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"Hot 100" redirects here. For other uses, seeHot 100 (disambiguation).

The currentBillboardHot 100 logo

TheBillboardHot 100is themusic industrystandardrecord chartin theUnited Statesfor songs, published weekly byBillboardmagazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical anddigital),online streaming,andradio airplayin the U.S.[1]

A new chart is compiled and released online to the public byBillboard's website on Tuesdays but post-dated to the following Saturday, when the printed magazine first reaches newsstands.[2]The weekly tracking period for sales is currently Friday–Thursday, after being changed in July 2015. It was initially Monday–Sunday whenNielsenstarted tracking sales in 1991. This tracking period also applies to compiling online streaming data. Radio airplay is readily available on a real-time basis, unlike sales figures and streaming, but is also tracked on the same Friday–Thursday cycle, effective with the chart dated July 17, 2021.[3]Previously, radio was tracked Monday–Sunday and, before July 2015, Wednesday–Tuesday.[4]

The first number-one song of theBillboardHot 100 was "Poor Little Fool"byRicky Nelson,on August 4, 1958.[5]As of the issue for the week ending on November 2, 2024, theBillboardHot 100 has had 1,175 different number-one entries. The current number-one song on the chart is "Love Somebody"byMorgan Wallen.[6]

History

A previous iteration of the logo

The first chart published byBillboardwas "Last Week's Ten Best Sellers Among the Popular Songs", a list of best-selling sheet music, in July 1913. Other charts listed popular song performances in theatres and recitals. In 1928, "Popular Numbers Featured by Famous Singers and Leaders" appeared, which added radio performances to in-person performances. On January 4, 1936, Billboard magazine published "Ten Best Records for Week Ending", which listed the 10 top selling records of three leading record companies, as reported by the companies themselves. In October 1938, a review list, "The Week's Best Records", was retitled "The Billboard Record Buying Guide" by incorporating airplay and sheet music sales, which would eventually become the first trade survey of record popularity.[7]This led to the full-page "Billboard Music Popularity Chart" for the week ending July 20, 1940, and published in the July 27 issue, with lists covering jukebox play, retail sales, sheet music sales, and radio play. Listed were 10 songs of the national "Best Selling Retail Records", which was the fore-runner of today's pop chart, with "I'll Never Smile Again"byTommy Dorseyits first number one.[8]

Starting on March 24, 1945,Billboard's lead popularity chart was theHonor Roll of Hits.This chart ranked the most popular songs regardless of performer (it combined different versions of the same song by different artists) based on record and sheet sales, disk jockey, and jukebox performances as determined byBillboard's weekly nationwide survey.[9]At the start of the rock era in 1955, there were three charts that measured songs by individual metrics:[10]

  • Best Sellers in Storeswas the best seller chart first established in July 1940. This chart ranked the biggest selling singles in retail stores, as reported by merchants surveyed throughout the country (20 to 50 positions).
  • Most Played by JockeyswasBillboard's original airplay chart. It ranked the most played songs on United States radio stations, as reported by radio DJs and radio stations (20 to 25 positions).
  • Most Played in Jukeboxesranked the most played songs injukeboxesacross the United States (20 positions). This was one of the main outlets of measuring song popularity with the younger generation of music listeners, as many radio stations resisted addingrock and rollmusic to their playlists for many years.

Although officially all three charts had equal "weight" in terms of their importance,Billboardretrospectively considers theBest Sellers in Storeschart when referencing a song's performance before the creation of the Hot 100.[11]In its issue of November 12, 1955,BillboardpublishedThe Top 100for the first time (for the survey weeks ending October 26 and November 2).[12]The Top 100combined all aspects of a single's performance (sales, airplay and jukebox activity), based on a point system that typically gave sales (purchases) more weight than radio airplay. The first No. 1 in that chart was "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing"byThe Four Aces.[7]TheBest Sellers in Stores,Most Played by JockeysandMost Played in Jukeboxescharts continued to be published concurrently with the newTop 100chart.

On June 17, 1957,Billboarddiscontinued theMost Played in Jukeboxeschart, as the popularity of jukeboxes waned and radio stations incorporated more and more rock-oriented music into their playlists. The week of July 28, 1958, had the finalMost Played by JockeysandTop 100charts, both of which hadPerez Prado's instrumental version of "Patricia"ascending to the top.[13]

On August 4, 1958,Billboardpremiered one main all-genre singles chart: theHot 100,with "Poor Little Fool"byRicky Nelsonits first No. 1.[14][15]The Hot 100 quickly became the industry standard andBillboarddiscontinued theBest Sellers In Storeschart on October 13, 1958.

The Hot 100 was created by journalists Tom Noonan,Paul Ackerman,andSeymour Stein;Stein did not recall who chose the name.[16]

TheBillboardHot 100 is still the standard by which a song's popularity is measured in the United States. The Hot 100 is ranked by radio airplay audience impressions as measured by Nielsen BDS, sales data compiled byNielsen Soundscan(both at retail and digitally) and streaming activity provided by online music sources.[10]

There are several component charts that contribute to the overall calculation of the Hot 100. The most significant ones are:

Compilation

The tracking week for sales, streaming and airplay begins on Friday and ends on Thursday (airplay used to have a tracking week from Monday to Sunday, but effective with the chart dated July 17, 2021, the week was adjusted to align with the other two metrics[3]). A new chart is compiled and officially released to the public byBillboardon Tuesday. Each chart is post-dated with the "week-ending" issue date four days after the charts are refreshed online (i.e., the following Saturday).[17]For example:

  • Friday, January 1 – tracking-week begins for sales, streaming and airplay
  • Thursday, January 7 – tracking-week ends for sales, streaming and airplay
  • Tuesday, January 12 – new chart released, with issue post-dated Saturday, January 16

Policy changes

The methods and policies by which this data is obtained and compiled have changed many times throughout the chart's history.

Although the advent of a singles music chart spawned chart historians and chart-watchers and greatly affectedpop cultureand produced countless bits of trivia, the main purpose of the Hot 100 is to aid those within the music industry: to reflect the popularity of the "product" (the singles, the albums, etc.) and to track the trends of the buying public.Billboardhas (many times) changed its methodology and policies to give the most precise and accurate reflection of what is popular. A very basic example of this would be the ratio given to sales and airplay. During the Hot 100's early history, singles were the leading way by which people bought music. At times, when singles sales were robust, more weight was given to a song's retail points than to its radio airplay.

As the decades passed, the recording industry concentrated more on album sales than singles sales. Musicians eventually expressed their creative output in the form of full-length albums rather than singles, and by the 1990s many record companies stopped releasing singles altogether (seeAlbum Cuts,below). Eventually, a song's airplay points were weighted more so than its sales.Billboardhas adjusted the sales/airplay ratio many times to more accurately reflect the true popularity of songs.

Double-sided singles

Billboardhas also changed its Hot 100 policy regarding "two-sided singles" several times. The pre-Hot 100 chart "Best Sellers in Stores" listed popular A- and-B-sides together, with the side that was played most often (based on its other charts) listed first. One of the most notable of these, but far from the only one, wasElvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel" / "Hound Dog". During the Presley single's chart run, top billing was switched back and forth between the two sides several times. But on the concurrent "Most Played in Juke Boxes", "Most Played by Jockeys" and the "Top 100", the two songs were listed separately, as was true of all songs. With the initiation of the Hot 100 in 1958, A- and-B-sides charted separately, as they had on the former Top 100.

Starting with the Hot 100 chart for the week ending November 29, 1969, this rule was altered; if both sides received significant airplay, they were listed together. This started to become a moot point by 1972, as most major record labels solidified a trend they had started in the 1960s by putting the same song on both sides of the singles provided to radio.

More complex issues began to arise as the typical A-and-B-side format of singles gave way to12 inch singlesand maxi-singles, many of which contained more than one B-side. Further problems arose when, in several cases, a B-side would eventually overtake the A-side in popularity, thus prompting record labels to release a new single, featuring the former B-side as the A-side, along with a "new" B-side.

The inclusion of album cuts on the Hot 100 put the double-sided hit issues to rest permanently.

Album cuts

As many Hot 100 chart policies have been modified over the years, one rule always remained constant: songs were not eligible to enter the Hot 100 unless they were available to purchase as a single. However, on December 5, 1998, the Hot 100 changed from being a "singles" chart to a "songs" chart.[10]During the 1990s, a growing trend in the music industry was to promote songs to radio without ever releasing them as singles. It was claimed by major record labels that singles were cannibalizing album sales, so they were slowly phased out.[18]During this period, accusations began to fly of chart manipulation as labels would hold off on releasing a single until airplay was at its absolute peak, thus prompting a top ten or, in some cases, a number-one debut. In many cases, a label would delete a single from its catalog after only one week, thus allowing the song to enter the Hot 100, make a high debut and then slowly decline in position as the one-time production of the retail single sold out.

It was during this period that several popular mainstream hits never charted on the Hot 100, or charted well after their airplay had declined. During the period that they were not released as singles, the songs were not eligible to chart. Many of these songs dominated theHot 100 Airplaychart for extended periods of time:

As debate and conflicts occurred more and more often,Billboardfinally answered the requests of music industry artists and insiders to include airplay-only songs (or "album cuts" ) in the Hot 100, while the retail component was reduced from 40% to 25%.[19]

EPs

Extended play(EP) releases were listed byBillboardon the Hot 100 and in pre-Hot 100 charts (Top 100) until the mid-to-late 1960s. With the growing popularity of albums, it was decided to move EPs (which typically contain four to six tracks) from the Hot 100 to theBillboard200,where they are included to this day.

Digital downloads, online streaming and bundles

Since February 12, 2005, theBillboardHot 100 tracks paid digital downloads from such internet services asiTunes,Musicmatch,andRhapsody.Billboardinitially started tracking downloads in 2003 with theHot Digital Trackschart. However, these downloads did not count towards the Hot 100 and that chart (as opposed toHot Digital Songs) counted each version of a song separately. This was the first major overhaul of the Hot 100's chart formula since December 1998.

The change in methodology has shaken up the chart considerably, with some songs debuting on the chart strictly with robust online sales and others making drastic leaps. In recent years, several songs have been able to achieve 80-to-90 position jumps in a single week as their digital components were made available at online music stores. Since 2006, the all-time record for the biggest single-week upward movement was broken nine times.

In the issue dated August 11, 2007,Billboardbegan incorporating weekly data fromstreaming mediaand on-demand services into the Hot 100. The first two major companies to provide their statistics to Nielsen BDS on a weekly basis wereAOLMusic andYahoo! Music.[20]On March 24, 2012, Billboard premiered its On-Demand Songs chart, which ranks web radio streams from services such asSpotify,as well as on-demand audio titles.[21]Its data was then incorporated into the equation that compiles the Hot 100, and this was expanded to a broaderStreaming Songschart in January 2013.[22]In February 2013, U.S. views for a song onYouTubewere added to the Hot 100 formula. "Harlem Shake"was the first song to reach number one after the changes were made.[23]

In July 2020,Billboardannounced that they would no longer allow sales of physical/digital bundles to be reported as digital sales. This refers to songs being bought along withmerchandise,either from an artists website or through another vendor. The magazine stated that this was a tactic generally used by certain artists to boost their chart positions. Instead, such physical releases are now only counted when they are shipped to the consumer, rendering the tactic "ineffectual".[24]

Remixes

A growing trend early in the first decade of the 21st century was to issue a song as a "remix" that was so drastically different in structure and lyrical content from its original version that it was essentially a whole new song. Under normal circumstances, airplay points from a song's album version, "radio" mix and/ordance musicremix, etc. were all combined and factored into the song's performance on the Hot 100, as the structure, lyrics and melody remained intact. Criticisms began when songs were being completely re-recorded to the point that they no longer resembled the original recording. The first such example of this scenario isJennifer Lopez's "I'm Real".Originally entering the Hot 100 in its album version, a" remix "was issued in the midst of its chart run that featured rapperJa Rule.This new version proved to be far more popular than the album version and the track was propelled to number one.

To address this issue,Billboardnow separates airplay points from a song's original version and its remix, if the remix is determined to be a "new song". Since administering this new chart rule, several songs have charted twice, normally credited as "Part 1" and "Part 2". The remix rule is still in place.

Recurrents

Billboard,in an effort to allow the chart to remain as current as possible and to give representation to new and developing artists and tracks, has (since 1991) removed titles that have reached certain criteria regarding its current rank and number of weeks on the chart. Recurrent criteria have been modified several times and currently (as of 2015), a song is permanently moved to "recurrent status" if it has spent 20 weeks on the Hot 100 and fallen below position number 50. Additionally, descending songs are removed from the chart if ranking below number 25 after 52 weeks.[25]Exceptions are made to re-releases and sudden resurgence in popularity of tracks that have taken a very long time to gain mainstream success. These rare cases are handled on a case-by-case basis and ultimately determined byBillboard's chart managers and staff. Older songs are allowed to re-enter to the Hot 100 provided they chart higher than number 50.[26]Christmas songs have been a regular presence on the Hot 100 each December since the relaxation of recurrent rules, culminating inMariah Carey's 1994 recording "All I Want for Christmas Is You"reaching No. 1 on the chart in December 2019.[27]

Adjustment of tracking week

Billboardaltered its tracking-week for sales, streaming and radio airplay in order to conform to a new Global Release Date, which now falls on Fridays in all major-market territories (United States product was formerly released on Tuesdays before June 2015). This modified tracking schedule took effect in the issue dated July 25, 2015.[4]

Year-end charts

Billboard's "chart year" runs from the first week of December to the final week in November. This altered calendar allows forBillboardto calculateyear-end chartsand release them in time for its final print issue in the last week of December.

Before Nielsen SoundScan, year-end singles charts were calculated by an inverse-point system based solely on a song's performance on the Hot 100 (for example, a song would be given one point for a week spent at position 100, two points for a week spent at position 99 and so forth, up to 100 points for each week spent at number one). Other factors including the total weeks a song spent on the chart and at its peak position were calculated into its year-end total.

AfterBillboardbegan obtaining sales and airplay information from Nielsen SoundScan, the year-end charts are now calculated by a very straightforward cumulative total of yearlong sales, streaming, and airplay points. This gives a more accurate picture of any given year's most popular tracks, as the points accrued by one song during its week at number one in March might be less than those accrued by another song reaching number three in January. Songs at the peak of their popularity at the time of the November/December chart-year cutoff many times end up ranked on the following year's chart as well, as their cumulative points are split between the two chart-years, but often are ranked lower than they would have been had the peak occurred in a single year.

Use in media

The Hot 100 served for many years as the data source for the weekly radio countdown showAmerican Top 40.This relationship ended on November 30, 1991, asAmerican Top 40started using theairplay-only side of the Hot 100(then calledTop 40 Radio Monitor). The ongoing splintering ofTop 40 radioin the early 1990s led stations to lean into specific formats, meaning that practically no station would play the wide array of genres that typically composed each weekly Hot 100 chart.

An artist or band's ability to have hits in the Hot 100 across multiple decades is recognized as a sign of longevity and being able to adapt to changing musical styles. Only five artists had a Hot 100 Top 40 hit in each of the four decades from the 1980s through the 2010s:Michael Jackson,Madonna,"Weird Al" Yankovic,U2,andKenny G.[28]Mariah Careyis the first artist to have a number-one single in four different decades.[29]

SiriusXM Pop2Kuses the Hot 100 charts for the 2000s for the "Pop2Kountdown", where radio personal Rich Davis plays the top 30 songs on the Hot 100 from that specific week in a specific year from the 2000s.'90s on 9also does a similar countdown show called the "Back in the Day Replay Countdown" hosted byDowntown Julie Brown;however, this focuses on the Hot 100 charts from the 1990s.

Similar charts

A new chart, thePop 100,was created byBillboardin February 2005 to answer criticism that the Hot 100 at the time was too dominated by hip hop and R&B. It was discontinued in June 2009 due to the charts becoming increasingly similar.

TheCanadian Hot 100was launched June 16, 2007. Like the Hot 100 chart, it uses sales and airplay tracking compiled by Nielsen SoundScan andBDS.[30]

TheBillboardJapan Hot 100was launched in the issue dated May 31, 2008, using the same methodologies as the Hot 100 charts for the U.S. and Canada, using sales and airplay data from SoundScan Japan and radio tracking service Plantech.[31]

The Vietnamese edition of Hot 100,BillboardVietnam Hot 100,was launched on January 14, 2022.[32]

See also

Notes

  1. ^"Billboard Finalizes Changes to How Streams Are Weighted for Billboard Hot 100 & Billboard 200".Billboard.May 1, 2018.Archivedfrom the original on January 29, 2020.RetrievedAugust 4,2021.
  2. ^"Billboard Charts Legend".Billboard.January 23, 2013.Archivedfrom the original on October 31, 2019.RetrievedJanuary 27,2023.
  3. ^abTrust, Gary (July 12, 2021)."BTS' 'Butter' Leads Hot 100 for Seventh Week, Lil Nas X's 'Montero' Returns to Top Five".Billboard.Archivedfrom the original on July 12, 2021.RetrievedJuly 12,2021.
  4. ^ab"Billboard to Alter Chart Tracking Week for Global Release Date".Billboard.June 24, 2015.Archivedfrom the original on July 20, 2015.RetrievedJune 24,2015.
  5. ^"Ricky Nelson Rules First-Ever Hot 100 with 'Poor Little Fool'".August 4, 2019.Archivedfrom the original on August 3, 2021.RetrievedAugust 3,2021.
  6. ^Trust, Gary (October 28, 2024)."Morgan Wallen's 'Love Somebody' Launches at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100".Billboard.RetrievedOctober 29,2024.
  7. ^ab"The Chart in Evolution: A Chronicle".Billboard.May 21, 1977. p. RS-110.Archivedfrom the original on November 1, 2022.RetrievedNovember 1,2022.
  8. ^"Billboard Music Popularity Chart"(PDF).Billboard.July 27, 1940. p. 11.Archived(PDF)from the original on August 18, 2020.RetrievedNovember 12,2022.
  9. ^"Billboard Honor Roll of Hits Represents Culmination of Disk's Life on the Charts"(PDF).Billboard.April 24, 1954. p. 34.Archived(PDF)from the original on June 10, 2020.RetrievedSeptember 18,2019.
  10. ^abcMolanphy, Chris (August 1, 2013)."How The Hot 100 Became America's Hit Barometer".All Things Considered.NPR.Archivedfrom the original on August 3, 2017.RetrievedMarch 14,2018.
  11. ^"Chart Beat Chat".Billboard.December 2, 2005. Archived fromthe originalon September 28, 2015.RetrievedJuly 15,2020.The main chart was Best Sellers in Stores, and that's the list Billboard uses as THE pre-Hot 100 chart.
  12. ^"The Top 100 for survey week ending November 2".Billboard.November 12, 1956.Archivedfrom the original on July 22, 2023.RetrievedJuly 22,2023.
  13. ^Whitburn, Joel (2012).The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 9th Edition.Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed. p. 879.ISBN9780307985125.Archivedfrom the original on November 10, 2022.RetrievedNovember 10,2022.
  14. ^"Hot 100 55th Anniversary: Every No. 1 Song (1958-2013)".Billboard.August 2, 2013.Archivedfrom the original on December 26, 2021.RetrievedDecember 26,2021.
  15. ^"Billboard Hot 100".Billboard.August 4, 1958.
  16. ^Trust, Gary (August 4, 2021)."Seymour Stein on His Billboard Beginning & How the Hot 100 Was Born on Aug. 4, 1958".Billboard.Archivedfrom the original on October 2, 2022.RetrievedOctober 1,2022.Tom [Noonan] could have come up with the name. I certainly did not. It might have been one of the reporters, or Paul Ackerman. I just don't remember.
  17. ^"Billboard Chart & Magazine Dates Now to Align Closer to Release Week".Billboard.December 19, 2017.Archivedfrom the original on April 13, 2019.RetrievedJanuary 1,2018.
  18. ^Leeds, Jeff (February 24, 2001)."Record Industry Says Napster Hurt Sales".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedJune 3,2024.
  19. ^"A New Hot 100 Reflects Changes in Music Business".Billboard.December 5, 1998. pp. 3, 129.Archivedfrom the original on August 30, 2023.RetrievedAugust 30,2023.
  20. ^Mayfield, Geoff (August 4, 2007)."Billboard Hot 100 To Include Digital Streams".Billboard.Archivedfrom the original on June 14, 2013.RetrievedJuly 30,2007.
  21. ^Trust, Gary (March 14, 2012)."Hot 100 Impacted by New On-Demand Songs Chart".Billboard.Archivedfrom the original on March 23, 2017.RetrievedMarch 14,2012.
  22. ^Pietroluongo, Silvio (January 17, 2013)."New Dance/Electronic Songs Chart Launches With Will.i.am & Britney at No. 1".Billboard.Archivedfrom the original on November 10, 2016.RetrievedFebruary 19,2012.
  23. ^Sisario, Ben (February 20, 2013)."What's Billboard's No. 1? Now YouTube Has a Say".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on March 22, 2017.RetrievedFebruary 20,2013.
  24. ^Eggertsen, Chris (July 13, 2020)."Billboard Announces New Chart Rules: No More Merch & Ticket Bundles".Billboard.Archivedfrom the original on July 13, 2020.RetrievedJuly 16,2020.
  25. ^Trust, Gary (November 23, 2015)."Adele Tops Hot 100 for Fourth Week; Justin Bieber, Alessia Cara Hit Top 10".Billboard.Archivedfrom the original on November 24, 2015.RetrievedNovember 23,2015.
  26. ^Zellner, Xander (December 1, 2022)."Every Song to Re-Enter the Billboard Hot 100 in the Top 10".Billboard.RetrievedApril 30,2024.
  27. ^"Wish Come True: Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' Hits No. 1 on Hot 100 After 25-Year Wait".Billboard.Archivedfrom the original on December 16, 2019.RetrievedDecember 17,2019.
  28. ^Trust, Gary (November 4, 2019)."Thanks to Kanye, Kenny G Is Just the Fifth Act With Hot 100 Top 40 Hits in Each of the Last Four Decades".Billboard.Archivedfrom the original on November 12, 2019.RetrievedNovember 6,2019.
  29. ^Trust, Gary (December 30, 2019)."Mariah Carey Becomes First Artist at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 in Four Decades, Thanks to 'All I Want for Christmas'".Billboard.Archivedfrom the original on December 31, 2019.RetrievedDecember 30,2019.
  30. ^"Billboard Launches Canadian Hot 100 Chart".Billboard.June 7, 2007.Archivedfrom the original on May 19, 2017.RetrievedJune 4,2010.
  31. ^Trust, Gary (May 21, 2008)."Billboard Japan Hot 100 Finds Global Audience".Billboard.Archivedfrom the original on June 23, 2013.RetrievedJune 4,2010.
  32. ^"Billboard Vietnam Hot 100".Billboard.January 20, 2022. Archived fromthe originalon May 5, 2023.RetrievedJanuary 19,2022.

References

Further reading

  • Breihan, Tom (2018–2024). "The Number Ones".Stereogum.– retrospective reviews of every song to top theBillboardHot 100
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