“Houdini,” whose title is an ode to legendary illusionist Harry Houdini, became Lipa’s second No. 1 on Billboard’s multimetric Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. The single, on Warner Records, launched atop the list in November and added its 10th week at the summit on the most recently published, Feb. 24-dated tally.
Following his death in 1926, Houdini has been the subject of other chart hits. Walter Brennan spent a week at No. 100 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962 with “Houdini”; Kon Kan hit No. 33 on Dance Singles Sales in 1989 with “Harry Houdini”; and Foster the People’s “Houdini” reached No. 37 on Alternative Airplay in 2012.
Meanwhile, researching Billboard’s archives pulls this rabbit out of a hat: Houdini’s widow, Bess, drew ink in the Dec. 29, 1934, issue, which celebrated Billboard’s 40th anniversary (dating to the Nov. 1, 1894-dated inaugural edition). “The Billboard and I started in show business the same year,” an ad on page 219 read. “My! My! How you have grown, Billyboy. Congratulations – Mrs. Harry Houdini.”
