Shinedown Breaks Record for Most Mainstream Rock Songs No. 1s With ‘Atlas Falls’
The band notches its 16th leader, passing Three Days Grace.
A presence on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Songs airplay chart since the early 2000s, Shinedown breaks the record for the most No. 1s in the chart’s nearly 40-year history.
The Florida band’s latest single, “Atlas Falls,” rises 2-1 to become Shinedown’s 16th No. 1 on the ranking dated Aug. 22.
Fronted by singer Brent Smith, along with Eric Bass, Barry Kerch and Zach Myers, Shinedown takes over sole possession of the most No. 1s in the tally’s archives from Three Days Grace, which first charted less than four months after Shinedown’s maiden appearance; Shinedown arrived with “Fly From the Inside” on the April 19,2003, chart, while TDG followed with “(I Hate) Everything About You” on the list dated Aug. 2, 2003.
Three Days Grace had taken over the mark for the most No. 1s in September 2018, when “Infra-Red” became its 14th leader, passing Van Halen‘s haul.
Most No. 1s, Mainstream Rock Songs
16, Shinedown
15, Three Days Grace
13, Van Halen
11, Godsmack
10, Disturbed
10, Tom Petty (solo and with the Heartbreakers)
9, Five Finger Death Punch
9, Foo Fighters
9, Metallica
“Atlas Falls” was released in 2020 after initially being recorded during the sessions for the group’s 2012 album Amaryllis. Prior to its arrival on streaming DSPs, it debuted as part of a T-shirt bundle that raised funds for COVID-19 relief via Direct Relief.
“Myself, Barry, Zach and Eric are beyond humbled,” Smith tells Billboard. “‘Atlas Falls’ represents so many emotions, especially now. The success of this song would have never been achieved if it wasn’t for the audience, the fans, family, the people. A song that was written and recorded eight years ago found its voice in 2020 in the midst of a global pandemic as a symbol of optimism, courage and the human spirit.
“I want to personally thank our management In De Goot Entertainment, our label Atlantic Records, our incredible partners at radio and Direct Relief for giving us the inspiration to release the song. We share this No. 1 with the whole world, and we say thank you so very much. ‘Don’t give up now. There’s already so much at stake.'”
Adds drummer Kerch, who, like Smith, has been a member for all of the band’s Mainstream Rock Songs No. 1s, “Becoming a part of rock history is something we do not take for granted. With ‘Atlas Falls’ [hitting] No. 1, we say thank you not only to rock radio but to the fans all over the world. We are just getting started. On behalf of Shinedown, we are truly humbled. Onward and upward.”
Shinedown now boasts six No. 1s in a row, dating to four-week leader “How Did You Love” in March 2017.
Concurrently, “Atlas Falls” bullets at its No. 11 high on the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock Airplay chart, with 3.8 million audience impressions, up 7%, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.
Two years after the release of Shinedown’s most recent album, 2018’s Attention Attention, Smith and guitarist Myers will relaunch duo Smith & Myers this week with a new song release, “Not Mad Enough,” plus a cover of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World,” on Aug. 21, followed by the pair’s first full-length album (after two acoustic EPs in 2014), due in October on Atlantic Records.