Nine Inch Nails Launches A Comeback With A New Top 10 Hit

Nine Inch Nails has become something of a side project for Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, the only two current official members of the industrial rock group. Reznor rose to stardom with the outfit in the ’90s, pioneering new sounds and showing millions how to express their angst through music, but lately, Ross and Reznor have been more focused on scoring TV and film, where they’ve been hugely successful, winning major honors such as Emmys, Grammys, and Academy Awards.

The two reformed Nine Inch Nails to tour and compose the score for Tron: Ares, the upcoming new film in the Tron universe. The first single from that project, which was released only a few weeks before the movie itself hits theaters, brings the band back to the top 10 on a Billboard chart.

“As Alive As You Need Me to Be” Arrives

On July 17, Nine Inch Nails released “As Alive As You Need Me to Be,” the first single from the Tron: Ares soundtrack. Anticipation for new music from the now-duo was extremely high, as it had been announced some time ago that the group was going to release music for the film under that moniker.

Fans of Nine Inch Nails — as well as both Reznor and Ross — didn’t disappoint. The single opens at No. 10 on the Dance Digital Song Sales chart.

Nine Inch Nails Earns a New Top 10 Hit

Nine Inch Nails has only ever reached Billboard’s list of the bestselling dance tracks in the United States twice, and both cuts have spent time inside the top 10. In December 2010, “Closer” debuted, but it wasn’t until June 2021 — 11 years later — that it reached its all-time peak of No. 5. That cut has spent just over a year on the list. This week, “As Alive As You Need Me to Be” joins it inside the top 10, but just barely.

Nine Inch Nails Joins Blackpink and Madonna

Three tracks debut on the Dance Digital Song Sales chart this week, and Nine Inch Nails earns the lowest launch of the bunch. Blackpink’s “Jump” starts at No. 1, while Madonna’s “Gone Gone Gone (Original Demo Version)” opens at No. 8.

A Single Years in the Making

“As Alive As You Need Me to Be” is Nine Inch Nails’ first single of its own since 2018, when “God Break Down the Door” was pushed from the album Bad Witch. The group has released music since then, including a pair of albums and a collaboration with the American industrial outfit Health, but this Tron: Ares single is easily the most exciting bit of news in the Nine Inch Nails world in some time.