Max Martin breaks long-standing US chart record with Ariana Grande's yes, and?

The super-producer has made career-changing hits for the likes of Britney Spears, Taylor Swift and The Weeknd.

Pop super-producer Max Martin has broken a long-standing US chart record on the Billboard Hot 100, thanks to Ariana Grande's latest single yes, and? debuting at Number 1.

The handbag house banger - the lead single from Ariana's forthcoming seventh studio album Eternal Sunshine - is the first time Max and Ari have collaborated in half a decade. Previously, they'd worked together on some of her most iconic tracks; including UK Number 1s Problem, Bang Bang and Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored, as well as fan favourite cuts like Into You and should-have-been-a-single Bad Idea.

Debuting straight in at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, yes, and? becomes Ari's eighth Number 1 single in her native US (the same tally as Beyoncé, George Michael, Bruno Mars and Justin Bieber) and, in doing so, helps Max (one of the foundational architects of modern pop music as we know it) break a long-standing chart milestone too.

yes, and? is now officially Max's 24th Number 1 hit as producer, meaning he now holds the US chart record for the most Number 1 hits by a producer in Billboard history. In doing so, he outpaces The Beatles' producer George Martin, the long-time holder of the record.

By a large margin probably the most influential player in pop of this century, Max has made constant evolution his signature as a producer; first breaking through with highly-charged hits for Britney and the likes of Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, before switching tack in the mid-00s with a stack of rock-influenced rammers for the likes of Kelly Clarkson, before evolving his style again, becoming the go-to name for big, maximalist hits that have soaked in synth-pop, dance music and, more recently, hip-hop and trap.

He hooked up with Taylor Swift for the career-changing pop pivot single We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, before executive producing her first full pop LP, 1989. He also helped The Weeknd transition into pop full time, with the Michael Jackson-esque Can't Feel My Face, before producing what is probably the most successful and influential pop single of the last five years, Blinding Lights.

As a writer, Max also now equals John Lennon's all-time tally of 28 US Number 1s. Only Paul McCartney, with 32, has made more...and it stands to reason that, eventually, Max will catch him up.

Max hasn't worked with Taylor Swift since reputation, but his reunion with Ari on yes, and? hints that he hasn't given up working with his big pop girl muses just yet. And last year, Madonna threw a massive hint that that she was working with Max for the first time ever on brand new material...