Adult Top 40
Adult Top 40 is a variation on the
United States Billboard charts. It is a format in which this genre is more geared towards an adult audience who are not into
Rock music, teen
Pop,
Dance music,
Hip-Hop,
Modern Rock or slower
Adult Contemporary fare. The chart roughly corresponds to what is played on
Hot Adult Contemporary stations.
Adult Top 40's origins can be traced back to the late
1980s, when several
Top 40 stations decided to focus on playing artists with real vocal-driven substance and weed out other genres in an effort to attract the more desired 25-34 demo. It wasn't until
1994 that Adult Top 40 became an official format after years of growth and support from both stations and artists.
Most Adult Top 40s feature a playlist that include artists like
Lenny Kravitz,
Avril Lavigne,
Sheryl Crow,
Gavin DeGraw,
Dido and
Goo Goo Dolls. Its programming is often compared to the musical playlist of the
VH1 Channel (as its programming as seen often as a midway point between Top 40 Mainstream and The Adult Contemporary charts).
Billboard first published an Adult Top 40 chart in its March 2, 1996 issue. The first #1 song was "One Sweet Day" by
Mariah Carey and
Boyz II Men. The song to spend the longest at #1 was "
Smooth", by
Santana (featuring
Rob Thomas), which was #1 for 25 weeks in 1999 and 2000.
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Adult Top 40 radio panel
