The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by

Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems Broadcast Data Systems (also known as BDS or Luminate BDS), is a service that tracks radio, television and internet airplay of songs. The service, which is a unit of MRC Data, is a contributing factor to North American charts published by co-owned ...

." It is a format in which the genre is geared more towards an adult audience who are not into hard rock, hip hop, or

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

fare. The main genres within this format are

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

and mainstream pop that is more adult-oriented. It is not to be confused with

where rather lesser-known and more ballad-driven songs are played. The current number one song on the chart is "

Anti-Hero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform action ...

" by

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

History

The chart was first published in the March 16, 1996, issue of ''Billboard''; 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, and R&B artists were mixed in with acts more closely associated with adult contemporary. According to ''Billboard'', splitting the chart "better reflect 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 "Kiss from a Rose" is a song from Seal's second eponymous album. The song was first released as a single in July 1994 and included in the film '' The NeverEnding Story III'' that year. It was re-released a year later in 1995 as part of the ' ...

" by

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...

. The first number-one song on the Adult Top 40, from the published chart of March 16, 1996, was " One Sweet Day" by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men.

Records and achievements

Most weeks at number one

25 weeks * "

Smooth Smooth may refer to: Mathematics * Smooth function, a function that is infinitely differentiable; used in calculus and topology * Smooth manifold, a differentiable manifold for which all the transition maps are smooth functions * Smooth algebrai ...

" – Santana featuring Rob Thomas (1999–2000) 23 weeks * " Wherever You Will Go" – The Calling (2001–02) 20 weeks * "

Blinding Lights "Blinding Lights" is a song by Canadian singer the Weeknd. It was released on November 29, 2019, through XO and Republic Records, as the second single from his fourth studio album, '' After Hours'' (2020). The song was written and produced by ...

" –

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, romance, and ...

(2020) 18 weeks * "

Unwell "Unwell" is a song by American alternative rock group Matchbox Twenty. Released on February 3, 2003, as the second single from their third album, ''More Than You Think You Are'' (2002), it was written by Matchbox Twenty lead singer Rob Thomas. ...

" –

Matchbox Twenty Matchbox Twenty (also known as Matchbox 20 and MB20) is an American rock band formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995. The group currently consists of Rob Thomas (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Brian Yale (bass guitar), Paul Doucette (drums, ...

(2003) * " Photograph" –

Nickelback Nickelback is a Canadian rock band formed in 1995 in Hanna, Alberta. It is composed of guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist Ryan Peake, bassist Mike Kroeger, and drummer Daniel Adair. It wen ...

(2005–06) 17 weeks * "

Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

" –

Goo Goo Dolls The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, by guitarist/vocalist John Rzeznik, bassist/vocalist Robby Takac, and drummer George Tutuska. After starting off as a cover band and then developing a punk sou ...

(1998) 16 weeks * " Complicated" – Avril Lavigne (2002) 15 weeks * "

Don't Speak "Don't Speak" is a song by American rock band No Doubt from their third studio album, ''Tragic Kingdom'' (1995). It was released as the third single from ''Tragic Kingdom'' in the United States on April 15, 1996, by Interscope Records. Lead ...

" –

No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1986. For most of their career, the band has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Since the mid-1990s, the ...

(1996–97) * "

How to Save a Life "How to Save a Life" is a song by American alternative rock band The Fray, released in March 2006 as the second single from their debut studio album of the same name. The song is one of the band's most popular airplay songs and peaked in the t ...

" –

The Fray The Fray is an American rock band from Denver, Colorado, formed in 2002 by schoolmates Isaac Slade and Joe King. Their debut album, '' How to Save a Life'' released in 2005, was certified double platinum by the RIAA and platinum in Australia ...

(2006–07) * " High Hopes" – Panic! at the Disco (2018–19) 14 weeks * " Torn" –

Natalie Imbruglia Natalie Jane Imbruglia ( , ; born 4 February 1975) is an Australian singer and actress. In the early 1990s, she played Beth Brennan in the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours''. Three years after leaving the programme, she began a singing caree ...

(1998) * " Everything You Want" –

Vertical Horizon Vertical Horizon is an American alternative rock band, formed in Washington, D.C. Vocalists and guitarists Matt Scannell and Keith Kane started the band in 1991 when they were students at Georgetown University. The band have undergone multip ...

(2000) * " Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)" –

Train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...

(2001) * " Girls Like You" – Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B (2018) * "

Memories Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...

" – Maroon 5 (2019–20) Sources:

Artists with the most number-one songs

Artists with the most cumulative weeks at number one

Artists with the most top-ten songs

Longest break between number ones

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...

– eight years and eight months *

– 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.

References

External links

Current ''Billboard'' Adult Pop Songs chart
{{Billboard Billboard charts