The song reigns in its 27th week, breaking Kings of Leon’s record.
Bakar’s “Hell N Back,” which in December arrived as the British singer-songwriter’s first Billboard chart entry, becomes his first No. 1, rising to the top of the Adult Alternative Songs airplay chart dated July 4.
The song, which debuted on the tally dated Dec. 28, 2019, reaches No. 1 in its 27th week on the list. It completes the longest rise to the top in the chart’s 24-year history, passing Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody,” which hit No. 1 in its 25th frame in August 2009.
In the 2010s, The Head and the Heart’s “Lost in My Mind” showed the most persistence, reaching No. 1 in its 24th week in October 2011.
Most Weeks to No. 1, Adult Alternative Songs
27, “Hell N Back,” Bakar (July 4, 2020)
25, “Use Somebody,” Kings of Leon (Aug. 8, 2009)
24, “Lost in My Mind,” The Head and the Heart (Oct. 1, 2011)
22, “Rock & Roll,” Eric Hutchinson (Dec. 27, 2008)
21, “Wish I Knew You,” The Revivalists (Oct. 1, 2016)
21, “Hero,” Family of the Year (April 20, 2013)
20, “Pretty Pimpin,” Kurt Vile (March 12, 2016)
20, “Kandi,” One Eskimo (May 8, 2010)
All the songs above marked each artist’s first or second Adult Alternative Songs chart hit, as those acts steadily solidified their standings with radio programmers and listeners.
Bakar is the fourth act in a row to land a first No. 1 on Adult Alternative Songs, following Major Lazer, Tame Impala and The Strokes, and the fifth total in 2020, along with Black Pumas. (Nathaniel Rateliff also scored his first solo No. 1, following three with his band The Night Sweats.) In 2019, Caamp, Maggie Rogers, Vampire Weekend and Brittany Howard (her first solo leader apart from Alabama Shakes) all hit No. 1 for the first time. Three acts notched first No. 1s in 2018, after eight did so in 2017.
Concurrently, “Hell N Back” breaks into the top 20 of the Alternative Airplay chart, jumping 21-18. On the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock Airplay tally, “Hell N Back” rises 23-19 with 2.2 million audience impressions, up 27%, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.
