The Revivalists’ ‘Wish I Knew You’ Tops Alternative Songs Chart
"We knew we had something special, but to have it go No. 1 is something none of us could have ever predicted," says frontman David Shaw.
Seven months after first reaching No. 1 on Billboard‘s Adult Alternative Songs chart, The Revivalists notch another airplay No. 1 with “Wish I Knew You,” which rises 2-1 on the Alternative Songs chart dated May 20.
The New Orleans-based band earns its first No. 1 on Alternative Songs with the track, the second single from 2015’s Men Amongst Mountains. The song previously led Adult Alternative Songs for two weeks beginning on the chart dated Oct. 1, 2016.
“Wish” reaches No. 1 in its 26th week on Alternative Songs, tying for the 11th-longest journey to the top in the chart’s history; it’s the longest in more than a year, since Foals’ “Mountain at My Gates” took 32 weeks (March 19, 2016). The Revivalists also become the third act in 2017 to top Alternative Songs with their first charting song, following Rag’n’Bone Man (“Human”) and Judah & the Lion (“Take It All Back”). Newcomers account for half the chart’s No. 1s in 2017, as the other three leading acts – Green Day, The Lumineers and Imagine Dragons – made return trips to the top.
In addition to winning support at multiple rock radio formats, “Wish” has also kicked off a run on the Adult Pop Songs chart, where it jumps from No. 37 to a new peak of No. 32 this week.
The Revivalists frontman David Shaw says that the song’s success has been a bit of a surprise, although not entirely. “When we were fleshing this one out in the rehearsal space, there was a special kind of energy in the room,” Shaw tells Billboard. “We knew we had something special, but to have it go No. 1 [is] something none of us could have ever predicted or even thought possible. We were just doing what we’ve always done since day one. That’s getting in a room and working it until it feels good.”
With regards to the song’s budding crossover success, Shaw adds that the band is “just happy to now have a much larger platform to promote our message.”
The Revivalists have charted one prior song on a Billboard airplay chart: Men Amongst Mountains lead single “Keep Going” peaked at No. 29 on Adult Alternative Songs in November 2015. “Wish” began its initial run on the same chart just more than a year ago (on the chart dated May 14, 2016).
Men Amongst Mountains, the band’s third studio release, debuted at No. 23 on the Top Rock Albums chart dated Aug. 8, 2015. It has sold 38,000 copies in the U.S. to date, according to Nielsen Music.
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