Alternative Airplay is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine 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.
"Iris" is a song by American alternative rock band Goo Goo Dolls. Originally written for the soundtrack of the 1998 film City of Angels, the song was later included on the band's sixth album, Dizzy Up the Girl, and released as a single on April 1, 1998.
"Name" is a song by American rock band Goo Goo Dolls. It was released in September 1995 as the third single from their fifth studio album, A Boy Named Goo (1995). "Name" became the band's first major hit, topping both the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and the Album Rock Tracks chart. It also reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100. In Canada, "Name" peaked at number two on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart and number one on the RPM Alternative 30.
"One Headlight" is a song by American rock band the Wallflowers. The song was written by lead singer Jakob Dylan, and produced by T Bone Burnett. It was released in January 1997 as the second single from the band's second studio album, Bringing Down the Horse (1996).
"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 early October 2008, three weeks after the album release. The single was augmented with a music video released a month later.
"Just Breathe" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. "Just Breathe" was released on October 31, 2009 as the second single from the band's ninth studio album, Backspacer (2009). The song was triggered by a chord from "Tuolumne", an instrumental from Eddie Vedder's soundtrack for the 2007 film Into the Wild.
"Animal" is the debut single by American rock band Neon Trees, released on March 16, 2010 from their debut studio album, Habits.
"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.
Judah & the Lion are an American folk band from Nashville, Tennessee, formed in 2011. Currently the band consists of Judah Akers and Brian Macdonald.
"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.
"Unsteady" is a song by American rock band X Ambassadors. It was originally part of the band's second EP The Reason and was later released as the third single from the band's debut studio album, VHS, on October 13, 2015. The song has a remix version entitled "Unsteady ", a single for the motion picture soundtrack for the film Me Before You.
"HandClap" is a song recorded by American indie pop band Fitz and the Tantrums. The song was released as the lead single from their self-titled album Fitz and the Tantrums on March 25, 2016, through Elektra Records. It is their highest-charting song on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 53. The song was also included in Playground Games's Forza Horizon 3 soundtrack and Just Dance Unlimited for Just Dance 2017. A rendition of the song was also performed on the South Korean-Japanese survival show Produce 48 in 2018. Since its release, the song has gained popularity from its usage during sporting events.
"She's Out of Her Mind" is a song recorded by American rock band Blink-182 for the group's seventh studio album, California (2016). The song was released as the second single from California on October 11, 2016 through BMG. Written by bassist Mark Hoppus, drummer Travis Barker, guitarist Matt Skiba, and producer John Feldmann, the song was re-written multiple times to make its chorus as catchy as possible. It contains lyrical references to the bands the Cure and Bauhaus. It was inspired by relationships the group had growing up with "crazy" girls.
"All We Ever Knew" is a song written and recorded by American folk band the Head and the Heart, released as the lead single for their third studio album Signs of Light by Warner Bros. Records. The song was written by the band and produced by Jay Joyce.
"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.
"Africa" is a cover version of Toto's popular 1982 song, as performed by American rock band Weezer. The cover was released as a single on May 29, 2018, and later included on Weezer's self-titled 12th studio album, nicknamed the Teal Album.
"Broken" is the debut single by the American indie pop band Lovelytheband, released exclusively to Billboard on April 13, 2017. The song was later included on the band's debut album, Finding It Hard to Smile (2018).
"Guiding Light" is a song by English rock band Mumford & Sons. It was released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Delta, on 20 September 2018. The song has peaked at number 40 on the UK Singles Chart.
