Hot 100 Singles Sales #1's 1991-2017

[renaboss]

Wow, so urban music was even more dominant in the 90s than it already appeared to be by Hot 100 number-ones alone.

How could Mariah's "Through the Rain" be #1 on singles sales in 2003 but only 80-something on the Hot 100? How were things already so different by then?

[ry4n]

It only took like 4000 copies to be #1 at that point

[Gary]

yes there essentially was no singles market from 2001-2004

[jebsib]

Billboard.biz still lists this chart in their active all-format menu, despite being defunct for 20 months. SMH.

[somelikeitwhen]

Jul 19, 2019 11:37:03 GMT -5 renaboss said:

Wow, so urban music was even more dominant in the 90s than it already appeared to be by Hot 100 number-ones alone.

How could Mariah's "Through the Rain" be #1 on singles sales in 2003 but only 80-something on the Hot 100? How were things already so different by then?

Nobody bought any physical singles that weren't American Idol-related at that point. There used to be a section in Billboard that mentioned the total singles/CDs sold each week, and the last time over 1 million singles were sold in one week in the US was sometime in 2000.

[WolfSpear]

Radio was the main dictator of chart performance by 2002...
Plus Mariah was a bit outcasted after Glitter bombed hard.

Rhythmically charged music dominated during that time, and plenty of it hit the mainstream. You could not escape J-Lo, 50 Cent, Chris Brown, Usher and virtually any rap star (like Ludacris, Missy’s Elliot etc). The Hot 100 panel’s expansion may have greatly helped, but this is what radio chose. I, for one, stuck to the more adult pop during the era.

[HolidayGuy]

"Through the Rain" sold 13,000 in its first week. The singles columm noted that it was below what it expected, given it was discounted and a release from an artist with such a fervent fan base, though noting the total further emphasized the downward state of the singles market.

The single was also released after it had peaked at radio- it had peaked at 81 from airplay and 12-inch sales prior, and re-entered the Hot 100 at 84 when the CD single was released.

[rockgolf]

Someone will use this list to argue that there was a causal connection between 9/11 and the split between the sales charts and the Hot 100.

[renaboss]

Sooooo many songs I've never even heard of. What on earth is a Shakila?

[renaboss]

So, why from 1991? Doesn't the singles sales chart date back to 1984?

[jebsib]

It does, but the 1984 chart is now viewed as unreliable (despite it being used 50% for Hot 100 placement). The 1991 start date is when the Point of Sale chart (scanning retail barcodes) debuted.

[WolfSpear]

Billboard uses a handful of cut-off points; the Hot 100 Airplay is the same way with 1990 (first Nielsen-led chart) as the beginning.

Very high turnover rate between 1984-1990/91 for both charts and most weeks then would have been 5 or 6 at max.

[Private Dancer]

Jul 19, 2019 17:12:14 GMT -5 HolidayGuy said:

"Through the Rain" sold 13,000 in its first week. The singles columm noted that it was below what it expected, given it was discounted and a release from an artist with such a fervent fan base, though noting the total further emphasized the downward state of the singles market.

The single was also released after it had peaked at radio- it had peaked at 81 from airplay and 12-inch sales prior, and re-entered the Hot 100 at 84 when the CD single was released.

What was the single sections called and where can I find it in billboard magazine?

[HolidayGuy]

^I believe Hot 100 Singles Spotlight; it should be accessible at the Google Books or World Radio History sites.

[Private Dancer]

Dec 16, 2020 17:34:32 GMT -5 HolidayGuy said:

^I believe Hot 100 Singles Spotlight; it should be accessible at the Google Books or World Radio History sites.

Thank you I have found it.

[chanman]

Jul 19, 2019 10:56:35 GMT -5 Gary said:

Hot 100 Singles Sales 1991-2017

1991

I Wanna Sex You Up (From "New Jack City"), Color Me Badd 5/18/1991
I Wanna Sex You Up (From "New Jack City"), Color Me Badd 5/25/1991
I Wanna Sex You Up (From "New Jack City"), Color Me Badd 6/1/1991
I Wanna Sex You Up (From "New Jack City"), Color Me Badd 6/8/1991
I Wanna Sex You Up (From "New Jack City"), Color Me Badd 6/15/1991
More Than Words, Extreme 6/22/1991
More Than Words, Extreme 6/29/1991
I Wanna Sex You Up (From "New Jack City"), Color Me Badd 7/6/1991
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You, Bryan Adams 7/13/1991
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You, Bryan Adams 7/20/1991
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You, Bryan Adams 7/27/1991
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You, Bryan Adams 8/3/1991
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You, Bryan Adams 8/10/1991
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You, Bryan Adams 8/17/1991
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You, Bryan Adams 8/24/1991
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You, Bryan Adams 8/31/1991
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You, Bryan Adams 9/7/1991
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You, Bryan Adams 9/14/1991
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You, Bryan Adams 9/21/1991
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You, Bryan Adams 9/28/1991
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You, Bryan Adams 10/5/1991
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You, Bryan Adams 10/12/1991
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You, Bryan Adams 10/19/1991
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You, Bryan Adams 10/26/1991
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You, Bryan Adams 11/2/1991
O.P.P., Naughty By Nature 11/9/1991
Set Adrift On Memory Bliss, P.M. Dawn 11/16/1991
Set Adrift On Memory Bliss, P.M. Dawn 11/23/1991
Set Adrift On Memory Bliss, P.M. Dawn 11/30/1991
Black Or White, Michael Jackson 12/7/1991
Black Or White, Michael Jackson 12/14/1991
Black Or White, Michael Jackson 12/21/1991
Black Or White, Michael Jackson 12/28/1991

From the looks of this..Bryan Adams would have had a 10+ week run if the 1992 methodology was used in 1991...

[85la]

^ Seems very likely. I just noticed now that he spent 17 weeks at #1, which must be a record for the single sales chart? Surprisingly, a lot of other songs in those early years of the chart spent many weeks at #1.

[Gary]

What Time Is It ? High School Musical

28 weeks at #1
Long after physical singles were still relevant

[85la]

^ Yep, I saw that just going through them right now, but you beat me to it! I wonder how much that ended up selling when all was said and done? I think I remember reading that it opened with like 86,000 copies or something, which seems like a respectable amount for any year of the chart's existence, but obviously many of its later weeks must have been much, much lower.

[HolidayGuy]

Yah- "Everything I Do..." probably would have had a No. 1 run similar to "I Will Always Love You." That's why Billboard's weighing system is essential for all-time features/charts.

[WolfSpear]

The minute that Digital Songs was introduced is the minute Hot 100 Singles became irrelevant or more of a curiosity to me.

[renaboss]

I assume there is no way we could ever find out the singles and airplay #1's (or others) for Billboard in the 50s through the mid-80s? Like, the data they used for the Hot 100? Would someone like Joel Whitburn have that, or does he only have access to the charts?

[Gary]

Paul Haney occasionally posts here - you could tag him and ask

[WolfSpear]

Cash Box would be your best reference for the 60’s and 70’s; all of the Billboard #1’s for sales and Airplay (1940-1958) are up on Wikipedia though. You can also see the Jukebox chart all side by side for comparison.

[renaboss]

Dec 26, 2020 11:36:50 GMT -5 WolfSpear said:

Cash Box would be your best reference for the 60’s and 70’s

How do you mean? Did Cash Box have separate charts for sales and airplay? Or do you mean that Cash Box was mostly sales-based (as I've heard that before)?

[WolfSpear]

Well, best for sales... although they lost credibility by the end of their run as a publication.

[renaboss]

I see they did have jukebox and disk jockey charts for a while still, at least in the early 60s - going through their magazines now.

[renaboss]

How was the data acquired for those first 1991 sales? I'm looking at the magazine from May 18, 1991, and it says the best-selling song is "More Than Words", not "I Wanna Sex You Up".

[WolfSpear]

By collecting a list of retailer reports from across the country. Either FAX or phone it in. I’m not sure if retailers had weighted values like the disc jockeys did, but often times they would complete ignore an older catalog title since it was yesterday’s news... even if that title may legitimately be selling. Also, an album like the soundtrack to Sgt. Pepper, starring the Bee Gees, that bombed, ranked high due to the massive volume of shipments it received. The actual POS would have shown that it bombed... retailers obviously ranked it high because of the anticipation.

When they surveyed disc jockeys, they ranked everything on a weighted system. So if you lived in the middle of Kalamazoo, you would get a bronze weight, which is like 5 points for every time you ranked #1 on a play list there. If you were in San Francisco, then likely the same #1 would be 15 points since you’re serving a major district... See, these old methods have tons of loopholes...

[renaboss]

Dec 30, 2020 12:20:19 GMT -5 WolfSpear said:

By collecting a list of retailer reports from across the country. Either FAX or phone it in. I’m not sure if retailers had weighted values like the disc jockeys did, but often times they would complete ignore an older catalog title since it was yesterday’s news... even if that title may legitimately be selling. Also, an album like the soundtrack to Sgt. Pepper, starring the Bee Gees, that bombed, ranked high due to the massive volume of shipments it received. The actual POS would have shown that it bombed... retailers obviously ranked it high because of the anticipation.

When they surveyed disc jockeys, they ranked everything on a weighted system. So if you lived in the middle of Kalamazoo, you would get a bronze weight, which is like 5 points for every time you ranked #1 on a play list there. If you were in San Francisco, then likely the same #1 would be 15 points since you’re serving a major district... See, these old methods have tons of loopholes...

Thank you for that, but I meant where did Gary get his info, since what it says here is different from what I see in the magazines.