The Adult R&B Songs chart (formerly called Adult R&B Airplay) is an airplay chart that is published weekly by Billboard magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on urban adult contemporary radio stations, whose playlist mostly include contemporary R&B and traditional R&B tracks. Nielsen Audio sometimes refers to the format as Urban adult contemporary radio. Billboard created the chart in September 1993, with the first number one being "Another Sad Love Song" by Toni Braxton.
Chart criteria
There are thirty positions on this chart and it is solely based on radio airplay. 65 urban AC radio stations are electronically monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week by. Songs are ranked based on the number of plays that each song received during that week.
Songs receiving the greatest growth will receive a "bullet", although there are tracks that will 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 a song is tied for the most spins in the same week, the one with the biggest increase that previous week will rank higher, but if both songs show the same amount of spins regardless of detection the song that is being played at more stations is ranked higher. Songs that fall below the top 15 and have been on the chart after 20 weeks are removed.
Artist achievements
Most number-ones
Number of Singles |
Artist | Source |
---|---|---|
14 | Alicia Keys | |
11 | Toni Braxton | |
10 | Charlie Wilson | |
9 | Mary J. Blige | |
Maxwell | ||
Tank | ||
Usher | ||
8 | Bruno Mars | |
H.E.R | ||
Kem | ||
7 | Babyface | |
R. Kelly | ||
6 | Brian McKnight | |
Luther Vandross | ||
Robin Thicke | ||
Whitney Houston | ||
5 | Anita Baker | |
Boyz II Men | ||
Chris Brown |
Songs with most total weeks in the top ten
Weeks | Song | Artist | Years | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|
63 | "Think About You" | Luther Vandross | 2004–05 | |
62 | "Love Calls" | Kem | 2003–04 | |
"Lifetime" | Maxwell | 2001–02 | ||
53 | "Can't Let Go" | Anthony Hamilton | 2006–07 | |
50 | "Find Myself in You" | Brian McKnight | 2006–07 | |
49 | "Shame" | Tyrese | 2015–16 | |
"Earned It" | The Weeknd | 2015–16 | ||
"Adorn" | Miguel | 2012–13 | ||
46 | "When We" | Tank | 2017–18 | |
"That's What I Like" | Bruno Mars | 2017–18 |
Artist to collect number one singles in three or more consecutive decades
Artist | Decades | Source |
---|---|---|
Toni Braxton | 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s |
|
Mary J. Blige | 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s |
|
Maxwell | 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s |
|
Michael Jackson | 1990s, 2000s, 2010s |
|
R. Kelly | 1990s, 2000s, 2010s |
|
Anita Baker | 1990s, 2000s, 2010s |
|
Alicia Keys | 2000s, 2010s, 2020s | |
Charlie Wilson | 2000s, 2010s, 2020s | |
Kem | 2000s, 2010s, 2020s | |
Tank | 2000s, 2010s, 2020s | |
Usher | 2000s, 2010s, 2020s |
See also
References
- "Billboard Adult R&B Songs-September 18, 1993". Billboard. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
- "Billboard Charts Legend". Billboard. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
- "Alicia Keys". Billboard.
- "Toni Braxton". Billboard.
- "Charlie Wilson". Billboard.
- "Mary J. Blige". Billboard.
- "Maxwell". Billboard.
- "Tank". Billboard.
- "Usher". Billboard.
- "Bruno Mars". Billboard.
- "H.E.R." Billboard.
- "Kem". Billboard.
- "Babyface". Billboard.
- "R. Kelly". Billboard.
- "Brian McKnight". Billboard.
- "Luther Vandross". Billboard.
- "Robin Thicke". Billboard.
- "Whitney Houston". Billboard.
- "Anita Baker". Billboard.
- "Boyz II Men". Billboard.
- "Chris Brown". Billboard.
- ^ Anderson, Trevor (29 June 2018). "Drake Extends Record Top 10 Total on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart With 'I'm Upset'". billboard.com. Billboard Music. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- "Toni Braxton". Billboard.
- "Mary J. Blige". Billboard.
- "Maxwell". Billboard.
- "Michael Jackson". Billboard.
- "R. Kelly". Billboard.
- "Anita Baker". Billboard.
- "Alicia Keys". Billboard.
- "Charlie Wilson". Billboard.
- "Charlie Wilson Makes It Three Decades of No. 1s on Adult R&B Songs Chart". Billboard. 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
- "Kem". Billboard.
- "Tank". Billboard.
- "Usher". Billboard.
- "Usher's 'Don't Waste My Time' Reaches No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart". 10 June 2020.
External links
- Current BDS Adult R&B Songs chart (updated weekly)