AC/DC Charts A Shocking New No. 1 Hit In America

AC/DC earns a major Halloween-season breakthrough as “Highway to Hell” debuts at No. 1 on one Billboard chart, doubling the band’s number of leaders on the list. INDIO, CA – APRIL 17: Musician Angus Young of AC/DC performs onstage during day 1 of the 2015 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival (Weekend 2) at The Empire Polo Club on April 17, 2015 in Indio, California. (Photo by Karl Walter/Getty Images for Coachella)

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Every year in America, Christmas music seems to get bigger and bigger. For decades, there have been a handful of staples that return to prominence every season, but as time goes on, there seem to be more and more tunes connected to the holiday that become strong streamers and bestselling purchases.

The same can be said for a number of other holidays, as Americans love to celebrate with songs they love and that remind them of other good times. Halloween has become huge in the music industry, and these days, any track that has even the smallest creepy connotation or connection to all things dark and demonic has a shot at being included on playlists and purchased in large numbers thanks to the scariest day of the year.

AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” asserts itself as a Halloween song more than ever before, as the track becomes a huge hit across a number of Billboard charts and even manages to earn the Australian rock outfit another No. 1 in the United States.

“Highway to Hell” Debuts at No. 1 in America

AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” hits No. 1 on the Hot Hard Rock Songs chart this frame. The tune doesn’t just appear in first place, it debuts at the summit, finding space on Billboard’s list of the most consumed hard rock cuts throughout the nation for the very first time.

AC/DC’s Two No. 1 Hard Rock Hits

AC/DC instantly doubles the total number of champions it has collected on the Hot Hard Rock Songs chart throughout the years as “Highway to Hell” launches atop the roster. Back in December 2020, “Shot in the Dark” pushed to the summit less than two months after debuting. That tune went on to lead for half a dozen of the 28 frames it has thus far spent on the list.

How Many Top 10 Hits Has AC/DC Charted?

In the more than half-decade since AC/DC first appeared on the Hot Hard Rock Songs chart, seven tracks by the band have found space on the 25-spot roster. Half of those cuts — four in total — have cracked the top 10. In addition to both “Shot in the Dark” and “Highway to Hell,” “Realize” and “Demon Fire” – which could also theoretically become a Halloween favorite – peaked at Nos. 4 and 9, respectively.

“Highway to Hell” Reaches Multiple New Chart Peaks

As “Highway to Hell” opens at No. 1 on the Hot Hard Rock Songs chart, the same cut reappears on four additional Billboard tallies. The AC/DC blockbuster reaches never-before-seen high points on both the Hot Rock Songs and Hot Rock & Alternative Songs lists, coming in at Nos. 14 and 17, respectively.

“Highway to Hell” doesn’t perform nearly as well on either of Billboard’s worldwide rosters, as it sits at No. 166 on the Billboard Global 200 and No. 187 on Billboard Global Excl. U.S. Those are not newly-set peaks for the tune, but the fact that the decades-old release is once again a planet-spanning success is impressive.

“Highway to Hell” Finds Its Way Back to the Top 10

AC/DC rocks its way back into the top 10 on the Hard Rock Streaming Songs chart as “Highway to Hell” improves from No. 18 to No. 9. In the 185 weeks that the cut has spent as one of the top-performing hard rock compositions on all streaming platforms, it has climbed all the way to No. 1 in the past.

“Thunderstruck” Surges as AC/DC Dominates

“Highway to Hell” has a timely reason for its success, while AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” is simply a constant hit. That tune joins “Highway to Hell” on the Hard Rock Streaming Songs ranking and fails to return to the summit by just one space. The same single also lives on both the Rock Digital Song Sales and Hard Rock Digital Song Sales charts, as it’s a top performer when it comes to streams and pure purchases. “Thunderstruck” surges on both global rosters and even hits a new peak of No. 129 — up 40 spaces — on the BillboardGlobal Excl. U.S. ranking.

AC/DC Scores Three Hits at Once

AC/DC is one of the most successful acts on the Hard Rock Streaming Songs chart at the moment, as the group claims three spaces on the list at once. “You Shook Me All Night Long” is a non-mover at No. 25, and all the interest in the band’s catalog helps keep Back in Black on the Top Hard Rock Albums list as well.