A Perfect Circle back at No. 1 with 'Starless' after almost 23 years
A Perfect Circle are back at No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Airplay chart with "Starless."
The song tops the chart dated Oct. 3, the band's second leader on the list, which measures plays on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. Billboard confirmed the result on Sept. 30. Billboard
It ends a long wait. The group's first No. 1 was "Weak and Powerless" in 2003. That song spent two weeks at the top.
The band reached the chart eight more times between the two leaders. The most successful of those visits was "The Outsider," which peaked at No. 3 in 2004.
The gap between No. 1s is 22 years and 11 months. That is the second-longest break between leaders in the chart's 45-year history.
Pearl Jam hold the longest gap. The band waited 26 years between "Given to Fly" in 1998 and "Dark Matter" in 2024. Singer Maynard James Keenan has also topped the chart with another band, leading with Tool's "The Pot" in 2006.
"Starless" is moving on other Billboard radio and streaming lists as well. It rose from No. 12 to No. 10 on Rock & Alternative Airplay on 2.9 million audience impressions, a count of how many times listeners heard the song on monitored stations, in the week ending Sept. 24.
That is the group's first top 10 on that chart, which began in 2009. Its previous best was No. 26 for "By and Down" in 2014. The song also ranked at No. 12 on Hot Hard Rock Songs after 229,000 chart-eligible streams in the tracking week.
"Starless" was released as a standalone single. The band's most recent album is 2018's "Eat the Elephant."
That album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart. It has earned 292,000 equivalent album units to date, the measure that converts album sales, track sales and streams into one album-sales figure.
What makes this stand out is how the radio comeback connects to new activity. The band's official website presents "Starless" as its return and lists 2026 tour dates alongside the single.
For fans, this means more ways to get the song. The official store sells a limited black-and-white 7-inch vinyl edition with a 45 RPM adapter for $15.99 USD, limited to 1,000 copies, alongside a wider "Starless" merchandise collection.
