Hot AC "Book of Records"

[Hot AC Archiver]

For fun this July 4 weekend, I went through and compiled a list of feats for the Radio and Records/Mediabase Hot AC chart, which debuted on 4/22/94.

Let's line 'em up and count 'em down...

Acts with the most #1 songs:

• Group: Nickelback with 5
  
• Solo Male: Elton John and Rob Thomas with 3. If you consider Santana a solo male, he also had 3
  
• Solo Female: Pink and Katy Perry with 4
  
• All Combined: Rob Thomas with 8
  

Individual Song with Most Weeks at #1: "Smooth" - Santana f/ Rob Thomas, 23 weeks (25 counting 2 week holiday break)

Artist with the most combined weeks at #1: Rob Thomas with 90 weeks (with Santana, Matchbox Twenty, and solo)

Shortest title of a #1 song : "I Do" - Lisa Loeb and "3 AM" - Matchbox 20

Longest Title of a #1 song: "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" - Bryan Adams

Most Weekly Spins for a #1 Song: "Rolling in the Deep" - Adele, 5538 spins on 6/12/11.

Song with the most weeks at #2 (for a song peaking at #2): "How You Remind Me" - Nickelback, 17 weeks

Song with the most weeks at #3 (for a song peaking at #3): "Barely Breathing" - Duncan Sheik, 13 weeks

Most Weeks at any Peak Position Outside of the Top 5: 8 weeks

• "Breathe (2am)" by Anna Nalick spent 8 weeks at number 6 in 2005,
  
• "Wordplay" by Jason Mraz spent 8 weeks at #17 in 2005, and
  
• "Feel Good Inc" by Gorillaz spent 8 weeks at #19 in 2005.
  

Most Weeks on the Chart: "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)" - Train, 71 weeks

Most Weeks in the Top 5: "You and Me" - Lifehouse, 36 weeks

Most Weeks in the Top 10: "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)" - Train, 52 weeks

Most Weeks in the Top 20: "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)" - Train, 68 weeks

Highest Debut: "If You Go" - Jon Secada at #13

Fastest Climb to #1: 6 weeks. "I'll Be There for You" by the Rembrandts and "Thank U" by Alanis Morissette.

Slowest Climb to #1: 35 weeks. "Breakeven" by The Script

Longest Time to Reach Top 10: 28 weeks. "All the Right Moves" - OneRepublic

Most Hot AC Hits:

• Solo Woman: Madonna with 20
  
• Solo Man: John Mayer with 14
  
• Group: Goo Goo Dolls with 17
  
• Overall: Rob Thomas with 23
  

Most Top 10 Hits:

• Solo Woman: Sheryl Crow with 11
  
• Solo Man: John Mayer with 11
  
• Group: Goo Goo Dolls with 12
  
• Overall: Rob Thomas with 21
  

Longest Charting Act: Bon Jovi. They first appeared on the HAC chart on 10/7/94, and their last hit fell off the chart on 1/23/11

[HereIsGone]

Actually, the Goo Goo Dolls have 14 top ten hits, not 12.

[Hot AC Archiver]

Jul 3, 2011 13:42:21 GMT -5 HereIsGone said:

Actually, the Goo Goo Dolls have 14 top ten hits, not 12.

Not using the R&R/Mediabase charts. The 4 that have not reached top 10 are: Big Machine (#11), Sympathy (#11), Real (#40), NotBroken (#26). Of course we'll see where their current hit peaks, so it's not counted yet for the top 10s category.

[MostInterestingManInTheWorld]

Never would have guessed that Elton John is tied for the most #1s by a solo man (granted it's kind of on a technicality, but still....).

Good work, my friend.

Are there any one hit wonders for which the one hit went to the top? If not, which one hit wonder charted the highest?

[Hot AC Archiver]

Jul 3, 2011 14:01:54 GMT -5 MostInterestingManInTheWorld said:

Never would have guessed that Elton John is tied for the most #1s by a solo man (granted it's kind of on a technicality, but still....).

Good work, my friend.

Are there any one hit wonders for which the one hit went to the top? If not, which one hit wonder charted the highest?

Thanks!

There have been 4 one-hit wonders whose only hit went to #1:

"She's So High" - Tal Bachman
"You Gotta Be" - Des'ree
"I Love You Always Forever" - Donna Lewis
"Bad Day" - Daniel Powter

The biggest hit of those was "Bad Day", which spent 13 weeks at #1.

[HereIsGone]

Jul 3, 2011 13:50:15 GMT -5 Hot AC Archiver said:

Jul 3, 2011 13:42:21 GMT -5 HereIsGone said:

Actually, the Goo Goo Dolls have 14 top ten hits, not 12.

Not using the R&R/Mediabase charts. The 4 that have not reached top 10 are: Big Machine (#11), Sympathy (#11), Real (#40), NotBroken (#26). Of course we'll see where their current hit peaks, so it's not counted yet for the top 10s category.

I just realized I was thinking of Billboard. Big Machine and Sympathy made top ten there.

[MostInterestingManInTheWorld]

Jul 3, 2011 15:24:40 GMT -5 Hot AC Archiver said:

Jul 3, 2011 14:01:54 GMT -5 MostInterestingManInTheWorld said:

Never would have guessed that Elton John is tied for the most #1s by a solo man (granted it's kind of on a technicality, but still....).

Good work, my friend.

Are there any one hit wonders for which the one hit went to the top? If not, which one hit wonder charted the highest?

Thanks!

There have been 4 one-hit wonders whose only hit went to #1:

"She's So High" - Tal Bachman
"You Gotta Be" - Des'ree
"I Love You Always Forever" - Donna Lewis
"Bad Day" - Daniel Powter

The biggest hit of those was "Bad Day", which spent 13 weeks at #1.

Didn't "Love You Lately" by Powter spend three weeks at #39 in late 2006? Or am I confusing Mediabase with R-n-R, or something? Regardless, "Bad Day" would be his only hit of significance.

I'm guessing that if the chart had gone to 40 in 1999, Bachman would have had a second hit (I seem to recall him being in the lower reaches of Billboard's Adult chart with the followup to "She's So High".)

Both Des'ree and Donna Lewis were able to have second pop hits, albeit not nearly as big as their signature songs. I'd guess in each case they received some trivial Hot AC airplay.

I guess my point is that Hot AC is not a format conducive to somebody having a major hit, then disappearing completely afterwards.

[Adam (UTR)]

I think "Love You Lately" was Billboard-only; I remember it hovered around the #41 or #42 spot on Mediabase late in 2006.

"Feel So High", the follow-up to "You Gotta Be", never charted on the Adult Contemporary Chart, so I doubt it received that much play.

"If You Sleep", the follow-up to "She's So High", peaked at #35 on Billboard's Adult Top 40 chart in 2000.

"Without Love", the follow-up to "I Love You Always Forever", peaked at #36 on Billboard's Adult Top 40 chart in 1997.

[MostInterestingManInTheWorld]

Jul 3, 2011 16:53:57 GMT -5 Adam (UTR) said:

I think "Love You Lately" was Billboard-only; I remember it hovered around the #41 or #42 spot on Mediabase late in 2006.

"Feel So High", the follow-up to "You Gotta Be", never charted on the Adult Contemporary Chart, so I doubt it received that much play.

"If You Sleep", the follow-up to "She's So High", peaked at #35 on Billboard's Adult Top 40 chart in 2000.

"Without Love", the follow-up to "I Love You Always Forever", peaked at #36 on Billboard's Adult Top 40 chart in 1997.

Thanks Adam! I guess no matter how I split these hairs, those are four fairly large one hit wonders!

I did get to thinking though, trying to come up with somebody who had a major Hot AC hit, and never charted anywhere else with another hit - the pickings are slim - it seems 1999 was a big year for that phenomenon, with Len and Citizen King reaching the top ten, and I don't believe they ever charted on any format afterwards.

[Kurt]

I checked Wikipedia, and it says "Love You Lately" peaked at #39 on Billboard. Not sure about other charts (I always forget which is which, hehe).

[musicfanpete]

Jul 3, 2011 16:53:57 GMT -5 Adam (UTR) said:

I think "Love You Lately" was Billboard-only; I remember it hovered around the #41 or #42 spot on Mediabase late in 2006.

"Feel So High", the follow-up to "You Gotta Be", never charted on the Adult Contemporary Chart, so I doubt it received that much play.

"If You Sleep", the follow-up to "She's So High", peaked at #35 on Billboard's Adult Top 40 chart in 2000.

"Without Love", the follow-up to "I Love You Always Forever", peaked at #36 on Billboard's Adult Top 40 chart in 1997.

Yeah I remember "Without Love" was a terrible song. Not that Donna Lewis was a great singer. Even on "I Love You Always Forever" her vocals were weak, but the song itself was one of those that people remember for a long time. But that "follow-up" killed all the momentum she got out of that first song.

Great topic for the holiday weekend though, and nice to revisit some songs from the early days of the format!

[Hot AC Archiver]

As has been pointed out, just a little difference between the Billboard and Mediabase can make a big difference in terms of chart feats.

I forgot several #1 one hit wonders, although as noted above the groups may not be one hit wonders elsewhere:

"Tubthumping" - Chumbawumba
"Fireflies" - Owl City
"I'll Be There for You" - The Rembrandts
"Back for Good" - Take That
Sorry!!

Here are some other one hit wonders who hit the top 10:

"Mouth" - Merill Bainbridge, #7
"Lovefool", The Cardigans, #2
"Butterfly Kisses" - Bob Carlisle, #9
"Show Me What I'm Looking for" - Carolina Liar, #10
"Breakfast at Tiffany's" - Deep Blue Something, #4
"Roll to Me" - Del Amitri #3
"What It's Like" - Everlast, #7
"Hooch" - Everything, #10
"Missing" - Everything but the Girl, #4
"I Know" - Dionne Farris, #3
"Take a Picture" - Filter, #9
"LA Song" - Beth Hart, #8
"Steal My Sunshine" - Len, #5
"How Bizarre" - OMC, #5
"What Hurts the Most" - Rascal Flatts, #10
"Bitter Sweet Symphony" - The Verve, #6
"Hold on" - Jamie Walters, #6
"Love Is All Around" - Wet Wet Wet #9

The following superstars are *technically* one hit wonders for Hot AC:


"Maria" - Blondie, #10
"Until the End of Time" - Foreigner, #9
"You Are Not Alone" - Michael Jackson, #6

[musicfanpete]

That may be the first and only time we see Michael Jackson and "one hit wonder" in the same sentence!

[MostInterestingManInTheWorld]

Looking at the one hit wonders list, the following I would describe as true one hit wonders (that is, we really never heard anything else besides the one hit):

Merrill Bainbridge (although I do vaguely remember another song of hers being pushed in '98)
Cardigans (I know that "My Favourite Game" charted Alternative in 1999, but just barely)
Bob Carlisle
Everything
Beth Hart
Len
OMC
Jamie Walters (might win a contest for most forgettable artist to have a top ten CHR/HAC hit over the last fifteen years)
Wet Wet Wet

[musicfanpete]

Jul 3, 2011 23:36:26 GMT -5 MostInterestingManInTheWorld said:

Looking at the one hit wonders list, the following I would describe as true one hit wonders (that is, we really never heard anything else besides the one hit):

Merrill Bainbridge (although I do vaguely remember another song of hers being pushed in '98)
Cardigans (I know that "My Favourite Game" charted Alternative in 1999, but just barely)
Bob Carlisle
Everything
Beth Hart
Len
OMC
Jamie Walters (might win a contest for most forgettable artist to have a top ten CHR/HAC hit over the last fifteen years)
Wet Wet Wet

My assessments of those songs above are as follows:

First, what a great song by Merril Bainbridge! Very flirtatious lyrics and a cute melody. And she's very cute too! Too bad she didn't have much additional success, but I do vaguely remember her follow-up and I thought it was a great song too. It didn't do too much on the charts though.

Bob Carlisle, well he's a very staunch Christian artist with probably the one and only song he wrote with a mainstream audience in mind. "Butterfly Kisses" may be one of the most "smauchy" songs of all time, but I can see why many fathers liked this song, talking about the gift of raising a daughter. But not surprisingly though, because of his staunch Christian subject matter in his music, he never had another mainstream hit.

That said though, it's not that it can't happen. One artist to add to the Hot AC one hit wonder list is the Christian group Mercy Me which hit the top 10 on the AC chart with "I Can Only Imagine". This was probably the most blantant Christian song to ever chart on the mainstream charts as this song talked about their hope of meeting Jesus sometime in the future. I believe this may have been a top 10 Hot AC hit, but maybe Hot AC Guru can look this one up. I think this song did pretty well on CHR as well, which was an amazing accomplishment considering that format targets teens and young adults.

Beth Hart, Everything and Len I think all hit lightning in a bottle with their sole hits, and hopefully they saved up their money they made with these songs!

OMC had a great song with "How Bizzare", but will never have the chance for a second hit as their lead singer died several years back after an illness said to be due to some neurological disorder. This a couple of years after his older brother died of a heart attack! A very sad ending for a group that had some promise of additional hits.

Wet Wet Wet of course rode the success of their hit single "Love Is All Around" from the movie "Four Weddings and a Funeral". But movie soundtracks can also be the kiss of death as many acts who score big hits from movies and/or tv tend to fade to oblivion soon after.

And speaking of tv, Jamie Walters was probably one of the most manufactured music acts to chart since the Monkees did in the late 60's! While he obviously can play the guitar and write his own music, songs from night time soap operas tend to be very generic and are not good at trying to advance someone's career. Walters rode his "fame" on the original "Beverly Hills 90210" to a top 10 Hot AC hit with "Hold On", but has basically never been heard from again. And neither has this song which only rarely gets a play or two here and there and usually on one of those 90's flashback hours on a few stations. And there's a good reason why most stations don't play this song in regular gold rotation. It's not a song that was conducive to longevity, just like his "career"!

I'm sure there are still other one hit wonders not listed here. If I think of anymore I will post it.

[Hot AC Archiver]

^^

MercyMe had 2 songs chart on Hot AC. "I Can Only Imagine" peaked at #24 in 2003, and 1 year later "Here with Me" topped out at #33.

Jamie Walters was the lead singer of the fictional group The Heights, which hit #1 on the Pop chart in late 1992 with "How Do You Talk to an Angel".

[folkfan]

Fun thread---thanks for putting it together. My guess is that we'll never see the "most weeks on" record broken, given the changes in recurrence rules.

[musicfanpete]

Jul 4, 2011 12:58:11 GMT -5 Hot AC Archiver said:

^^

MercyMe had 2 songs chart on Hot AC. "I Can Only Imagine" peaked at #24 in 2003, and 1 year later "Here with Me" topped out at #33.

Jamie Walters was the lead singer of the fictional group The Heights, which hit #1 on the Pop chart in late 1992 with "How Do You Talk to an Angel".

I thought that Mercy Me song peaked a lot higher on Hot AC, but still a nice peak considering the Chrisitian lean of that song.

Ahhh, I forgot about the Heights, but since they charted in 1992 Jamie would still count as a Hot AC one hit wonder.

Speaking of one hit wonders, perhaps the ultimate one hit wonder would be the fictional group the Wonders who peaked at #18 on the Hot AC chart in 1996 with "That Thing You Do" from the movie of the same name. That movie of course was about a manufactured band that had one huge hit only never to be heard from again. Talk about life imitating art!

One other artist to add to this list would be Christian act Wilshire who cracked the top 20 for a couple of weeks in around 2002 or 2003 with their one mainstream hit "Special". The husband and wife duo peaked I believe at #19 on the Hot AC chart, and I remember listening to American Top 20 with Casey Kasem the two weeks that song was in the top 20. They would definitely be a one hit wonder, but one of those that hardly anyone remembers which is a shame since they are very talented.

[musicfanpete]

Hope everyone is having a great July 4th!

I got one more one hit wonder from a few years back. That would be the top 15 hit by Carolina Liar with "Show Me What I'm Looking For". I was watching a dvd today and they were playing that song in a preview for a movie, so that jogged my memory for this song.

[johnm1120]

A few more one-hitters (mostly Billboard peaks):

Loreena McKennitt - The Mummers' Dance (peaked at #4 R&R, #3 Billboard)
Marcy Playground - Sex & Candy (peaked at #4)


I did find one who did hit #1 and never charted again:

Enya - Only Time

[Rumors]

Jul 3, 2011 13:33:28 GMT -5 Hot AC Archiver said:

Most Hot AC Hits:

• Solo Woman: Madonna with 20
  
• Solo Man: John Mayer with 14
  
• Group: Goo Goo Dolls with 17
  
• Overall: Rob Thomas with 23
  

Most Top 10 Hits:

• Solo Woman: Sheryl Crow with 11
  
• Solo Man: John Mayer with 11
  
• Group: Goo Goo Dolls with 12
  
• Overall: Rob Thomas with 21
  

I missed this topic before. I have to say as Rob Thomas fan that this is the most impressive statistics. Out of 23 songs that Rob has been involved with on the HotAC only 2 songs failed to make the top 10. I have to say that is a pretty nice streak. What are those two songs? Last Beautiful Girl off of the Matchbox Twenty Mad Season album and.....I'm not sure.

I'm really excited for the new Matchbox Album (early 2012). The band seems to be really happy about it so I think 2012 may be a Matchbox Twenty and Kelly Clarkson year. I'm hoping Kelly's album is strong...we shall see.

[MostInterestingManInTheWorld]

Aug 20, 2011 9:39:40 GMT -5 Rumors said:

Jul 3, 2011 13:33:28 GMT -5 Hot AC Archiver said:

Most Hot AC Hits:

• Solo Woman: Madonna with 20
  
• Solo Man: John Mayer with 14
  
• Group: Goo Goo Dolls with 17
  
• Overall: Rob Thomas with 23
  

Most Top 10 Hits:

• Solo Woman: Sheryl Crow with 11
  
• Solo Man: John Mayer with 11
  
• Group: Goo Goo Dolls with 12
  
• Overall: Rob Thomas with 21
  

I missed this topic before. I have to say as Rob Thomas fan that this is the most impressive statistics. Out of 23 songs that Rob has been involved with on the HotAC only 2 songs failed to make the top 10. I have to say that is a pretty nice streak. What are those two songs? Last Beautiful Girl off of the Matchbox Twenty Mad Season album and.....I'm not sure.

I'm really excited for the new Matchbox Album (early 2012). The band seems to be really happy about it so I think 2012 may be a Matchbox Twenty and Kelly Clarkson year. I'm hoping Kelly's album is strong...we shall see.

The other MB20 hit to fail to hit the HAC Top 10 would be "Downfall".

[musicfanpete]

Aug 20, 2011 10:47:07 GMT -5 MostInterestingManInTheWorld said:

Aug 20, 2011 9:39:40 GMT -5 Rumors said:

I missed this topic before. I have to say as Rob Thomas fan that this is the most impressive statistics. Out of 23 songs that Rob has been involved with on the HotAC only 2 songs failed to make the top 10. I have to say that is a pretty nice streak. What are those two songs? Last Beautiful Girl off of the Matchbox Twenty Mad Season album and.....I'm not sure.

I'm really excited for the new Matchbox Album (early 2012). The band seems to be really happy about it so I think 2012 may be a Matchbox Twenty and Kelly Clarkson year. I'm hoping Kelly's album is strong...we shall see.

The other MB20 hit to fail to hit the HAC Top 10 would be "Downfall".

And those two songs didn't miss the Top 10 by much if I recall correctly. That would have been incredible if those two songs made it and they had a perfect streak going after all these years!

[Hot AC Archiver]

^^ "Last Beautiful Girl" topped out at #17, while "Downfall" only made it to #28.