With a 62nd week on the Billboard Hot 100, the song becomes one of the survey's 10 longest-charting hits
As it tallies a 62nd week on the Billboard Hot 100 (ranking at No. 35), AWOLNATION's "Sail" becomes one of the 10 longest-charting singles dating to the list's 1958 inception.
The track's chart arc has been unique, with it having debuted on the Hot 100 back in September 2011. In an original 20-week run through early 2012, it rose as high as No. 82. At the time, it was its peak at alternative radio. Following exposure via user-generated viral videos and synchs in ads for BMW and the History Channel's drama "Vikings," the song maintained momentum. It re-entered the Hot 100 the week of Feb. 9, 2013, and has remained on since. It peaked at No. 17 on the Hot 100 the week of Oct. 12 (and No. 17 on the mainstream top 40-fueled Pop Songs radio airplay chart two weeks later). "Sail" is the first song in the Hot 100's history to peak after a year on the survey.
"I never actually expected people to hear the song at all," says Aaron Bruno, aka AWOLNATION, says of "Sail." "When I wrote it, I had thrown in the towel as far as anticipating any kind of commercial success." "Sail" has sold 4.1 million downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Still, says AWOLNATION manager Berko Pearce, "We knew that the song was powerful and that wherever it got played, people would react."
With "Sail" still having wind in its, well, sails, here's a look at the 10 longest-charting titles in the Hot 100's 55-year archives. It's one of two tracks in the elite club; Imagine Dragons have totaled 63 chart weeks so far with "Radioactive" (which ranks at No. 23 this week):
Weeks, Title, Artist, Peak, Pos., Year
76, "I'm Yours," Jason Mraz, No. 6, 2008
69, "How Do I Live," LeAnn Rimes, No. 2, 1997
68, "Party Rock Anthem," LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett & GoonRock, No. 1 (six weeks), 2011
65, "Rolling in the Deep," Adele, No. 1 (seven weeks), 2011
65, "You Were Meant for Me"/"Foolish Games," Jewel, No. 2, 1997
64, "Before He Cheats," Carrie Underwood, No. 8, 2007
63, "Radioactive," Imagine Dragons, No. 3, 2013*
62, "Sail," AWOLNATION, No. 17, 2013*
62, "Ho Hey," the Lumineers, No. 3, 2012
62, "You and Me," Lifehouse, No. 5, 2005
*Currently charting
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