Katy Perry’s ‘Dark Horse’ Races To The Top On Hot 100

Looks like the top charting artists now have a horse to contend with where the Billboard charts are concerned. Following her Grammy performance, Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” has climbed to the top of the charts.

The news of Perry’s number one with the song “Dark Horse” comes as a surprise to the singer, who has now earned her ninth number one. The singer, whose album Prism has seen great success since its release, remains modest.

“This No. 1 is the most unexpected one I’ve ever had. Dark Horse’ has been a dark horse of a song, since August when the KatyCats voted to release it early on iTunes, before ‘PRISM’ even came out. I’m so thrilled and grateful to have these moments.”

For Katy Perry, it’s been a major year of success both personally and professionally. In her personal life, she “let the light in” by reuniting with love John Mayer after the couple went through a break. The two came back stronger than ever and recorded a folk song called “Who You Love” for Mayer’s album Paradise Valley.

Now that Perry’s album Prism has gained as much traction as her prior releases, she now ties for having ten number one singles with Janet Jackson and Stevie Wonder.

As for Prism’s opening week, it debuted at number one and topped sales made by the overexposed Miley Cyrus. For Perry it was a career high, as it was marked as the best sales week of her career.

Speaking of her latest album, Perry told Billboard of her approach to new material:

“I didn’t want to do Teenage Dream 2.0. Teenage Dream was highly conceptual, super-pop art. Prism is more organic, au naturale, vulnerable and honest, but still has the same amount of fun.”

Although the singer has found success, that doesn’t mean that she isn’t levelheaded. Perry explained that she sought out advice from her love John Mayer. “One thing John [Mayer] said to me was, ‘It’s harder maintaining success than finding it.’ I’ve got a few records under my belt, and I still feel like a brand-new artist. People still want that truth to cut through.”

As for her goals following her hit record, Perry said she feels that she’s going to be around for a long time, and sees herself more as a legacy artist like Joni Mitchell rather than a pop artist.

Either way, it looks like Katy has something to celebrate.