Decade in Dance/Electronic Charts: Gaga’s ‘Fame’ Still Going Strong, Marshmello & Bastille Reign With ‘Happier’
Lady Gaga's 2008 set outperformed all others from the 2010s in the genre.
Lady Gaga lands the No. 1 dance/electronic album of the 2010s with The Fame, while the genre’s No. 1 song of the decade is “Happier” by Marshmello and Bastille.
As closing time for the 2010s nears, Billboard has compiled 30 charts encompassing the decade, including the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, Billboard 200 and those covering dance/electronic; all-genre streaming, radio airplay and song sales; all-genre social and touring activity; and the top songs and albums in country, rock, Latin, Christian and gospel. (See below for decade-end chart methodologies.)
STILL GOING GAGA
Although released in late 2008, The Fame logged 62 of its record-setting 108 total weeks at No. 1 on the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart this decade. Dating to the survey’s inception in 2001, no set has spent more weeks at the summit, and Fame has ruled for more than twice the total of its runner-up, The Chainsmokers‘ Memories… Do Not Open (46 weeks, 2017-18).
Plus, while most of The Fame‘s No. 1 weeks this decade were in 2010 and 2011, the album twice returned to the top in more recent years. It added a week at No. 1 in February 2017, following Gaga’s headlining performance at the Super Bowl LI halftime show in Houston, and another in November 2018, shortly after the release of the box office hit A Star Is Born, starring her and Bradley Cooper.
The Fame is also the all-time leader for the most weeks spent in the top 10 on Top Dance/Electronic Albums, 293, of which 238 were notched this decade. The album especially benefits from its first four tracks, all (big, not little) monster hits that continue to bolster the set’s consumption, week after week, year after year: “Just Dance,” featuring Colby O’Donis, “Poker Face,” “Lovegame” and “Paparazzi.”
The No. 2 Top Dance/Electronic Albums title of the decade is Daft Punk‘s Random Access Memories. The LP ruled for 21 weeks in 2013-14 and generated, among other hits, the crossover smash “Get Lucky,” featuring Pharrell Williams, which enjoyed 13 lucky weeks at No. 1 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs.
David Guetta gets the genre’s No. 3 album of the decade with Nothing But the Beat. The set led in its debut frame in 2011 and has hung in for the long term, tallying the second-most weeks ever on the chart, 251 to date (second only to The Fame‘s 295).
Finishing the decade at No. 4 is ODESZA‘s In Return, which started in pole position in September 2014, and, true to its title, returned to the top for two weeks each in 2015 and 2016. It also spawned the act’s defining hit, “Say My Name,” featuring Zyra.
The Chainsmokers earn the No. 5 title on Top Dance/Electronic Albums for the decade with EP Collage. The duo’s first of four No. 1s opened at the top in November 2016 and totaled 14 weeks at the summit through April 2017. Collage contains two of the act’s six No. 1s on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs: “Don’t Let Me Down,” featuring Daya, and “Closer,” featuring Halsey.
FEELING EVEN ‘HAPPIER’
The No. 1 hit of the 2010s on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs is “Happier,” by Marshmello and Bastille. The song from the DJ and alt band hit No. 1 in September 2018 and held the top spot ever since, for a record 60 weeks and counting (through the latest list, dated Nov. 16).
Collabs are the name of the game in the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs top five for the decade (including with artists from other genres), as all entries in the region sport notable team-ups. The Chainsmokers and Coldplay‘s “Something Just Like This” finishes at No. 2, thanks to 25 weeks at No. 1 in 2017, along with a record 79 weeks in the top 10.
Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey follow with “The Middle,” the genre’s No. 3 song of the decade, after it stockpiled 33 weeks at No. 1 in 2018. The fourth-biggest song belongs to Avicii with “Wake Me Up!,” as the late superstar DJ’s song, with uncredited vocals from Aloe Blacc, spent 26 weeks at No. 1 in 2013-14. Major Lazer and DJ Snake rank at No. 5 for the decade with “Lean On,” featuring MO, as the track ruled for 23 weeks in 2015-16.
TOP ARTISTS: STAY TUNED!
For overall Top Artists and genre-specific artist recaps, including Top Dance/Electronic Artists, 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 the decade-end Hot Dance/Electronic Songs and Top Dance/Electronic 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 dance/electronic, Hot Dance/Electronic Songs and Top Dance/Electronic Albums).
Billboard‘s decade-end touring charts are based on Billboard Boxscore data for performances between Dec. 1, 2009, and Sept. 30, 2019.
More From Pro
