X Ambassadors‘ “Renegades” puts a halt to the long, storied run for Walk the Moon‘s “Shut Up and Dance” atop Billboard‘s Hot Rock Songs chart.
On the tally dated Oct. 17, “Renegades” rises 2-1, dethroning “Dance” from the top spot after a record 27-week reign. (Hot Rock Songs launched in June 2009.)
In addition to its Hot Rock Songs coronation, “Renegades” — which began its rise thanks to its synch in advertising for Jeep’s Renegade — reaches the all-format Radio Songs top 10 (13-10), up by 10 percent to 75 million audience impressions. The bump helps spur the song’s 27-18 lift on the Billboard Hot 100; by reaching the Hot 100’s top 20 in its 25th week, it completes the steadiest climb to the region in two years, since Imagine Dragons‘ “Demons” also took 25 weeks. Three weeks before “Demons” entered the Hot 100’s top 20, Awolnation‘s “Sail” set the mark with a (perhaps unbreakable) 55-week ascent to the top 20.
X Ambassadors, formed in Ithaca, N.Y., in 2009, peaked at No. 10 on Hot Rock Songs with their sole prior entry, “Jungle,” with Jamie N Commons, in July 2014. (That track also benefited at the time from an ad tie-in, a Beats Electronics spot created for the World Cup titled “The Game Before the Game.”)
“Renegades” is just the second new No. 1, and third overall, on Hot Rock Songs in 2015. Prior to X Ambassadors’ and Walk the Moon’s hits, Hozier‘s “Take Me to Church” wrapped its 23-week command in April after first hitting No. 1 in November 2014. By comparison, six songs ascended to the top of Hot Rock Songs in 2014. This year is identical so far to 2013, when only two titles also rose to No. 1: Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive” and Lorde‘s “Royals.”
“Shut Up and Dance” doesn’t just fall from the top rung on Hot Rock Songs — it drops to No. 3, thanks to the surge of Elle King‘s “Ex’s & Oh’s,” up 4-2 in its 30th week. The track leads Rock Digital Songs for a fourth week (56,000 downloads sold in the week ending Oct. 1, according to Nielsen Music) and reaches the Rock Streaming Songs top 10 (11-5; 2.7 million U.S. streams, up 33 percent). On the Hot 100, “Ex’s” excels 30-22, hitting a new high point, with top Digital Gainer honors.
