Death Cab for Cutie claim 10th Adult Alternative Airplay No. 1 with 'Stone Over Water'

Death Cab for Cutie have taken "Stone Over Water" to No. 1 on Billboard's Adult Alternative Airplay chart dated Oct. 24, 2026.

The song moved up from No. 2, Billboard reported on Oct. 19, after a 4% lift in plays at adult alternative radio during the Oct. 2-8 tracking week, according to Luminate. The chart ranks the week's most-played songs on adult alternative stations, counted by airplay detections tracked by Mediabase and supplied by Luminate. Billboard

It is the band's 10th No. 1 on the format. That puts Death Cab for Cutie in a small group. They are only the fifth act in the chart's 30-year history to reach double digits.

U2 lead the all-time count with 14 No. 1s. Coldplay follow with 13. Jack Johnson and Dave Matthews Band, credited with Dave Matthews for some chart entries, each have 11.

"Stone Over Water" was released on June 5 via Anti-/Epitaph Records. It runs 3:14. It entered Adult Alternative Airplay in July as the band's 20th entry on the chart.

The band's history on the format stretches back more than two decades. Death Cab for Cutie first appeared in October 2005 with "Soul Meets Body," which spent 10 weeks at No. 1.

The label history tells its own story. Their first eight No. 1s came through Barsuk/Atlantic Records. "Riptides," which topped the chart in May 2026, was the first No. 1 for Epitaph Records. "Stone Over Water" is the second.

The song is the third single from the band's 11th studio album, "I Built You a Tower." The album reached No. 12 on Alternative Albums and No. 14 on Independent Albums, both Billboard tallies.

Elsewhere on radio, the single is still building. On the chart week published Oct. 17, it sat at No. 37 on Alternative Airplay after two weeks, with a peak so far of No. 34. On Rock & Alternative Airplay, a combined radio ranking, it stood at No. 30 after 10 weeks, with a peak of No. 28. Billboard

What makes this stand out is staying power. Twenty-one years separate the band's first chart entry and its 10th chart-topper, with a change of label along the way.

For fans, this means new music alongside live dates. The band lists shows at Matsushita IMP Hall in Osaka on Nov. 8 and Toyosu PIT in Tokyo on Nov. 9, followed by the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney on Nov. 12. Death Cab for Cutie