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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Hit Songs Are Lasting Longer on the Charts – But Why?
Teddy Swims makes history on this week's Hot 100: 'Lose Control,' the singer-songwriter's soulful pop-rock anthem, spends its 92nd week on the chart, breaking the record that it shared with Glass Animals' 'Heat Waves' as of last week and setting the new longevity mark for the nearly 67-year-old song chart. After debuting on the Hot 100 back in August 2023, 'Lose Control' only topped the chart for 1 week, back in March 2024. Yet the song remains in the top 20 more than a year later (coming in at No. 11 on the latest chart), after spending a record-setting 63 weeks in the top 10. More from Billboard Zak Starkey Rubbishes Reports He Retired from The Who, Insists He Was 'Fired' Lorde Makes Surprise Appearance at Aotearoa Music Awards Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Perform 1996 Hit 'Tha Crossroads' on 'Everybody's Live' 'The burn has been minimal,' Alex Tear, Vice President of music programming at SiriusXM + Pandora, tells Billboard of the breakthrough hit's maintained momentum. 'The audience reaction is something that we completely adhere to — subscribers tell us what they want to hear, and how often they want to hear it… And ['Lose Control'] is still undeniable, pure mass appeal.' Swims' smash hasn't been alone in spending months upon months in the Hot 100's upper tier. Before Morgan Wallen's new album I'm the Problem cleared out a sizable chunk of the chart this week with its 29 new debuts, the top half of the Hot 100 was littered with hits that had spent months — and in some cases, over a year — on the tally. Some of them, like 'A Bar Song (Tipsy)' by Shaboozey, 'Die With a Smile' by Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars and 'I Had Some Help' by Post Malone and Wallen, have stuck around after logging multiple weeks at No. 1; others, like Benson Boone's 'Beautiful Things,' Gigi Perez's 'Sailor Song' and Sabrina Carpenter's 'Espresso,' never reached the top spot, but have lingered near it since mid-2024. Kendrick Lamar and SZA's 'Luther' may have just spent 13 straight weeks atop the Hot 100 before being dethroned by Wallen and Tate McRae's 'What I Want' this week, but even that smash collaboration spent 12 weeks on the chart before reaching its peak in late February. The Hot 100 always includes a wide swath of ubiquitous hits — but rarely have so many of those hits endured at once. On the Hot 100 dated May 24, zero songs in the top 10 had spent a single-digit number of weeks on the chart. The average number of weeks spent on the chart by the songs in the top 20 was 30.35 weeks; five years ago (on the Hot 100 dated May 30, 2020), that average was 18.75 weeks. On the recent Hot 100, a total of nine songs in the top 20 had spent 30 weeks or more on the chart; 10 years ago (on the Hot 100 dated May 30, 2015), that total was one song in the top 20. What's causing this period of smashes that last forever on the chart? Part of the explanation for the lack of 2025 chart movement is the glut of new pop voices from 2024 spilling over into a new year, says Spotify editorial lead Talia Kraines. 'I think that 2024 was such a crazy year for pop music, and incredible new songs and artists, that was years in the making,' she says. Kraines points to artists like Chappell Roan, whose 'Pink Pony Club' is approaching 50 weeks on the Hot 100, and Charli XCX, whose 2020 song 'party 4 u' is just now hitting the chart, who helped define the mainstream last year while also boasting ample back catalogs for fans to explore on streaming services. 'They were fully formed propositions,' says Kraines. 'I feel like a whole new generation found their new favorite artist and their new favorite song, and they're digging in on that.' Chart longevity may also be a product of post-pandemic timing, says Michael Martin, SVP of programming at Audacy. After all, before 'Lose Control' logged 92 weeks on the chart, The Weeknd's 'Blinding Lights' and Glass Animals' 'Heat Waves' were quarantine-era anthems that previously set the record in April 2021 and October 2022, respectively. The fact that the record has been reset three times in the past five years nods to how the lifespan of a mega-hit changed to account for audience appetites. 'Everybody wanted comfort food, right?' says Martin of pandemic-era pop. 'People wanted things they knew, like their favorite TV show that they binge-watched again. There's something about that familiar song that they loved and wanted to keep hearing.' Yet Kraines points out that the key difference between the music industry of five years ago and the industry today is how viral hits are located and promoted by labels to set up longer chart runs. At the dawn of the TikTok era, unknown artists with a viral spark were quickly signed and pushed to radio programmers and streaming services; now, artists like Swims (who was signed to Warner Records in late 2019 after some YouTube covers made noise) are often developed for years before a single receives mainstream promotion. 'We're seeing that the whole nature of artist development takes time,' says Kraines. 'And songs that maybe don't come out of the gate super hot are definitely growing.' Case in point: 'Lose Control' debuted at No. 99 on the Hot 100, then spent 32 weeks climbing to the top of the chart. 'People are taking more time to sit with music and enjoy it — they're not just one-and-done,' adds Kraines. Meanwhile, the streaming era has included less distinction between singles being actively promoted by artists and album cuts that have no shot at extended chart runs. Last year, Billie Eilish launched her Hit Me Hard and Soft era with 'Lunch' as the focus track, but quickly pivoted when fans embraced 'Birds of a Feather' on streaming services. Demand for 'Feather' has remained strong across platforms since its release — so radio programmers kept playing it, streaming services kept it high on their flagship playlists, and the song just crossed the one-year mark on the Hot 100. One key to that type of extended run, says Tear, is the smart deployment of follow-up singles — songs from a popular artist that prevent listeners from getting tired of their mega-hit, but don't necessarily get in its way, either. A generation ago, radio stations couldn't feature multiple songs by the same artist in heavy rotation, but now that streaming has blurred those lines, programmers can balance a handful of songs by the same artist and ultimately extend the life of a smash. 'The audience wants to hear more than one song being played over and over again,' Tear explains. 'I'm now able to go two, three, four songs deep [per artist], like we do with Sabrina Carpenter, Benson Boone and Teddy Swims. That relieves a little bit of the fatigue, and they stay around longer.' Paradoxically, the fragmentation of popular music — and how the streaming era has affected the number of songs that reach cultural ubiquity — may be the reason why we now have so many smash hits that stick around forever. Veteran radio programmer and consultant Guy Zapoleon has spent his career chronicling 10-year music cycles of popular radio, and says that modern 'lack of consensus' caused by the proliferation of music platforms means that, when a song does become huge, it stays huge for longer. 'Because there's so many different sources to go to, it's difficult for songs outside the very biggest songs to become hits,' says Zapoleon. 'And because of that, those songs take a while to become hits, and then they stay there for the longest period of time — longer than we've ever seen in the history of music.' The good news is that this industry era of extended chart runs emphasizes hit songs regardless of who they're coming from. While A-listers like Kendrick Lamar, SZA and Morgan Wallen have topped the Hot 100 in recent months, the top 10 has been rife with new artists scoring their first chart hits in 2025, just as it was last year. 'You can keep delivering listeners songs like 'Lose Control' that they're just not tired of, but you can also deliver the new artists that they're asking about — Doechii, Sombr, Alex Warren, Lola Young, Ravyn Lenae,' Martin points out. 'So I don't think there's stagnation in new product, or in new artists.' 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Forbes
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Billie Eilish Makes Chart History Again As Her Song Refuses To Fall
Billie Eilish's 'Birds of a Feather' earns a record-breaking thirty-eighth week at No. 1 on the Hot ... More Rock & Alternative Songs chart, and it now ranks as the second-longest leader. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 17: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Billie Eilish performs onstage at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California on March 17, 2025. Broadcasted live on FOX. (Photo byfor iHeartRadio) Billie Eilish has been riding high on the incredible success of her single 'Birds of a Feather' for months now. The tune continues to be a major win across nearly every Billboard ranking it appears on. That statement is especially true on the company's rock and alternative tallies, where Eilish's Grammy-nominated cut proves unbeatable. The track makes history yet again — something that the title is used to doing — but this frame is particularly special. 'Birds of a Feather' is a non-mover at No. 1 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. The track earns its thirty-eighth stay on the throne on Billboard's list of the most consumed tracks in the country that could be classified as some form of rock or alternative in terms of style. The cut has spent 49 weeks on the list, with all but 11 of them in first place. As Eilish rules once again, 'Birds of a Feather' breaks out of a tie and officially becomes the sole second-longest-running No. 1 of all time on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. Last time around, it was matched for that position in the history books with 'Heat Waves' by Glass Animals. For a short time, both smashes had managed 37 turns at No. 1. But now, 'Heat Waves' is forced down to third place on this all-time roster. It will be months before Eilish comes even close to matching the all-time record Panic! at the Disco established — a high that may never be matched or beaten. The multi-genre band's 'High Hopes' collected an amazing 65 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs tally during its run. That's one of the most impressive showings on any Billboard list, regardless of how they're compiled or what style they focus on. 'Birds of a Feather' doesn't only rule the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart this week. It also leads both the Hot Alternative Songs and Alternative Streaming Songs rankings, keeping at No. 1 on all three lists. The cut is so popular, it manages to live inside the top 10 on another half-dozen Billboard rosters, including the all-genre Radio Songs tally as well as both of the company's Billboard Global charts.
Forbes
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Billie Eilish Makes History — Again — As She Holds At No. 1 with 'Birds of a Feather'
Billie Eilish is still on top of the rock world. The Grammy-winning singer claims the most popular track in the genre again in the U.S. this week, holding atop one important tally with 'Birds of a Feather.' The cut has ruled over Billboard's Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart for months, and with each additional frame it spends at No. 1, it continues to make history. This time around, it breaks out of a tie with another longstanding win and inches closer to forming another. Eilish's 'Birds of a Feather' is once again in charge of the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. The cut has now spent 36 turns inside the penthouse, which is one of the longest reigns of all time. Last week, the track was in a deadlock with 24KGoldn and Iann Dior's 'Mood,' which also spent 35 frames at No. 1. Now, Eilish has officially pulled ahead. At this point, it's hard to imagine anything knocking 'Birds of a Feather' from the top spot, at least not anytime soon. The track continues to be consumed in huge numbers throughout America, and if it manages to repeat at No. 1 next frame — which seems likely — it will match another giant. 'Heat Waves' by Glass Animals ruled the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart for 37 weeks. Eilish will likely tie that song in just a few days, and then, perhaps, pass it. Eilish is inching ever closer to the top spot on this historic ranking, but there's still quite a gap before she can claim the all-time record. That honor still belongs to Panic! at the Disco, whose smash 'High Hopes' sat at No. 1 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart for a staggering 65 weeks. That showing still seems untouchable, even for 'Birds of a Feather.' Even as it nears its one-year anniversary, 'Birds of a Feather' shows no signs of slowing down. This week, it only barely falls out of the top 10 on the Hot 100, slipping one spot to No. 11. The cut also ranks inside the top 10 on all three of Billboard's pop-focused airplay charts. On the rock side of things, it's still the No. 1 song on both the Hot Alternative Songs and Alternative Streaming Songs lists.
