Contrary to online reports, the high Hot 100 debut this week by Radiohead’s “Nude” is not due to a “technicality,” nor a new Billboard charts policy decision.
The track opens this week at No. 37 on the create their own remixes. Remixes uploaded to Radioheadremix.com are available for fan voting through May 1.
The No. 37 debut was fueled entirely by these downloads, as the song is only being played on 3 of the 1,289 stations monitored by Nielsen BDS. It received just 6 plays during the April 4-April 10 tracking period.
According to Hot 100 director Silvio Pietroluongo, “Billboard abided by its long-standing remix policy in regards to “Nude.” For the purpose of our airplay, Hot 100 and Hot Digital Songs charts, Billboard merges remixes with the original version as long as the music and/or lyrics of the remix remain true to the original.”
He continued, “Billboard and Nielsen SoundScan do have a Digital Tracks chart, which ranks sales of individual versions/mixes, which can lead to a song having multiple listings on that chart.”
