The Decade in Charts: Mark & Bruno’s ‘Uptown Funk!’ Rules Hot 100 & Adele’s ’21’ Tops Billboard 200
Like music consumption, led by streaming's surge, Billboard surveys evolved in the 2010s.
From “Rolling in the Deep” to “Shallow,” and “TiK ToK” to TikTok, Billboard‘s charts in the 2010s reflected not only memorable musical moments, but the industry’s ever-evolving technological landscape.
When the decade began, the Billboard 200 albums chart was based purely on weekly sales. In December 2014, as retail waned and streaming swelled, the survey switched to a hybrid methodology ranking multi-metric consumption, as measured in equivalent album units (with units comprising traditional album sales, track equivalent albums and streaming equivalent albums). In early 2017, most genre album charts followed suit.
Similarly, in 2010, the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart largely blended download sales and radio airplay. Streaming joined the list’s data feed on a widespread level in March 2012, and by late 2015 it became, on average, the Hot 100’s (and corresponding hybrid genre song charts’) dominant metric.
Throughout such change, Billboard‘s charts continued, as they have for decades, to rank the most popular music in the United States.
Now, at the decade’s end, we’ve compiled 30 charts encompassing the 2010s, including those covering all-genre streaming, radio airplay and song sales; all-genre social and touring activity; and the top songs and albums in country, rock, R&B/hip-hop, Latin, Christian, gospel and dance/electronic. (See below for decade-end chart methodologies.)
HOT 100: ‘FUNK’ TOPS ALL SOUNDS
Mark Ronson‘s “Uptown Funk!,” featuring Bruno Mars, reigns as the No. 1 Hot 100 hit of the 2010s, having commanded the weekly chart for 14 weeks in 2015. The song brought Ronson to the Hot 100 for the first time as a credited artist, after he’d produced “Rehab,” a No. 9 hit in 2007, for Amy Winehouse, and co-produced “Locked Out of Heaven,” Mars’ six-week leader in 2012-13. Mars, meanwhile, added his sixth of seven Hot 100 leaders to date with “Funk,” and his longest-ruling.
LMFAO‘s “Party Rock Anthem,” featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock, claims the Hot 100’s No. 2 decade-end spot, after it led for six weeks in 2011 (amid a 68-week chart run overall, the fifth-longest ever), while Ed Sheeran wraps the 2010s at No. 3 with “Shape of You,” a 12-week leader in 2017.
The Chainsmokers‘ “Closer,” featuring Halsey, is the No. 4 Hot 100 song of the 2010s, following its 12-week domination in 2016, while Maroon 5‘s “Girls Like You,” featuring Cardi B, No. 5 for the decade, after it led for seven weeks in 2018 (and amassed a record-tying 33 weeks in the top 10).
As the Hot 100 mixes streaming, airplay and sales data, PSY‘s 2012 K-pop smash “Gangnam Style” is the No. 1 Streaming Songs hit of the 2010s, while Sheeran rules the decade-end Radio Songs and Digital Song Sales surveys with different hits: “Shape of You” on the former and “Perfect,” aided during its run by a remix with Beyoncé, atop the latter.
BILLBOARD 200: ’21’ IS 1
Adele‘s 21 crowns the Billboard 200’s decade-end retrospective, after her 2011 album topped the chart for a female-record 24 weeks. The set spun off three Hot 100 No. 1s, including “Rolling in the Deep,” the decade’s No. 10 song, and “Someone Like You,” at No. 38.
While Taylor Swift began the 2010s as a country genre cornerstone, her 2014 set 1989 marked her “first documented, official pop album,” as she described it at the time. The set ranks at No. 2 for the decade, following its 11-week Billboard 200 reign, while two of its three weekly Hot 100 No. 1s infuse the decade-end tally: “Shake It Off,” at No. 34, and “Blank Space,” at No. 65.
Ed Sheeran’s ÷ (Divide) places as the decade’s No. 3 Billboard 200 album, after it paced the chart for two weeks in 2017 (while spending nearly its first year-and-a-half in the top 40). Two of its songs topped the Hot 100 and rank prominently on the list’s decade-end recap: In addition to “Shape of You” at No. 3, “Perfect” wraps at No. 15.
The Frozen soundtrack ranks at No. 4 on the decade-end Billboard 200. The set spent 13 weeks at No. 1 in 2014, the most time atop the chart for a soundtrack since Titanic‘s 16-week reign in 1998.
Rounding out the Billboard 200’s top five for the 2010s, Post Malone‘s Beerbongs & Bentleys ranks at No. 5, having ruled for three weeks in 2018; to date, it has yet to leave the top 20, after its first 80 weeks. The set’s “Rockstar,” featuring 21 Savage, became each artist’s first Hot 100 No. 1 and ends the decade as the chart’s No. 23 biggest hit.
TOP ARTISTS: STAY TUNED!
For overall Top Artists and genre-specific artist recaps, acts ranked Nos. 11 through 50 on each are viewable in our decade-end charts menu, while those at Nos. 10 through 6 will be revealed monthly leading up to the Billboard Music Awards, airing live on NBC on April 29, 2020, when No. 1 for each category will be announced from among five remaining finalists.
How We Charted the Decade: Billboard‘s decade-end recaps encompass chart performance from Dec. 5, 2009, through Sept. 28, 2019 (except for those for the Social 50, which began on Dec. 11, 2010, and Hot Dance/Electronic Songs and Streaming Songs, each of which launched on Jan. 26, 2013).
On decade-end Hot Songs and Top Albums recaps, titles are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 on weekly charts earning the greatest value and weeks at lower positions earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology and title turnover rates over the decade, certain periods were weighted differently.
Top Artists recaps are ranked based on a formula blending performance, as outlined above, of all their chart entries. Specifically, the overall Top Artists category ranks the best-performing artists based on activity on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart and the Billboard 200 albums tally, as well as social media data and touring revenue from Billboard Boxscore, while genre-focused Top Artists rankings blend acts’ decade-spanning performance on each genre’s main song and album charts (such as, for country, Hot Country Songs and Top Country Albums).
Billboard‘s decade-end touring charts are based on Billboard Boxscore data for performances between Dec. 1, 2009, and Sept. 30, 2019.
This article originally appeared the Nov. 16 issue of Billboard.
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