The Billboard Hot 100 is a weekly record chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks the top songs in the United States. The chart's rankings are determined by a combination of sales figures, online streaming activity, and radio airplay across the country.
July 1913: Billboard Publishes First Music Chart, "Last Week's Ten Best Sellers Among the Popular Songs"
In July 1913, Billboard published its very first music chart, titled "Last Week's Ten Best Sellers Among the Popular Songs," initially focusing on sheet music sales.
1928: "Popular Numbers Featured by Famous Singers and Leaders" Chart Introduced
In 1928, Billboard expanded its chart offerings with the introduction of "Popular Numbers Featured by Famous Singers and Leaders," a chart that considered both radio and live performances.
January 4, 1936: Billboard Debuts "Ten Best Records for Week Ending"
On January 4, 1936, Billboard introduced the "Ten Best Records for Week Ending" chart, marking an early attempt to quantify the popularity of records.
October 1938: "The Week's Best Records" Renamed "The Billboard Record Buying Guide"
Billboard renamed its "The Week's Best Records" list to "The Billboard Record Buying Guide" in October 1938, incorporating airplay and sheet music sales data.
July 20, 1940: Billboard Publishes First "Billboard Music Popularity Chart"
For the week ending July 20, 1940, Billboard unveiled its inaugural "Billboard Music Popularity Chart," a more comprehensive ranking encompassing jukebox plays, retail sales, sheet music sales, and radio airplay.
March 24, 1945: Billboard Introduces the "Honor Roll of Hits" Chart
Billboard's primary music chart transitioned to the "Honor Roll of Hits" on March 24, 1945, a significant change as this chart ranked songs based on their popularity across different performers, aggregating data from various sources like record sales, sheet music sales, and jukebox plays.
November 12, 1955: Billboard Debuts "The Top 100" Chart
On November 12, 1955, Billboard unveiled "The Top 100" chart, a pivotal moment as this chart combined data on sales, airplay, and jukebox plays to provide a unified ranking of a single's performance.
1955: Billboard Introduces Three Separate Charts for Different Metrics
With the rise of rock and roll music in 1955, Billboard introduced three separate charts to track song popularity based on sales, airplay, and jukebox plays.
June 17, 1957: Billboard Discontinues "Most Played in Jukeboxes" Chart
The "Most Played in Jukeboxes" chart was discontinued on June 17, 1957, reflecting the declining popularity of jukeboxes.
July 28, 1958: Billboard Phases Out "Most Played by Jockeys" and "Top 100" Charts
On July 28, 1958, Billboard discontinued both the "Most Played by Jockeys" and "Top 100" charts. Interestingly, both charts shared Perez Prado's instrumental version of "Patricia" at the top spot in their final week.
August 4, 1958: Ricky Nelson's "Poor Little Fool" Becomes First Billboard Hot 100 Number One
On August 4, 1958, Ricky Nelson's "Poor Little Fool" achieved the distinction of being the inaugural number-one song on the Billboard Hot 100.
October 13, 1958: Billboard Discontinues "Best Sellers In Stores" Chart
With the Hot 100 established as the industry standard, Billboard discontinued the "Best Sellers In Stores" chart on October 13, 1958.
1958: Billboard Introduces the Hot 100 Chart
In a pivotal year for music charting, 1958 saw the debut of the Billboard Hot 100, a unified chart designed to track the popularity of singles across different metrics.
November 29, 1969: Billboard Adjusts Chart Rules for Two-Sided Singles
Starting the week of November 29, 1969, Billboard modified its rules regarding two-sided singles, allowing both sides to be listed together if they received substantial airplay.
1972: Trend of Placing the Same Song on Both Sides of Singles Solidifies
By 1972, a practice initiated by some record labels in the 1960s became standard: placing the same song on both sides of singles intended for radio play.
November 30, 1991: American Top 40 and Hot 100 Split
The long-standing relationship between the Hot 100 and the radio countdown show American Top 40 ended on November 30, 1991. This was due to American Top 40 opting to use the airplay-only data from the Hot 100, then known as Top 40 Radio Monitor, reflecting the increasing specialization within Top 40 radio formats.
1991: Billboard Implements Recurrent Rules
In 1991, Billboard introduced "recurrent rules" to ensure the Hot 100 remained current and representative of new artists and tracks. Songs meeting specific criteria regarding their chart rank and duration were moved to "recurrent status".
1994: "All I Want for Christmas Is You" Released
Mariah Carey released the holiday song "All I Want for Christmas Is You" in 1994. The song would later become a holiday classic and a significant part of the Billboard Hot 100's history.
December 5, 1998: Billboard Hot 100 Transitions from a "Singles" Chart to a "Songs" Chart
On December 5, 1998, the Billboard Hot 100 underwent a significant transformation, shifting its focus from "singles" to "songs." This change reflected the music industry's growing trend of promoting songs to radio without releasing them as standalone singles.
December 1998: Billboard Implements Major Overhaul of the Hot 100 Formula
In December 1998, Billboard undertook a significant overhaul of the Hot 100's formula, signifying a substantial shift in how the chart measured the popularity of songs.
2003: Billboard Introduces the "Hot Digital Tracks" Chart
In 2003, Billboard launched the "Hot Digital Tracks" chart to track the sales of digital downloads. It's important to note that, initially, these downloads were not factored into the Hot 100's calculations.
February 12, 2005: Billboard Incorporates Paid Digital Downloads into Hot 100 Methodology
On February 12, 2005, Billboard integrated paid digital downloads from online music services like iTunes, Musicmatch, and Rhapsody into the Hot 100's calculation methodology, marking the first major change to its formula since December 1998.
February 2005: Pop 100 Chart Launched
In February 2005, Billboard launched the Pop 100 chart to address criticisms that the Hot 100 was overly dominated by hip hop and R&B genres.
2006: Digital Downloads Significantly Impact Chart Performance
The increasing prominence of digital downloads from 2006 onwards led to significant fluctuations in chart positions, with several songs experiencing substantial upward movement within a single week due to their availability on online music stores.
June 16, 2007: Canadian Hot 100 Launches
Billboard launched the Canadian Hot 100 chart on June 16, 2007, mirroring the methodology of the U.S. Hot 100 by using sales and airplay data from Nielsen SoundScan and BDS.
August 11, 2007: Billboard Incorporates Streaming Data
On August 11, 2007, Billboard began including data from streaming and on-demand services like AOL Music and Yahoo! Music in the Hot 100 chart calculations.
May 31, 2008: Billboard Japan Hot 100 Launches
The Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart launched on May 31, 2008, utilizing the same methodology as the U.S. and Canadian Hot 100 charts by incorporating sales and airplay data from SoundScan Japan and radio tracking service Plantech.
June 2009: Pop 100 Chart Discontinued
Billboard discontinued the Pop 100 chart in June 2009, citing the increasing similarity between the Pop 100 and the Hot 100 charts as the reason.
March 24, 2012: On-Demand Songs Chart Premieres
Billboard premiered its On-Demand Songs chart on March 24, 2012, focusing on web radio streams from platforms like Spotify. This data was then integrated into the Hot 100 calculations.
January 2013: Streaming Songs Chart Expands
Billboard expanded the On-Demand Songs chart into a broader Streaming Songs chart in January 2013, further incorporating streaming data into the Hot 100.
February 2013: YouTube Views Added to Hot 100 Formula
In February 2013, U.S. views for songs on YouTube were added to the Hot 100 formula, marking a significant shift towards incorporating online video platforms into chart calculations. "Harlem Shake" was the first song to hit number one after this change.
June 2015: Global Release Date Moves to Friday
The music industry adopted a Global Release Date, moving the release day to Friday in all major markets, including the United States, in June 2015.
July 25, 2015: Billboard Aligns with Global Release Date
Billboard shifted its tracking week for sales, streaming, and airplay to align with the new Global Release Date of Friday, starting on July 25, 2015. This change ended the Tuesday release date for U.S. music products.
2015: Recurrent Criteria Modified
Billboard modified its recurrent criteria in 2015. A song is moved to "recurrent status" if it spends 20 weeks on the Hot 100 and falls below the 50th position. Additionally, descending songs below number 25 after 52 weeks are removed.
December 2019: Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" Hits No. 1
Mariah Carey's 1994 holiday classic "All I Want for Christmas Is You" reached the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 chart in December 2019, highlighting the impact of relaxed recurrent rules on seasonal songs.
July 2020: Billboard Bans Bundled Sales
In July 2020, Billboard announced it would no longer allow the sales of physical/digital bundles to be reported as digital sales. This decision aimed to prevent the manipulation of chart positions by artists using bundled sales tactics.
July 17, 2021: Billboard Adjusts Radio Airplay Tracking Period
On July 17, 2021, Billboard changed the tracking period for radio airplay to align with the Friday-Thursday cycle used for sales and streaming data.
January 14, 2022: Billboard Vietnam Hot 100 Launches
Billboard expanded its international presence with the launch of the Billboard Vietnam Hot 100 chart on January 14, 2022.
June 1, 2024: Post Malone and Morgan Wallen's "I Had Some Help" Tops the Charts
As of June 1, 2024, the Billboard Hot 100's top spot was held by "I Had Some Help," a collaboration between Post Malone and Morgan Wallen.