Charts If Airplay-Only Tracks Charted in the 90s

[iHype.]

The common question: what would the Hot 100 look like if airplay-only hits charted in the 1990s [prior to Nov. 1998]? 

Well, given that Billboard frequently posted the Hot 100 formula itself in the 90s + gave weekly highlights which included airplay/sales data for a few songs, I was able to put together estimates of what each weekly top 10 would look like if the songs on Hot 100 Airplay with no commercial release were eligible to chart under the current formula at the time.Below are the weekly top 10 estimations. Ofcourse, if you have any question to how any week (or all this in general) was estimated feel free to ask and I'll explain. Also if you think anything is off and such then don't feel shy to point it out lol.

Songs in bold + underline are airplay-only songs. Weeks that were skipped means there was no changes in top 10.

Starting at 1997:

1997-01-18
1 Un-Break My Heart - Toni Braxton
2 Don t Let Go (Love) (From "Set It Off") - En Vogue
3 I Believe I Can Fly (From "Space Jam") - R. Kelly
4 Nobody - Keith Sweat Featuring Athena Cage
5 I Believe In You And Me (From "The Preacher s Wife") - Whitney Houston
6 No Diggity - BLACKstreet (Featuring Dr. Dre)
7 Mouth - Merril Bainbridge
8 I m Still In Love With You - New Edition
9 It s All Coming Back To Me Now - Celine Dion
10 Don’t Speak - No Doubt

1997-01-25
1 Un-Break My Heart - Toni Braxton
2 Don t Let Go (Love) (From "Set It Off") - En Vogue
3 I Believe I Can Fly (From "Space Jam") - R. Kelly
4 Nobody - Keith Sweat Featuring Athena Cage
5 I Believe In You And Me (From "The Preacher s Wife") - Whitney Houston
6 No Diggity - BLACKstreet (Featuring Dr. Dre)
7 Don’t Speak - No Doubt
8 Mouth - Merril Bainbridge
9 I m Still In Love With You - New Edition
10 It s All Coming Back To Me Now - Celine Dion

1997-02-01
1 Un-Break My Heart - Toni Braxton
2 Don t Let Go (Love) (From "Set It Off") - En Vogue
3 I Believe I Can Fly (From "Space Jam") - R. Kelly
4 I Believe In You And Me (From "The Preacher s Wife") - Whitney Houston
5 Nobody - Keith Sweat Featuring Athena Cage
6 Wannabe - Spice Girls
7 No Diggity - BLACKstreet (Featuring Dr. Dre)
8 Don’t Speak - No Doubt
9 I m Still In Love With You - New Edition
10 Foolish Games/You Were Meant For Me - Jewel

1997-02-08
1 Un-Break My Heart - Toni Braxton
2 Don t Let Go (Love) (From "Set It Off") - En Vogue
3 I Believe I Can Fly (From "Space Jam") - R. Kelly
4 Wannabe - Spice Girls
5 I Believe In You And Me (From "The Preacher s Wife") - Whitney Houston
6/7 Don’t Speak - No Doubt
6/7 Nobody - Keith Sweat Featuring Athena Cage
8 Can t Nobody Hold Me Down - Puff Daddy (Featuring Mase)
9 Foolish Games/You Were Meant For Me - Jewel
10 No Diggity - BLACKstreet (Featuring Dr. Dre)

1997-02-15
1 Un-Break My Heart - Toni Braxton
2 Wannabe - Spice Girls
3 Don t Let Go (Love) (From "Set It Off") - En Vogue
4 I Believe I Can Fly (From "Space Jam") - R. Kelly
5 Can t Nobody Hold Me Down - Puff Daddy (Featuring Mase)
6 I Believe In You And Me (From "The Preacher s Wife") - Whitney Houston
7/8 Nobody - Keith Sweat Featuring Athena Cage
7/8 Don’t Speak - No Doubt
9 Foolish Games/You Were Meant For Me - Jewel
10 Every Time I Close My Eyes - Babyface

1997-02-22
1 Wannabe - Spice Girls
2 Un-Break My Heart - Toni Braxton
3 Can t Nobody Hold Me Down - Puff Daddy (Featuring Mase)
4 I Believe I Can Fly (From "Space Jam") - R. Kelly
5 Don t Let Go (Love) (From "Set It Off") - En Vogue
6 Foolish Games/You Were Meant For Me - Jewel
7/8 I Believe In You And Me (From "The Preacher s Wife") - Whitney Houston
7/8 Don’t Speak - No Doubt

9 Nobody - Keith Sweat Featuring Athena Cage
10 In My Bed - Dru Hill

1997-03-01
1 Wannabe - Spice Girls
2 Un-Break My Heart - Toni Braxton
3 Can't Nobody Hold Me Down - Puff Daddy (Featuring Mase)
4 I Believe I Can Fly (From "Space Jam") - R. Kelly
5 Foolish Games/You Were Meant For Me - Jewel
6 Don't Let Go (Love) (From "Set It Off") - En Vogue
7 In My Bed - Dru Hill
8 Don't Cry For Me Argentina (From "Evita") - Madonna
9/10 Nobody - Keith Sweat Featuring Athena Cage
9/10 Don’t Speak - No Doubt

1997-03-15
1 Wannabe - Spice Girls
2 Can't Nobody Hold Me Down - Puff Daddy (Featuring Mase)
3 Un-Break My Heart - Toni Braxton
4 Foolish Games/You Were Meant For Me - Jewel
5 In My Bed - Dru Hill
6 I Believe I Can Fly (From "Space Jam") - R. Kelly
7 Every Time I Close My Eyes - Babyface
8 Don't Let Go (Love) (From "Set It Off") - En Vogue
9 For You I Will (From "Space Jam") - Monica
10 Don’t Speak - No Doubt

1997-04-05
1 Can't Nobody Hold Me Down - Puff Daddy (Featuring Mase)
2 Wannabe - Spice Girls
3 Foolish Games/You Were Meant For Me - Jewel
4 All By Myself - Celine Dion
5 In My Bed - Dru Hill
6 Every Time I Close My Eyes - Babyface
7 Un-Break My Heart - Toni Braxton
8 I'll Be - Foxy Brown Featuring Jay-Z
9 For You I Will (From ‘Space Jam’) - Monica
10/11 I Believe I Can Fly (From "Space Jam") - R. Kelly
10/11 Don’t Speak - No Doubt

1997-08-23
1 I'll Be Missing You - Puff Daddy & Faith Evans Featuring 112
2 Mo Money Mo Problems - The Notorious B.I.G. Featuring Puff Daddy & Mase
3 Quit Playing Games (With My Heart) - Backstreet Boys
4 Semi-Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind
5 2 Become 1 - Spice Girls
6 How Do I Live - LeAnn Rimes
7 Never Make A Promise - Dru Hill
8 Not Tonight - Lil' Kim Feat. Da Brat, Left Eye, Missy Elliott & Angie Mar
9 Men in Black - Will Smith
10 Bitch - Meredith Brooks

1997-08-30
1 Mo Money Mo Problems - The Notorious B.I.G. Featuring Puff Daddy & Mase
2 I'll Be Missing You - Puff Daddy & Faith Evans Featuring 112
3 Quit Playing Games (With My Heart) - Backstreet Boys
4 Semi-Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind
5 2 Become 1 - Spice Girls
6 How Do I Live - LeAnn Rimes
7 Not Tonight - Lil' Kim Feat. Da Brat, Left Eye, Missy Elliott & Angie Mar
8 Never Make A Promise - Dru Hill
9 Men in Black - Will Smith
10 Do You Know (What It Takes) - Robyn

1997-10-11
1 Candle In The Wind 1997/Something About The Way You Look Tonight - Elton John
2 4 Seasons Of Loneliness - Boyz II Men
3 How Do I Live - LeAnn Rimes
4 You Make Me Wanna... - Usher
5 Honey - Mariah Carey
6 Quit Playing Games (With My Heart) - Backstreet Boys
7 Semi-Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind
8 Mo Money Mo Problems - The Notorious B.I.G. Featuring Puff Daddy & Mase
9 Foolish Games/You Were Meant For Me - Jewel
10 Fly - Sugar Ray

1997-10-18
1 Candle In The Wind 1997/Something About The Way You Look Tonight - Elton John
2 4 Seasons Of Loneliness - Boyz II Men
3 You Make Me Wanna... - Usher
4 How Do I Live - LeAnn Rimes
5 Honey - Mariah Carey
6 Quit Playing Games (With My Heart) - Backstreet Boys
7 All Cried Out - Allure Featuring 112
8 Semi-Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind
9 Fly - Sugar Ray
10 Foolish Games/You Were Meant For Me - Jewel

1997-10-25
1 Candle In The Wind 1997/Something About The Way You Look Tonight - Elton John
2 You Make Me Wanna... - Usher
3 How Do I Live - LeAnn Rimes
4 4 Seasons Of Loneliness - Boyz II Men
5 All Cried Out - Allure Featuring 112
6 Honey - Mariah Carey
7 Fly - Sugar Ray
8 Quit Playing Games (With My Heart) - Backstreet Boys
9 Foolish Games/You Were Meant For Me - Jewel
10 My Love Is The Shhh! - Somethin' For The People Featuring Trina & Tamara

1997-11-01
1 Candle In The Wind 1997/Something About The Way You Look Tonight - Elton John
2 You Make Me Wanna... - Usher
3 How Do I Live - LeAnn Rimes
4 4 Seasons Of Loneliness - Boyz II Men
5 All Cried Out - Allure Featuring 112
6 My Love Is The Shhh! - Somethin' For The People Featuring Trina & Tamara
7 Foolish Games/You Were Meant For Me - Jewel
8 Fly - Sugar Ray
9 Quit Playing Games (With My Heart) - Backstreet Boys
10 Honey - Mariah Carey

1997-11-08
1 Candle In The Wind 1997/Something About The Way You Look Tonight - Elton John
2 You Make Me Wanna... - Usher
3 How Do I Live - LeAnn Rimes
4 4 Seasons Of Loneliness - Boyz II Men
5 All Cried Out - Allure Featuring 112
6 My Love Is The Shhh! - Somethin' For The People Featuring Trina & Tamara
7/8 Foolish Games/You Were Meant For Me - Jewel
7/8 Fly - Sugar Ray
9 Tubthumping - Chumbawamba
10 Quit Playing Games (With My Heart) - Backstreet Boys

1997-11-15
1 Candle In The Wind 1997/Something About The Way You Look Tonight - Elton John
2 You Make Me Wanna... - Usher
3 How Do I Live - LeAnn Rimes
4 4 Seasons Of Loneliness - Boyz II Men
5 All Cried Out - Allure Featuring 112
6 My Love Is The Shhh! - Somethin' For The People Featuring Trina & Tamara
7 Fly - Sugar Ray
8 Tubthumping - Chumbawamba
9 My Body - LSG
10 The One I Gave My Heart To - Aaliyah

1997-11-22
1 Candle In The Wind 1997/Something About The Way You Look Tonight - Elton John
2 You Make Me Wanna... - Usher
3 How Do I Live - LeAnn Rimes
4 All Cried Out - Allure Featuring 112
5 My Body - LSG
6 My Love Is The Shhh! - Somethin' For The People Featuring Trina & Tamara
7 4 Seasons Of Loneliness - Boyz II Men
8 Tubthumping - Chumbawamba
9 Fly - Sugar Ray
10 The One I Gave My Heart To - Aaliyah

1997-11-29
1 Candle In The Wind 1997/Something About The Way You Look Tonight - Elton John
2 You Make Me Wanna... - Usher
3 How Do I Live - LeAnn Rimes
4 My Love Is The Shhh! - Somethin' For The People Featuring Trina & Tamara
5 My Body - LSG
6 Tubthumping - Chumbawamba
7 Show Me Love - Robyn
8 4 Seasons Of Loneliness - Boyz II Men
9 Fly - Sugar Ray
10 All Cried Out - Allure Featuring 112

1997-12-06
1 Candle In The Wind 1997/Something About The Way You Look Tonight - Elton John
2 You Make Me Wanna... - Usher
3 How Do I Live - LeAnn Rimes
4 My Body - LSG
5 My Love Is The Shhh! - Somethin' For The People Featuring Trina & Tamara
6 Tubthumping - Chumbawamba
7 Show Me Love - Robyn
8 Feel So Good - Mase
9/10 Fly - Sugar Ray
9/10 All Cried Out - Allure Featuring 112

1997-12-13
1 Candle In The Wind 1997/Something About The Way You Look Tonight - Elton John
2 How Do I Live - LeAnn Rimes
3 You Make Me Wanna... - Usher
4 My Body - LSG
5 Feel So Good - Mase
6 My Love Is The Shhh! - Somethin' For The People Featuring Trina & Tamara
7 Show Me Love - Robyn
8 Tubthumping - Chumbawamba
9 I Will Come To You - Hanson
10 Fly - Sugar Ray

1998-01-17
1 Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden
2 Together Again - Janet
3 Candle In The Wind 1997/Something About The Way You Look Tonight - Elton John
4 How Do I Live - LeAnn Rimes
5 Been Around The World - Puff Daddy & The Family (Feat. The Notorious B.I.G. & Mase)
6 My Body - LSG
7 You Make Me Wanna... - Usher
8 Tubthumping - Chumbawamba
9/10 Show Me Love - Robyn
9/10 Fly - Sugar Ray

1998-01-31
1 Together Again - Janet
2 Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden
3 Nice & Slow - Usher
4 How Do I Live - LeAnn Rimes
5 My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion
6 Been Around The World - Puff Daddy & The Family (Feat. The Notorious B.I.G. & Mase)
7 Tubthumping - Chumbawamba
8 I Don't Ever Want To See You Again - Uncle Sam
9 Walkin’ on the Sun - Smash Mouth
10 You Make Me Wanna... - Usher

1998-02-07
1 Together Again - Janet
2 Nice & Slow - Usher
3 How Do I Live - LeAnn Rimes
4 My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion
5 Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden
6 Been Around The World - Puff Daddy & The Family (Feat. The Notorious B.I.G. & Mase)
7 I Don't Ever Want To See You Again - Uncle Sam
8 Tubthumping - Chumbawamba
9 3 AM - matchbox twenty
10/11 A Song For Mama - Boyz II Men
10/11 Walkin’ on the Sun - Smash Mouth

1998-02-14
1 Nice & Slow - Usher
2 Together Again - Janet
3 My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion
4 How Do I Live - LeAnn Rimes
5 Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden
6 Been Around The World - Puff Daddy & The Family (Feat. The Notorious B.I.G. & Mase)
7 I Don't Ever Want To See You Again - Uncle Sam
8 A Song For Mama - Boyz II Men
9 3 AM - matchbox twenty
10 No, No, No - Destiny's Child

1998-02-21
1 Nice & Slow - Usher
2 My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion
3 Together Again - Janet
4 Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden
5 How Do I Live - LeAnn Rimes
6 Been Around The World - Puff Daddy & The Family (Feat. The Notorious B.I.G. & Mase)
7 I Don't Ever Want To See You Again - Uncle Sam
8 3 AM - matchbox twenty
9 A Song For Mama - Boyz II Men
10 No, No, No - Destiny's Child

1998-02-28
1 My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion
2 Nice & Slow - Usher
3 Gettin' Jiggy Wit It - Will Smith
4 Together Again - Janet
5 Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden
6 3 AM - matchbox twenty
7 How Do I Live - LeAnn Rimes
8 I Don't Ever Want To See You Again - Uncle Sam
9 A Song For Mama - Boyz II Men
10 No, No, No - Destiny's Child

1998-03-07
1 My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion
2 Gettin' Jiggy Wit It - Will Smith
3 Nice & Slow - Usher
4 Together Again - Janet
5 Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden
6 3 AM - matchbox twenty
7 No, No, No - Destiny's Child
8 Swing My Way - K.P. & Envyi
9 As Long As You Love Me - Backstreet Boys
10 I Don't Ever Want To See You Again - Uncle Sam

1998-03-14
1 Gettin' Jiggy Wit It - Will Smith
2 My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion
3 Nice & Slow - Usher
4 No, No, No - Destiny's Child
5 Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden
6 3 AM - matchbox twenty
7 Swing My Way - K.P. & Envyi
8 Together Again - Janet
9 What You Want - Mase Featuring Total
10 Gone Till November - Wyclef Jean

1998-03-28
1 Gettin' Jiggy Wit It - Will Smith
2 Nice & Slow - Usher
3 No, No, No - Destiny's Child
4 My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion
5 Frozen - Madonna
6 Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden
7 Let's Ride - Montell Jordan Feat. Master P & Silkk The Shocker
8 Gone Till November - Wyclef Jean
9/10 3 AM - matchbox twenty
9/10 Deja Vu [Uptown Baby] - Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz

1998-04-25
1 Too Close - Next
2 All My Life - K-Ci
3 Let s Ride - Montell Jordan Feat. Master P
4 Frozen - Madonna
5 You re Still The One - Shania Twain
6 Romeo And Juliet - Sylk-E. Fyne Featuring Chill
7 Body Bumpin Yippie-Yi-Yo - Public Announcement
8 Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden
9 Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
10 Nice & Slow - Usher

1998-05-02
1 Too Close - Next
2 You re Still The One - Shania Twain
3 Let s Ride - Montell Jordan Feat. Master P
4 All My Life - K-Ci
5 Frozen - Madonna
6 Body Bumpin Yippie-Yi-Yo - Public Announcement
7 Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden
8 Everybody [Backstreet s Back] - Backstreet Boys
9 Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
10 Romeo And Juliet - Sylk-E. Fyne Featuring Chill

1998-05-09
1 Too Close - Next
2 My All - Mariah Carey
3 You re Still The One - Shania Twain
4 Everybody [Backstreet s Back] - Backstreet Boys
5 Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden
6 Body Bumpin Yippie-Yi-Yo - Public Announcement
7 Let s Ride - Montell Jordan Feat. Master P
8 Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
9 All My Life - K-Ci
10 Frozen - Madonna

1998-05-16
1 Too Close - Next
2 My All - Mariah Carey
3 You re Still The One - Shania Twain
4 Everybody [Backstreet s Back] - Backstreet Boys
5 Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
6 Body Bumpin Yippie-Yi-Yo - Public Announcement
7 It s All About Me - Mya
8 Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden
9 The Arms Of The One Who Loves You - Xscape
10 All My Life - K-Ci

1998-05-23
1 My All - Mariah Carey
2 Too Close - Next
3 I Get Lonely - Janet Featuring BLACKstreet
4 You re Still The One - Shania Twain
5 Everybody [Backstreet s Back] - Backstreet Boys
6 Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
7 It s All About Me - Mya
8 Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden
9 The Arms Of The One Who Loves You - Xscape
10 All My Life - K-Ci

1998-05-30
1 Too Close - Next
2 My All - Mariah Carey
3 You re Still The One - Shania Twain
4 I Get Lonely - Janet Featuring BLACKstreet
5 Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
6 Everybody [Backstreet s Back] - Backstreet Boys
7 It s All About Me - Mya
8 The Arms Of The One Who Loves You - Xscape
9 Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden
10 All My Life - K-Ci

1998-06-06
1 The Boy Is Mine - Brandy
2 Too Close - Next
3 You re Still The One - Shania Twain
4 My All - Mariah Carey
5 I Get Lonely - Janet Featuring BLACKstreet
6 Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
7 Everybody [Backstreet s Back] - Backstreet Boys
8 The Arms Of The One Who Loves You - Xscape
9 All My Life - K-Ci
10 Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden

1998-06-13
1 The Boy Is Mine - Brandy
2 Too Close - Next
3 You re Still The One - Shania Twain
4 My All - Mariah Carey
5 I Get Lonely - Janet Featuring BLACKstreet
6 Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
7 Everybody [Backstreet s Back] - Backstreet Boys
8 All My Life - K-Ci
9 Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden
10 The Arms Of The One Who Loves You - Xscape

1998-06-20
1 The Boy Is Mine - Brandy
2 You re Still The One - Shania Twain
3 Too Close - Next
4 My All - Mariah Carey
5 I Get Lonely - Janet Featuring BLACKstreet
6 Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
7 Everybody [Backstreet s Back] - Backstreet Boys
8 They Don t Know - Jon B.
9 All My Life - K-Ci
10 Adia - Sarah McLachlan

1998-06-27
1 The Boy Is Mine - Brandy
2 You re Still The One - Shania Twain
3 Too Close - Next
4 My All - Mariah Carey
5 Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
6 Everybody [Backstreet s Back] - Backstreet Boys
7 I Get Lonely - Janet Featuring BLACKstreet
8 Adia - Sarah McLachlan
9 They Don t Know - Jon B.
10/11 My Way - Usher
10/11 Iris - Goo Goo Dolls

1998-07-04
1 The Boy Is Mine - Brandy
2 You re Still The One - Shania Twain
3 Too Close - Next
4 My All - Mariah Carey
5 My Way - Usher
6 Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
7 Come With Me - Puff Daddy Featuring Jimmy Page
8 Adia - Sarah McLachlan
9 Everybody [Backstreet s Back] - Backstreet Boys
10 They Don t Know - Jon B.

1998-07-11
1 The Boy Is Mine - Brandy
2 You re Still The One - Shania Twain
3 Too Close - Next
4 My Way - Usher
5/6 Ray Of Light - Madonna
5/6 Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
7 Adia - Sarah McLachlan
8 Come With Me - Puff Daddy Featuring Jimmy Page
9 My All - Mariah Carey
10/11 They Don t Know - Jon B.
10/11 Iris - Goo Goo Dolls

1998-07-18
1 The Boy Is Mine - Brandy
2 You re Still The One - Shania Twain
3 My Way - Usher
4 Too Close - Next
5 Adia - Sarah McLachlan
6 Come With Me - Puff Daddy Featuring Jimmy Page
7/8 Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
7/8 Ray Of Light - Madonna
9 Make It Hot - Nicole Featuring Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott
10 Iris - Goo Goo Dolls

1998-07-25
1 The Boy Is Mine - Brandy
2 You re Still The One - Shania Twain
3 My Way - Usher
4 Come With Me - Puff Daddy Featuring Jimmy Page
5 Adia - Sarah McLachlan
6 Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
7/8 Too Close - Next
7/8 Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
9 Make It Hot - Nicole Featuring Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott
10 Ray Of Light - Madonna

1998-08-01
1 The Boy Is Mine - Brandy
2 You re Still The One - Shania Twain
3 My Way - Usher
4 Adia - Sarah McLachlan
5 Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
6 Make It Hot - Nicole Featuring Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott
7 Come With Me - Puff Daddy Featuring Jimmy Page
8 Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
9 Too Close - Next
10 Never Ever - All Saints

1998-08-08
1 The Boy Is Mine - Brandy
2 You re Still The One - Shania Twain
3 My Way - Usher
4 Adia - Sarah McLachlan
5 Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
6 Make It Hot - Nicole Featuring Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott
7 Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
8 Too Close - Next
9 Come With Me - Puff Daddy Featuring Jimmy Page
10 Never Ever - All Saints

1998-08-15
1 The Boy Is Mine - Brandy & Monica
2 My Way - Usher
3 You're Still The One - Shania Twain
4 Adia - Sarah McLachlan
5 Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
6 Make It Hot - Nicole Featuring Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott & Mocha
7 Never Ever - All Saints
8 Crush - Jennifer Paige
9 Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
10 Too Close - Next

1998-08-22
1 The Boy Is Mine - Brandy
2 My Way - Usher
3 Adia - Sarah McLachlan
4 Never Ever - All Saints
5 The First Night - Monica
6 You re Still The One - Shania Twain
7 Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
8 Crush - Jennifer Paige
9 Make It Hot - Nicole Featuring Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott
10 I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing - Aerosmith

1998-08-29
1 The Boy Is Mine - Brandy
2 My Way - Usher
3 The First Night - Monica
4 Crush - Jennifer Paige
5/6 Never Ever - All Saints
5/6 Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
7 I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing - Aerosmith
8 Adia - Sarah McLachlan
9 You re Still The One - Shania Twain
10 Daydreamin - Tatyana Ali

1998-09-05
1 I Don t Want To Miss A Thing - Aerosmith
2 The First Night - Monica
3 Crush - Jennifer Paige
4/5 My Way - Usher
4/5 Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
6 The Boy Is Mine - Brandy
7 You re Still The One - Shania Twain
8 Adia - Sarah McLachlan
9 Daydreamin - Tatyana Ali
10 Never Ever - All Saints

1998-09-12
1 I Don't Want To Miss A Thing - Aerosmith
2 The First Night - Monica
3/4 Crush - Jennifer Paige
3/4 Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
5 My Way - Usher
6 The Boy Is Mine - Brandy & Monica
7 Daydreamin' - Tatyana Ali
8 You're Still The One - Shania Twain
9 Adia - Sarah McLachlan
10 Never Ever - All Saints

1998-09-19
1 I Don't Want To Miss A Thing - Aerosmith
2 The First Night - Monica
3 Crush - Jennifer Paige
4 Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
5 My Way - Usher
6 The Boy Is Mine - Brandy & Monica
7 Daydreamin' - Tatyana Ali
8 One Week - Barenaked Ladies
9 Time After Time - Inoj
10 Lookin' At Me - Mase Featuring Puff Daddy

1998-09-26
1 I Don't Want To Miss A Thing - Aerosmith
2 The First Night - Monica
3 Crush - Jennifer Paige
4 Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
5 My Way - Usher
6 One Week - Barenaked Ladies
7 The Boy Is Mine - Brandy & Monica
8 Time After Time - Inoj
9 I'll Be - Edwin McCain
10 Daydreamin' - Tatyana Ali

1998-10-03
1 The First Night - Monica
2 I Don't Want To Miss A Thing - Aerosmith
3 One Week - Barenaked Ladies
4 Crush - Jennifer Paige
5 Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
6 I'll Be - Edwin McCain
7 My Way - Usher
8/9 Time After Time - Inoj
8/9 I’ll Never Break Your Heart - Backstreet Boys
10 Are You That Somebody? - Aaliyah

1998-10-10
1 The First Night - Monica
2 One Week - Barenaked Ladies
3 I Don t Want To Miss A Thing - Aerosmith
4 Crush - Jennifer Paige
5 Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
6/7 I ll Be - Edwin McCain
6/7 Are You That Somebody? - Aaliyah
8 I’ll Never Break Your Heart - Backstreet Boys
9 How Deep Is Your Love - Dru Hill Featuring Redman
10 This Kiss - Faith Hill

1998-10-17
1 One Week - Barenaked Ladies
2 The First Night - Monica
3 I Don t Want To Miss A Thing - Aerosmith
4 How Deep Is Your Love - Dru Hill Featuring Redman
5 Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
6 Crush - Jennifer Paige
7 Are You That Somebody? - Aaliyah
8 I’ll Never Break Your Heart - Backstreet Boys
9 I ll Be - Edwin McCain
10 This Kiss - Faith Hill

1998-10-24
1 The First Night - Monica
2 One Week - Barenaked Ladies
3 How Deep Is Your Love - Dru Hill Featuring Redman
4 I Don t Want To Miss A Thing - Aerosmith
5 Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
6 Crush - Jennifer Paige
7 Are You That Somebody? - Aaliyah
8 I ll Be - Edwin McCain
9 This Kiss - Faith Hill
10 Because Of You - 98 Degrees

1998-10-31
1 The First Night - Monica
2 One Week - Barenaked Ladies
3 How Deep Is Your Love - Dru Hill Featuring Redman
4 Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
5 Crush - Jennifer Paige
6 I Don t Want To Miss A Thing - Aerosmith
7/8 Lately - Divine
7/8 Are You That Somebody? - Aaliyah
9 Because Of You - 98 Degrees
10 This Kiss - Faith Hill

1998-11-07
1 The First Night - Monica
2 One Week - Barenaked Ladies
3 How Deep Is Your Love - Dru Hill Featuring Redman
4 Lately - Divine
5/6 Because Of You - 98 Degrees
5/6 Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
7 Crush - Jennifer Paige
8/9 Thank U - Alanis Morissette
8/9 I Don t Want To Miss A Thing - Aerosmith
10 This Kiss - Faith Hill

1998-11-14
1 Doo Wop (That Thing) - Lauryn Hill
2 Lately - Divine
3 The First Night - Monica
4 One Week - Barenaked Ladies
5 Because Of You - 98 Degrees
6 How Deep Is Your Love - Dru Hill Featuring Redman
7 Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
8 Crush - Jennifer Paige
9 Nobody's Supposed To Be Here - Deborah Cox
10 Thank U - Alanis Morissette

1998-11-21
1 Doo Wop (That Thing) - Lauryn Hill
2 Lately - Divine
3 Because Of You - 98 Degrees
4 The First Night - Monica
5 Nobody s Supposed To Be Here - Deborah Cox
6 One Week - Barenaked Ladies
7 Iris - Goo Goo Dolls
8/9 How Deep Is Your Love - Dru Hill Featuring Redman
8/9 Thank U - Alanis Morissette
10 Crush - Jennifer Paige

1998-11-28
1 Lately - Divine
2 Doo Wop (That Thing) - Lauryn Hill
3 Nobody s Supposed To Be Here - Deborah Cox
4 Because Of You - 98 Degrees
5 The First Night - Monica
6/7 Iris - Goo Goo Dolls

6/7 One Week - Barenaked Ladies
8 This Kiss - Faith Hill
9 Thank U - Alanis Morissette
10 How Deep Is Your Love - Dru Hill Featuring Redman

[iHype.]

And before someone points out the last two charts look different from the test charts: when airplay-only songs were finally allowed they also changed the formula, and the test charts were under that new weighing. These charts are based on the formula prior to that.

Also important to note: Hot 100 Airplay did not include R&B Airplay, Country Airplay, and a few other formats at the time. Meaning many hits actually did better at airplay then the Hot 100 Airplay chart would've implied. Perhaps I'll eventually do a what-if those panels were included in the numbers too.

[Verisimilitude]

Good to know Iris and Torn would have been top 5 hits and Are You That Somebody and Thank U would have been top 10. Can you do 1996/early 1997 so we can know where Don't Speak and Killing Me Softly would have peaked?

[iHype.]

Jul 25, 2019 20:40:38 GMT -5 Verisimilitude said:

Good to know Iris and Torn would have been top 5 hits and Are You That Somebody and Thank U would have been top 10. Can you do 1996/early 1997 so we can know where Don't Speak and Killing Me Softly would have peaked?

I'll get to 1996 & the first 4 months of 1997 soon. The only songs from then that had a chance at top 10: Don't Speak, Killing Me Softly, Head Over Feet, Lovefool, and One Headlight. Unlikely any would've made top 5.
--


Based on these charts:

Men in Black - #9 peak, 2 weeks top 10
Fly - #7 peak, 11 weeks top 10
My Heart Will Go On - 12 weeks top 10 instead of 8
3 AM - #6 peak, 7 weeks top 10
Walkin on the Sun - #9 peak, 1-2 weeks top 10
As Long As You Love Me - #9 peak, 1 week top 10
Torn - #5 peak, 17 weeks top 10
Iris - #3 peak, 21 weeks top 10
I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing - 12 weeks top 10 instead of 10
Thank U - #8 peak, 4 weeks top 10
Are You That Somebody - #6 peak, 5 weeks top 10 
I’ll Never Break Your Heart - #8 peak, 3 weeks top 10
One Week - 11 weeks top 10 instead of 9

Don't Speak - #6/7 peak, 9 weeks top 10 (so far)

[Myth X]

Jul 25, 2019 20:58:38 GMT -5 iHype. said:

Jul 25, 2019 20:40:38 GMT -5 Verisimilitude said:

Good to know Iris and Torn would have been top 5 hits and Are You That Somebody and Thank U would have been top 10. Can you do 1996/early 1997 so we can know where Don't Speak and Killing Me Softly would have peaked?

I'll get to 1996 & the first 4 months of 1997 soon. The only songs from then that had a chance at top 10: Don't Speak, Killing Me Softly, Head Over Feet, Lovefool, and One Headlight. Unlikely any would've made top 5.
--


Based on these charts:

Men in Black - #9 peak, 2 weeks top 10
Fly - #7 peak, 11 weeks top 10
My Heart Will Go On - 12 weeks top 10 instead of 8
3 AM - #6 peak, 7 weeks top 10
Walkin on the Sun - #9 peak, 1-2 weeks top 10
As Long As You Love Me - #9 peak, 1 week top 10
Torn - #5 peak, 17 weeks top 10
Iris - #3 peak, 21 weeks top 10
I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing - 12 weeks top 10 instead of 10
Thank U - #8 peak, 4 weeks top 10
Are You That Somebody - #6 peak, 5 weeks top 10 
I’ll Never Break Your Heart - #8 peak, 3 weeks top 10
One Week - 11 weeks top 10 instead f 9

Surprised that Alanis didn't make it with Uninvited.

I'm guessing Lauryn Hill would have more weeks in the top 10 if R&B airplay was included

And maybe Shania could have been #1 if Country Airplay was included. The week she was #1 on Country Airplay it was her first week at #2 (when it was blocked by Next's Too Close). She didn't have any chance against The Boy Is Mine's massive sales though.

[renfield75]

This is very cool iHype, thanks for taking the time to do it.

[brady47]

Very interesting - so a lot of these airplay only hits wouldn't have hit #1 or even top 5 except "Torn" and "Iris".

Impressed with the longevity of "Torn" - it did hold the record for most weeks in the top 10 of airplay until "Shape of You" broke it.

[85la]

Very interesting chart, and thanks for taking the time to compile!

My only quip though is that I think Billboard confirmed My Heart Will Go On would have been #1 on the Hot 100 at least one of the weeks (not sure which one(s)) before it was released as a physical single.

[iHype.]

Jul 26, 2019 23:14:16 GMT -5 85la said:

Very interesting chart, and thanks for taking the time to compile!

My only quip though is that I think Billboard confirmed My Heart Will Go On would have been #1 on the Hot 100 at least one of the weeks (not sure which one(s)) before it was released as a physical single.

Yeah I saw that posted in the past, checked into that and it just doesn't add up. 

The formula was airplay / 10,000 & sales / 10. So for example, 75 million airplay equaled 7,500 points & 50k sales equaled 5,000 points.

The week before it debuted #1, it was at 116 million audience.  11,600 points.
02/21/1998:


Yet one week prior, on 02/14/1998, they explicity stated "Nice & Slow" had over 100K sales and 32 million audience. 100K sales + 32 million audience = 13,200 points.


The following week on the 02/21/1998 Hot 100, where they stated Celine had 116 million audience, Usher also had a bullet -- meaning it gained more points than the previous week.

So he had 13,300+ points. Again, 116 million audience = 116 points. There's no way she would've been #1 just off airplay. And ofcourse the next question that pops up is 'well is the formula correct?'. I checked with various weeks and it always added up completely correct.

For example in the picture below:

They state I Get Lonely has 144K sales & 27 million radio audience. Sales are nearly 83% of its ratio.

144K sales / 10 = 14,400.
27 million audience / 10,000 = 2,700

2,700 + 14,400 = 17,100.
14,400 is 84% of 17,100. It differs by 1% because Billboard rounds sales/airplay numbers.

Also with the week Nice & Slow did 100K sales and 32 million audience that is 13,200 points. They state sales account for 76% of points. 10,000 of 13,200 is 76%.

They either meant one of the weeks she had already debuted on Hot 100 she would've been #1 regardless, or they just were looking at incorrect numbers.

[Lukas]

This is amazing! Thanks for taking the time to do this!

Speaking of which, I wonder what the decade-end 90s list and the all-time lists would look like if airplay tracks were counted beginning in the early 90s.

[iHype.]

Added up to the beginning of 1997. #6-#7 peak & 9ish weeks top 10 for "Don't Speak" thus far.

[rockgolf]

This is both amazing and a bit disappointing. Given how those songs ended up on the year end Airplay charts, I thought they would have charted higher.
But facts are better than truthiness. So thanks for this. 

[weaver]

Is this how they would have charted if they'd been allowed to chart as airplay only singles? Because that is pretty impressive to be top 10 on the charts with the handicap of having 0 in the sales metric.

[#LisaRinna]

I guess it's safe to say that "Iris" would've been a #1 hit with a commercial single released. Maybe even "Torn" could've had a week at #1 at its peak.

[jebsib]

Thank you so much for doing this, as I don't think Billboard - even chart nerdy Gary Trust - would never do it.

I have long presumed that if they published this sort of thing, it would create historic paradoxes where things like Wikipedia peaks would get messed up and forever be argued over.
Better for them to just move on.
But that left all of us eternally wondering.

Thanks for clearing it all up!

[Hot AC Archiver]

Thanks for calculating these!

[lazer]

I was wondering why these classic 90s hits didn't appear in the year-end charts before I knew the rule.

[Enigma.]

Never realised that I'll Never Break Your Heart was such a big airplay hit. Thanks for compiling the lists, much appreciated!!

[kierz7]

Gary brady47

We all know that “Torn” would’ve been top ten on the Hot 100 with airplay alone. Billboard LITERALLY said so themselves on the 30/5/1998 chart when “Torn” pulled in approximately 101M AI on the Hot 100 airplay that week, whereas Next’s “Too Close” was number one on the Hot 100 that week.

Theta Sandiford-Wuller, the Hot 100 article writer for that week, wrote that if “Torn” had sold only 78K units the previous week then the song would have debuted at #1 on the Hot 100 the following week because the airplay audience was so big and had yet to peak. She even stated that Billboard was trying to contact RCA Brass (Natalie Imbruglia’s record label) to ship and release physical copies of the song to stores should they want to capitalise on the songs massive crossover success.

•Fun Fact: Did you know that “Torn” also briefly reached the top 50 of the R&B charts; it wasn’t even sent to that format which, in itself, was and is huge for a debut Pop/Rock/Alt. single by an unknown White act•

Essentially, it would have only had 1/2 weeks at number one at the point as “The Boy Is Mine” leapt to number one on the Hot 100 on the 6/6/1998 chart with 330K units sold, but at least “Torn” would’ve held at #2 for several weeks thereafter and be a Y/E top five hit and possibly make the all-time charts.

The song is a classic now, but I’ll never forgive her foolish record label for this.

[narp]

I kind of want to see how Lovefool, How Bizarre, and Killing Me Softly would’ve performed.

[jebsib]

I'd also love to know where the Rembrandts' "I'll Be There for You" would have REALLY peaked in the summer of 1995. (As opposed to the fake #17 peak later that year)

That was a pivotal song as it was the first airplay-only radio hit to top Radio Songs, and the first time we all kinda knew there was no going back.

[rockgolf]

Jul 28, 2019 4:38:20 GMT -5 kierz7 said:

Theta Sandiford-Wuller, the Hot 100 article writer for that week, wrote that if “Torn” had sold only 78K units the previous week then the song would have debuted at #1 on the Hot 100 the following week because the airplay audience was so big and had yet to peak. She even stated that Billboard was trying to contact RCA Brass (Natalie Imbruglia’s record label) to ship and release physical copies of the song to stores should they want to capitalise on the songs massive crossover success.

•Fun Fact: Did you know that “Torn” also briefly reached the top 50 of the R&B charts; it wasn’t even sent to that format which, in itself, was and is huge for a debut Pop/Rock/Alt. single by an unknown White act•

Essentially, it would have only had 1/2 weeks at number one at the point as “The Boy Is Mine” leapt to number one on the Hot 100 on the 6/6/1998 chart with 330K units sold, but at least “Torn” would’ve held at #2 for several weeks thereafter and be a Y/E top five hit and possibly make the all-time charts.

The song is a classic now, but I’ll never forgive her foolish record label for this.

Maybe not such a foolish choice. After all, Imbruglia as a result sold a lot of albums. Left of the Middle, which contained Torn, sold 7 million copies worldwide, 2 million in the US. That's more than any album has in the past two years. She may have been denied a #1 single, but she ended up with a lot bigger bank account.

[kierz7]

Jul 28, 2019 9:57:01 GMT -5 jebsib said:

I'd also love to know where the Rembrandts' "I'll Be There for You" would have REALLY peaked in the summer of 1995. (As opposed to the fake #17 peak later that year)

That was a pivotal song as it was the first airplay-only radio hit to top Radio Songs, and the first time we all kinda knew there was no going back.

I’m almost certain it would have been a top three hit, especially seeing as how successful “Friends” was that first season.

It peaked atop the Hot 100 airplay between June 12th to August 17th for eight weeks; I believe it could have definitely contested TLC’s “Waterfalls” on the Hot 100 particularly during the July period.

Ironically, “Waterfalls” peaked at #2 on the airplay chart behind “I’ll Be There For You” but had solid, stable sales that summer.

[brady47]

Jul 28, 2019 4:38:20 GMT -5 kierz7 said:

Gary brady47

We all know that “Torn” would’ve been top ten on the Hot 100 with airplay alone. Billboard LITERALLY said so themselves on the 30/5/1998 chart when “Torn” pulled in approximately 101M AI on the Hot 100 airplay that week, whereas Next’s “Too Close” was number one on the Hot 100 that week.

Theta Sandiford-Wuller, the Hot 100 article writer for that week, wrote that if “Torn” had sold only 78K units the previous week then the song would have debuted at #1 on the Hot 100 the following week because the airplay audience was so big and had yet to peak. She even stated that Billboard was trying to contact RCA Brass (Natalie Imbruglia’s record label) to ship and release physical copies of the song to stores should they want to capitalise on the songs massive crossover success.

•Fun Fact: Did you know that “Torn” also briefly reached the top 50 of the R&B charts; it wasn’t even sent to that format which, in itself, was and is huge for a debut Pop/Rock/Alt. single by an unknown White act•

Essentially, it would have only had 1/2 weeks at number one at the point as “The Boy Is Mine” leapt to number one on the Hot 100 on the 6/6/1998 chart with 330K units sold, but at least “Torn” would’ve held at #2 for several weeks thereafter and be a Y/E top five hit and possibly make the all-time charts.

The song is a classic now, but I’ll never forgive her foolish record label for this.

Yes! I guess they really wanted to increase album sales (and her album was certified 2x platinum), but I wish her record label did a sale for 1 week with 100,000 copies to watch it go to #1 for 1 week at least lmao

It's longevity on radio was insane, 32 weeks in the top 10 of airplay (held the record for 19 years until "Shape of You" had 38 weeks in the top 10 of airplay)

[kierz7]

rockgolf brady47

You’re both right, in a sense, but it’s still a shame that her record label ignored Billboard’s requests. At the songs peak, sales units of a mere 70K+ would have garnered her a number one single which could have easily been achieved.

I believe Billboard also stipulated that No Doubt’s “No Speak” would have only needed sales of +90K to hit number one on the Hot 100 in February 1997 during its 10th-13th weeks at number one on the airplay charts.

At that point, Braxton’s “Unbreak My Heart” was falling in both airplay and sales, Spice Girls’ “Wannabe” was its only growing competition in the sales department, and with No Doubt’s huge fanbase then such sales wouldn’t have been hard to accomplish at all.

#MissedOpportunities. 😥

[narp]

These songs particularly might have interesting turnouts as they were all top ten on Hot 100 Airplay:

The Rembrandts - I’ll Be There For You
Selena - I Could Fall In Love
Fugees - Killing Me Softly
Primitive Radio Gods - Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand
Alanis Morissette - Head Over Feet
The Cardigans - Lovefool
Counting Crows - A Long December
The Wallflowers - One Headlight
OMC - How Bizarre

[eidde]

I'd like to see how When I Come Around by Green Day would have done, considering it almost made the top 5 of airplay.

[85la]

Jul 26, 2019 23:37:41 GMT -5 iHype. said:

Jul 26, 2019 23:14:16 GMT -5 85la said:

Very interesting chart, and thanks for taking the time to compile!

My only quip though is that I think Billboard confirmed My Heart Will Go On would have been #1 on the Hot 100 at least one of the weeks (not sure which one(s)) before it was released as a physical single.

Yeah I saw that posted in the past, checked into that and it just doesn't add up. 

The formula was airplay / 10,000 & sales / 10. So for example, 75 million airplay equaled 7,500 points & 50k sales equaled 5,000 points.

The week before it debuted #1, it was at 116 million audience.  11,600 points.
02/21/1998:


Yet one week prior, on 02/14/1998, they explicity stated "Nice & Slow" had over 100K sales and 32 million audience. 100K sales + 32 million audience = 13,200 points.


The following week on the 02/21/1998 Hot 100, where they stated Celine had 116 million audience, Usher also had a bullet -- meaning it gained more points than the previous week.

So he had 13,300+ points. Again, 116 million audience = 116 points. There's no way she would've been #1 just off airplay. And ofcourse the next question that pops up is 'well is the formula correct?'. I checked with various weeks and it always added up completely correct.

For example in the picture below:

They state I Get Lonely has 144K sales & 27 million radio audience. Sales are nearly 83% of its ratio.

144K sales / 10 = 14,400.
27 million audience / 10,000 = 2,700

2,700 + 14,400 = 17,100.
14,400 is 84% of 17,100. It differs by 1% because Billboard rounds sales/airplay numbers.

Also with the week Nice & Slow did 100K sales and 32 million audience that is 13,200 points. They state sales account for 76% of points. 10,000 of 13,200 is 76%.

They either meant one of the weeks she had already debuted on Hot 100 she would've been #1 regardless, or they just were looking at incorrect numbers.

That's interesting, and I see your reasoning.

Several other possibilities come to mind however:

1. Maybe it's possible MHWGO would've been #1 the week before Nice and Slow hit #1, I guess it would have been the 2/7/98 chart week, although I'll admit that would've been unlikely because there were more songs ahead of it then and it's airplay must have been much lower.

2. I believe that as late as 1999, the Hot 100 still included some airplay points from non-Nielsen monitored stations (in the same way all airplay figures were collected from stations before the Nielsen era ) that weren't reflected in the Hot 100 airplay chart, so maybe it had such extra points and that when added onto the 116 million figure, it would have put it over the top (I believe this is what helped put Heartbreaker at the top at least one of its 2 weeks at #1).

3. Maybe it's possible Nice and Slow actually had an overall point decline its second week at #1, but still got a bullet because one of the metrics increased (most probably airplay)? Of course things might have been different back then, but isn't that allowed now at least in some cases?

4. Earlier you said that with the 1998 change they didn't just keep the formula the same and allowed airplay-only songs to chart, but changed the formula as well (in other words, changed the weighting and point equivalencies of sales vs. airplay, as well as adding all airplay formats), so maybe the #1 claim was made if this new formula had been in place back then? I'm not sure about this though, because I think the claim was made during the time it was charting and assuming the current formula was in place.

[iHype.]

Jul 28, 2019 16:25:33 GMT -5 85la said:

Jul 26, 2019 23:37:41 GMT -5 iHype. said:

Yeah I saw that posted in the past, checked into that and it just doesn't add up. 

The formula was airplay / 10,000 & sales / 10. So for example, 75 million airplay equaled 7,500 points & 50k sales equaled 5,000 points.

The week before it debuted #1, it was at 116 million audience.  11,600 points.
02/21/1998:


Yet one week prior, on 02/14/1998, they explicity stated "Nice & Slow" had over 100K sales and 32 million audience. 100K sales + 32 million audience = 13,200 points.


The following week on the 02/21/1998 Hot 100, where they stated Celine had 116 million audience, Usher also had a bullet -- meaning it gained more points than the previous week.

So he had 13,300+ points. Again, 116 million audience = 116 points. There's no way she would've been #1 just off airplay. And ofcourse the next question that pops up is 'well is the formula correct?'. I checked with various weeks and it always added up completely correct.

For example in the picture below:

They state I Get Lonely has 144K sales & 27 million radio audience. Sales are nearly 83% of its ratio.

144K sales / 10 = 14,400.
27 million audience / 10,000 = 2,700

2,700 + 14,400 = 17,100.
14,400 is 84% of 17,100. It differs by 1% because Billboard rounds sales/airplay numbers.

Also with the week Nice & Slow did 100K sales and 32 million audience that is 13,200 points. They state sales account for 76% of points. 10,000 of 13,200 is 76%.

They either meant one of the weeks she had already debuted on Hot 100 she would've been #1 regardless, or they just were looking at incorrect numbers.

That's interesting, and I see your reasoning.

Several other possibilities come to mind however:

1. Maybe be it's possible MHWGO would've been #1 the week before Nice and Slow hit #1, I guess it would have been the 2/7/98 chart week, although I'll admit that would've been unlikely because there were more songs ahead of it then and it's airplay must have been much lower.

2. I believe that as late as 1999, the Hot 100 still included some airplay points from non-Nielsen monitored stations (in the same way all airplay figures were collected from stations before the Nielsen era ) that weren't reflected in the Hot 100 airplay chart, so maybe it had such extra points and that when added onto the 116 million figure, it would have put it over the top (I believe this is what helped put Heartbreaker at the top at least one of its 2 weeks at #1).

3. Maybe it's possible Nice and Slow actually had an overall point decline its second week at #1, but still got a bullet because one of the metrics increased (most probably airplay)? Of course things might have been different back then, but isn't that allowed now at least in some cases?

4. Earlier someone else said that with the 1998 change it seemed liked they didn't just keep the formula the same and allowed airplay-only songs to chart, but changed the formula as well (in other words, changed the weighting and point equivalencies of sales vs. airplay as well), so maybe the #1 claim was made if this new formula had been in place back then? I'm not sure about this though, because I think the claim was made during the time it was charting and assuming the current formula was in place.

01/31/1998:

After a brief two-week stay atop the Hot 100, Savage Garden's "Truly Madly Deeply" slips back to No. 2 to make room for Janet's "Together Again". Janet's dee-discounted single posts a 25% gain in single sales, up to 73,000 units, and moves 5-3 on Hot 100 Single Sales. The song has 47 million audience impressions from airplay at 154 monitored stations.

73K sales + 47 million audience = 12,000 points.

The following week, 2/07/1998 she had a bullet on Hot 100. And she had a bullet on the Sales & Airplay charts individually. She moved 11-10 on airplay, and stayed 3-3 at sales. So I doubt she could've lost a notable amount of sales/airplay since the positions didn't fall and she had a bullet everywhere. She had to have gained in points.

MHWGO was up to 105 million audience on 2/07/1998. That translates to 10,500 points. Which ofcourse is less than >12,000+. 

As for Nice & Slow decreasing 02/21/1998 but getting a bullet I also doubt that. The following week, 02/28/1998 where MHWGO debuted #1 they stated she had 360,000 sales (36k points) + 110 million audience (11k points) which = 47,000 points. 

They then stated she had a 30,000 point lead. Meaning N&S had 17,000 points.


02/14/1998: 1. My Way - 13,200
02/21/1998: 1. My Way - ? [bullet on Hot 100, sales, and airplay]
02/28/1998: 2. My Way - 17,000


It is unlikely it dipped in points 02/21, then zigzagged back up, especially when it had a bullet everywhere on 02/21. Thus all signs indicate it had 13,200+ points on 02/21. As for those extra stations not included, they would've had to add up to over 16 million audience, which would be unlikely. If unmonitored stations were that huge then they would've often caused big changes on Hot 100. 

[nathanalbright]

Do we have the airplay numbers for songs that were never released with physical singles in order to help make "Airplay included" year-end lists with points and so on? I've long been interested in seeing how big some airplay only hits were like Semisonic's "Closing Time" and some of the other ones mentioned here that in retrospect are far more important than their modest to nonexistent chart life on the Hot 100 itself.