Adult Contemporary is a chart published by Billboard ranking the top-performing songs in the United States in the adult contemporary music (AC) market. In 2016, nine different songs topped the chart in 53 issues of the magazine, based on weekly airplay data from radio stations compiled by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems.
On the first chart of the year, British musician Seal moved into the number one position with his version of the 1970 song "This Christmas", displacing "Hello" by Adele. [1] The following week, "Hello" regained the top spot and held it for 16 consecutive weeks, the year's longest unbroken run atop the chart. Adele would return to number one for two weeks later in the year with "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)", and her total of 18 weeks in the top spot during 2016 was the most for any artist. She was the only act to take more than one song to the top of the AC listing during the year. In March, the BBC described Adele as the biggest star in pop music at the time. [2]
From the issues of Billboard dated July 9 through November 26, the top spot was occupied by two songs from film soundtracks. Justin Timberlake spent 13 weeks at number one beginning in the July 9 issue with "Can't Stop the Feeling!" from the film Trolls , [3] before Pink had a six-week run in the top spot with "Just like Fire", from Alice Through the Looking Glass . [4] Timberlake's song returned to the top of the chart in November for two further weeks. It was the singer's first AC number one as a solo artist, [5] although he had topped the listing 16 years earlier as a member of the group NSYNC with their song "This I Promise You". [6] [7] Having begun with one version of "This Christmas" atop the chart, 2016 ended with a different version of the song in the top position. The band Train took its version of the song to number one in the issue of Billboard dated December 17, yielded the top spot the following week to Josh Groban with his recording of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", but returned to number one in the final issue of the year. The two songs continued a trend of Christmas-themed songs topping the AC chart at the end of the year, reflecting the fact that adult contemporary radio stations usually switch to playing exclusively festive songs in December. [8] [9]
Indicates best-performing AC song of 2016 [10] |
Issue date | Title | Artist(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
January 2 | "This Christmas" | Seal | [1] |
January 9 | "Hello" | Adele | [11] |
January 16 | [12] | ||
January 23 | [13] | ||
January 30 | [14] | ||
February 6 | [15] | ||
February 13 | [16] | ||
February 20 | [17] | ||
February 27 | [18] | ||
March 5 | [19] | ||
March 12 | [20] | ||
March 19 | [21] | ||
March 26 | [22] | ||
April 2 | [23] | ||
April 9 | [24] | ||
April 16 | [25] | ||
April 23 | [26] | ||
April 30 | "Stitches" | Shawn Mendes | [27] |
May 7 | [28] | ||
May 14 | "Love Yourself" | Justin Bieber | [29] |
May 21 | [30] | ||
May 28 | [31] | ||
June 4 | [32] | ||
June 11 | [33] | ||
June 18 | [34] | ||
June 25 | [35] | ||
July 2 | [36] | ||
July 9 | "Can't Stop the Feeling!" | Justin Timberlake | [37] |
July 16 | [38] | ||
July 23 | [39] | ||
July 30 | [40] | ||
August 6 | [41] | ||
August 13 | [42] | ||
August 20 | [43] | ||
August 27 | [44] | ||
September 3 | [45] | ||
September 10 | [46] | ||
September 17 | [47] | ||
September 24 | [48] | ||
October 1 | [49] | ||
October 8 | "Just like Fire" | Pink | [50] |
October 15 | [51] | ||
October 22 | [52] | ||
October 29 | [53] | ||
November 5 | [54] | ||
November 12 | [55] | ||
November 19 | "Can't Stop the Feeling!" | Justin Timberlake | [56] |
November 26 | [57] | ||
December 3 | "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)" | Adele | [58] |
December 10 | [59] | ||
December 17 | "This Christmas" | Train | [60] |
December 24 | "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" | Josh Groban | [61] |
December 31 | "This Christmas" | Train | [62] |
The Digital Songs or Digital Song Sales chart ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by Billboard magazine. Although it originally started tracking song sales the week of October 30, 2004, it officially debuted in the issue dated January 22, 2005, and merged all versions of a song sold from digital music distributors. Its data was incorporated in the Hot 100 three weeks later. Since October 2004, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboard's music singles charts. The decision was based on the dramatic increase of the digital market while commercial single sales in a physical format were becoming negligible.
"My Love" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Justin Timberlake for his second studio album, FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006). It was released on October 24, 2006, by Jive Records as the second single from the album. The song features American rapper T.I. and was co-written by Timberlake, Timbaland, Nate "Danja" Hills, and T.I., and produced by Timberlake, Timbaland, and Danja.
American singer Justin Timberlake has released five studio albums, two compilation albums, three extended plays, and 40 singles. Timberlake initially started his music career in 1995, as a member of boy band NSYNC. Following the group's hiatus in 2002, he released his solo debut studio album, Justified, in November that same year. The album was a commercial success and peaked at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart and additionally topped the charts in Ireland and the United Kingdom. Justified earned multiple multi-platinum certifications, including a triple platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and a sextuple platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). It produced four singles: "Like I Love You", "Cry Me a River", "Rock Your Body" and "Señorita"; all performed well commercially, with two of them becoming top 5 hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and top two hits on the UK Singles Chart. "Rock Your Body" also reached number one in Australia.
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by Billboard magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart is compiled and officially released to the public by Billboard every Tuesday.
The Mainstream Top 40 Airplay is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the United States. The rankings are based on radio airplay detections as measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, a subsidiary of the U.S.' leading marketing research company. Consumer researchers, Nielsen Audio, refers to the format as contemporary hit radio (CHR).
"Suit & Tie" is a song by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake from his third studio album The 20/20 Experience (2013). It features a skit from American rapper Jay-Z. It was written and produced by Timberlake, Tim "Timbaland" Mosley and Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon, with additional writing from James Fauntleroy and Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter. It features compositional samples from the 1972 song "Sho' Nuff" by Sly, Slick and Wicked, which members are credited as co-writers to "Suit & Tie". The song was premiered on YouTube on January 13, 2013, and was released on January 15 by RCA Records as the lead single from the album. It serves as Timberlake's highly anticipated musical comeback following a six-year hiatus, during which time he pursued an acting career and developed his skills as a record producer and songwriter for other artists.
"Mirrors", also titled "Mirrors ", is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake for his third studio album, The 20/20 Experience (2013). First conceived in 2009, the track was inspired by his relationship with Jessica Biel and the marriage of his grandparents. It is an eight-minute-long mid-tempo progressive pop and R&B ballad. Timberlake wrote and produced the song with Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley and Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon, with additional writing from James Fauntleroy. The accompanying music video, directed by Floria Sigismondi, was released in March 2013 and depicts a tale of two lovers through several decades.
"Not a Bad Thing" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake for his fourth studio album, The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 (2013). It was written and produced by Timberlake, Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley, and Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon, with additional writing from James Fauntleroy. It was released as the third single from the album on February 24, 2014. The song is a mid-tempo pop ballad, that makes use of an acoustic guitar throughout, with its lyrics centering on the semantic field of love.
"Hello" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele, released on 23 October 2015 by XL Recordings as the lead single from her third studio album, 25 (2015). Written by Adele with its producer, Greg Kurstin, "Hello" is a piano ballad with soul influences, and lyrics that discuss themes of nostalgia and regret. Upon release, the song garnered critical acclaim, with reviewers comparing it favourably to Adele's previous works and praised its lyrics, production and Adele's vocal performance. It was recorded in Metropolis Studios, London.
"Love Yourself" is a song recorded by Canadian singer Justin Bieber for his fourth studio album Purpose (2015). The song was released as a promotional single on November 9, 2015, and as the album's third official single on December 7, 2015. It was written by Ed Sheeran, Benjamin Levin and Bieber, and produced by Levin. A pop song, "Love Yourself" features an electric guitar and a brief flurry of trumpets as its main instrumentation. During the song, Bieber uses a husky tone in the lower registers. Lyrically, the song is a kiss-off to a narcissistic ex-lover who did the protagonist wrong.
"Can't Stop the Feeling!" is a song by American singer Justin Timberlake. It was released on May 6, 2016, for it to be the lead single for the soundtrack to the film Trolls (2016), for which Timberlake voiced the character "Branch" and served as the executive music producer. It was written and produced by Timberlake, Max Martin, and Shellback. Musically, it is an uptempo disco-pop, soul-pop number with funk influences. The song was released as a single on May 6, 2016, six months before the film debuted, and serviced to contemporary hit radio on May 10, 2016. Timberlake gave his first televised performance of "Can't Stop the Feeling!" during the interval act of the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 grand final. Directed by Mark Romanek, its music video was released on May 16, 2016, and follows Timberlake on a tour to everyday places as he dances through what a typical day may be. It accumulated over 1 billion views. A wide number of fan-made videos followed the song's video release. It also features the YouTube sensation Lev Cameron.