Welcome to the new age … where Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive” is no longer on the Billboard Hot 100. The song drops off the chart after a record-setting 87 weeks on the survey.
Until this year, Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” had held the Hot 100’s longevity mark since tallying 76 weeks in 2008-09. Mraz’s song now ranks third, after “Radioactive” and AWOLNATION’s “Sail,” which charted for 79 weeks before falling off after the March 22 Hot 100.
(“Radioactive” ranked at No. 49 in its last week on the Hot 100, dated May 10. Descending songs older than 20 weeks are removed once falling below No. 50; as the song would’ve
ranked below No. 50 on the current Hot 100, dated May 17, it instead departs the tally.)
“It’s unbelievable,” Imagine Dragons lead singer Dan Reynolds told Billboard when “Radioactive” broke the record for the most charted weeks on the Hot 100 earlier this year. “There are few things more satisfying as an artist than seeing your music have longevity. But, we could never have expected to see one of our songs have legs like this.
“People seem to be connecting to it in personal ways, which is exactly what we hoped for. We’ve been out on the road and focused on touring for a long time. Somewhere along the way, we started to realize the song was taking on a life of its own.”
Upon the end of the record-breaking chart history of “Radioactive,” here’s an updated look at the 10 longest-charting entries in the Hot 100’s 55-year history:
Weeks, Title, Artist, Peak, Pos./Year
87, “Radioactive,” Imagine Dragons, No. 3, 2013
79, “Sail,” AWOLNATION, No. 17, 2013
76, “I’m Yours,” Jason Mraz, No. 6, 2008
69, “How Do I Live,” LeAnn Rimes, No. 2, 1997
68, “Party Rock Anthem,” LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett & GoonRock, No. 1, 2011
65, “Rolling in the Deep,” Adele, No. 1, 2011
65, “You Were Meant for Me”/”Foolish Games,” Jewel, No. 2, 1997
64, “Before He Cheats,” Carrie Underwood, No. 8, 2007
62, “Ho Hey,” the Lumineers, No. 3, 2012
62, “You and Me,” Lifehouse, No. 5, 2005
“Radioactive” debuted on the Hot 100 at No. 93 the week of Aug. 18, 2012. After it dropped to No. 98 the following frame, it returned on Sept. 29, 2012, and remained on the chart through last week. It rose to its No. 3 peak the week of Aug. 3, 2013.
Behind the song’s unprecedented Hot 100 residency? In large part, it crossed from rock to adult to pop radio formats over months. It topped Alternative Songs for 13 weeks beginning in March 2013. It segued to a No. 2 peak on Adult Pop Songs in August and also reached No. 2 on Pop Songs in December.
Imagine Dragons are aware of how the track made its way to Billboard chart history. “It helps that the song blurs genre lines,” Reynolds said. “It crept its way into more and more radio formats and kept sneaking up on people.
“That slow growth meant more time on the charts.”
