Alternative Airplay

History

The first alternative chart, called Modern Rock Tracks, appeared in the September 10, 1988, edition of Billboard magazine. The first number-one song of the chart was Siouxsie and the Banshees' "Peek-a-Boo", which topped the charts for two weeks. In the chart's early years, the chart was closely associated with college rock, new wave, post-punk and electronic genres with a large presence of British, Irish and Australian artists, as only 24 of the chart's first 82 number-one hits were by American acts. Bands such as Depeche Mode, R.E.M., the Cure, the B-52's, the Replacements, and Midnight Oil scored multiple number one hits on the chart in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

In 1991, with the release of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana (which reached No. 1 on November 23, 1991), grunge became a new form of alternative rock to chart. However, grunge did not have a dominating presence on the chart in its heyday; over time, grunge would grow into popularity as a representation of alternative rock in the mainstream. Iconic grunge songs fared decently on the Alternative Songs chart but better on the Mainstream Rock Songs. For example, "Black" by Pearl Jam peaked only at No. 20 on the former but No. 3 on the latter. This was because the college rock and new wave of the 1980s remained the dominant styles of the format, while grunge became an alternative rock style that was popular on the Mainstream Rock format.

In the mid-1990s, alternative rock songs began to crossover to Pop radio, with acts such as Green Day, the Offspring and Alanis Morissette being played on Pop stations after establishing hits on the Alternative chart. Dominant genres included pop punk and softer alternative rock, as grunge acts such as Soundgarden and Stone Temple Pilots did not reach No. 1, while Britpop, a form of alternative rock from the UK, was represented only by Oasis. By the late 1990s, the Alternative Songs chart was ruled by relatively lighter alternative rock bands such as Third Eye Blind, Matchbox Twenty and Sugar Ray and a plethora of one-hit wonders.

At the turn of the century, alternative radio embraced nu-metal/rap rock with bands including Korn, Limp Bizkit and most famously, Linkin Park. Chris Molanphy of Pitchfork stated that "possibly the most loathed period for music of the last half-century, the rap-rock years—when looked through the prism of the Modern Rock chart's evolution—are a logical endpoint to a decade when alt-culture steadily de-wussified itself." Garage rock from the likes of the White Stripes and the Strokes also became hits in the early 2000s as a counter to the over-aggression of rap rock.

In the mid-2000s, the Alternative charts were ruled at the top by its most dominant members. From 2003 to 2008, the No. 1 song was by either Foo Fighters, Green Day, Incubus, Linkin Park or Red Hot Chili Peppers 49% of the time – 152 out of 313 weeks. During this time, 1990s alternative groups such as Nine Inch Nails and Weezer enjoyed their biggest success, while emo (Jimmy Eat World), indie rock (Modest Mouse) and pop punk (Fall Out Boy) also were popular. In 2007, "The Kill" by Thirty Seconds to Mars set a record for the longest-running hit in the history of the US alternative chart when it remained on the national chart for 52 weeks. Rise Against's "Savior" later broke the record by spending 65 weeks, followed around the same time by "1901" from Phoenix at 57. In 2009, Billboard renamed the chart to "Alternative Songs".

In the 2010s, the Alternative charts were led by softer indie pop and folk, and crossed over new acts to pop radio for the first time since the late 1990s, such as Foster the People, Imagine Dragons, Fun, and Gotye. The chart also began to diverge from the Mainstream Rock chart, as only 10 of 40 songs were shared between the two in November 2012, compared to 23 of 40 in November 2002. For the chart's 25th anniversary in 2013, Billboard published a list of the 100 biggest hits in the history of the Alternative chart. "Uprising" by Muse was listed at No. 1, having spent 17 weeks on the top of the chart and 53 weeks in total. "Savior" by Rise Against was listed at No. 2, peaking at #3 but staying on the chart for a record-breaking 65 weeks.

On October 11, 2018, Billboard released its Greatest of All Time Alternative Songs 30th-anniversary recap. Foo Fighters continued its reign as the chart's No. 1 act over the list's first 30 years, after leading the 25th-anniversary recap. Muse's "Uprising" retained its standing as the all-time No. 1 song. Rise Against's "Savior" again ranked at No. 2, while Portugal. The Man's "Feel It Still" entered at No. 3, the highest debut on the 30th anniversary songs list, following its record 20-week reign in 2017. Four artists have charted at least once in the all five decades (1980s through 2020s) of the chart's existence: Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and U2. Although the Alternative Songs chart "tends to be heavily male-dominated", Billboard released a list of the top-performing women in the chart's archives as part of the 30th anniversary of the Alternative Songs chart, with Dolores O'Riordan of the Cranberries taking the lead spot. The current number-one song on the chart is "Get the Message" by The Paradox.

Chart achievements

Artists with the most number-one songs

Acts who have reached number one in at least three decades

Four decades

Source: :Blink-182 (1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s) :Foo Fighters (1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s) :Green Day (1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s) :Red Hot Chili Peppers (1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s)

Three decades

Source: :Beck (1990s, 2000s, 2010s) :Coldplay (2000s, 2010s, 2020s) :Linkin Park (2000s, 2010s, 2020s) :Modest Mouse (2000s, 2010s, 2020s) :U2 (1980s, 1990s, 2000s) :Weezer (2000s, 2010s, 2020s)

Artists with the most cumulative weeks at number one

Number-one debuts

• "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" by R.E.M. (1994)
• "Dani California" by Red Hot Chili Peppers (2006)
• "What I've Done" by Linkin Park (2007)

Artists with the most top-ten songs

Artists with most chart entries

Songs with most weeks on the chart

Songs with most weeks at number one

Songs that have taken the longest time to reach number one

Albums with at least three number ones

Source: :5 songs ::MeteoraLinkin Park ("Somewhere I Belong", "Faint", "Numb", "Lying from You", "Breaking the Habit", 2003–04) :3 songs ::Neon Pill Cage the Elephant ("Neon Pill", "Rainbow", "Metaverse", 2024–25) ::Scaled and Icy Twenty One Pilots ("Shy Away", "Saturday", "The Outside", 2021–22) ::Social CuesCage the Elephant ("Ready to Let Go", "Social Cues", "Skin and Bones", 201921) ::Trench Twenty One Pilots ("Jumpsuit", "Chlorine", "The Hype", 2018–19) ::EvolveImagine Dragons ("Believer", "Thunder", "Whatever It Takes", 2017–18) ::Only by the NightKings of Leon ("Sex on Fire", "Use Somebody", "Notion", 2008–09) ::Echoes, Silence, Patience & GraceFoo Fighters ("The Pretender", "Long Road to Ruin", "Let It Die", 2007–08) ::Stadium ArcadiumRed Hot Chili Peppers ("Dani California", "Tell Me Baby", "Snow (Hey Oh)", 2006–07) ::With TeethNine Inch Nails ("The Hand That Feeds", "Only", "Every Day Is Exactly the Same", 2005–06) ::American IdiotGreen Day ("American Idiot", "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", "Holiday", 2004–05) ::CalifornicationRed Hot Chili Peppers ("Scar Tissue", "Otherside", "Californication", 1999–2000) ::Jagged Little PillAlanis Morissette ("You Oughta Know", "Hand in My Pocket", "Ironic", 1995–96) ::DookieGreen Day ("Longview", "Basket Case", "When I Come Around", 1994–95) ::Achtung BabyU2 ("The Fly", "Mysterious Ways", "One", 1991–92)

Top female performers (1988–2018)

Source:

Other chart achievements

• Blink-182's album One More Time... has generated songs with the highest total number of weeks spent at number one, with thirty-three weeks total. Red Hot Chili Peppers' album Californication and Linkin Park's album Meteora come next with thirty weeks each.

• Sublime have had the longest time between number-ones (28 years, 10 months), with "What I Got" (1996) and "Ensenada" (2025). The record was previously held by Sum 41, who waited 22 years, 5 months and 3 weeks, between "Fat Lip" (2001) and "Landmines" (2023) for their next number one.

• The band to have the most charted songs without reaching number one is Korn, with 21. --

• Fifteen songs released on an independent record label have reached number one on the chart. The first three were "Come Out and Play" by The Offspring, "What It's Like" by Everlast and "Panic Switch" by Silversun Pickups. These were followed by "1901" by Phoenix, "Lay Me Down" by The Dirty Heads featuring Rome Ramirez, "Do I Wanna Know?" by Arctic Monkeys, "Hollow Moon (Bad Wolf)" by Awolnation, "The Sound of Winter" by Bush, "First" by Cold War Kids, "Bored to Death" by Blink-182, "Take It All Back" by Judah & the Lion, "No Roots" by Alice Merton, "Sober Up" by AJR featuring Rivers Cuomo, "Trampoline" by Shaed and "Running Up That Hill" by Meg Myers.

• Although Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" did not hit number one on the chart, peaking at number two on July 2, 1994, it became the Modern Rock Tracks year-end number one single of 1994, the only song to do so without ever being number one on the weekly chart.

• In August 2013, Lorde became the first woman to top the chart since Tracy Bonham in 1996 when her song "Royals" reached number one in August 2013; the next woman to top the chart was Elle King with her song "Ex's & Oh's" which hit the top spot in September 2015. In September 2013, Lorde surpassed Alanis Morissette to become the woman with the longest-running single at number one when "Royals" spent its sixth week at number one. Since then, five other women have also topped the chart (Alice Merton (2018), Lana Del Rey (2019), Billie Eilish (2019), Meg Myers (2020), and Lola Young (2025)), as have female-fronted bands Shaed (2019), Cannons (2021), and Paramore (2023).

• Lorde is the youngest solo artist to reach number one, achieving this feat at the age of 16 with "Royals".

• Billie Eilish holds the records for most number ones on the chart for a soloist and most number ones for a female artist or band with female vocals, having topped the chart four times.

• Yellowcard holds the record for the longest wait between their first entry and their first number one single on the chart. 21 years, 11 months, and three weeks separated the debut of "Way Away" in September 2003 and the ascension of "Better Days" to the pole position in August 2025.

• Debbie Harry holds the record for the longest gap between entries on the chart: "Kiss It Better" last appeared on the chart in January 1990 and she did not reappear again until a featured credit on "Soul Train" by Just Loud in December 2018, 29 years later. Kate Bush has the longest gap between entries for a lead artist: "Rubberband Girl" last appeared on the chart in January 1994, and she did not chart again until a re-release of her 1985 single "Running Up That Hill", which debuted on the chart 28 years later in June 2022. Blur has the longest gap between entries for a band: "Crazy Beat" last appeared on the chart in May 2003, and they did not chart again until "The Narcissist" debuted on the chart 20 years later in June 2023.

Notes

References

References

1. (August 25, 2005). "The charts". [[The Sun Herald]].
2. (September 10, 1994). "Column, Chart Expand Coverage of Modern Rock".
3. Gary Trust. (June 10, 2009). "Chart Beat: Pink, Black Eyed Peas, Shinedown".
4. "Alternative Chart 25th Anniversary: Top 50 Artists, Most Top 10s, Most No. 1s & More".
5. "Siouxsie & The Banshees".
6. (September 9, 2013). "Radio-Friendly Unit Shifters".
7. "Nirvana – Chart history {{!}} Billboard".
8. "Pearl Jam – Chart history {{!}} Billboard".
9. "Pearl Jam – Chart history".
10. Hyden, Steven. (October 1, 2013). "Indie Rock's Tuneful Death Rattle". Grantland.
11. Roth, Kaj. (February 2, 2007). "30 Seconds to Mars Breaks Modern Rock Record". [[Melodic (magazine).
12. Trust, Gary. (October 2, 2010). "Extended Stays".
13. "Jangle All The Way: New Acts Soften Alternative Airwaves".
14. "Alternative Chart 25th Anniversary: Top 100 Songs".
15. "Foo Fighters Top Act, Muse's 'Uprising' No. 1 Song in Alternative Songs Chart's 30th Anniversary Recaps".
16. Rutherford, Kevin. (August 6, 2025). "Nine Inch Nails Achieve Alternative Airplay Feat Accomplished by Just 3 Other Acts".
17. Zellner, Xander. (October 11, 2018). "Dolores O'Riordan, Alanis Morissette, Hayley Williams & More: The Top 30 Female Artists in the Alternative Songs Chart's History".
18. (January 31, 2026). "Alternative Airplay".
19. Rutherford, Kevin. (December 12, 2025). "Twenty One Pilots Score 13th No. 1 on Alternative Airplay Chart With 'City Walls'".
20. "Blink-182 Chart History – Alternative Airplay". [[Billboard (magazine).
21. (April 14, 2020). "Green Day Breaks Alternative Songs No 1s Record".
22. Rutherford, Kevin. (December 7, 2017). "Beck Scores Record-Breaking No. 1 on Alternative Songs with 'Up All Night'".
23. Rutherford, Kevin. (August 18, 2020). "Weezer Leads Alternative Airplay Chart in Third Decade With 'Hero'".
24. Rutherford, Kevin. (August 19, 2021). "Modest Mouse Adds Alternative Airplay No. 1 in Third Decade With 'We Are Between'".
25. "Foo Fighters Chart History – Alternative Airplay". [[Billboard (magazine).
26. "Red Hot Chili Peppers Chart History – Alternative Airplay". [[Billboard (magazine).
27. "Linkin Park Chart History – Alternative Airplay". [[Billboard (magazine).
28. "Twenty-One-Pilots Chart History – Alternative Airplay". [[Billboard (magazine).
29. "Green Day Chart History − Alternative Airplay". [[Billboard (magazine).
30. "Imagine Dragons Chart History – Alternative Airplay". [[Billboard (magazine).
31. "Cage the Elephant Chart History – Alternative Airplay". [[Billboard (magazine).
32. "Blink-182 Chart History – Alternative Airplay". [[Billboard (magazine).
33. "Muse Chart History – Alternative Airplay". [[Billboard (magazine).
34. "The Black Keys Chart History – Alternative Airplay". [[Billboard (magazine).
35. "Alternative Airplay: September 24, 1994".
36. "Alternative Airplay: April 22, 2006".
37. "Alternative Airplay: April 21, 2007".
38. "Foo Fighters – Chart History". [[Billboard (magazine).
39. "Green Day – Chart History". [[Billboard (magazine).
40. "Red Hot Chili Peppers – Chart History". [[Billboard (magazine).
41. "U2 – Chart History". [[Billboard (magazine).
42. "Linkin Park – Chart History". [[Billboard (magazine).
43. "Pearl Jam – Chart History". [[Billboard (magazine).
44. "Weezer – Chart History". [[Billboard (magazine).
45. "The Offspring – Chart History". [[Billboard (magazine).
46. "Cage the Elephant – Chart History". [[Billboard (magazine).
47. "The Smashing Pumpkins – Chart History". [[Billboard (magazine).
48. "Muse – Chart History". [[Billboard (magazine).
49. "Blink-182 – Chart History". [[Billboard (magazine).
50. "U2 – Chart History". [[Billboard (magazine).
51. "Foo Fighters – Chart History". [[Billboard (magazine).
52. "Pearl Jam – Chart History". [[Billboard (magazine).
53. "Green Day – Chart History". [[Billboard (magazine).
54. "Red Hot Chili Peppers – Chart History". [[Billboard (magazine).
55. "Weezer – Chart History". [[Billboard (magazine).
56. "Linkin Park – Chart History". [[Billboard (magazine).
57. "Coldplay – Chart History". [[Billboard (magazine).
58. "The Offspring – Chart History". [[Billboard (magazine).
59. "The Smashing Pumpkins – Chart History". [[Billboard (magazine).
60. "Chart History All Time Low". Billboard.
61. "Alternative Songs Chart the Week of May 11, 2019".
62. (March 1, 2019). "lovelytheband's 'Broken' Breaks Alternative Songs Longevity Record".
63. "Alternative Songs Chart the Week of February 22, 2020".
64. "Hozier – Chart History".
65. (November 28, 2017). "Portugal. The Man's 'Feel It Still' Breaks Record for Most Weeks at No. 1 on Alternative Songs Chart". Billboard Music.
66. (January 8, 2021). "'Monster' Hits: Justin Bieber & Shawn Mendes, All Time Low and More Monstrous Hot 100 History".
67. (January 23, 2021). "Alternative Airplay Chart".
68. "High Hopes Alternative Songs Chart History".
69. (February 1, 2020). "Alternative Airplay".
70. (October 12, 2013). "Alternative Airplay".
71. (March 14, 2020). "Alternative Airplay".
72. Rutherford, Kevin. (September 1, 2023). "Bad Omens Top Alternative Airplay Chart for the First Time".
73. (March 19, 2016). "Alternative Airplay".
74. (October 2, 2010). "Alternative Airplay".
75. Rutherford, Kevin. (June 28, 2022). "BoyWithUke Notches First No. 1 on a Billboard Songs Chart With 'Toxic'".
76. (February 20, 2010). "Alternative Airplay".
77. (January 18, 2020). "Alternative Airplay".
78. (May 2, 2009). "Alternative Airplay".
79. (March 6, 2010). "Alternative Airplay".
80. (June 15, 2013). "Alternative Airplay".
81. (July 21, 2012). "Alternative Airplay".
82. Rutherford, Kevin. (February 17, 2023). "Weezer Scores Eighth Alternative Airplay No. 1 With 'Records'".
83. Rutherford, Kevin. (May 17, 2025). "Jonah Kagen Snags First Billboard No. 1 With 'God Needs the Devil'".
84. (March 13, 2018). "Imagine Dragons' 'Evolve' Is First Album With 3 Alternative Songs No. 1s This Decade". Billboard Music.
85. Rutherford, Kevin. (September 12, 2025). "Sublime Has Its First Alternative Airplay No. 1 in Almost 30 Years".
86. Rutherford, Kevin. (March 1, 2024). "Sum 41 Ends Record Break Between No. 1s on Alternative Airplay Chart With 'Landmines'".
87. (17 June 2009). "Chart Beat: Lady Gaga, Kenny Chesney, Silversun Pickups".
88. (July 2, 1994). "Modern Rock Tracks". [[Nielsen Company.
89. Macdonald, Patrick. (December 23, 1994). "Music Notes". [[The Seattle Times]].
90. (August 16, 2013). "Lorde First Woman in 17 Years to Top Alternative with 'Royals'".
91. (September 8, 2015). "Elle King Is Just Second Woman to Top Alternative Songs Chart in Two Decades". [[Prometheus Global Media]].
92. (September 16, 2013). "Lorde Links Longest Alternative Songs Reign By A Woman With 'Royals'".
93. Rutherford, Kevin. (May 20, 2019). "Billie Eilish Scores First Airplay Chart No. 1 as 'Bury a Friend' Tops Alternative Songs".
94. (February 1, 2021). "Billie Eilish Breaks Record for Most Alternative Airplay No. 1s Ever Among Soloists".
95. (August 22, 2025). "Yellowcard Sets Alternative Airplay Record with First No. 1 Song 'Better Days'".
96. (8 June 2023). "Blur Returns to Alternative Airplay Chart After 20-Year Break".