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 published by '' Billboard'' 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 1993, 13 songs topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Adult Contemporary. The chart was compiled based on playlists submitted by radio stations through the issue of ''Billboard'' dated July 10, after which a new methodology was introduced which used

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 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 ...

, which provided a more accurate reflection of the spins which songs were actually receiving. At the start of the year,

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed " The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston i ...

was at number one with " I Will Always Love You", from the soundtrack of the film '' The Bodyguard'', in which she starred. In the issue of ''Billboard'' dated January 23, the track was displaced from the top spot by another song from a film soundtrack, as " A Whole New World (Aladdin's Theme)" by

Peabo Bryson Robert Peapo "Peabo" Bryson (born April 13, 1951) is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for singing soul ballads (often as a duet with female singers) including the 1983 hit "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" with Roberta Flack. Bryson ...

featuring

Regina Belle Regina Elaine Belle (born July 17, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter who started her career in the mid-1980s. Known for her singles " Baby Come to Me" (1989) and "Make It Like It Was" (1990), Belle's most notable for two hit duets, both with ...

, from the animated film '' Aladdin'', reached number one. Both songs also topped the magazine's all-genre chart, the Hot 100. Houston returned to the top of the chart with another song from ''The Bodyguard'' in May, spending two weeks at number one "

I Have Nothing "I Have Nothing" is a song by American singer and actress Whitney Houston, released on February 20, 1993 as the third single from '' The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album'' (1992) by Arista Records. The song was written by David Foster and L ...

". In addition to Houston, two other artists had two number ones in 1993. Jazz saxophonist

Kenny G Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956), known professionally as Kenny G, is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the best-selling artis ...

spent two weeks at number one with " Forever in Love" and a similar length of time in the top spot with "

By the Time This Night Is Over "By the Time This Night Is Over" is a song by American musician Kenny G and singer-songwriter Peabo Bryson, released as a single from Kenny G's sixth studio album, ''Breathless (Kenny G album), Breathless'', in 1993 and on Bryson's 16th studio alb ...

". The latter track featured Peabo Bryson on vocals, making him another two-time chart-topper. Following the change in the chart's methodology, songs began to experience longer runs at number one, beginning with "

I Don't Wanna Fight "I Don't Wanna Fight" is a song by American singer and actress Tina Turner. The track was written by British singer Lulu, her brother Billy Lawrie, and Steve DuBerry. The song was first offered to singer Sade, who sent it on to Turner. Turner ...

" by

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

, which spent seven consecutive weeks atop the chart. In the issue of ''Billboard'' dated September 11, Billy Joel replaced Turner at number one with his song "

The River of Dreams "The River of Dreams" is a song by American musician Billy Joel. It is the title track and first single from his 1993 album, ''River of Dreams.'' The song was a hit, peaking at number three on the US and UK charts, making it Joel's best-charting ...

", which went on to spend 12 consecutive weeks at number one, breaking the record for the longest run atop the AC chart which had been held by

Paul Mauriat Paul Julien André Mauriat ( or ; 4 March 1925 – 3 November 2006) was a French orchestra leader, conductor of Le Grand Orchestre de Paul Mauriat, who specialized in the easy listening genre. He is best known in the United States for his mill ...

's " Love is Blue" since 1968. Joel's song was replaced at number one by

Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin
, The Jewish Historical Society of New Haven, 1998. (born February 26, 1953), known professio ...

's " Said I Loved You...But I Lied", which spent the final four weeks of the year in the top spot. It would remain atop the chart for a further eight weeks in 1994, immediately tying the record set by Joel's song which had preceded it at number one.

Chart history

Chart history

References

See also