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Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the United States. The rankings are based on radio airplay detections as measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems (Nielsen BDS), a subsidiary of the U.S.' leading marketing research company. Consumer researchers, Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron), refers to the format as contemporary hit radio (CHR). The current number-one song on the chart is "Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone.[1]
History
The chart debuted in Billboard Magazine in its issued date October 3, 1992, with the introduction of two Top 40 airplay charts, Mainstream and Rhythm-Crossover. Both Top 40 charts measured "actual monitored airplay" from data compiled by Broadcast Data Systems (BDS). The Top 40/Mainstream chart was compiled from airplay on radio stations playing a wide variety of music, while the Top 40/Rhythm-Crossover chart was made up from airplay on stations playing more dance and R&B music.[2] Both charts were "born of then-new BDS electronic monitoring technology" as a more objective and precise way of measuring airplay on radio stations. This data was also used as the airplay component for Hot 100 tabulations.[2] American Top 40 with Shadoe Stevens used this chart for their show from January 1993 to January 1995.
Top 40/Mainstream was published in the print edition of Billboard from its debut in October 1992 through May 1995, when both Top 40 charts were moved exclusively to Airplay Monitor, a secondary chart publication by Billboard. They returned to the print edition in the August 2, 2003, issue.[3] The first number-one song on the chart was "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men.[4]
Chart criteria
There are forty positions on this chart. Songs are ranked based on its total number of spins per week. This is calculated by electronically monitoring Mainstream Top 40 radio stations across the U.S. 24 hours a day, seven days a week by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems.
Songs receiving the greatest growth receive a "bullet", although there are tracks that also get bullets if the loss in detections doesn't exceed the percentage of downtime from a monitored station. "Airpower" awards are issued to songs that appear on the top 20 of both the airplay and audience chart for the first time, while the "greatest gainer" award is given to song with the largest increase in detections. A song with six or more spins in its first week is awarded an "airplay add". If two songs are tied in spins in the same week, the one with the biggest increase that week ranks higher.
Since the introduction of the chart until 2005, songs below No. 20 were moved to recurrent after 26 weeks on the chart. Beginning the chart week of December 3, 2005, songs below No. 20 were moved to recurrent after 20 weeks on the chart. Since the chart dated December 4, 2010, songs below No. 15 are moved to recurrent after 20 weeks on the chart
Whereas the Pop Airplay and Pop 100 Airplay charts both measured the airplay of songs played on Mainstream stations playing pop-oriented music, the Pop 100 Airplay (like the Hot 100 Airplay) measured airplay based on statistical impressions, while the Top 40 Mainstream chart used the number of total detections.
Source:[5]
All-time achievements
In 2012, for the 20th anniversary of the chart, Billboard compiled a ranking of the 100 best-performing songs on the chart over the 20 years, along with the best-performing artists. "Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls ranked as the #1 song on that list.[6][7] In 2017, Billboard revised the rankings, including the methodologies for how they are calculated. "Another Night" by Real McCoy was the new #1 song, while the previous #1 song, "Iris", dropped to #8. Rihanna ranked as the top artist on both all-time charts.[8] Shown below are the top 10 songs and the top 10 artists from the most recent chart.
Top 10 Pop Songs of all time (1992–2017)
| Rank | Single | Year released | Artist(s) | Peak and duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1.
|
"Another Night" | 1994
|
Real McCoy | #1 for 6 weeks |
2.
|
"Smooth" | 1999
|
Santana featuring Rob Thomas | #1 for 8 weeks |
3.
|
"Hanging by a Moment" | 2000
|
Lifehouse | #2 for 12 weeks |
4.
|
"Apologize" | 2007
|
Timbaland featuring OneRepublic | #1 for 8 weeks |
5.
|
"How You Remind Me" | 2001
|
Nickelback | #1 for 10 weeks |
6.
|
"Here Without You" | 2003
|
3 Doors Down | #1 for 6 weeks |
7.
|
"Don't Speak" | 1996
|
No Doubt | #1 for 10 weeks |
8.
|
"Iris" | 1998
|
Goo Goo Dolls | #1 for 4 weeks |
9.
|
"Closer" | 2016
|
The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey | #1 for 11 weeks |
10.
|
"I Love You Always Forever" | 1996
|
Donna Lewis | #1 for 11 weeks |
Source:[9]
Top 10 Pop Songs artists of all time (1992–2017)
| Rank | Artist |
|---|---|
1.
|
Rihanna |
2.
|
Pink |
3.
|
Maroon 5 |
4.
|
Katy Perry |
5.
|
Justin Timberlake |
6.
|
Britney Spears |
7.
|
Taylor Swift |
8.
|
Kelly Clarkson |
9.
|
Mariah Carey |
10.
|
Bruno Mars |
Source:[10]
Song records
Most weeks at number one
| Number of weeks |
Artist | Song | Year(s) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Ace of Base | "The Sign" | 1994 | [11] |
| 13 | The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber | "Stay" | 2021 | [12] |
| 11 | Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men | "One Sweet Day" | 1995–96 | [11] |
| Donna Lewis | "I Love You Always Forever" | 1996 | [11] | |
| Natalie Imbruglia | "Torn" | 1998 | [11] | |
| Nelly featuring Tim McGraw | "Over and Over" | 2004–05 | [11] | |
| The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey | "Closer" | 2016 | [11] | |
| 10 | Dionne Farris | "I Know" | 1995 | [11] |
| No Doubt | "Don't Speak" | 1996–97 | [11] | |
| Céline Dion | "My Heart Will Go On" | 1998 | [11] | |
| 'N Sync | "Bye Bye Bye" | 2000 | [11] | |
| Nickelback | "How You Remind Me" | 2001–02 | [11] | |
| Mariah Carey | "We Belong Together" | 2005 | [11] | |
| Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell | "Blurred Lines" | 2013 | [11] | |
| Post Malone | "Circles" | 2019–20 | [11] | |
| Miley Cyrus | "Flowers" | 2023 | [13] | |
| Taylor Swift | "Cruel Summer" | [14] |
Most weeks in the top 10
| Number of weeks |
Artist | Song | Year(s) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
45
|
Rema and Selena Gomez | "Calm Down" | 2023–24 | [15] |
41
|
Harry Styles | "As It Was" | 2022–23 | |
40
|
The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber | "Stay" | 2021–22 | |
39
|
The Weeknd | "Blinding Lights" | 2020 | |
35
|
Post Malone | "Circles" | 2019–20 | [16] |
33
|
The Weeknd | "Die for You" | 2022–23 | |
| 32 | Harry Styles | "Adore You" | 2020 | |
| Lil Nas X | "Thats What I Want" | 2021–22 | ||
| Taylor Swift | "Cruel Summer" | 2023–24 | ||
30
|
Dua Lipa | "Levitating" | 2020–21 |