Alternative music statistics show how songs move across specialist airplay charts, broader rock rankings and album-sales measures. The figures below cover chart reports published by Billboard Canada in 2023 and 2024, with the relevant tracking weeks and release periods identified where available. They include results for The Black Keys, Cage the Elephant, Blink-182 and Hozier.
Contents
- Alternative airplay leaders
- The Black Keys: a seven-leader run
- Cage the Elephant across alternative formats
- Blink-182 and a major album debut
- Audience impressions, streams and downloads
- Album milestones behind the singles
Alternative airplay leaders
The Alternative Airplay and Adult Alternative Airplay charts measure different parts of the format, so a song’s position can change substantially between them. The supplied Billboard Canada reports document several distinct kinds of success: first-time leaders, repeat No. 1s, consecutive chart weeks and crossover movement into Rock & Alternative Airplay or Mainstream Rock Airplay.
The Black Keys’ “Beautiful People (Stay High)” earned the group’s seventh No. 1 on Alternative Airplay, according to Billboard Canada’s March 23, 2024 report. It was the band’s first Alternative Airplay leader since “Wild Child.” That earlier song led the chart for two weeks in May 2022. The band’s first No. 1 on the chart was “Tighten Up,” which spent 10 weeks at No. 1 beginning in November 2010. These milestones span more than a decade of chart activity.
Cage the Elephant’s “Neon Pill” also illustrates how chart performance can differ by format. Billboard Canada reported it at No. 3 on Alternative Airplay, No. 29 on Mainstream Rock Airplay and No. 5 on Rock & Alternative Airplay on March 23, 2024. The song became the band’s 11th top-five hit on Rock & Alternative Airplay, even though its listed position on Alternative Airplay was lower than its Rock & Alternative Airplay ranking.
Blink-182’s “One More Time” was reported at No. 1 on Rock & Alternative Airplay on November 11, 2023. It was the band’s second overall and second consecutive No. 1 on that chart. The single also ruled Alternative Airplay for a fourth week and rose to No. 4 on Mainstream Rock Airplay. Its Mainstream Rock Airplay result was Blink-182’s second-highest entry after “Edging.”
The Black Keys: a seven-leader run
The March 23, 2024 Billboard Canada report places “Beautiful People (Stay High)” at the center of The Black Keys’ current airplay story. Alongside the seventh Alternative Airplay No. 1, the single held No. 3 on Rock & Alternative Airplay for a seventh straight week. It generated 5.7 million audience impressions on that chart, up 4% week over week.
The same report listed the song at No. 49 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs. During the March 1–7 tracking week, it earned 436,000 official U.S. streams. Those measurements describe different forms of reach: audience impressions reflect radio exposure, while official U.S. streams capture listening activity during a defined seven-day period.
The Black Keys’ earlier chart record provides useful context for the newer single. “Wild Child” led Alternative Airplay for two weeks in May 2022. Before that, “Tighten Up” became the band’s first leader and remained at No. 1 for 10 weeks beginning in November 2010. The group therefore had one single with a two-week Alternative Airplay run and another with a 10-week run identified in the report.
The report also connected the single’s campaign to Ohio Players, described as The Black Keys’ 12th studio album. Ohio Players was due for release on April 5. The album information is a release milestone, not an album chart result in the supplied facts, so it should be kept separate from the group’s documented chart achievements.
Cage the Elephant across alternative formats
“Neon Pill” gave Cage the Elephant its sixth Adult Alternative Airplay No. 1, as reported by Billboard Canada on March 23, 2024. It was the group’s first Adult Alternative Airplay leader in nearly four years. The previous leader identified in the report was “Black Madonna,” which led Adult Alternative Airplay for two weeks in April 2020.
The band’s Adult Alternative Airplay history in the same report includes several additional No. 1s. “Come a Little Closer” was its first leader on that chart and spent two weeks at No. 1 in March 2014. “Mess Around” led for two weeks in February 2016. “Ready To Let Go” reached No. 1 for one week in March 2019, while “Social Cues” reached No. 1 for one week in October 2019. “Skin and Bones” reached No. 3 in February 2021.
That sequence shows why a single total can hide the timing of an artist’s success. The data identifies “Neon Pill” as the sixth Adult Alternative Airplay No. 1, but it also records a mixture of one-week, two-week and non-winning top-three results across the preceding years.
The song’s broader airplay numbers were also notable. “Neon Pill” logged 5.2 million Rock & Alternative Airplay audience impressions, up 2% week over week. Its position was No. 5 on Rock & Alternative Airplay, No. 3 on Alternative Airplay and No. 29 on Mainstream Rock Airplay. Billboard Canada described it as the lead single and title track from Cage the Elephant’s sixth studio album, which was set to be released on May 17.
Blink-182 and a major album debut
Blink-182’s “One More Time” combined radio performance with streaming, downloads and album-equivalent units. Billboard Canada reported 9 million Rock & Alternative Airplay audience impressions when the song reached No. 1 on that chart in the November 11, 2023 report. The impressions were up 11% from the prior week.
The song’s predecessor on the chart, “Edging,” led Rock & Alternative Airplay for 17 weeks. “One More Time” therefore followed a long-running band hit while becoming the group’s second consecutive No. 1 there. The single also ranked No. 10 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs.
During the October 20–26 tracking week, “One More Time” earned 3.8 million official U.S. streams and sold 2,000 downloads. These are separate measures and should not be combined as if they represented the same unit. The report also listed the song at No. 29 on Adult Pop Airplay. Blink-182’s earlier “I Miss You” had peaked at No. 24 on Adult Pop Airplay in 2004.
The album One More Time… debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 125,000 equivalent album units. It was Blink-182’s ninth studio album. The album-equivalent figure is distinct from the single’s 3.8 million official U.S. streams and 2,000 downloads because it is an album-level measure reported for the Billboard 200 debut.
Audience impressions, streams and downloads
Audience impressions provide the clearest comparison among the radio results in the supplied reports. The following figures retain each song’s reported measurement context and week-over-week change.
| Song | Chart context | Audience impressions | Week-over-week change |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Beautiful People (Stay High)” | Rock & Alternative Airplay | 5.7 million | +4% |
| “Neon Pill” | Rock & Alternative Airplay | 5.2 million | +2% |
| “One More Time” | Rock & Alternative Airplay | 9 million | +11% |
“One More Time” had the largest reported audience-impression figure of the three songs, at 9 million, and also the largest stated weekly increase, 11%. “Beautiful People (Stay High)” recorded 5.7 million impressions and a 4% rise, while “Neon Pill” recorded 5.2 million and a 2% rise. Billboard Canada supplied these figures in reports dated November 11, 2023, and March 23, 2024; they are not measurements from one shared week.
The streaming and download figures use narrower tracking windows. “Beautiful People (Stay High)” earned 436,000 official U.S. streams during March 1–7, while “One More Time” earned 3.8 million official U.S. streams during October 20–26 and sold 2,000 downloads in that same tracking week. Because the reports concern different songs and periods, the figures describe individual snapshots rather than a market-wide ranking.
Album milestones behind the singles
Single performance sits alongside several album milestones in the reports. The Black Keys’ Dropout Boogie debuted at No. 2 on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart and reached 149,000 equivalent album units to date. The report also notes that Turn Blue gave the group a Billboard 200 No. 1 in May 2014.
Cage the Elephant’s Social Cues debuted and peaked at No. 3 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums. It had earned 469,000 equivalent album units to date. These figures are cumulative-to-date measures as stated in the March 23, 2024 report, rather than first-week debut totals.
For comparison, the Blink-182 album One More Time… debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 125,000 equivalent album units. It was the group’s ninth studio album. The Black Keys’ Ohio Players was identified as their 12th studio album and was due for release on April 5, while Cage the Elephant’s Neon Pill was tied to the band’s sixth studio album, set to be released on May 17.
Finally, Billboard Canada reported on November 2, 2024 that Hozier scored his fifth straight Adult Alternative Airplay No. 1 with “Nobody’s Soldier.” The supplied report identifies the consecutive-run milestone but gives no additional audience, stream or sales figure for the song, so the chart achievement stands on its own.