Neon Trees’ “Everybody Talks” (Mercury/Island Def Jam Music Group) reaches the top 10 of Billboard’s Nielsen BDS-based Mainstream Top 40 radio airplay chart in its 19th week, rising 11-8. It concurrently holds at No. 2 on Adult Top 40 in its 22nd frame.

The climb on the former chart ties for the longest this year to the top bracket with Gavin DeGraw’s “Not Over You” and Demi Lovato’s “Give Your Heart a Break” (the latter song currently at No. 3).

What’s behind the three titles’ steady ascents to the Mainstream Top 40 top 10? Lovato is logging her first visit to the top 10, having not risen higher than No. 33 in her previous appearance as a lead act (with last year’s “Skyscraper”), so programmers were not necessarily inclined to fast-track a song up the tally by an artist unproven at the format.

In the cases of DeGraw and Neon Trees, however, each act had previously reached the top tier: Neon Trees sent their introductory hit “Animal” to No. 7 in 2010, while DeGraw led the list on his first try with “I Don’t Want to Be” in 2005 and returned to the top 10 with “In Love With a Girl” (No. 10) in 2008. “Not Over You” peaked at No. 9 in March.

Key to DeGraw and Neon Trees’s eventual top 10 placements this year are their pop/rock textures. As dance/pop continues to be the dominant style at top 40, rock-leaning tracks – “Talks” reached No. 7 on Alternative in April – help keep the top 40’s musical menu at its trademark varied best.

“When we initially started spinning ‘Talks,’ our intention was to balance out the abundance of Pitbull, Rihanna and Katy Perry product on the air,” WDJQ Canton, Ohio, PD John Stewart says. “Plus, the hook is massive.

“I’m loving the fact that top songs at alternative, from Gotye (“Somebody That I Used to Know”) and fun. (“We Are Young,” “Some Nights”) to even the Lumineers (“Ho Hey”) and Imagine Dragons (“It’s Time”), are crossing over to top 40. It’s good for the format.”

After conquering the top 10 on Alternative and Adult and Mainstream Top 40 with “Talks,” Neon Trees continue pushing toward the Billboard Hot 100’s top 10. Last week, the track jumped 17-14 in its 23rd week with the chart’s top Airplay Gainer award (66 million audience impressions, up 24%), lifting 13-12 on Hot 100 Airplay. On Hot Digital Songs, it rose 18-15 (90,000 downloads, up 21%, according to Nielsen SoundScan — “Talks” has sold 1.6 million downloads since its release.) On On-Demand Songs, the cut advanced 23-19 with 411K on-demand streams (up 8%), according to BDS.

All charts, including Mainstream Top 40 and the Hot 100, will be refreshed Thursday (Aug. 30) on [Billboard.biz].