Pop Airplay
Pop Airplay is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the United States. The rankings are based on radio airplay detections as measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, a subsidiary of the United States' leading marketing research company. Consumer researchers, Nielsen Audio, refers to the format as contemporary hit radio.
The current number-one song on the chart is "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean.
History
The chart debuted in Billboard magazine in its issued date October 3, 1992, with the introduction of two Top 40 airplay charts, Mainstream and Rhythm-Crossover. Both Top 40 charts measured "actual monitored airplay" from data compiled by Broadcast Data Systems. The Top 40/Mainstream chart was compiled from airplay on radio stations playing a wide variety of music, while the Top 40/Rhythm-Crossover chart was made up from airplay on stations playing more dance and R&B music. Both charts were "born of then-new BDS electronic monitoring technology" as a more objective and precise way of measuring airplay on radio stations. This data was also used as the airplay component for Hot 100 tabulations. American Top 40 with Shadoe Stevens used this chart for their show from January 1993 to January 1995.Top 40/Mainstream was published in the print edition of Billboard from its debut in October 1992 through May 1995, when both Top 40 charts were moved exclusively to Airplay Monitor, a secondary chart publication by Billboard. They returned to the print edition in the August 2, 2003, issue. The first number-one song on the chart was "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men.
Chart criteria
There are forty positions on this chart. Songs are ranked based on its total number of spins per week. This is calculated by electronically monitoring Mainstream Top 40 radio stations across the U.S. 24 hours a day, seven days a week by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems.Songs receiving the greatest growth receive a "bullet", although there are tracks that also get bullets if the loss in detections doesn't exceed the percentage of downtime from a monitored station. "Airpower" awards are issued to songs that appear on the top 20 of both the airplay and audience chart for the first time, while the "greatest gainer" award is given to song with the largest increase in detections. A song with six or more spins in its first week is awarded an "airplay add". If two songs are tied in spins in the same week, the one with the biggest increase that week ranks higher.
Since the introduction of the chart until 2005, songs below No. 20 were moved to recurrent after 26 weeks on the chart. Beginning the chart week of December 3, 2005, songs below No. 20 were moved to recurrent after 20 weeks on the chart. Since the chart dated December 4, 2010, songs below No. 15 are moved to recurrent after 20 weeks on the chart.
Whereas the Pop Airplay and Pop 100 Airplay charts both measured the airplay of songs played on Mainstream stations playing pop-oriented music, the Pop 100 Airplay measured airplay based on statistical impressions, while the Top 40 Mainstream chart used the number of total detections.
Source:
All-time achievements
In 2012, for the 20th anniversary of the chart, Billboard compiled a ranking of the 100 best-performing songs on the chart over the 20 years, along with the best-performing artists. "Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls ranked as the #1 song on that list. In 2017, Billboard revised the rankings, including the methodologies for how they are calculated. "Another Night" by Real McCoy was the new #1 song, while the previous #1 song, "Iris", dropped to #8. Rihanna ranked as the top artist on both all-time charts. Shown below are the top 10 songs and the top 10 artists from the most recent chart.Top 10 Pop Songs of all time (1992–2017)
Source:Top 10 Pop Songs artists of all time (1992–2017)
Source:Song records
Most weeks at number one
| Number of weeks | Artist | Song | Year | Source |
| 16 | Alex Warren | "Ordinary" | 2025 | |
| 14 | Ace of Base | "The Sign" | 1994 | |
| 13 | The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber | "Stay" | 2021 | |
| 11 | Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men | "One Sweet Day" | 1995-96 | |
| 11 | Donna Lewis | "I Love You Always Forever" | 1996 | |
| 11 | Natalie Imbruglia | "Torn" | 1998 | |
| 11 | Nelly featuring Tim McGraw | "Over and Over" | 2004-05 | |
| 11 | The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey | "Closer" | 2016 | |
| 10 | Dionne Farris | "I Know" | 1995 | |
| 10 | No Doubt | "Don't Speak" | 1996-97 | |
| 10 | Céline Dion | "My Heart Will Go On" | 1998 | |
| 10 | 'N Sync | "Bye Bye Bye" | 2000 | |
| 10 | Nickelback | "How You Remind Me" | 2001-02 | |
| 10 | Mariah Carey | "We Belong Together" | 2005 | |
| 10 | Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell | "Blurred Lines" | 2013 | |
| 10 | Post Malone | "Circles" | 2019-20 | |
| 10 | Miley Cyrus | "Flowers" | 2023 | |
| 10 | Taylor Swift | "Cruel Summer" | 2023 |
Most weeks in the top 10
| Number of weeks | Artist | Song | Year | Source |
| 45 | Rema and Selena Gomez | "Calm Down" | 2023-24 | |
| 41 | Harry Styles | "As It Was" | 2022-23 | |
| 41 | Benson Boone | "Beautiful Things" | 2024-25 | |
| 40 | The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber | "Stay" | 2021-22 | |
| 40 | Hozier | "Too Sweet" | 2024-25 | |
| 40 | Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars | "Die with a Smile" | 2024-25 | |
| 39 | The Weeknd | "Blinding Lights" | 2020 | |
| 36 | Sabrina Carpenter | "Espresso" | 2024-25 | |
| 36 | Shaboozey | "A Bar Song " | 2024-25 | |
| 36 | Billie Eilish | "Birds of a Feather" | 2024-25 | |
| 35 | Post Malone | "Circles" | 2019-20 |
Most weeks on the chart
| Number of weeks | Artist | Song | Year* | Source |
| 71 | Rema and Selena Gomez | "Calm Down" | 2024 | |
| 63 | Harry Styles | "As It Was" | 2023 | |
| 60 | The Weeknd | "Blinding Lights" | 2021 | |
| 60 | Benson Boone | "Beautiful Things" | 2025 | |
| 54 | Glass Animals | "Heat Waves" | 2022 | |
| 51 | Hozier | "Too Sweet" | 2025 | |
| 50 | The Weeknd | "Die for You" | 2023 | |
| 50 | Billie Eilish | "Birds of a Feather" | 2025 | |
| 50 | Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars | "Die with a Smile" | 2025 | |
| 50 | Chappell Roan | "Pink Pony Club" | 2025 |
Prior to 2018, the song with the most weeks on the chart was "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain, which spent 41 weeks on the chart in 1998. This record run held for almost two decades, but has been surpassed many times since then. Radio stations having more data points, such as streaming, to increase their accuracy at measuring what radio listeners want to hear, have made longer runs more commonplace.
File: Taylor Swift at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards.png |thumb|175px|Taylor Swift has the highest debut at number eight with "The Fate of Ophelia".
Highest debut
| Debut Position | Artist | Song | Debut Date | Source |
| No. 8 | Taylor Swift | "The Fate of Ophelia" | October 18, 2025 | |
| No. 12 | Mariah Carey | "Dreamlover" | August 14, 1993 | |
| No. 12 | Taylor Swift | "Shake It Off" | September 6, 2014 | |
| No. 13 | Taylor Swift featuring Kendrick Lamar | "Bad Blood" | June 6, 2015 | |
| No. 13 | Taylor Swift featuring Post Malone | "Fortnight" | May 4, 2024 | |
| No. 14 | Lady Gaga | "Born This Way" | February 26, 2011 | |
| No. 14 | Justin Timberlake featuring Jay-Z | "Suit & Tie" | February 2, 2013 | |
| No. 16 | Madonna | "Frozen" | March 7, 1998 | |
| No. 16 | Britney Spears | "Hold It Against Me" | January 29, 2011 | |
| No. 16 | Miley Cyrus | "Flowers" | January 28, 2023 | |
| No. 16 | NSYNC | "Better Place" | October 14, 2023 | |
| No. 16 | Dua Lipa | "Houdini" | November 25, 2023 |