Pop Airplay facts for kids

Pop Airplay (also known as Mainstream Top 40 or Pop Songs) is a popular music chart published every week by Billboard Magazine. It lists the 40 most popular pop songs played on radio stations across the United States. The songs are ranked based on how many times they are played on these stations, which is tracked by a company called Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems.

The current number-one song on this chart is "Cruel Summer" by Taylor Swift.

History of the Chart

The Pop Airplay chart first appeared in Billboard Magazine on October 3, 1992. At that time, two new Top 40 charts were introduced: Mainstream and Rhythm-Crossover. Both charts measured how often songs were played on the radio using data from Broadcast Data Systems (BDS).

The Top 40/Mainstream chart focused on radio stations that played many different types of music. The Top 40/Rhythm-Crossover chart focused on stations that played more dance and R&B music. These charts were created to measure radio play more accurately using new electronic tracking technology. The first song to reach number one on the Pop Airplay chart was "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men.

How Songs Are Ranked

This chart has 40 positions. Songs are ranked by how many times they are played (called "spins") each week. Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems electronically monitors Mainstream Top 40 radio stations across the U.S. 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to count these spins.

• A "bullet" is given to songs that are growing quickly in popularity.
• An "Airpower" award goes to songs that appear in the top 20 of both the airplay and audience charts for the first time.
• The "greatest gainer" award is for the song with the biggest increase in plays.
• A song gets an "airplay add" if it is played six or more times in its first week.
• If two songs have the same number of plays in a week, the one that increased its plays the most ranks higher.

Songs that drop below position 20 are usually removed from the chart after 20 weeks. Before December 2010, songs below position 15 were removed after 20 weeks.

All-Time Achievements

In 2012, for the chart's 20th anniversary, Billboard ranked the 100 best-performing songs and artists. "Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls was the number one song on that list. In 2017, Billboard updated these rankings. "Another Night" by Real McCoy became the new number one song, and "Iris" moved to number eight. Rihanna was ranked as the top artist on both lists.

Top 10 Pop Songs of All Time (1992–2017)

Top 10 Pop Artists of All Time (1992–2017)

Song Records

Mariah Carey and Taylor Swift have the highest debut at number 12 with "Dreamlover" and "Shake It Off" respectively.

Highest Debut

This table shows songs that started very high on the chart in their first week.

Most Weeks at Number One

This table shows songs that stayed at the very top of the chart for the longest time.

Most Weeks in the Top 10

This table shows songs that stayed in the top 10 positions for the longest time.

Most Weeks on the Chart

This table shows songs that stayed on the Pop Airplay chart for the longest time.

*Year when the songs ended their chart runs.

Before 2018, "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain held the record for most weeks on the chart (41 weeks in 1998). This record has been broken many times since then. This is partly because radio stations now have more ways to measure what listeners want to hear, leading to songs staying popular for longer.

Longest Climbs to Number One

This table shows songs that took the longest time to reach the number one spot after first appearing on the chart.

Longest Climbs to the Top 10

This table shows songs that took the longest time to reach the top 10 positions on the chart.

Artist Records

Taylor Swift holds the record for most number-one singles with 12.

With 47 weeks at number-one, Katy Perry has spent the most time at the top.

Artists with the Most Number-One Singles

This table shows artists who have had the most songs reach number one on the chart.

Artists with the Most Weeks at Number One

This table shows artists who have spent the most total weeks at the number one spot with all their songs combined.

Artists with the Most Top 10 Singles

This table shows artists who have had the most songs reach the top 10 positions on the chart.

Artists with the Most Entries

This table shows artists who have had the most songs appear on the chart, even if they didn't reach number one.

Artists with Two Songs in the Top Two Positions at the Same Time

This is a rare achievement where an artist has two of their songs at number one and number two on the chart in the same week.

• Mariah Carey: December 9, 1995
  • "One Sweet Day" (with Boyz II Men)
  • "Fantasy"
• OutKast: January 31 - February 7, 2004
  • "Hey Ya!"
  • "The Way You Move" (featuring Sleepy Brown)
• Pharrell Williams: July 27 - August 3, 2013
  • "Blurred Lines" (Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell)
  • "Get Lucky" (Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams)
• Iggy Azalea: June 28 - July 12, 2014
  • "Fancy" (featuring Charli XCX)
  • "Problem" (Ariana Grande featuring Iggy Azalea)
• Halsey: February 23 - March 9, 2019
  • "Without Me"
  • "Eastside" (with Benny Blanco and Khalid)
• Ariana Grande: February 20, 2021
  • "34+35"
  • "Positions"
• Olivia Rodrigo: August 7–28, 2021
  • "Good 4 U"
  • "Deja Vu"
• Doja Cat: October 15–22, 2022
  • "I Like You (A Happier Song)" (Post Malone featuring Doja Cat)
  • "Vegas"

Artists with Three or More Songs in the Top 10 at the Same Time

This is an even rarer achievement, showing an artist's huge popularity.

• Ariana Grande: May 15–22, 2021
  • "Positions"
  • "34+35"
  • "POV"
• Doja Cat: October 23–30, 2021
  • "Kiss Me More"
  • "You Right"
  • "Need to Know"
• Harry Styles: October 15–29, 2022
  • "As It Was"
  • "Late Night Talking"
  • "Music for a Sushi Restaurant"

Self-Replacement at Number One

This happens when an artist's song replaces their own previous song at the number one spot.

• Mariah Carey — "Fantasy" → "One Sweet Day" (Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men) (December 9, 1995)
• OutKast — "Hey Ya!" → "The Way You Move" (OutKast featuring Sleepy Brown) (February 14, 2004)
• Iggy Azalea — "Fancy" (Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX) → "Problem" (Ariana Grande featuring Iggy Azalea) (July 12, 2014)
  • Iggy Azalea is the only artist to replace herself at number one with her first two songs on the chart.
• Halsey — "Without Me" → "Eastside" (Benny Blanco, Halsey and Khalid) (March 2, 2019)
• Ariana Grande — "Positions" → "34+35" (February 13, 2021)
  • Ariana Grande was the first artist to replace herself at number one with only her own songs.
• Doja Cat — "I Like You (A Happier Song)" (Post Malone featuring Doja Cat) → "Vegas" (October 22, 2022)

Other Artist Achievements

Lady Gaga is the only artist to have her first six singles all reach number one on this chart.

• Lady Gaga is the only artist whose first six songs all reached number one.
• Britney Spears holds the record for the longest time between her first number one song and her most recent one (over 12 years).
• JoJo became the youngest solo artist (at 13 years old) to have a number-one song with "Leave (Get Out)".
• Rihanna is the youngest artist (at 22 years old) to have at least seven number-one songs.
• Justin Bieber became the youngest male artist (at 26 years old) to have at least seven number-one songs with "Intentions" (featuring Quavo).
• Kate Bush broke the record for the oldest song to ever chart on Mainstream Top 40 with "Running Up That Hill". This song was originally released in 1985 but charted in 2022 after being featured in the TV show Stranger Things.

Album Records

Most Number-One Singles from One Album

This table shows albums that produced the most number-one songs on the chart.

Images for kids

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  Mariah Carey

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  Taylor Swift

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  Taylor Swift

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  Katy Perry

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  Lady Gaga

See also

In Spanish: Mainstream Top 40 para niños