Adult Pop Airplay

TheAdult Pop Airplay(formerly known asAdult Pop SongsandAdult Top 40) chart is published weekly byBillboardmagazineand ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured byNielsen Broadcast Data Systems."

It is a format in which the genre is geared more towards an adult audience who are not intohard rock,hip hop,oradult contemporaryfare. The main genres within this format arealternative rockand mainstreampopthat is more adult-oriented. It is not to be confused withadult contemporarywhere rather lesser-known and more ballad-driven songs are played. The current number-one song on the chart is "Too Sweet"byHozier.

History

The chart was first published in the March 16, 1996, issue ofBillboard;however, historically, the chart's introduction was in October 1995, when it began as a test chart.

The Adult Top 40 chart was formed following a split of the "Hot Adult Contemporary" chart due to the growing emergence of Adult Top 40 radio stations in the 1990s. These stations played a wider variety of artists and saw a faster turnover of songs compared to traditional adult contemporary radio. Songs by modern rock, dance, andR&Bartists were mixed in with acts more closely associated with adult contemporary. According toBillboard,splitting the chart "better reflect[s] the music being played on adult contemporary and adult/top 40 stations."

The first number-one song on the Adult Top 40, from the test chart of October 7, 1995, was "Kiss from a Rose"bySeal.The first number-one song on the Adult Top 40, from the published chart of March 16, 1996, was "One Sweet Day"byMariah CareyandBoyz II Men.

Chart criteria

There are 40 positions on this chart. Songs are ranked based on its total number of spins per week. This is calculated by electronically monitoring Adult 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.

Recurrent rules

Issue Date	Criteria	Ref
March 16, 1996 – Jun 29, 2002	Records below the top 20 are removed from the chart after 26 weeks.
July 6, 2002 – November 26, 2005	Records below the top 15 are removed from the chart after 26 weeks.
December 3, 2005 – April 18, 2009	Songs are removed from the chart if they have been on the chart for more than 20 weeks and rank below No. 15, or more than 52 weeks and rank below No. 10
April 25, 2009 – Present	Descending songs are removed from the chart if they have been on the chart for more than 20 weeks and rank below No. 15, or more than 26 weeks and rank below No. 10, or more than 52 weeks and rank below No. 5

All-time achievements

In 2016, for the 20th anniversary of the chart, Billboard compiled a ranking of the 50 best-performing songs and artists on the chart over the 20 years. "Smooth"bySantanafeaturingRob Thomaswas ranked as the #1 song, whileMaroon 5was ranked as the #1 artist.Listed below are the top 10 songs and the top 10 artists.

Top 10 Greatest of All Time Adult Pop Songs (1996–2016)

Rank	Single	Year released	Artist(s)	Peak and duration
1.	"Smooth"	1999	SantanafeaturingRob Thomas	#1 for 25 weeks
2.	"Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)"	2000	Train	#1 for 14 weeks
3.	"Wherever You Will Go"	2001	The Calling	#1 for 23 weeks
4.	"How to Save a Life"	2006	The Fray	#1 for 15 weeks
5.	"Counting Stars"	2013	OneRepublic	#1 for 7 weeks
6.	"Unwell"	2003	Matchbox Twenty	#1 for 18 weeks
7.	"I'm Yours"	2008	Jason Mraz	#1 for 9 weeks
8.	"You and Me"	2005	Lifehouse	#1 for 9 weeks
9.	"All for You"	1997	Sister Hazel	#1 for 7 weeks
10.	"Hanging by a Moment"	2000	Lifehouse	#1 for 5 weeks

Source:

Top 10 Greatest of All Time Adult Pop Songs Artists (1996–2016)

Rank	Artist
1.	Maroon 5
2.	Matchbox Twenty
3.	Train
4.	Nickelback
5.	Pink
6.	Kelly Clarkson
7.	Katy Perry
8.	Goo Goo Dolls
9.	Daughtry
10.	Taylor Swift

Source:

Song records

Most weeks at number one

Number of weeks	Artist(s)	Song	Year(s)	Source
25	SantanafeaturingRob Thomas	"Smooth"	1999–2000
23	The Calling	"Wherever You Will Go"	2001–02
	Taylor Swift	"Cruel Summer"	2023–24
20	The Weeknd	"Blinding Lights"	2020
18	Matchbox Twenty	"Unwell"	2003
	Nickelback	"Photograph"	2005–06
17	Goo Goo Dolls	"Iris"	1998
	Miley Cyrus	"Flowers"	2023
16	Avril Lavigne	"Complicated"	2002
15	No Doubt	"Don't Speak"	1996–97
	The Fray	"How to Save a Life"	2006–07
	Panic! at the Disco	"High Hopes"	2018–19

Most weeks on the chart

Number of weeks	Artist(s)	Song	Year(s)	Source
75	Train	"Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)"	2001–02
73	Lifehouse	"Hanging by a Moment"	2001–02
72	SantanafeaturingRob Thomas	"Smooth"	1999–2000
71	The Calling	"Wherever You Will Go"	2001–03
69	Sister Hazel	"All for You"	1997–98
65	Goo Goo Dolls	"Slide"	1998–1999
	The Weeknd	"Blinding Lights"	2020–21
63	Vertical Horizon	"Everything You Want"	1999–2001
62	Edwin McCain	"I'll Be"	1998–99
61	Duncan Sheik	"Barely Breathing"	1996–97

Highest debut

Debut Position	Artist	Song	Debut Date	Source
No. 9	Taylor Swift	"Shake It Off"	September 6, 2014
	Taylor Swift featuringPost Malone	"Fortnight"	May 4, 2024
No. 12	Ed Sheeran	"Eyes Closed"	April 8, 2023
	NSYNC	"Better Place"	October 14, 2023
No. 13	Alanis Morissette	"Thank U"	October 10, 1998
	Ed Sheeran	"Afterglow"	January 2, 2021
No. 14	Taylor Swift featuringBrendon Urie	"ME!"	May 4, 2019
	Adele	"Easy on Me"	October 23, 2021
	Miley Cyrus	"Flowers"	January 28, 2023
No. 16	Eric Clapton	"Change the World"	June 22, 1996
	Maroon 5	"Maps"	July 5, 2014
	Taylor Swift	"Look What You Made Me Do"	September 9, 2017
	Pink	"Never Gonna Not Dance Again"	November 19, 2022

Artist records

Artists with the most number-one songs

Number of singles	Artist	Source
15	Maroon 5
13	Taylor Swift
10	Pink
8	Katy Perry
	Ed Sheeran
6	Adele
	Shawn Mendes
5	Nickelback
	Justin Bieber

Artists with the most cumulative weeks at number one

Number of weeks	Artist	Source
101	Maroon 5
68	Taylor Swift
54	Matchbox Twenty
51	Ed Sheeran
47	Santana
45	Adele
40	Rob Thomas
38	Pink
35	Nickelback
34	Katy Perry

Artists with the most top-ten songs

Number of singles	Artist	Source
31	Taylor Swift
27	Maroon 5
20	Pink
17	Kelly Clarkson
16	Katy Perry
	Ed Sheeran
14	Goo Goo Dolls
	Train
	Justin Bieber
13	Matchbox Twenty

Longest break between number ones

• Coldplay– eight years and eight months
• Train– six years, four months and one week
• Maroon 5– five years, 10 months and one week

Additional achievements

• Shawn Mendes is the first artist to have four songs hit number one on the chart before age 20.

See also

• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Adult Top 40 chart
• Adult Contemporary (chart)
• Mainstream Top 40

External links

• CurrentBillboardAdult Pop Songs chart