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.
"Otherside" is a song by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was released as the third single from their seventh studio album, Californication (1999), and confronts the battles addicts have with their prior addictions. The track was released in New Zealand in December 1999 and was given an international release in January of the following year.
"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).
"Walkin' on the Sun" is a song by American rock band Smash Mouth from their first album, Fush Yu Mang (1997). Released as their debut single in June 1997, the song was Smash Mouth's first major single, reaching No. 1 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart. It was also a success abroad, peaking at No. 3 in Canada and Iceland, No. 5 in Italy and Spain, and No. 7 in Australia, where it is certified platinum for shipments exceeding 70,000 units.
"3AM" is the third single and the third track from American rock band Matchbox 20's debut album, Yourself or Someone Like You (1996). Written by Rob Thomas, Jay Stanley, John Leslie Goff, and Brian Yale, the song was inspired by Thomas dealing with his mother's cancer as a teenager. The song was officially serviced to US modern rock radio in October 1997 and was given a commercial release outside North America the following month.
"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.
"Uprising" is a song by the English rock band Muse. It was released on 4 August 2009 as the lead single from the band's fifth studio album, The Resistance (2009). The song was written by band member Matt Bellamy, produced by the band, and mixed by Spike Stent. "Uprising" peaked at number 37 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and peaked in the top 10 in seven countries. It was certified platinum in the United Kingdom, gold in four countries, platinum in three countries, and double-platinum in the United States, making it Muse's best-selling single.
Broken Bells is an American indie rock band composed of artist-producer Brian Burton and James Mercer, the lead vocalist and guitarist for the indie rock band The Shins. Broken Bells compose and create as a duo, but are joined by Dan Elkan and Jon Sortland when performing live. The previous live band included Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band sidemen Nate Walcott and Nik Freitas, and Jonathan Hischke and Dan Elkan, both ex-members of Hella. Following their 2010 self-titled debut album, the duo released an EP, Meyrin Fields, in 2011 and their second studio album, After the Disco, in 2014. In 2022 they released a third studio album titled "Into the Blue".
"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.
"Demons" is a song by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons. It was written by Alex da Kid, Ben McKee, Dan Reynolds, Wayne Sermon, Josh Mosser and produced by Alex da Kid. The song appears on their major-label debut extended play, Continued Silence, and also makes an appearance on their debut studio album, Night Visions, as the fourth track. "Demons" was solicited to American triple-A radio stations on January 28, 2013 and to modern rock stations two months later, on April 1, 2013. It serves as the album's overall fifth single and was released as the third single from Night Visions in the United States, later released to US contemporary hit radio stations on 17 September 2013 as an official single. The lyrics portray the protagonist warning the significant other of his or her flaws.
"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.
"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.
"Take It All Back" is a song written and recorded by American folk band Judah & the Lion, released as a single from their second studio album Folk Hop N' Roll. It was released by the band's label, Cletus the Van Records.
"Thunder" is a song by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons. It was released by Interscope Records and Kidinakorner on April 27, 2017, as the second single from their third studio album, Evolve (2017). Written by band members Dan Reynolds, Wayne Sermon, Ben McKee, Daniel Platzman, and its producers Alex Da Kid and Jayson DeZuzio, "Thunder" peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song became the band's fourth single in that country to reach the top ten after "Radioactive", "Demons" and "Believer". It also reached the top 10 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
Lovelytheband is an American indie pop band that formed in 2016 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The band consists of vocalist Mitchy Collins, guitarist Jordan Greenwald, and drummer Sam Price. The band is most known for their single "Broken" which charted on several US Billboard charts.
"High Hopes" is a song by American pop rock solo project Panic! at the Disco. The song was released through Fueled by Ramen and DCD2 Records on May 23, 2018, as the second single from the band's sixth studio album, Pray for the Wicked (2018). The song was written and produced by Jake Sinclair and Jonas Jeberg, and co-written by Brendon Urie, Jenny Owen Youngs, Lauren Pritchard, Sam Hollander, William Lobban-Bean, Taylor Parks, and Ilsey Juber, with additional production by Jonny Coffer. It was serviced to alternative radio on July 31, 2018, and impacted hot adult contemporary radio on August 27, 2018, and US pop radio the following day.
"Sober Up" is a song by American alternative pop band AJR, from their second studio album, The Click. Released as the album's third single, it features Rivers Cuomo, lead singer and frontman of American rock band Weezer, although certain radio stations instead play a version with band member Ryan singing Cuomo's verse. "Sober Up" became the first number one song for AJR on the Billboard Alternative Songs, when it peaked at number one on the chart in March 2018. Similarly, Cuomo had his first number one on the alternative Billboard chart as a solo artist.
