The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by Billboard magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to Billboard by stations that are members of the Adult Contemporary radio panel. The chart debuted in Billboard magazine on July 17, 1961. [1] Over the years, the chart has undergone a series of name changes, being called Easy Listening(1961–1962; 1965–1979), Middle-Road Singles(1962–1964), Pop-Standard Singles(1964–1965), Hot Adult Contemporary(1984–1996) and Adult Contemporary(1979–1984, 1996–present). The current number-one song on the chart is "Lose Control" by Teddy Swims. [2]
The Billboard Easy listening chart, as it was first known, was born of a desire by some radio stations in the late 1950s and early 1960s to continue playing current hit songs but distinguish themselves from being branded as "rock and roll" stations. Billboard had written articles about this trend during the time, and the magazine's editors decided to publish a separate chart for these songs beginning in 1961. The magazine offered an "Easy Listening" programming guide beginning January 9, 1961, which continued until the numbered chart appeared in July. The first No. 1 song on the Billboard Easy Listening chart was "The Boll Weevil Song" by Brook Benton. [1]
From 1961 to 1965, this chart was compiled from the Billboard Hot 100 chart by removing songs that were deemed rock and roll by the magazine and re-ranking the remaining songs. ( Record World's equivalent "non-rock" chart followed the same criteria from 1967 through 1971.) Beginning in 1965, the Easy Listening chart would begin to be compiled by a method similar to the one used for other Billboard singles charts: reported playlists from radio stations airing the format as well as sales data submitted by record stores. By the early 1990s, automatic song detection and barcode sales information had begun to be the norm for most of the Billboard charts, although by this time the AC chart was based entirely on radio airplay and no longer incorporated retail sales reports. Currently the Adult Contemporary chart is compiled in much the same way as for other radio formats.
The chart was known as the Easy Listening chart until 1962, when it was renamed Middle-Road Singles. In 1964, the name changed again, this time to Pop-Standard Singles. After alternating the name of this chart twice more in less than a year, Easy Listening was again chosen as the chart name in 1965 when the change in compilation occurred. In April 1979, the Easy Listening chart officially became known as Adult Contemporary, and those two words have remained consistent in the name of the chart ever since.
In 1996, Billboard created a new chart called Adult Top 40, which reflects radio station programming that exists somewhere between "adult contemporary" music and "pop" music. Although they are sometimes mistaken for each other, the Adult Contemporary chart and the Adult Top 40 chart are separate charts, and songs reaching one chart might not reach the other. In addition, the term "hot AC" refers to another subgenre of radio programming that is distinct from the Adult Contemporary chart, despite the apparent similarity in name.
In the early years of the Easy Listening chart, the top song on the chart was generally always a Top 10 pop hit as well. The method for compiling the chart at that time allowed some rock and roll artists, such as Lesley Gore and the Drifters, to make the chart on occasion with their softer or ballad releases, regardless of whether Easy Listening and middle of the road radio stations were actually playing those songs. In 1965, no No. 1 pop hits appeared on the Easy Listening chart. After 1965, differences between the Hot 100 chart and the Easy Listening chart became more pronounced. Better reflecting what middle of the road stations were actually playing, the composition of the chart changed dramatically. As rock music continued to harden, there was much less crossover between the Hot 100 and Easy Listening chart than there had been in the early half of the 1960s.[ citation needed ]
Several No. 1 Easy Listening hits of the late 1960s only "Bubbled Under" on the pop chart (for example, Andy Russell's 1967 version of "It's Such a Pretty World Today" that peaked at #119), or (as was the case with John Gary's 1967 hit "Cold") failed even to "Bubble Under." [3] In 1967, only one single reached No. 1 on both charts – "Somethin' Stupid" by Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra. This trend began to reverse by the end of the decade.
Notable artists with multiple No. 1 songs on this chart during the 1960s include Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Connie Francis, Dean Martin, Andy Williams, the 5th Dimension, and Glen Campbell. "Love Is Blue" by Paul Mauriat held the top of the Easy Listening chart for 11 weeks in 1968, which remained the longest stay at No. 1 until 1993. [1]
The Hot 100 and Easy Listening charts became more similar again toward the end of the 1960s and into the early and mid-1970s, when the texture of much of the music played on Top 40 radio once more began to soften. Contemporary artists who recorded adult-appeal music, such as the Carpenters, Barbra Streisand, Barry Manilow, Anne Murray, John Denver, and Helen Reddy began to be played more often on Top 40 radio. Much of the music recorded by singer-songwriters such as James Taylor, Carole King, and Janis Ian got as much, if not more, airplay on this format than on Top 40 stations. A few of the acts that came of age as pop artists targeting younger audiences in the 1960s and early 1970s started moving toward easy listening as they matured (Neil Sedaka, Paul Anka and the Osmonds being prime examples). Easy Listening radio also began including songs by artists who had begun in other genres, such as rock and roll, R&B, or even country (it was during this time frame that a number of songs charted on the country and easy listening charts, often not on the Hot 100).
The longest stay at No. 1 on the Easy Listening chart in the 1970s was "Time Passages" by Al Stewart, which remained atop the chart for ten weeks. More common, however, was a high turnover rate at the summit of the Easy Listening survey during this decade. Over a three-year period from 1973 through 1975, there were 100 No. 1 songs on this chart, and most remained atop the chart for a single week. Among songs which topped both the Easy Listening (renamed Adult Contemporary in 1979) and pop charts in the 1970s were "(They Long to Be) Close to You" and "Please Mr. Postman" by the Carpenters, "Song Sung Blue" by Neil Diamond, "Annie's Song" by John Denver, "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" by Stevie Wonder, "I Honestly Love You" and "Have You Never Been Mellow" by Olivia Newton-John, "Love Will Keep Us Together" by Captain & Tennille, and "You Light Up My Life" by Debby Boone. [1]
On August 21, 1982, the Adult Contemporary chart began ranking only airplay. [4]
Some of the artists who achieved success on the adult contemporary chart in the 1980s were already established names, such as Elton John, Chicago, Barbra Streisand, Dan Fogelberg, Sheena Easton, Kenny Rogers, and Dionne Warwick, while newer acts such as Whitney Houston, Madonna, Air Supply, Lionel Richie, and Gloria Estefan also made an impact on the chart. The amount of crossover between the AC chart and the Hot 100 has varied based on how much the passing pop music trends of the times appealed to adult listeners. Not many disco or new wave songs were particularly successful on the AC chart during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and much of the hip-hop and harder rock music featured on CHR formats later in the decade would have been unacceptable on AC radio.
No song spent more than six weeks at No. 1 on this chart during the 1980s, with nine songs accomplishing that feat. Two were by Lionel Richie, "You Are" in 1983 and "Hello" in 1984, which also reached No. 1 on the Hot 100. Other songs reaching the summit on both the AC and pop charts were "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper, "I Just Called to Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder, "Live to Tell" by Madonna, "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" by Michael Jackson (his only No. 1 on both charts), "Seasons Change" by Exposé, "Look Away" by Chicago, "Tell Her About It" by Billy Joel, and "Right Here Waiting" by Richard Marx. [1]
With changes in methodology made to the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the early 1990s, many of the secondary charts began to experience differences as well. Certain songs achieved higher debut positions on the Hot 100 due to the new formulas used to calculate chart positions, and lengthy stays at number one became more common. This trend began to surface on the AC chart in 1993 after Billboard began using data received from Broadcast Data Systems as its measure for calculating the number of airplay songs on adult contemporary stations. [5] Two consecutive singles ("The River of Dreams" by Billy Joel and "Said I Loved You...But I Lied" by Michael Bolton) logged twelve weeks apiece atop the AC chart, surpassing "Love Is Blue"'s previous mark of eleven weeks at number one. As the decade progressed, other songs had even longer stays at number one, including "Change the World" by Eric Clapton (13 weeks, 1996), "Un-Break My Heart" by Toni Braxton (14 weeks, 1997), "Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion (19 weeks, 1996) and "You'll Be In My Heart" by Phil Collins (19 weeks, 1999).
In addition to Collins, who has had significant success on this chart, other artists with multiple number ones in the 1990s include Mariah Carey, Michael Bolton, Whitney Houston, and Shania Twain. Newer female singer-songwriters such as Sarah McLachlan, Natalie Merchant, Jewel, Melissa Etheridge, and Sheryl Crow also broke through on the AC chart during this time. [1]
A notable pattern that developed during the 2000s has been for certain pop songs to have lengthy runs on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart, even after the songs have fallen off the Hot 100. Songs such as "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me" by Taylor Swift, "Waiting on the World to Change" by John Mayer, "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles and "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt have remained on the AC chart for many weeks, in some cases over a year after the song was originally released. An article on MTV's website by Corey Moss describes this trend: "In other words, AC stations are where pop songs go to die a very long death. Or, to optimists, to get a second life." [6] One theory states that many adult contemporary stations play less newer music because they also give ample airtime to hits of the past, so the de-emphasis on new songs slows the progression of the AC chart. Also, certain program directors have asserted that AC is a song-based format, as opposed to other radio formats that are infused with singer-based programming, so there is no guarantee that a new single by a certain artist will appeal to the listeners. [6]
The record for most time atop the Adult Contemporary chart is 55 non-consecutive weeks, achieved by Miley Cyrus with her 2023 release, "Flowers". A number of other songs have logged more than 20 weeks apiece at the summit; The 2003, Uncle Kracker's collaboration with Dobie Gray on Gray's own 1973 hit, Drift Away spent 28 weeks at No. 1. Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" from 2017 has logged 24 weeks at No. 1 on the AC chart. In addition, Celine Dion's "A New Day Has Come" from 2002 and Kelly Clarkson's 2004 song "Breakaway". Both songs spent 21 weeks at No. 1 on the AC chart.
Through 2022, Celine Dion has logged 87 weeks atop the AC chart, which is the most for any artist; Adele has moved into second place with 83 weeks, Ed Sheeran holds third place and the most for a solo male artist with 67 weeks, followed by Elton John with 63 weeks. Maroon 5 is the current top group, and fifth overall, with 62 weeks. Elton John also has the most chart-toppers on this survey with 18, while the Carpenters hold the record for the most chart toppers among groups with 15, and Celine Dion has the most #1's among female artists with 11. [7]
In 2011, Billboard announced the top 100 performing songs on the AC chart and the top 50 performing artists to celebrate the 50th anniversary on the chart. The top song on the list was "Truly Madly Deeply" by Savage Garden, which hit number one for 11 weeks in 1998, spent a total of 58 weeks in the top 10, and spent 123 weeks on the chart. That chart longevity would only be passed by another one of their songs, "I Knew I Loved You" (which ranked at #21 on that list), from their album Affirmation . [8] [9] Elton John was nominated the top performing AC artist through that time, and also holds the record for the most No. 1 AC singles, top 10 singles, and singles on the chart. His song "The One" was ranked on No. 53 on the top 100 performing songs on the AC chart.
Relatively few urban contemporary and hip-hop artists manage to successfully cross over to AC, although there were a few exceptions in the later part of the 2000s decade, such as Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable", Fergie's ballad "Big Girls Don't Cry", Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy", Rihanna's "Take a Bow", and Timbaland's remix of OneRepublic's "Apologize". R&B artists who have achieved major success on the AC chart in the past include Dionne Warwick, Aaron Neville, Diana Ross (with her solo career), James Ingram, Lionel Richie, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey.
Crossover from the country charts has also been common on the AC chart since the chart began. Among the country stars who had a number of singles cross over to the AC chart (and the pop chart as well) from the 1960s through the 1980s included Brenda Lee, Ray Price, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Anne Murray, Ronnie Milsap, Barbara Mandrell, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Eddie Rabbitt, Crystal Gayle, Willie Nelson, and Juice Newton. The huge growth of country music as a radio format in the 1990s brought a number of new country crossovers onto the AC airwaves, including Martina McBride, Wynonna Judd, LeAnn Rimes, Shania Twain, Billy Joel, Lonestar, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Garth Brooks. More recently, a new wave of country performers has been crossing over to AC, including Tim McGraw, the Dixie Chicks (who topped the AC chart with their cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide"), Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Sugarland, Lady Antebellum, Jason Aldean (whose AC success came by way of his duet with Kelly Clarkson, "Don't You Wanna Stay"), The Band Perry, Sam Hunt, and Dan + Shay.
Contemporary Christian music has also been relatively successful in crossing over to mainstream radio. In the mid-1980s, the most successful CCM artist at the time, Amy Grant, crossed over into secular music with the 1985 single "Find a Way", which became a Top Ten AC hit and a No. 1 Christian single simultaneously. In the 1990s and into the 2000s, other artists such as Lifehouse, MercyMe, Natalie Grant, Kathy Troccoli, Sixpence None the Richer, Steven Curtis Chapman, and Michael W. Smith have crossed in between the Christian and secular worlds with little disapproval from their fan bases.
Many notable classic rock artists have also crossed over to the adult contemporary chart as well by way of releasing power ballads. Artists such as Journey, Foreigner, Pat Benatar, and John Mellencamp among many other artists have had AC chart hits in addition to charting on the Mainstream Rock chart. [10] [11] [12] [13] In addition, newer recordings by established classic rock artists have also gotten some airplay on adult contemporary stations. Heart, Bob Seger, and Elton John are just some of the artists to have some of their 21st-century songs played on adult contemporary. [14]
In addition, some classic rock artists whose songs did not chart on the adult contemporary chart during their initial heyday have been played on AC stations in recent years: Whitesnake with Here I Go Again, Joan Jett with I Love Rock and Roll, and Def Leppard with Pour Some Sugar on Me among other artists. [a]
The Adult Contemporary Recurrent charts ranks airplay from the adult contemporary radio stations in the United States chart that have reached recurrent criteria. Descending songs are moved to recurrent status based upon the following three-tiered system: if they rank below the top five after 52 weeks, if they rank below the top 10 after 26 weeks, or if they rank below the top 15 after 20 weeks.
Exceptions are sometimes made, usually on a case-by-case basis. Occasionally an older song is re-released (for example, featured on a current movie soundtrack and given a renewed promotional push from a record label) or a song can take an extended amount of time to climb to position fifteen. Billboard chart managers ultimately make the decision about which songs can remain on the current chart in such cases.
| Rank | Single | Year released | Artist(s) | Peak and duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Truly Madly Deeply" | 1997 | Savage Garden | #1 for 11 weeks |
| 2 | "Lead Me On" | 1978 | Maxine Nightingale | #1 for 7 weeks |
| 3 | "Drift Away" | 2003 | Uncle Kracker featuring Dobie Gray | #1 for 28 weeks |
| 4 | "Heaven" | 2004 | Los Lonely Boys | #1 for 18 weeks |
| 5 | "Born Free" | 1966 | Roger Williams | #1 for 6 weeks |
| 6 | "Hello Dolly!" | 1964 | Louis Armstrong and The All Stars | #1 for 9 weeks |
| 7 | "You Needed Me" | 1978 | Anne Murray | #3 for 3 weeks |
| 8 | "Change the World" | 1996 | Eric Clapton | #1 for 13 weeks |
| 9 | "Hero" | 2001 | Enrique Iglesias | #1 for 15 weeks |
| 10 | "Lonely No More" | 2005 | Rob Thomas | #1 for 18 weeks |
| Source: [16] | ||||
| Rank | Artist |
|---|---|
| 1 | Elton John |
| 2 | Neil Diamond |
| 3 | Barbra Streisand |
| 4 | Barry Manilow |
| 5 | Kenny Rogers |
| 6 | Chicago |
| 7 | Billy Joel |
| 8 | Carpenters |
| 9 | Lionel Richie |
| 10 | Anne Murray |
| Source: [17] | |
These are the songs with 20 or more weeks at number one as of the chart dated August 3, 2024.
| Weeks at No. 1 | Song | Artist | Date reached No. 1 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57 | "Flowers" | Miley Cyrus | April 22, 2023 | [18] |
| 36 | "Girls Like You" | Maroon 5 | November 10, 2018 | [19] |
| 35 | "Blinding Lights" | The Weeknd | November 7, 2020 | [20] |
| 28 | "Drift Away" | Uncle Kracker featuring Dobie Gray | June 7, 2003 | [21] |
| 24 | "Shape of You" | Ed Sheeran | May 6, 2017 | [21] |
| "Easy on Me" | Adele | November 13, 2021 | [22] | |
| 22 | "Hey, Soul Sister" | Train | July 3, 2010 | [21] |
| "Perfect" | Ed Sheeran | February 24, 2018 | [23] | |
| 21 | "A New Day Has Come" | Celine Dion | March 30, 2002 | [21] |
| "Breakaway" | Kelly Clarkson | March 12, 2005 | [21] | |
| "Hello" | Adele | November 28, 2015 | [21] | |
| 20 | "Just the Way You Are" | Bruno Mars | February 5, 2011 | [21] |
| "Memories" | Maroon 5 | March 21, 2020 | [19] |
| Songs | Artist | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | Elton John | [24] |
| 15 | The Carpenters | [25] |
| 13 | Barry Manilow | [26] |
| 11 | Celine Dion | [27] |
| Lionel Richie | [28] | |
| 10 | Olivia Newton-John | [29] |
| 9 | John Denver | [30] |
| Taylor Swift | [31] | |
| 8 | Anne Murray | [32] |
| Chicago | [33] | |
| Neil Diamond | [34] | |
| Phil Collins | [35] | |
| Stevie Wonder | [36] |
As of the issue of Billboard dated August 3, 2024
| Weeks | Artist | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 87 | Celine Dion | [37] |
| 83 | Adele | [38] |
| 72 | Miley Cyrus | [18] |
| 67 | Ed Sheeran | [39] |
| 64 | Elton John | [37] |
| 62 | Maroon 5 | [40] |
| 56 | Taylor Swift | [41] |
| 47 | Lionel Richie | [37] |
| 43 | Phil Collins | [37] |
| Faith Hill | [37] |
| Songs | Artist | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 42 | Elton John | [24] |
| 38 | Neil Diamond | [42] |
| 35 | Barbra Streisand | [42] |
| 31 | Elvis Presley | [43] |
| 29 | Dionne Warwick | [44] |
| 28 | Barry Manilow | [45] |
| Kenny Rogers | [46] [42] | |
| 26 | Whitney Houston | [47] |
| 24 | Billy Joel | [48] |
| Chicago | [42] | |
| James Taylor | [42] | |
| Bobby Vinton | [42] |
| Entries | Artist | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 76 | Elton John | [49] |
| 64 | Barbra Streisand | [49] |
| 58 | Neil Diamond | [34] |
| 51 | Barry Manilow | [45] |
| 50 | Johnny Mathis | [25] |
| 48 | Elvis Presley | [43] |
| Kenny Rogers | [46] | |
| Taylor Swift | [50] | |
| 44 | Dionne Warwick | [44] |
| 41 | Anne Murray | [32] |
Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. Soft rock was prevalent on the radio throughout the 1970s and eventually metamorphosed into a form of the synthesized music of adult contemporary in the 1980s. The genre was pioneered by such artists as Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, James Taylor and Hall & Oates.
Country pop is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends genres like rock, pop, and country, continuing similar efforts that began in the late 1950s, known originally as the Nashville sound and later on as Countrypolitan. By the mid-1970s, many country artists were transitioning to the pop-country sound, which led to some records charting high on the mainstream top 40 and the Billboard country chart. In turn, many pop and easy listening artists crossed over to country charts during this time. After declining in popularity during the neotraditional movement of the 1980s, country pop had a comeback in the 1990s with a sound that drew more heavily on pop rock and adult contemporary. In the 2010s, country pop metamorphosized again with the addition of hip-hop beats and rap-style phrasing.
"Something About the Way You Look Tonight" is a song by English musician Elton John, taken from his 25th studio album, The Big Picture. It was written by John and Bernie Taupin, and produced by Chris Thomas. It was released as the album's first single on 8 September 1997 by Mercury Records and the Rocket Record Company.
"Can You Feel the Love Tonight" is a song from Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King composed by English musician Elton John with lyrics by Tim Rice. Released as a single in May 1994, the song was a hit in the UK, peaking at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart, and achieved success in the United States, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was a number-one hit in Canada and France. At the 67th Academy Awards in March 1995, it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The same year, the song also won John the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. Completing a trifecta, the song also won a Golden Globe at the 52nd Golden Globe Awards held in 1995 for Best Song - Motion Picture.
"She Will Be Loved" is a song by American pop rock band Maroon 5. It was written by frontman Adam Levine and lead guitarist James Valentine. The song was released on July 27, 2004, as the third single from Maroon 5's 2002 debut studio album, Songs About Jane. The single peaked at No. 5 in the United States and by December 2012 had sold more than 2,722,000 digital downloads. It peaked at No. 4 in the United Kingdom. In Australia, it reached No. 1, a position it held for five non-consecutive weeks. The single is noted for its music video starring Kelly Preston in a mother-daughter love triangle with lead singer Adam Levine.
"Healing Hands" is a song by English musician Elton John, written by John and Bernie Taupin, from John's 1989 album, Sleeping with the Past. The single was released in August 1989 and was a top-20 hit in the United States. A reissued version became the singer's first solo number-one single in the United Kingdom in June 1990.
"He'll Have to Go" is an American country and pop hit recorded on October 15, 1959, by Jim Reeves. The song, released in the fall of 1959, went on to become a hit in both genres early in 1960.
"I'm Sorry" is a song written and recorded by American country-folk singer-songwriter John Denver and released in 1975. It was the final number-one pop hit released during his career. The flip side of "I'm Sorry" was "Calypso", and, like its A-side, enjoyed substantial radio airplay on Top 40 stations.
"The Time of My Life" is the debut single by American singer-songwriter David Cook, released through RCA Records and 19 Entertainment on May 22, 2008 after Cook won the seventh season of American Idol. It was written by Regie Hamm and produced by Steve Lipson. The song is included as a bonus track on his self-titled debut major-label album.
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet storm and rock influence. Adult contemporary is generally a continuation of the easy listening and soft rock style that became popular in the 1960s and 1970s with some adjustments that reflect the evolution of pop/rock music.
"Hurt" is a 1954 song by Jimmie Crane and Al Jacobs. "Hurt" was originally performed by Roy Hamilton, whose version peaked at number eight on the R&B Best Seller chart and spent a total of seven weeks on the chart. A version by Ricky Denell also received considerable radio airplay in 1954 on pop radio stations. The song is considered to be the signature hit of Timi Yuro, whose version went to number four on the Billboard pop chart in 1961. Elvis Presley’s 1976 version reached the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the top 10 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart. Juice Newton's 1985 version scored number one on Billboard's Country chart.
"Something Better to Do" is a song written by John Farrar and recorded by Olivia Newton-John. The song was released in September 1975 as the lead single from Newton-John's sixth studio album, Clearly Love. The narrator of the song muses that she's having a hard time adjusting to life without her departed lover; even the birds are wasting their songs singing to her, and until her beloved returns, "the birds will have to find something better to do."
"You Gotta Love Someone" is a song by English musician Elton John, written by John along with Bernie Taupin and released as a single from the Days of Thunder soundtrack in October 1990. The single was also used to promote the Rocket Records 2-CD retrospective The Very Best of Elton John, issued largely in overseas markets excluding the United States, where the more expansive box set To Be Continued... was issued.
Christian adult contemporary, also known as Christian AC or CAC, is a form of radio-played contemporary Christian music, ranging from 1960s Jesus music and 1970s Christian soft rock music to predominately worship-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, CCM, gospel, Christian R&B, quiet storm and Christian rock influence. Primarily in the United States and Canada, Christian adult contemporary radio stations cater to a mostly adult audience and are similar to mainstream adult contemporary stations in that they play hits often and for long periods of time. Christian adult contemporary is generally a continuation of the easy listening and soft rock style Jesus music that became popular in the 1960s and 1970s with some adjustments that reflect the evolution of Christian pop/rock music.
"Beautiful in My Eyes" is a song by American singer-songwriter Joshua Kadison. It was released in February 1994 as the second single from his 1993 debut album, Painted Desert Serenade, surpassing the performance of his debut single and breakout hit "Jessie", reaching No. 19 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and charting in four other countries, including Australia, where it peaked at No. 5. In 1995, it was re-released in the United Kingdom, reaching the top 40 and peaking at No. 37 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" is a song by English singer and songwriter Elton John and English-Albanian singer Dua Lipa from the former's 32nd studio album, The Lockdown Sessions (2021). It was released on 13 August 2021 as the lead single from the album for digital download and streaming in various countries by EMI and Mercury. Created during the COVID-19 pandemic, the collaboration between the artists was a testament to their friendship, which was established in November 2020. The song is a medley of four songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, as well as Andrew Meecham, Dean Meredith, Nicholas Littlemore, Peter Mayes and Sam Littlemore, with the production completed by the latter three as part of the dance music group Pnau. Interpolating John's songs "Rocket Man" (1972), "Kiss the Bride" (1983), "Sacrifice" (1989) and "Where's the Shoorah?" (1976), the remix is an upbeat contemporary synth-pop, dance, dance-pop and pop song describing the decline of a relationship.
"Merry Christmas" is a song by English singer-songwriters Ed Sheeran and Elton John. It was released through Asylum and Atlantic Records as a single on 3 December 2021. The song appears on the Christmas edition of John's collaborative album, The Lockdown Sessions, and originally appeared on the now-removed Christmas edition of Sheeran's fifth studio album, =. Sheeran and John wrote the song and it was produced by Steve Mac. "Merry Christmas" entered at the top of the UK Singles Chart during the chart week of 10 December 2021, becoming Sheeran's twelfth chart-topper in the country and John's ninth number-one single in the country. It also topped the charts in the Flanders region of Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
"Hold Me Closer" is a song recorded by English singer Elton John and American singer Britney Spears. It was released as a single on 26 August 2022, through EMI. The song combines elements from John's songs "Tiny Dancer" (1971), "The One" (1992), and "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (1976). It appears on the digital reissue of John's collaborative album The Lockdown Sessions (2021). The song marked Spears' first new musical release in six years and her first release after the termination of her controversial conservatorship.
