Alternative Airplay is a music chart published in the American magazine Billboard since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played songs on alternative and modern rock radio stations. Introduced as Modern Rock Tracks, the chart served as a companion to the Mainstream Rock chart, and its creation was prompted by the explosion of alternative music on American radio in the late 1980s. During the first several years of the chart, it regularly featured music that did not receive commercial radio airplay anywhere but on a few modern rock and college rock radio stations. This included many electronic and post-punk artists. Gradually, as alternative rock became more mainstream, alternative and mainstream rock radio stations began playing many of the same songs. By the late 2000s, the genres became more fully differentiated with only limited crossover. The Alternative Airplay chart features more alternative rock, indie pop, and pop punk artists while the Mainstream Rock chart leans towards more guitar-tinged blues rock, hard rock, and heavy metal.
"Tubthumping" is a song by British rock band Chumbawamba, released in August 1997 by EMI, Universal and Republic Records as the first single from their eighth studio album, Tubthumper (1997). It is the band's most successful single, peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart. It topped the charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand and reached number six on the US Billboard Hot 100. At the 1998 Brit Awards, "Tubthumping" was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Single. It sold 880,000 copies in the UK.
"The Pretender" is a song by American rock band Foo Fighters. It was the first single from the group's 2007 album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. It is one of Foo Fighters' most successful songs; peaking at number 37 on the US Billboard Hot 100, only "Learn to Fly" and "Best of You" beat its position on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Use Somebody" is a song recorded by the American rock group Kings of Leon. It was the second single from the band's fourth studio album Only by the Night, and it entered American and British charts in December 8, 2008, three weeks after the album release. The single was augmented with a music video released a month later.
"Uprising" is a song by the English rock band Muse, released on 4 August 2009 as the lead single from their fifth studio album, The Resistance (2009). It was written by Matt Bellamy, produced by Muse and mixed by Spike Stent.
"Paradise" is a song by the British rock band Coldplay, released on 12 September 2011 as the second single from their fifth album, Mylo Xyloto. The song received its radio debut at 7:50 a.m. on The Chris Moyles Show on 12 September 2011. According to Coldplay's official website, the single was not initially chart eligible in the United Kingdom, because it was available on iTunes as an "instant grat" when pre-ordering the album. Following the release of the album on 30 October 2011, the song became chart eligible in the UK and entered the UK Singles Chart at number 14, before taking the number 1 spot on its tenth week, becoming the band's second number-one single after "Viva la Vida" in 2008.
"Somebody That I Used to Know" is a song written, produced and performed by Belgian-Australian musician and singer Gotye, featuring vocals from New Zealand singer Kimbra. The song samples Luiz Bonfá's 1967 instrumental song "Seville", with additional instrumentations of beats and a xylophone playing a melody based on "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep". The song was released in Australia and New Zealand through Eleven Music on 5 July 2011 as the second single from Gotye's third studio album, Making Mirrors (2011). It was later released by Universal Music in December 2011 in the United Kingdom, and 20 January 2012 in Ireland and the United States. "Somebody That I Used to Know" was written and recorded by Gotye at his parents' house on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia, and is lyrically related to the experiences he has had with romantic relationships.
The 2nd Law is the sixth studio album by English rock band Muse, first released on 28 September 2012 through Warner Bros. Records and the band's own Helium-3 imprint. Recording of the album took place in studios between London and Los Angeles County, beginning in October 2011 and ending in August 2012. The 2nd Law was Muse's second album to be solely self-produced, following The Resistance (2009), and features a plethora of additional musicians that performed brass, strings, and choir vocals.
"Madness" is a song by the English rock band Muse. It is the second track and second single from Muse's sixth studio album, The 2nd Law (2012), released as a download on 20 August 2012. It was written by singer and guitarist Matthew Bellamy and produced by the band. The music video premiered on 5 September 2012.
"Ho Hey" is a song by American folk rock band the Lumineers. It was released on June 4, 2012, as the lead single from their self-titled debut studio album (2012). The music video was released on March 11, 2012. "Ho Hey" reached number one for 18 non-consecutive weeks on the Billboard Rock Songs chart, as well as two weeks in the top spot on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart and eight weeks in the top spot on the Adult Pop Songs chart, and reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming their first single to do so, as well as their first top 5 single. It also reached number 2 on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart, behind "Locked Out of Heaven" by Bruno Mars. It is also their first single to be certified in the US.
"Sweater Weather" is a song by American alternative band the Neighbourhood. The song was written by group members Jesse Rutherford, Zach Abels and Jeremy Freedman, and was produced by Justyn Pilbrow. It serves as the lead single from their debut studio album, I Love You (2013). "Sweater Weather" reached number one on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart in June 2013, logging eleven non-consecutive weeks at the summit of the chart. Pentatonix covered the song for their 2018 album Christmas Is Here! with an accompanying music video. The song was also covered by Kurt Hugo Schneider, Alyson Stoner, and Max S in 2014. In mid-to-late 2020, the song experienced a resurgence in popularity due to it being used on the social media platform TikTok. The song gained over 5 million on-demand streams on Spotify within the month of November 2020. As of 26 November 2024, the song is the 8th most streamed on Spotify. In late 2023, for the 35th anniversary of Alternative Airplay, Billboard ranked the song as the 15th-most successful in the chart's history.
"Do I Wanna Know?" is a song by English rock band Arctic Monkeys, with lyrics written by frontman Alex Turner. It was released on 19 June 2013 by Domino Recording Company as the second single from their fifth studio album, AM (2013). It received a digital download release through iTunes as well as an accompanying music video. Before its release as a single, the song was premiered by the band live in May 2013 on the AM Tour, where it was often played as the opening number. It is an indie rock, psychedelic rock, stoner rock, blues rock and alternative rock song, and is built around a stomping guitar riff.
"Heaven Knows" is a song by American rock band the Pretty Reckless from their second studio album, Going to Hell (2014). It was written by Taylor Momsen and Ben Phillips, while Kato Khandwala handled the production. Released on November 19, 2013, as the album's second single, "Heaven Knows" is the band's first single to top a Billboard chart and their second single to top UK Rock Singles Chart, following their debut single "Make Me Wanna Die" (2010). The song later entered the Alternative Songs chart, peaking at number 20.
"Renegades" is a song by American rock band X Ambassadors. It was released as the second single from the band's debut studio album VHS on March 3, 2015. It peaked inside the top ten in ten countries, including France, Germany, Canada and Poland, where it reached number one. In the United States, the song peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified Platinum by the RIAA. The song was nominated for the "Top Rock Song" award at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards.
"Up All Night" is a song by the American musician Beck. It is the third single from his thirteenth studio album Colors.
"Wish I Knew You" is a song by American rock band the Revivalists. The song was written by the band and was produced by Ben Ellman. The song peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Adult Alternative Airplay chart, becoming the band's first chart-topper on the chart. The song also found success on a number of other rock radio formats, as well as adult contemporary stations. This song had also set a record in May 2017 for the most plays (spins) ever recorded during a week's time for any track on Alternative/Modern Rock radio since the inception of Mediabase tracking systems in 1988.
"Feel It Still" is a song by American rock band Portugal. The Man. The song draws on the melody from the Marvelettes' 1961 hit "Please Mr. Postman"; written by the band along with producers John Hill and Asa Taccone, "Feel It Still" also includes a credit for Motown songwriter Brian Holland. It serves as the second single and first radio single off their eighth studio album, Woodstock. The song reached number one on the US Alternative Songs, Mexican and Russian Tophit airplay chart. It was also their first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming a sleeper hit, as it took eight months to peak at number four in November 2017.
American rock band Sleeping with Sirens has released seven studio albums, one extended play, one live album, one compilation album, 33 singles, and 16 music videos. The band was formed in 2009 by former members of For All We Know and Paddock Park and released their debut album, With Ears to See and Eyes to Hear, a year later. Its second single, "If I'm James Dean, You're Audrey Hepburn", generated increased interest in the band and would later be certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. In 2013, the group achieved their first top-ten release when their third studio album, Feel, entered the Billboard 200 at number three.
