List Of Number-one Adult Contemporary Singles Of 2018 (U.S.)
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Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
is a
chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...
published by ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' ranking the top-performing songs in the United States in the
adult contemporary music Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...
(AC) market. In 2018, nine different songs topped the chart in 53 issues of the magazine, based on weekly
airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...
data from radio stations compiled by
Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems Broadcast Data Systems (also known as BDS or Luminate BDS), is a service that tracks radio, television and internet airplay of songs. The service, which is a unit of MRC Data, is a contributing factor to North American charts published by co-owned ...
. On the first chart of the year, the number one position was held by Australian singer
Sia Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...
with " Santa's Coming for Us", the song's third consecutive week at number one; the following week it was displaced by "
There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back" is a song recorded by Canadian singer Shawn Mendes. Written by Mendes, Teddy Geiger, Geoff Warburton and Scott Harris, and produced by Geiger and Andrew Maury, it was released as a single on April 20, 2017. The ...
" by Canadian vocalist
Shawn Mendes Shawn Peter Raul Mendes (; born August 8, 1998) is a Canadian pop singer. He gained a following in 2013, when he posted song covers on the video sharing platform Vine. The following year, he caught the attention of artist manager Andrew Gert ...
, which held the top spot for three weeks. In the issue of ''Billboard'' dated February 24, British singer
Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...
's song " Perfect" reached number one, a position it would hold for 22 consecutive weeks. "Perfect" was only the eighth song in the AC chart's history to spend 20 or more weeks at number one, and Sheeran became the first artist to achieve the feat twice, having topped the chart for 24 weeks with "
Shape of You "Shape of You" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was released on 6 January 2017 as one of the double lead singles from his third studio album '' ÷'' (2017), along with "Castle on the Hill". The dancehall and R&B-infused ...
" the previous year. As "Shape of You" had been in 2017, "Perfect" was the biggest-selling single of the year in the United States; it was also the most-played song on US radio. Multiple different versions of the song were released, including one featuring
Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
, who was jointly credited for part of the song's run atop the magazine's all-genre chart, the
Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
; on the AC listing, however, only Sheeran was listed. Beginning in September,
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
spent ten non-consecutive weeks at number one with " Delicate", her first AC chart-topper for three years. Previous singles from her 2017 album ''
Reputation The reputation of a social entity (a person, a social group, an organization, or a place) is an opinion about that entity typically as a result of social evaluation on a set of criteria, such as behavior or performance. Reputation is a ubiquitous ...
'' had been successful on the Hot 100 but had not found favour with adult contemporary radio; "
Look What You Made Me Do "Look What You Made Me Do" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released on August 24, 2017, by Big Machine Records, as the lead single from her sixth studio album, '' Reputation'' (2017). Swift wrote and produ ...
" topped the Hot 100 but could only reach number 19 on Adult Contemporary. "Delicate" reversed this trend, topping the AC listing while failing to reach the top 10 of the Hot 100. The song's run in the top spot was interrupted in November when the band
Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, drummer Matt ...
spent two weeks at number one with "
Girls Like You "Girls Like You" is a song recorded by American band Maroon 5 from their sixth studio album ''Red Pill Blues'' (2017). The track was written by lead singer Adam Levine, Starrah, Gian Stone, Cirkut (record producer), Cirkut, and Jason Evigan, wit ...
", featuring rapper
Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus (, ; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper and songwriter. She first gained popularity as an influencer on Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to early 2017, she appeared as ...
. Although it spent only two weeks at number one in 2018, "Girls Like You" would return to the top spot in 2019 and hold it for more than 30 weeks, setting a new record for the longest run atop the AC chart by a song. For the final four weeks of the year, the top spot was occupied by Christmas songs, reflecting the general trend in the music played on adult contemporary radio stations in December of each year.
John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...
spent three weeks at number one with his version of the 1940s song "
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical ''Meet Me in St. Louis''. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics. In ...
", featuring jazz bassist
Esperanza Spalding Esperanza Emily Spalding (born October 18, 1984) is an American bassist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Her accolades include five Grammy Awards, a Boston Music Award, and a Soul Train Music Award. A native of Portland, Oregon, Spalding be ...
, before
Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...
spent the final week of the year atop the chart with " Cozy Little Christmas".


Chart



See also

* 2018 in American music


References

{{Adult Contemporary Chart
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
Number-one adult contemporary singles United States Adult Contemporary