Hot 100 Recurrency Rules Discussion

[iHype.]

There is so much weekly confusion/discussion on recurrency rules, so at this point I think a thread is needed for general clarification and discussion.

All songs under 2~ years old:

    • Can debut on Hot 100 any given week if they have enough points to chart at #100 or higher.

    • Once chart run has began, they will go recurrent and end their chart run if below #50 after 20 weeks.
    • If a song drops off the Hot 100 before it reaches 20 weeks for an extended period (multiple months), it is then automatically recurrent status. 

          o Recurrency Exception: If a song is being actively promoted to radio formats for a first time.
          o Recurrency Exception: If a song is gaining new found popularity (i.e. previously peaked at #83 after 18 weeks, but re-peaks at #60 in its 19th week, then further re-peaks at #55 in its 20th week). Not a song that peaked at #5 previously, but is simply going from #58 to #55 to #52 by its 20th week with tiny increases – that is a small surge for a song that has already otherwise peaked.

   • If a song has survived the 50/20 rule (still charting after 20 weeks), it will then have its chart run ended after being below #25 after 52 weeks or if it falls below #50 at any point in its run.

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Songs over 2~ years old that have never reached Hot 100:

   •  Can debut on Hot 100 any given week if they have enough points to chart at #50 or higher. Otherwise, they will chart on Recurrents any given week.

   •  Once they reach the threshold to debut top 50, they CAN chart from #51-100 in following weeks given they still have under 20 weeks total charted. (i.e. a song               from 2016 can debut #48, then fall to #60 in its following week)

   • They will fall off Hot 100 if they go below #100 before 20 weeks, #50 after 20 weeks, or #25 after 52 weeks.

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Songs over 2~ years old that have previously been on Hot 100:

   •  Can re-enter again if they have enough points to chart at #50 or higher, AND something specific causing an increase.

         o There is a notable event causing it to increase over various weeks considered current once again (i.e. annual Holiday [Thriller], virality/newfound popularity [Bohemian Rhapsody])
         o There is a major surge within 1 week due to something causing it to be widely relevant and discussed in culture again (i.e. death [“I Will Always Love You”], SuperBowl performance [“Lose Yourself”])

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Holiday Music surge:
   •  If a song that is non-Holiday genre goes recurrent due to Holiday music largely charting above, it is likely to be granted re-charting once Holiday music departs Hot 100. From then on, the prior rules are once again applied (will be removed if below #50 after 20 weeks, #25 after 52 weeks).

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Special cases (rules applicable weren’t used):

   • The Walters – “I Love You So”: released in 2014, but debuted #97 in 2022. This is because it was released independently in 2014, however they were signed to Warner Records in 2021 where it was then re-released and sent to radio formats for first time under the label. Thus it was treated as a non-recurrent song.

[rimetm]

"Tom's Diner" is an exception to the proposed timeframe. It was released in 2019 (so more than 2 years ago), and did not change distribution, and yet was allowed to enter below the top 50. I think the bound is 10 calendar years before recurrency kicks in, hence why "Lost" (released in 2012) needed to debut in the top 50 to make it, doing so in Canada but failing in the US and thus being stranded in Hot 100 Recurrents on the latter.

[iHype.]

Apr 29, 2022 13:52:47 GMT -5 rimetm said:

"Tom's Diner" is an exception to the proposed timeframe. It was released in 2019 (so more than 2 years ago), and did not change distribution, and yet was allowed to enter below the top 50. I think the bound is 10 calendar years before recurrency kicks in, hence why "Lost" (released in 2012) needed to debut in the top 50 to make it, doing so in Canada but failing in the US and thus being stranded in Hot 100 Recurrents on the latter.

It is definitely not 10 years as "You Make It Feel Like Christmas" (2017 release, never reached Hot 100) debuted on Recurrents in 2021.

It is somewhere around 2~ years, but no specific timeframe is confirmed. I'm not counting "Tom's Diner" as an exception/special case, because it was released 2 years and 10 moths prior to debuting which is still very much around 2 years. It very well could've actually met their timeframe specifics somehow. Perhaps the timeframe is 3~ years as of now.

[rimetm]

It could be that the rerelease thing is a specific tactic that labels do to make the song eligible, because a few further examples from Bubbling Under (and Hot 100) all have that be the case:

Dandelions, Ruth B. - Released 2017 - Rereleased 2021
Freaks, Surf Curse - Released 2013 - Rereleased 2021
Infinity, Jaymes Young - Released 2017 - Rereleased 2021
Just a Cloud Away, Pharrell Williams - Released 2013 - Rereleased 2022 (not listed as such on streaming, but it got a new ISRC/UPC)
Notion, The Rare Occasions - Released 2016 - Rereleased 2021
Runaway, Aurora - Released 2015 - Rereleased 2021

Also, with Christmas songs, they clearly have different rules where they're only current for their first year, because Jonas Brothers' "Like It's Christmas" was already stranded in Hot 100 Recurrents in its second season.

[iHype.]

Apr 29, 2022 14:30:24 GMT -5 rimetm said:

Also, with Christmas songs, they clearly have different rules where they're only current for their first year, because Jonas Brothers' "Like It's Christmas" was already stranded in Hot 100 Recurrents in its second season.

I think it is because the song charted (reaching #44), then left the Hot 100 for nearly an entire year before growing again. I think even if a song didn't hit 20 weeks, but leaves Hot 100 for such a long period it is then moved to recurrent. Even for non-Holiday songs.

An album track on the other hand can leave Hot 100 after an album release week, but then re-chart months later at #51-100 (Justin Bieber's "Ghost" recent example) because they meet the exemption -- being actively promoted to radio formats for the first time.

[WolfSpear]

Right…

Holiday songs are automatically recurrent once they’ve concluded their initial run, with the exception of the 50 and up clause that’s been in play since 2012.

In this day and age, anything old can suddenly become new again. It might look like a labyrinth of exceptions, but it’s truly a case by case scenario. I’m a little surprised to find 10 year old songs finally charting but happy they are finally gaining exposure.

[mms82]

Thanks for typing this up! I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head with rules, but it's interesting to notice when human error happens on the chart (sometimes the chart is corrected after publication and some Pulse user notices the error lol)

This is pretty common (ie has happened multiple times this year) on the Canada Hot 100 chart, probably because way less eyeballs check it before it goes to press than the Hot 100.

Two other noteworthy "errors" or exceptions on the Hot 100: Wake Me Up's reentry and Hallelujah's debut

[Skibidi Bop Bop]

Can anyone explain which category Savage Love falls after charting at number 51 in its final week.

[rimetm]

Error, likely owing to a last minute vetting or addition of data. It's happened before a handful of times, for example to Icona Pop's "I Love It" and Macklemore's "White Walls".

[gikem]

Regarding Christmas music bucking recurrent rules, there was the case where Here Comes Santa Claus by Gene Autry fell below the top 50 in late 2020, the same week as the twin album bombs from Taylor Swift and Kid Cudi. I assume it was allowed to remain on because it would make no sense to have it get knocked out and then re-enter as the album bombs fade.

[inverse]

Is Wasted On You a mistake then? It had to re-enter at #50 instead of #100 but it wasn't two years old at the time and had never hit 20 weeks either. And shouldn't Something In The Way have been treated like Thinking With My Dick or Baby Shark and allowed to fall down until it reached 100 instead of going recurrent at 50

[iHype.]

Apr 30, 2022 21:04:47 GMT -5 inverse said:

Is Wasted On You a mistake then? It had to re-enter at #50 instead of #100 but it wasn't two years old at the time and had never hit 20 weeks either. And shouldn't Something In The Way have been treated like Thinking With My Dick or Baby Shark and allowed to fall down until it reached 100 instead of going recurrent at 50

It was treated under this, no?

"If a song drops off the Hot 100 before it reaches 20 weeks for an extended period (multiple months), it is then automatically recurrent status."

Wasted On You left the Hot 100 for 10 months. Just as Jonas Brother's Xmas song was put onto Recurrent during its 2nd year because it left the chart for an entire year once the first Christmas season ended.

The difference though is "Wasted On You" was being actively promoted to radio as a new single for the first time, which in theory should've made it bypass recurrent status. I'm not sure why that didn't apply for it.

[rimetm]

If it already charted and becomes a radio single, it needs to either reach the top 50 or beat its old peak, whichever is lower. Since the song debuted in the top 10, it had to fit the former standard. Awolnation’s “Sail” is an example of the latter.

[iHype.]

Apr 30, 2022 9:32:31 GMT -5 gikem said:

Regarding Christmas music bucking recurrent rules, there was the case where Here Comes Santa Claus by Gene Autry fell below the top 50 in late 2020, the same week as the twin album bombs from Taylor Swift and Kid Cudi. I assume it was allowed to remain on because it would make no sense to have it get knocked out and then re-enter as the album bombs fade.

I don't think it was a mistake/exception, the charting followed the rules.

Once a recurrent song makes top 50 and re-enters/debuts, they can then fall to #51-100 in the same chart run, given they have not hit 20 weeks of charting yet. 
Here Comes Santa Claus fell from #36 to #69 in its 9th week charting, which meets the allowed rules. 

It's just with Christmas music they usually ENTIRELY plummet the week after reaching their peak once Christmas ends, so they don't have enough points to even fall #51-100. Thus, we never really seem them have moments of charting below top 50. 

[iHype.]

May 1, 2022 11:14:30 GMT -5 rimetm said:

If it already charted and becomes a radio single, it needs to either reach the top 50 or beat its old peak, whichever is lower. Since the song debuted in the top 10, it had to fit the former standard. Awolnation’s “Sail” is an example of the latter.

This doesn't seem to be true with Justin Bieber's "Ghost". Debuted at #66 on the April 3, 2021 dated Hot 100 as an album track and fell off. 

It then re-entered at #93 on October 16, 2021 dated Hot 100 as a single. 

It neither hit top 50 or beat its prior peak after re-entering over 6 months later.

[joshtheking]

I appreciate ya'll giving explanations but damn my head is wrecked tryna comprehend all this lol

[rimetm]

Apr 29, 2022 14:30:24 GMT -5 rimetm said:

It could be that the rerelease thing is a specific tactic that labels do to make the song eligible, because a few further examples from Bubbling Under (and Hot 100) all have that be the case:

Dandelions, Ruth B. - Released 2017 - Rereleased 2021
Freaks, Surf Curse - Released 2013 - Rereleased 2021
Infinity, Jaymes Young - Released 2017 - Rereleased 2021
Just a Cloud Away, Pharrell Williams - Released 2013 - Rereleased 2022 (not listed as such on streaming, but it got a new ISRC/UPC)
Notion, The Rare Occasions - Released 2016 - Rereleased 2021
Runaway, Aurora - Released 2015 - Rereleased 2021

This theory got confirmed this week, as "Wait a Minute!", released in 2015 and not rereleased in any form, starts at #25 on Recurrents. iHype. , you might want to add a note of this (along with take out "I Love You So" being an exception, as the song got a rerelease in 2021 that made it eligible).