Post by Au$tin on Aug 20, 2018 1:05:07 GMT -5
"The Middle" did not, at any point, outpeak "Closer." The article is question only states "The Middle" has lasted longer at number one on the dance/electronic chart than "Closer." That chart, along with most of the genre charts, are just the Hot 100 viewed only with that certain genre. "Closer" was a hit during the period where that genre of music was much more popular, so once it began its decent, it didn't have to go very far before it fell below a fellow song from the genre. "The Middle," on the other hand, is far ahead of the next track from its genre. ("Something Just Like This" is still #3 on that genre's chart for goodness sakes.) "One Kiss" is the #2, and looking at the Hot 100, "The Middle" is #19 while "One Kiss" is #40. That's a pretty hefty gap. Meanwhile, when "Closer" was on its 12th week at #1 on the Hot 100, the next song from its genre was "Let Me Love You" at #4. So there was a much, much smaller gap between the top two tracks from the genre then than there is now.
It just goes to show that one stat does not tell the whole story. Sure, "The Middle" holds the record for longest stay at number one for the dance/electronic chart, but at no point was "The Middle" even close to reaching the level of success "Closer," one of the decade's largest and longest living hits, had. All stats just tell one piece of a puzzle that are of a much grander story. In this example, a quick step back and a bit of research tells you immediately that "The Middle" had way less competition on the dance/electronic chart than "Closer" did.