Adult Top 40

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."

It is a format in which the genre is geared more towards an adult audience who are not into hard rock, hip hop, or soft adult contemporary fare. The main genres within this format are a mix of soft and energetic adult contemporary music alongside adult alternative rock and adult-oriented pop music. It is not to be confused with adult contemporary where rather lesser-known and more ballad-driven songs are played. The current number-one song on the chart is " Ordinary" by Alex Warren.

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" by Seal. 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.

Chart criteria

There are 40 positions on this chart. Songs are ranked based on its total number of spins per week. This is calculated by electronically monitoring Adult Top 40 radio stations across the U.S. 24 hours a day, seven days a week by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems.

Songs receiving the greatest growth receive a "bullet", although there are tracks that also get bullets if the loss in detections doesn't exceed the percentage of downtime from a monitored station. "Airpower" awards are issued to songs that appear on the top 20 of both the airplay and audience chart for the first time, while the "greatest gainer" award is given to song with the largest increase in detections. A song with six or more spins in its first week is awarded an "airplay add". If two songs are tied in spins in the same week, the one with the biggest increase that week ranks higher.

Recurrent rules

All-time achievements

In 2016, for the 20th anniversary of the chart, Billboard compiled a ranking of the 50 best-performing songs and artists on the chart over the 20 years. " Smooth" by Santana featuring Rob Thomas was ranked as the #1 song, while Maroon 5 was ranked as the #1 artist. Listed below are the top 10 songs and the top 10 artists.

Top 10 Greatest of All Time Adult Pop Songs (1996–2016)

Source:

Top 10 Greatest of All Time Adult Pop Songs Artists (1996–2016)

Source:

Song records

Most weeks at number one

Most weeks on the chart

Highest debut

Artist records

Most number-one songs

Most cumulative weeks at number one

Most top-ten songs

Most chart entries

Longest break between number ones

Additional achievements

* Shawn Mendes is the first artist to have four songs hit number one on the chart before age 20.

See also

* List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Adult Top 40 chart
*Adult Contemporary (chart)
*Mainstream Top 40

References

External links

Current ''Billboard'' Adult Pop Songs chart

{{Billboard charts

Billboard charts