The band’s smash equals the 76-week chart life of Jason Mraz’s ‘I’m Yours’ in 2008-09. Meanwhile, AWOLNATION’s ‘Sail’ posts its 75th week on the chart.
Imagine Dragons tie a vaunted Billboard Hot 100 record this week, as “Radioactive” logs its 76th week on the survey. The sum ties the mark established by Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” in 2008-09.
“Radioactive” ranks at No. 23 on the Hot 100, down from No. 13 last week when it surged following the band’s performance of the song with Kendrick Lamar at the Grammy Awards on Jan. 26. (The version with Lamar accounted for 73% of the song’s digital sales last week [208,000], according to Nielsen SoundScan; this week, it makes up 46% of its 74,000 sold.)
Considering its position on the chart, the song looks likely to break Mraz’s mark next week.
Notably, neither “Radioactive” nor “I’m Yours” topped the Hot 100. They peaked at Nos. 3 and 6, respectively. (The latter still holds the record for the most consecutive chart weeks, its entire 76-week run. “Radioactive” debuted at No. 93 the week of Aug. 18, 2012, and dropped to No. 98 the following frame. It returned on Sept. 29, 2012, and has remained on the list since, hitting its No. 3 highpoint the week of Aug. 3, 2013.)
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How has “Radioactive” managed such chart longevity? In part, it’s crossed from rock to adult and pop radio over months. It topped Alternative for 13 weeks beginning in March 2013. It segued to a No. 2 peak on Adult Top 40 in August and also reached No. 2 on Mainstream Top 40 in December. “My feeling is that the song has a formula that isn’t common at pop radio,” Jet Black, PD of Mainstream Top 40 reporter KHTT Tulsa, Okla., told Billboard in July. “Our format was inundated with 132 beats-per-minute rhythmic records, as well as a handful of singer/songwriter types. But … there was nothing in the middle.
“‘Radioactive’ is a little alternative, a little pop, a little dubstep … the best of three big genres. A perfect storm, so to speak.”
The song has sold 6.6 million downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Meanwhile, AWOLNATION’s “Sail” (No. 41) notches a 75th week on the Hot 100, moving to within one week of Imagine Dragons’ and Mraz’s record longevity. “Sail” peaked at No. 17 in October. Retrace the similar steady growth of “Sail” here.
Upon the songs’ latest landmark frames this week, here’s an updated look at the 10 longest-charting entries in the Hot 100’s 55-year history:
Weeks, Title, Artist, Peak, Pos., Year
76, “Radioactive,” Imagine Dragons, No. 3, 2013*
76, “I’m Yours,” Jason Mraz, No. 6, 2008
75, “Sail,” AWOLNATION, No. 17, 2013*
69, “How Do I Live,” LeAnn Rimes, No. 2, 1997
68, “Party Rock Anthem,” LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett & GoonRock, No. 1, 2011
65, “Rolling in the Deep,” Adele, No. 1, 2011
65, “You Were Meant for Me”/”Foolish Games,” Jewel, No. 2, 1997
64, “Before He Cheats,” Carrie Underwood, No. 8, 2007
62, “Ho Hey,” the Lumineers, No. 3, 2012
62, “You and Me,” Lifehouse, No. 5, 2005
*Currently charting
As “Radioactive” grants Imagine Dragons a share of Hot 100 history, the band has since released two follow-up singles from their debut album “Night Visions,” the top title on Billboard’s 2013 year-end Top Rock Albums recap. (“Radioactive” also finished as the year-end Hot Rock Songs No. 1, while the group reigned as 2013’s top rock act.) “Demons” ranks at No. 16 on the Hot 100 (after reaching No. 6 in December), while new single “On Top of the World” rises 100-93 in its second chart week.
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