Mainstream Top 40

The Mainstream Top 40 (referred to as Pop Songs on billboard.com) is a weekly airplay chart from Billboard magazine.

There are 40 positions on the chart, and it is solely based on radio airplay. The chart ranks the week's hottest pop songs, ranked by mainstream top 40 radio airplay detections as measured by Nielsen BDS Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems. Arbitron sometimes refers to the format as contemporary hit radio.

History

The Mainstream Top 40 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.^[1] 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.^[1]

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.^[2]

Chart criteria

Songs on the chart are ranked by the total number of spins detected per week. Songs which gain plays or remain flat from the previous week will receive a bullet. A song will also receive a bullet if its percentage loss in plays does not exceed the percentage of monitored station downtime for the format. If two songs are tied in total plays, the song with the larger increase in plays is placed first.

Since the introduction of the chart until 2005, songs below No. 20 will be moved to recurrent after 26 weeks in the chart. In the chart week of December 3, 2005, songs below No. 20 are moved to recurrent after 20 weeks on the chart. This criterion was changed again in the chart week of December 4, 2010, whereby songs older than 20 weeks on the chart will be moved to recurrent after it dropped below No. 15. This latest methodology remains in use until now.

This chart was often mistaken for and confused with the now discontinued Pop 100 Airplay chart. Whereas the Top 40 Mainstream 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) measures airplay was based on statistical impressions, while the Top 40 Mainstream chart used the number of total detections.

Song records

Rihanna shares the record with Katy Perry for the most number-one singles (with 11) and holds the record for the most top ten singles (with 24), and the most overall appearances on the chart since her debut (38).^[3]

Katy Perry also shares the record with Rihanna for the most number-one singles (with 11). Katy holds the record for most cumulative weeks at number one for Pop Songs.^[4]

Highest debut

No. 12: Mariah Carey - "Dreamlover", Taylor Swift - "Shake It Off"

No. 14: Lady Gaga - "Born This Way", Justin Timberlake featuring Jay-Z - "Suit & Tie"

No. 16: Madonna - "Frozen", Britney Spears - "Hold It Against Me"

No. 18: Taylor Swift - "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", Maroon 5 - "Maps"

No. 19: Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj - "Bang Bang"

No. 20: Lady Gaga - "Applause",^[5] Katy Perry - "Unconditionally"

Most weeks at number one

14 weeks

• Ace of Base – "The Sign" (1994)

11 weeks

• Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men – "One Sweet Day" (1995-1996)
• Donna Lewis – "I Love You Always Forever" (1996)
• Natalie Imbruglia – "Torn" (1998)
• Nelly featuring Tim McGraw – "Over and Over" (2004-2005)

10 weeks

• Dionne Farris – "I Know" (1995)
• No Doubt – "Don't Speak" (1996-1997)
• Céline Dion – "My Heart Will Go On" (1998)
• 'N Sync – "Bye Bye Bye" (2000)
• Nickelback – "How You Remind Me" (2001-2002)
• Mariah Carey – "We Belong Together" (2005)
• Robin Thicke featuring T.I. & Pharrell - "Blurred Lines" (2013)

9 weeks

• Whitney Houston – "I Will Always Love You" (1992-1993)
• Janet Jackson – "That's the Way Love Goes" (1993)
• Ace of Base – "All That She Wants" (1993)
• Seal – "Kiss from a Rose" (1995)
• Chumbawamba – "Tubthumping" (1997-1998)
• Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mýa & P!nk – "Lady Marmalade" (2001)
• OutKast – "Hey Ya!" (2003-2004)
• Leona Lewis – "Bleeding Love" (2008)

8 weeks

• Mariah Carey – "Dreamlover" (1993)
• The Rembrandts – "I'll Be There for You" (1995)
• Hanson – "MMMBop" (1997)
• Aerosmith – "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (1998)
• Santana and Rob Thomas – "Smooth" (1999)
• Shaggy and Rayvon – "Angel" (2001)
• Avril Lavigne – "Complicated" (2002)
• Hoobastank – The Reason (2004)
• Beyoncé – "Irreplaceable" (2006-2007)
• Timbaland and OneRepublic – "Apologize" (2007-2008)
• Fergie – "Big Girls Don't Cry" (2007)
• Rihanna and Calvin Harris – "We Found Love" (2011-2012)
• Maroon 5 – "One More Night" (2012)

Most weeks on the chart

• 41 weeks – Edwin McCain — "I'll Be" (1998) ^[6]
• 39 weeks – Real McCoy — "Another Night" (1995),^[7] Goo Goo Dolls — "Iris" (1999),^[8] Goo Goo Dolls — "Slide" (1999) ^[9]
• 38 weeks – Santana ft. Rob Thomas — "Smooth" (2000),^[10] P!nk — "U + Ur Hand" (2007) ^[11]
• 36 weeks – Third Eye Blind — "Semi-Charmed Life" (1998),^[12] Eagle-Eye Cherry — "Save Tonight" (1999),^[13] Vertical Horizon — "Everything You Want" (2000),^[14] Lifehouse — "Hanging by a Moment" (2001) ^[15]

Highest weekly plays

Below are listed the 10 songs with the most weekly plays under Billboard‍ '​s then panel. The panel is regularly updated, with stations being added or removed sometimes even weekly, and often expanded, thus the spins record is broken quite frequently.

• Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars - "Uptown Funk" (17,020)
• Katy Perry - "Dark Horse" (16,151)^[16]
• Katy Perry - "Roar" (16,065) ^[16]
• Robin Thicke featuring T.I. & Pharrell Williams - "Blurred Lines" (15,801)^[16]
• Avicii - "Wake Me Up!" (15,747)^[17]
• Lorde - "Royals" (15,485)^[18]
• Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Ray Dalton – "Can't Hold Us" (14,991)^[19]
• Taylor Swift – "I Knew You Were Trouble." (14,985) ^[20]
• Bruno Mars – "When I Was Your Man" (14,530)^[21]
• Justin Timberlake – "Mirrors" (14,526)^[22]
• Bruno Mars – "Locked Out of Heaven" (14,497)^[23]

Artist records

Artists with the most number-one singles

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

Mariah Carey shares the record with Taylor Swift for the highest debut with "Dreamlover" at #12

Taylor Swift shares the record with Mariah Carey for the highest debut with "Shake It Off" at #12

• Katy Perry, Rihanna (11)
• Pink (9)
• Maroon 5 (8)
• Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars (7)
• Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears (6)

Artists with the most cumulative weeks at number-one

• Katy Perry (47)
• Mariah Carey (45)
• P!nk, Rihanna (32)
• Maroon 5 (31)
• Ace of Base (29)
• Christina Aguilera (25)
• Bruno Mars (24)
• Boyz II Men, Nelly, and Beyoncé (23)

Source:^[24]

Artists with the most top 10 singles

• Rihanna (24)
• Mariah Carey (17)
• Britney Spears (17)
• Pink (17)
• Justin Timberlake (17)
• Usher (16)
• Katy Perry (15)
• Christina Aguilera (14)
• Madonna (14)
• Nelly (14)
• Maroon 5 (14)

Artists with the most entries

• Rihanna (38)^[25]
• Britney Spears (32)^[25]
• Mariah Carey (31)^[25]
• Madonna (29)
• Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj (27)

Source:^[26]

Artist achievements

• Demi Lovato's "Give Your Heart a Break" and Cee Lo Green's "Forget You" share the record for the longest climb to the top, with 25 weeks each.^[27]
• Lady Gaga is the only artist to have her first six singles reach No. 1.^[28]
• Britney Spears holds the record for the longest span between No. 1s, she also holds the record for the first female pop artist who had her first seven albums reaching No.1 ^[29]
• Katy Perry's Teenage Dream is the first album ever to have 6 singles top the chart.^[30]
• JoJo at age 13, became the youngest solo artist to have a number-one single on the chart with "Leave (Get Out)".^[31]
• Iggy Azalea became just the third act to replace herself at No. 1 after Mariah Carey and Outkast - and the first to do so with her first two chart entries.^[32]

Use in countdown shows

From January 9, 1993 up until its last first-run show on January 28, 1995, American Top 40 used this chart as its main source.

See also

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

References

External links

• BDS Top 40 Mainstream reporting panel
• Mainstream Top 40 Songs (Pop Songs) on Billboard.com
• BDS Top 40/Mainstream chart (updated weekly)