Taylor Swift extends Pop Airplay record with 16th No. 1
Taylor Swift has earned her record-extending 16th No. 1 on Billboard's Pop Airplay chart, as "I Knew It, I Knew You" reached the top of the chart dated Sept. 26. Pop Airplay ranks songs by plays on mainstream pop radio stations in the United States. Billboard reported the new leader on Sept. 18.
No one else is close. Bruno Mars ranks second for the most Pop Airplay No. 1s with 13, followed by Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Maroon 5, Katy Perry and Rihanna with 11 each. The chart began in October 1992.
Swift has also spent a record 52 weeks at No. 1 on Pop Airplay across all of her leaders. She passed Perry's previous mark of 47 weeks at the top with "The Fate of Ophelia."
"I Knew It, I Knew You" is from Toy Story 5 and was inspired by Jessie, the film's cowgirl character. Swift's official website presents the release as a Disney-Pixar x Taylor Swift collaboration built around the original song.
The song launched in June as Swift's 15th No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, the main US singles chart combining streams, sales and radio play. It is the third Hot 100 No. 1 ever from an animated Disney film and the first from a Pixar film. It also debuted at No. 1 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart dated June 12, according to Billboard's report on the British chart.
What makes this stand out is how widely the same recording has travelled across radio formats. "I Knew It, I Knew You" became Swift's 10th No. 1 on Hot Country Songs, which blends streaming, sales and airplay for country music, and her ninth No. 1 on Radio Songs, which measures airplay across all formats.
It also became her record-extending 16th No. 1 on Adult Pop Airplay, the chart for adult-targeted pop stations, moving her past Maroon 5 for the most leaders there. Elsewhere, the song reached No. 2 on Country Airplay and No. 7 on Adult Contemporary, giving Swift 19 and 23 top 10s in those formats respectively.
Its early weeks showed that spread. The track debuted at No. 8 on Country Airplay and No. 9 on Adult Contemporary, and arrived in the top 20 on both Pop Airplay and Adult Pop Airplay.
Billboard said its charts dated Sept. 26 were updated on Billboard.com on Sept. 23 because of the observance of Yom Kippur on Sept. 21.
