LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – APRIL 01: (L-R) Joe Seaward, Dave Bayley, Drew MacFarlane, and Edmund … [+]
It’s been more than half a year since Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves” conquered the Hot 100, but the song hasn’t vanished from the weekly ranking of the most-consumed tracks in the U.S. In fact, it’s still performing incredibly well, and now the tune has made history by managing to hold on once again.
According to Billboard, “Heat Waves” settles at No. 21 on this week’s Hot 100, which will be published in full tomorrow (October 18). The smash has now lived on the ranking for 91 weeks, which makes it the longest-charting title in the history of the Hot 100 by one frame.
The song has been smashing records and forcing the history books to be rewritten ever since it arrived on the Hot 100. “Heat Waves” needed a record-setting 59 weeks to reach the summit, a feat it finally managed this March. The cut would hold onto the throne for five consecutive frames before Harry Styles’ massive “As It Was” debuted in first place.
Last week, “Heat Waves” tied with The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” for the title of the longest-charting Hot 100 hit, but now the two popular cuts are no longer on the same level. After earning this distinction more than a year ago, “Blinding Lights” has been pushed down to second place on this one specific ranking.
As “Blinding Lights” is knocked from first to second place, several other massive singles have also been downgraded slightly on the list of the longest-charting Hot 100 songs. Now, the top five longest-running wins on the ranking are: “Heat Waves” (91 weeks and counting), “Blinding Lights” (90 weeks), Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive” (87 weeks), AWOLNATION’s “Sail” (79 weeks), and finally Dua Lipa’s “Levitating” (77 weeks).
Making Glass Animals’ success with “Heat Waves” even more impressive is a somewhat recently-implemented restriction Billboard calls the recurrent rule. It stipulates that once a track hits a full year on the Hot 100, it must remain above No. 25, otherwise, it’s removed and instead placed on the Hot 100 Recurrents chart. “Blinding Lights” is still present on that 25-spot list.
“Heat Waves” remains Glass Animals’ only Hot 100 hit. That’s a bit surprising, as now their sole placement on the most competitive ranking in the U.S. is the most successful ever, at least by one important metric. Somewhat shockingly, the immense popularity of “Heat Waves” didn’t buoy any subsequent singles onto the roster, as is common practice for up-and-coming acts. The tune powered the band’s third full-length Dreamland, which broke into the top 10 on the Billboard 200, helping the group reach the highest tier for the first time.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2022/10/17/theres-a-new-longest-charting-song-in-hot-100-history/