for several artists in the mid-2000s as part of the five-person production and songwriting team, The Clutch...

, Drake

Drake (entertainer)

Aubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....

, and Trey Songz

Trey Songz

Tremaine "Trey" Aldon Neverson , better known by his stage name Trey Songz, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. His debut album, I Gotta Make It, was released in 2005, while his second album, Trey Day, was released in 2007...

. Drake

Drake (entertainer)

Aubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....

 is the only artist to have had two number-one singles this year, one as lead on his Best I Ever Had

Best I Ever Had (Drake song)

"Best I Ever Had" is the first single from Canadian rapper Drake's first EP So Far Gone. It first became prominent from the release of Drake's third mixtape of the same name. In 2009, the song was named the "Hot Rap Song" of the year by Billboard. The song's popularity helped Drake decide to...

 and another as a featured guest on Trey Songz

Trey Songz

Tremaine "Trey" Aldon Neverson , better known by his stage name Trey Songz, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. His debut album, I Gotta Make It, was released in 2005, while his second album, Trey Day, was released in 2007...

's I Invented Sex

I Invented Sex

"I Invented Sex" is a song by American R&B singer Trey Songz, and features Canadian recording artist Drake. Together, they wrote the song alongside Tony Scales and its producer, Los Da Mystro. It was released to urban airplay as the third single from Songz's third studio album Ready on October 13,...

.

Two songs broke records this year as both Jamie Foxx

Jamie Foxx

Eric Marlon Bishop , professionally known as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, singer-songwriter, stand-up comedian, and talk radio host. As an actor, his work in the film Ray earned him the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Actor as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a...

's Blame It

Blame It

"Blame It" is a song by American singer Jamie Foxx, released as the second official single from his third studio album, Intuition. It features singer T-Pain and was written by Christopher "Deep" Henderson, Nate Walker, James T. Brown, John Conte Jr., and Brandon Melanchon and produced by...

 and Maxwell

Maxwell (musician)

Maxwell , is an American R&B, funk and neo soul musician. He played an important role in the development of the soul sub-genre, neo-soul.-Early life:...

's Pretty Wings

Pretty Wings

"Pretty Wings" is a single by American singer-songwriter Maxwell's fourth studio album BLACKsummers'night. It was written and produced by Maxwell and Hod David....

 both stayed at number-one for fourteen weeks each, the most by a male artist and the longest-running singles of 2009.

Chart history

Issue date	Song	Artist(s)	Reference(s)
January 3	"Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) "Single Ladies " is a song by American recording artist Beyoncé Knowles from her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce. It was released by Columbia Records on October 12, 2008 as the album's lead single, and appeared with "If I Were a Boy" as a double A-side single, demonstrating the... "	Beyoncé Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
January 10
January 17
January 24
January 31
February 7
February 14
February 21	"Blame It Blame It "Blame It" is a song by American singer Jamie Foxx, released as the second official single from his third studio album, Intuition. It features singer T-Pain and was written by Christopher "Deep" Henderson, Nate Walker, James T. Brown, John Conte Jr., and Brandon Melanchon and produced by... "	Jamie Foxx Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop , professionally known as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, singer-songwriter, stand-up comedian, and talk radio host. As an actor, his work in the film Ray earned him the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Actor as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a...  featuring T-Pain T-Pain Faheem Rasheed Najm , better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor, currently signed to Young Money Entertainment. His debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, was released in 2005. In 2007, T-Pain released his second studio album Epiphany,...
February 28
March 7
March 14
March 21
March 28
April 4
April 11
April 18
April 25
May 2
May 9
May 16
May 23
May 30	"Birthday Sex Birthday Sex "Birthday Sex" is the debut single by American recording artist Jeremih. It is the lead single from his debut album, Jeremih. The song was written by Jeremih and Keith James and produced by Mick Schultz. "Birthday Sex" peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop... "	Jeremih Jeremih Jeremiah Felton who performs under the mononym Jeremih , is an American recording artist and producer signed to Def Jam Recordings. Jeremih's debut single, "Birthday Sex" , peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100...
June 6
June 13	"Knock You Down Knock You Down "Knock You Down" is a song by American singer-songwriter Keri Hilson, taken from her debut studio album, In a Perfect World... . The song features guest vocals from American singer-songwriter Ne-Yo and American rapper Kanye West. The song was written by Hilson, West, and Ne-Yo along with Kevin... "	Keri Hilson Keri Hilson Keri Lynn Hilson is an American R&B singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, Hilson began her music career as a songwriter, penning tracks for several artists in the mid-2000s as part of the five-person production and songwriting team, The Clutch...  featuring Kanye West Kanye West Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...  and Ne-Yo Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith, Jr. , better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor. Beginning his career as a songwriter, Ne-Yo penned the hit "Let Me Love You" for singer Mario...
June 20
June 27	"Best I Ever Had Best I Ever Had (Drake song) "Best I Ever Had" is the first single from Canadian rapper Drake's first EP So Far Gone. It first became prominent from the release of Drake's third mixtape of the same name. In 2009, the song was named the "Hot Rap Song" of the year by Billboard. The song's popularity helped Drake decide to... "	Drake Drake (entertainer) Aubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....
July 4
July 11
July 18
July 25
August 1
August 8
August 15	"Pretty Wings Pretty Wings "Pretty Wings" is a single by American singer-songwriter Maxwell's fourth studio album BLACKsummers'night. It was written and produced by Maxwell and Hod David.... "	Maxwell Maxwell (musician) Maxwell , is an American R&B, funk and neo soul musician. He played an important role in the development of the soul sub-genre, neo-soul.-Early life:...
August 22
August 29
September 5
September 12
September 19
September 26
October 3
October 10
October 17
October 24
October 31
November 7
November 14
November 21	"Empire State of Mind Empire State of Mind "Empire State of Mind" is a song by American rapper and hip hop artist Jay-Z, featuring vocals and a chorus from R&B and soul singer Alicia Keys. It was released as the third single from Jay-Z's 11th studio album The Blueprint 3 by his Roc Nation label in October 2009... "	Jay-Z Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...  featuring Alicia Keys Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
November 28
December 5
December 12	"Papers Papers (song) "Papers" is a song by American recording artist Usher. The song was a buzz single for his sixth studio album Raymond v. Raymond. It was written by Usher, Alonzo "Gorilla Zoe" Mathis, Sean Garrett and Zaytoven, and was produced by the latter two. Although it was never identified as a track from the... "	Usher Usher (entertainer) Usher Terry Raymond IV , who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer-songwriter, and actor. He is considered around the world to be the reigning King of R&B. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100...
December 19
December 26	"I Invented Sex I Invented Sex "I Invented Sex" is a song by American R&B singer Trey Songz, and features Canadian recording artist Drake. Together, they wrote the song alongside Tony Scales and its producer, Los Da Mystro. It was released to urban airplay as the third single from Songz's third studio album Ready on October 13,... "	Trey Songz Trey Songz Tremaine "Trey" Aldon Neverson , better known by his stage name Trey Songz, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. His debut album, I Gotta Make It, was released in 2005, while his second album, Trey Day, was released in 2007...  featuring Drake

Chart comparisons

• Two songs went to number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart: "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" (from last year) and "Empire State of Mind."
• Five songs went to number-one on the Rhythmic Top 40 chart: "Blame It," "Knock You Down," "Birthday Sex," "Best I Ever Had" and "Empire State of Mind."