Foo Fighters Enjoy A Special Comeback Thanks To An Unexpected No. 1 Hit

Sometimes when a musical act releases a new song, fans focus on just that one release. In other instances, attention paid to one cut generates interest in the band’s entire catalog.

This phenomenon has become much more pronounced in the streaming era, as it’s easier than ever for people to consume one artist’s music – any or all of it – with just a few clicks. Foo Fighters are the latest musical stars to see older works surge thanks to the arrival of an exciting new single.

Greatest Hits Returns to the Charts

In early July, Foo Fighters released “Today’s Song,” a somewhat surprising single that, so far, doesn’t have a home on any album. The track has been living on several Billboard charts for three weeks now, and its arrival and continued ascent across a number of rankings has brought the band’s Greatest Hits compilation back in a big way.

This week, Greatest Hits appears on three Billboard tallies after being absent from all of them just days ago. The singles-packed project reenters the Top Hard Rock Albums tally at No. 13, while also landing on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums roster at No. 48.

Foo Fighters return to the Billboard 200, albeit barely, as Greatest Hits breaks back in at No. 198. The compilation coincidentally sits one rung below another simply-titled Greatest Hits collection by Blink-182.

Foo Fighters’ set moved just under 8,800 equivalent units in the past tracking frame, according to Luminate. Almost all of those units came from streaming activity, as the project sold fewer than 400 copies.

Foo Fighters’ New Single’s Unlikely Impact

It’s worth mentioning that “Today’s Song” is not featured on Greatest Hits, so sales and streams of the track don’t directly benefit the compilation. Instead, all the excitement surrounding the brand new tune appears to be reminding American audiences just how much they love the band. In turn, large numbers of listeners are heading to streaming platforms to press play on the many smashes that made Foo Fighters chart-toppers in the first place, which pushes the album’s figure higher and higher.

Hundreds of Weeks on the Charts

Greatest Hits has already spent hundreds of weeks on each of the tallies it appears on this frame. While it has risen into the highest reaches of two genre-specific albums rankings — at one point dominating the Top Hard Rock Albums list — the collection never broke into the top 10 on the Billboard 200, instead peaking at No. 11.

Since the band released the set in 2009, Greatest Hits has fallen away from these charts and returned multiple times. It seems something as simple as dropping a new single can be enough to push it back onto various lists.

“Today’s Song” is an Airplay Winner

“Today’s Song” currently lives on half a dozen tallies. While it slips on two general consumption rankings, the Foo Fighters cut manages to climb on several others.

The single reaches No. 1 on the Rock & Alternative Airplay list, earning the band its twelfth leader. At the same time, it breaks into the top 10 on the Mainstream Rock Airplay roster, bolting from No. 24 to No. 10. The tune also reaches that region on the Alternative Airplay list, soaring to No. 6.

Foo Fighters debut “Today’s Song” at No. 32 on the Adult Alternative Airplay list, where the tune is just getting started.