Mainstream Top 40

Mainstream Top 40 (also called Pop Songs on billboard.com and sometimes referred to as Top 40/CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard Magazine which ranks the most popular songs 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). Arbitron refers to the format as contemporary hit radio (CHR).

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.^[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 were moved to recurrent after 26 weeks on the chart. In the chart week of December 3, 2005, songs below No. 20 were moved to recurrent after 20 weeks on the chart. Since the issue dated December 4, 2010, songs older than 20 weeks on the chart are moved to recurrent after they drop below No. 15.

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) measured airplay based on statistical impressions, while the Top 40 Mainstream chart used the number of total detections.

Song records

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

Highest debut

No. 12: Mariah Carey - "Dreamlover" (August 14, 1993), Taylor Swift - "Shake It Off" (September 6, 2014)

No. 13: Taylor Swift featuring Kendrick Lamar - "Bad Blood" (June 6, 2015)

No. 14: Lady Gaga - "Born This Way" (February 26, 2011), Justin Timberlake featuring Jay-Z - "Suit & Tie" (February 2, 2013)

No. 16: Madonna - "Frozen" (March 7, 1998), Britney Spears - "Hold It Against Me" (January 29, 2011)

No. 18: Taylor Swift - "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" (September 1, 2012), Maroon 5 - "Maps" (July 5, 2014)

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)^[3]
• Donna Lewis – "I Love You Always Forever" (1996)
• Natalie Imbruglia – "Torn" (1998)
• Nelly featuring Tim McGraw – "Over and Over" (2004–2005)
• The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey – "Closer" (2016)

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)^[4]
• Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and 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 and Pink – "Lady Marmalade" (2001)
• OutKast – "Hey Ya!" (2003–2004)
• Leona Lewis – "Bleeding Love" (2008)
• Ed Sheeran – "Shape of You" (2017)

Source: ^[5]

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 featuring 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]

Longest climbs to number one

• 26th week – Alessia Cara — "Here" (2016)^[16]
• 25th week – CeeLo Green — "Forget You" (2011), Demi Lovato — "Give Your Heart a Break" (2012)^[17]
• 24th week – Alessia Cara — "Scars to Your Beautiful" (2017)
• 23rd week – P!nk — "U + Ur Hand" (2007), Ellie Goulding — "Lights" (2012),^[18] Shawn Mendes — "Stitches" (2015)

Longest climbs to the top 10

• 31st week – Edwin McCain — "I'll Be" (1998)
• 25th week – MKTO — "Classic" (2014), Daya — "Sit Still, Look Pretty" (2016), Jon Bellion — "All Time Low" (2017)
• 22nd week – Imagine Dragons — "It's Time" (2013), The Neighbourhood — "Sweater Weather" (2014)
• 20th week – CeeLo Green — "Forget You" (2011), Ed Sheeran — "The A Team" (2013), Daya — "Hide Away" (2016)

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.

• Ed Sheeran - "Shape of You" (17,507)
• Taylor Swift featuring Kendrick Lamar - "Bad Blood" (17,474)^[19]
• Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth - "See You Again" (17,356)^[19]
• The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey - "Closer" (17,298)
• Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars - "Uptown Funk!" (17,236)
• Bruno Mars - "That's What I Like" (17,235)
• Justin Bieber - "Sorry" (16,997)
• The Weeknd - "Can't Feel My Face" (16,988)
• Taylor Swift - "Wildest Dreams" (16,924)
• Sia featuring Sean Paul - "Cheap Thrills" (16,905)

Artist 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 29), and the most overall appearances on the chart since her debut (43).^[20]

Katy Perry 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.^[21]

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

Artists with the most number-one singles

• 11 - Rihanna, Katy Perry
• 9 - Pink, Maroon 5
• 8 - Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars
• 7 - Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift
• 6 - Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey

Source: ^[22]

Artists with the most cumulative weeks at number-one

• Katy Perry (47)
• Mariah Carey (45)
• P!nk, Rihanna, Maroon 5 (32)
• Ace of Base (29)
• Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars (27)
• Justin Timberlake (26)
• Christina Aguilera (25)
• Boyz II Men, Nelly, Beyoncé (23)

Source:^[23][24]

Artists with the most top 10 singles

• Rihanna (30)
• Pink, Justin Timberlake (18)
• Mariah Carey, Maroon 5 (17)
• Usher, Katy Perry (16)
• Britney Spears (15)
• Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Nelly, Bruno Mars (14)

Source:^[25][26]

Artists with the most entries

• Rihanna (44)
• Britney Spears (36)
• Chris Brown (34)
• Nicki Minaj (32)
• Mariah Carey (31)
• Pitbull (30)

Source:^[27]

Additional artist achievements

• Lady Gaga is the only artist to have her first six singles reach No. 1.^[28]
• As of 2011, Britney Spears holds the record for the longest span between No. 1s at 12 years, seven months and four days between her first No.1 and her latest.^[29]
• Katy Perry's Teenage Dream is the first and only album 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]
• Three acts have replaced themselves at No. 1: Mariah Carey, OutKast and Iggy Azalea - with Azalea being the only one to do so with her first two chart entries.^[32]

Album records

Most number-one singles from an album

• Teenage Dream by Katy Perry, 6 (2010–12)
• 1989 by Taylor Swift, 5 (2014–15)
• FutureSex/LoveSounds by Justin Timberlake, 4 (2006–07)
• The Fame by Lady Gaga, 4 (2009)
• The Sign by Ace of Base, 3 (1993–94)
• Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette, 3 (1996)
• Let Go by Avril Lavigne, 3 (2002–03)
• Overexposed by Maroon 5, 3 (2012–13)
• Purpose by Justin Bieber, 3 (2015–16)
• Revival by Selena Gomez, 3 (2015–16)

Source:^[33]

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 after having used the Hot 100 Airplay chart since 1991.

References

External links

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