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 2018, 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, the number one position was held by Australian singer Sia with "Santa's Coming for Us", the song's third consecutive week at number one; [1] the following week it was displaced by "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back" by Canadian vocalist Shawn Mendes, which held the top spot for three weeks. In the issue of Billboard dated February 24, British singer Ed Sheeran's song "Perfect" reached number one, a position it would hold for 22 consecutive weeks. "Perfect" was only the eighth song in the AC chart's history to spend 20 or more weeks at number one, and Sheeran became the first artist to achieve the feat twice, having topped the chart for 24 weeks with "Shape of You" the previous year. [2] As "Shape of You" had been in 2017, [3] "Perfect" was the biggest-selling single of the year in the United States; it was also the most-played song on US radio. [4] Multiple different versions of the song were released, including one featuring Beyoncé, [5] who was jointly credited for part of the song's run atop the magazine's all-genre chart, the Hot 100; [6] on the AC listing, however, only Sheeran was listed.
Beginning in September, Taylor Swift spent ten non-consecutive weeks at number one with "Delicate", her first AC chart-topper for three years. [7] Previous singles from her 2017 album Reputation had been successful on the Hot 100 but had not found favour with adult contemporary radio; "Look What You Made Me Do" topped the Hot 100 but could only reach number 19 on Adult Contemporary. [7] "Delicate" reversed this trend, topping the AC listing while failing to reach the top 10 of the Hot 100. [7] The song's run in the top spot was interrupted in November when the band Maroon 5 spent two weeks at number one with "Girls Like You", featuring rapper Cardi B. Although it spent only two weeks at number one in 2018, "Girls Like You" would return to the top spot in 2019 and hold it for more than 30 weeks, setting a new record for the longest run atop the AC chart by a song. [8] For the final four weeks of the year, the top spot was occupied by Christmas songs, reflecting the general trend in the music played on adult contemporary radio stations in December of each year. [9] John Legend spent three weeks at number one with his version of the 1940s song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", featuring jazz bassist Esperanza Spalding, before Katy Perry spent the final week of the year atop the chart with "Cozy Little Christmas".
Indicates best-performing AC song of 2018 [10] |
Issue date | Title | Artist(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
January 3 | "Santa's Coming for Us" | Sia | [1] |
January 6 | "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back" | Shawn Mendes | [11] |
January 13 | [12] | ||
January 20 | [13] | ||
January 27 | "What About Us" | Pink | [14] |
February 3 | [15] | ||
February 10 | [16] | ||
February 17 | [17] | ||
February 24 | "Perfect" | Ed Sheeran | [18] |
March 3 | [19] | ||
March 10 | [20] | ||
March 17 | [21] | ||
March 24 | [22] | ||
March 31 | [23] | ||
April 7 | [24] | ||
April 14 | [25] | ||
April 21 | [26] | ||
April 28 | [27] | ||
May 5 | [28] | ||
May 12 | [29] | ||
May 19 | [30] | ||
May 26 | [31] | ||
June 2 | [32] | ||
June 9 | [33] | ||
June 16 | [34] | ||
June 23 | [35] | ||
June 30 | [36] | ||
July 7 | [37] | ||
July 14 | [38] | ||
July 21 | [39] | ||
July 28 | "The Middle" | Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey | [40] |
August 4 | [41] | ||
August 11 | [42] | ||
August 18 | [43] | ||
August 25 | [44] | ||
September 1 | [45] | ||
September 8 | [46] | ||
September 15 | "Delicate" | Taylor Swift | [47] |
September 22 | [48] | ||
September 29 | [49] | ||
October 6 | [50] | ||
October 13 | [51] | ||
October 20 | [52] | ||
October 27 | [53] | ||
November 3 | [54] | ||
November 10 | "Girls Like You" | Maroon 5 featuring Cardi B | [55] |
November 17 | [56] | ||
November 24 | "Delicate" | Taylor Swift | [57] |
December 1 | [58] | ||
December 8 | "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" | John Legend featuring Esperanza Spalding | [59] |
December 15 | [60] | ||
December 22 | [61] | ||
December 29 | "Cozy Little Christmas" | Katy Perry | [62] |
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. Over the years, the chart has gone under 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 Tracks(1979–1982) and Adult Contemporary(1983–present).
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 Adult Pop Airplay chart is published weekly by Billboard magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems."
"Thinking Out Loud" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, recorded for his second studio album, × (2014). It was written by Sheeran and Amy Wadge, and produced by frequent collaborator Jake Gosling. It was released in the US on 24 September 2014 as the album's third single.
"Castle on the Hill" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was released on 6 January 2017 as one of the double lead singles from his third studio album ÷ (2017), along with "Shape of You". "Castle on the Hill" was written and produced by Ed Sheeran and Benny Blanco. The song refers to Framlingham Castle in Sheeran's home town of Framlingham in Suffolk, and reminisces tales of his upbringing in the town. The BBC states, "the song has been described as a love letter to Suffolk."
"Perfect" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran from his third studio album, ÷ (2017). After the album's release, it charted at number four on the UK Singles Chart. On 21 August 2017, Billboard announced that "Perfect" would be the fourth single from the album. The song was serviced to pop radio on 26 September 2017 as the third single from the album in the United States. Originally peaking at number four in March 2017, the song re-entered the UK charts later that year. It eventually reached number one on the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100 in December 2017. "Perfect" became the UK Christmas number-one song for 2017 and also peaked at number one in sixteen other countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand.
"Girls Like You" is a song recorded by American band Maroon 5 from their sixth studio album Red Pill Blues (2017). The track was written by lead singer Adam Levine, Starrah, Gian Stone, Cirkut, and Jason Evigan, with the latter two serving as producers. A second version featuring and co-written by American rapper Cardi B, was released on May 30, 2018, as the album's fifth and final single. The single version was included on the re-release edition of the album.
"South of the Border" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran featuring Cuban-American singer Camila Cabello and Dominican-American rapper Cardi B. It was released on 04 October 2019, as one of the two sixth singles from Sheeran's fourth studio album, No.6 Collaborations Project (2019), along with "Antisocial. The song was written by Sheeran, Cabello, Cardi B, Steve Mac, Fred Gibson and Jordan Thorpe, and produced by Sheeran, Mac and Gibson. It reached the top ten in eight countries and is certified Gold or higher in eleven countries.