Portal:Record production

The Billboard Hot 100 is a chart that ranks the best-performing singles of the United States. Published by Billboard magazine, the data are compiled by Nielsen SoundScan based collectively on each single's weekly physical and digital sales, and airplay. In 2006, 18 singles reached the top of the chart, the most number-ones in a chart year since 1991. A 19th single, Mariah Carey's "Don't Forget About Us", started its run at number one in 2005.

In 2006, 20 acts achieved their first U.S. number-one single, either as a lead artist or featured guest, including D4L, Paul Wall, Ali & Gipp, Slim Thug, James Blunt, Ne-Yo, Daniel Powter, Rihanna, Chamillionaire, Shakira, Wyclef Jean, Taylor Hicks, Nelly Furtado, Timbaland, Fergie, T.I., and Akon. Krayzie Bone and Justin Timberlake, despite having hit number one with Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and NSYNC respectively, earns their first number one songs as solo acts. Justin Timberlake and Beyoncé each had two number-one singles in this year. During the year, eight collaboration singles topped the chart, breaking the record set in 2003 and 2004, both of which had seven. (Full article...)

Alternative Airplay is a record chart that ranks the most-played songs on American modern rock radio stations. Published by the music industry magazine Billboard, it was created in the midst of the growing popularity of alternative music on rock radio in the late 1980s. As less-established alternative acts were receiving minimal exposure on album-oriented rock (AOR) radio stations, their labels turned to modern rock stations for airplay. Billboard introduced the chart in response to demand within the music industry for consistent information on the commercial performance of alternative music. During the decade, it was known as the Modern Rock Tracks chart and tabulated based on weighted reports from twenty-nine radio stations: eighteen established standard-bearer commercial stations and eleven non-commercial college stations.

The Modern Rock Tracks chart debuted in the September 10, 1988, issue of Billboard, with the inaugural number-one song being "Peek-a-Boo" by the English band Siouxsie and the Banshees. Upon its debut, several publications noted the presence of more independent artists on Modern Rock Tracks compared to its companion chart, Album Rock Tracks. By the end of the decade, twenty-two songs had topped the chart. The American bands R.E.M. and The B-52's each scored two number-one songs on the Modern Rock Tracks chart during the 1980s, the most for any artist within the decade. The R.E.M. song "Orange Crush" spent the longest period atop the chart during the decade, staying at number one for eight consecutive weeks from November 1988 to January 1989. The final number one of the 1980s was "Blues from a Gun" by the Scottish band The Jesus and Mary Chain. (Full article...)

The Billboard Latin Music Award for Hot Latin Song of the Year (formerly Hot Latin Track of the Year) is an honor presented annually at the Billboard Latin Music Awards, a ceremony which honors "the most popular albums, songs, and performers in Latin music, as determined by the actual sales, radio airplay, online streaming and social data that informs Billboard's weekly charts." The award is given to the best performing singles on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart, which measures the most popular Latin recordings in the United States. The Hot Latin Songs chart was established by the magazine in September 1986 and was originally based on airplay on Latin music radio stations. Since October 2012, chart rankings are based on digital sales, radio airplay, and online streaming. From 1995 to 1998, each music genre's field (pop, tropical/salsa and Regional Mexican) had their own Hot Latin Track of the Year category.

Enrique Iglesias and Nicky Jam are the most awarded acts in the category with three wins each. Alejandro Fernández, Wisin & Yandel, Don Omar, Romeo Santos, Ozuna, and Nicky Jam are the only acts with two nominated songs in the same year, a milestone achieved twice by Santos. As of 2017, only Iglesias and Nicky Jam have won Hot Latin Song of the Year twice in a row. As of 2021, the holders are Bad Bunny and Jhay Cortez for the song "Dakiti". (Full article...)

In 1955, Billboard magazine published three charts covering the best-performing country music songs in the United States: Most Played in Juke Boxes, Best Sellers in Stores, and Most Played By Jockeys. The juke box chart was based on a "survey among operators thruout [sic] the country using a high proportion of country and western records", the best sellers chart on a survey of "dealers...with a high volume of country and western records" and the jockeys chart a survey of "top disk jockeys in all key markets". All three charts are considered part of the lineage of the magazine's current country music songs charts.

As in the previous year, the number one position on all three charts was dominated during 1955 by Webb Pierce, the most successful country singer of the mid-1950s. His rendition of "In the Jailhouse Now", an early 20th-century song most associated in the country music field with 1920s country pioneer Jimmie Rodgers, spent 21 weeks at number one on the juke box chart beginning in March. This run tied the record held by Eddy Arnold's "I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)" (1947–48) and Hank Snow's "I'm Moving On" (1950) for the most weeks spent atop one of Billboard's country charts. The three songs would share the record for more than fifty years until Florida Georgia Line spent a 22nd week at number one on the Hot Country Songs listing in 2013 with "Cruise". "In the Jailhouse Now" was also the longest-running chart-topper of 1955 on both the best sellers and jockeys charts, spending 20 weeks and 15 weeks respectively in the top spot. Pierce's grip on the number one position was strongest on the juke box chart, on which he spent 47 weeks at number one, including one week when he tied for the top spot. Carl Smith (four weeks, including one tied with Pierce), Eddy Arnold (two weeks) and Tennessee Ernie Ford (one week) were the only other artists to top that listing in issues of Billboard with a cover date of 1955. (Full article...)

In 1944, Billboard magazine published its first chart ranking the top-performing country music songs in the United States, under the title Most Played Juke Box Folk Records. The term "country music" would not come into standard usage until the late 1940s and "folk music" was one of a number of terms used for the genre in earlier years; the subtitle on the first chart indicated that it covered "Hillbillies, Spirituals, Cowboy Songs, etc". The Juke Box Folk listing was compiled based on reports from "Billboard representatives" detailing the most-played songs of the genre in jukeboxes from "all the country's leading operating centers", which were averaged to give an overall chart. The first chart listed six songs, but the number of entries was not consistent from week to week. The juke box chart was published under a number of different titles until 1957 and is considered part of the lineage of the current Hot Country Songs chart, which was first published in 1958.

The first number-one song listed was "Pistol Packin' Mama", which remained in the top spot for the first seven weeks. The song, originally recorded by Al Dexter in 1942, had remained hugely popular ever since, and been recorded by many different singers. Up to four different versions of "Pistol Packin' Mama" were bracketed together as a single entry in the number one position during the seven-week run, although noted chart historian Joel Whitburn regards only the first-named artist each week as having achieved the number one hit, and does not record some of the credited artists as having charted at all. Subsequently, different recordings of a song were not bracketed together in this way: in later issues of Billboard, different versions of "Pistol Packin' Mama" appeared listed separately. The chart methodology also allowed for the possibility of records tying for a position, and on several occasions during 1944 two or more different songs tied for the number-one spot. (Full article...)

The Billboard Hot 100 is a chart that ranks the best-performing songs of the United States. Its data, published by Billboard magazine and compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, is based collectively on each single's weekly physical and digital sales, as well as airplay. In 2011, 14 singles claimed the top spot in 53 issues of the magazine, one of which, singer Katy Perry's "Firework" started its peak position in late 2010.

In 2011, nine acts achieved their first US number-one single, either as a lead artist or a featured guest: Wiz Khalifa, Adele, Pitbull, Afrojack, Nayer, LMFAO, Lauren Bennett, GoonRock and Calvin Harris. Six collaboration singles topped the chart. Pop singers Adele, Britney Spears, Katy Perry and Rihanna each earned two number-one songs during the year.
One of Adele's songs, "Rolling in the Deep", was the best-performing single of 2011, topping the Billboard Year-End Hot 100. She became the fourth solo female to have multiple songs spend at least five weeks each at number one in one calendar year. (Full article...)

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1975, 43 different singles topped the chart, at the time published under the title Hot Country Singles, in 52 issues of the magazine. Chart placings were based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.

Merle Haggard had the most number ones in 1975, taking four different singles to the top spot. The four singles spent a total of five weeks at number one, tying Haggard with Freddy Fender for the highest number of weeks spent atop the chart by a single artist in 1975. When Fender reached number one with "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" in the issue of Billboard dated March 15, he achieved the feat of topping the Hot Country chart with his first hit. The Tex-Mex-influenced song went on to be a crossover success, topping Billboard's all-genre singles chart, the Hot 100, in May. Five other singles released in 1975 reached number one on both charts: "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" by B.J. Thomas, "Rhinestone Cowboy" by Glen Campbell, both "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" and "I'm Sorry" by John Denver, and "Convoy" by C.W. McCall. "Rhinestone Cowboy" spent three non-consecutive weeks atop the country listing, the only song to spend more than two weeks in the top spot. (Full article...)

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 2009, 30 different songs topped the chart in 52 issues of the magazine, based on weekly airplay data from country music radio stations compiled by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems.

Four acts achieved their first number-one hit in 2009. The first was Mac McAnally, whose appearance as a guest vocalist on Kenny Chesney's cover version of his 1990 song "Down the Road" gave him his first appearance at the top of the chart in a career which stretched back to the 1970s. The group Lady Antebellum spent one week at number one in July with its first chart-topper, "I Run to You", and returned to the top with "Need You Now", which spent the last five weeks of the year at number one, the longest spell at the top by a single song. The six weeks which the trio spent at number one was the most by any act in 2009. "Need You Now" also achieved considerable crossover success, topping the Adult Contemporary and Adult Top 40 charts and reaching number 2 in Billboard's all-genre singles chart, the Hot 100. In October, both Justin Moore and Chris Young reached the top spot for the first time, with "Small Town USA" and "Gettin' You Home (The Black Dress Song)" respectively. This would be the first of five consecutive number-one hits for Young over a two-year period. (Full article...)

The Billboard Hot 100 is a chart that ranks the best-performing singles of the United States. Published by Billboard magazine, the data is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan based collectively on each single's weekly physical and digital sales, and airplay. In 2008, there were 14 singles that topped the chart in 52 issues of the magazine.

Rapper Flo Rida's "Low" was the first number one of the year, and the longest-running single in 2008, staying at number one for 10 consecutive weeks. It is the longest stay at the top for a single since R&B singer Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable" reigned for 10 straight weeks starting in late 2006. "Low" is the best-performing single of 2008 in the United States, ranking number one on Billboard's year end chart of the Top Hot 100 Hits of 2008. Other singles with extended runs at number one include Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl", which stayed at the top spot for seven straight weeks, and T.I.'s "Whatever You Like", which topped the chart for seven non-consecutive weeks. (Full article...)

In 1956, Billboard magazine published three charts covering the best-performing country music songs in the United States. At the start of the year, the charts were published under the titles Most Played in Juke Boxes, Best Sellers in Stores, and Most Played By Jockeys, with the genre denoted in an overall page heading. With effect from the issue of Billboard dated June 30, the genre was added to the specific titles of the charts, which were thus published as Most Played C&W in Juke Boxes, C&W Best Sellers in Stores, and Most Played C&W By Jockeys, the C&W standing for "country and western". All three charts are considered part of the lineage of the current Hot Country Songs chart, which was first published in 1958.

The number-one positions on both the juke box and best sellers charts were dominated in 1956 by Elvis Presley, who spent a total of 26 weeks in the top spot on the best sellers listing and 28 weeks (including one tied with another single) atop the juke box chart with four different singles. Presley achieved the first country chart-topper of his career in February when he reached the number one spot on the best sellers chart with "I Forgot to Remember to Forget"; its B-side, "Mystery Train" was listed jointly at number one for the first week of the run only. The release was the final single which he recorded for Sun Records, the label for which he had honed his early rockabilly style. After he signed for new label RCA Victor, his recordings began to show more of a pop music influence, but for a time continued to appear on the country charts, and one week after "I Forgot to Remember to Forget" was replaced at number one, Presley regained the top spot with the two-sided success "Heartbreak Hotel" / "I Was the One", which remained atop the listing for 17 consecutive weeks. He would go on to be regarded as the most successful and influential recording artist of all time and feted as the "King of Rock and Roll". (Full article...)