Dance music charts can be an invaluable asset to DJs, producers and artists. They help them craft songs that have higher chances of becoming hits based on quantifiable data such as song tempo or speechiness level.
Dance music is a popular genre that blends elements from various styles of music. Typically, pop’s straightforward structure and catchy melodies are combined with dance’s strong beat and uptempo nature.
Billboard’s Hot 100
Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, published each week, showcases the most popular songs in America. It’s based on radio airplay audience impressions, digital sales and streaming activity from online music sources. Produced by Billboard, this chart serves as an accurate barometer of a song’s popularity.
Before the Hot 100 was created, American music sales were measured through three charts: Best Sellers In Stores (BSIS), Most Played By Jockeys (MPH) and Most Played In Jukeboxes (MPJ). The BSIS chart had a point system that typically gave sales more weight than airplay; both MPH and MPJ used points as well but focused primarily on airplay.
In the 1960s and ’70s, MPJ charts were often better indicators of a song’s success than the Hot 100; since they took into account radio airplay. Unfortunately, this wasn’t true in the ’80s and ’90s when record labels started promoting songs to radio without ever releasing them as singles.
Major record companies were concerned that singles were cannibalizing album sales, so they gradually discontinued singles from their catalogs.
With the onset of digital downloads, the MPJ chart was replaced with a singles popularity chart that combined all forms of song success: radio airplay, sales and streaming activity to provide a more accurate assessment of a song’s popularity. This new singles popularity chart was eventually renamed “Billboard Hot 100” in 1998 but continued to include singles not included on an album.
Though the Hot 100 has evolved significantly over time, it remains one of the most influential and widely used charts worldwide. Additionally, it serves as a primary source of information for many artists and fans alike.
Recently, many artists have achieved chart dominance on the Hot 100. Some have become the first number one in a decade while others have consistently placed among the top five performers.
Madonna has consistently topped the Hot Dance Club Songs chart over the past decade, becoming the first artist to achieve at least one number one on all five dance charts at any point in her career.
Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs
The Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart is a weekly music ranking that ranks the week’s top selling dance and electronic songs. This ranking is based on sales data from leading digital music services like Apple Music and Spotify, as well as streaming data from these same services.
The Billboard Hot 100 chart is an offshoot that ranks the best-selling singles within pop, R&B, rap, dance and electronic music. This popular ranking system allows consumers to keep track of the newest chart-topping singles quickly.
Billboard utilizes MRC Data, an independent data provider, for chart production. Throughout this review process, any suspicious or unverifiable information is disqualified before final calculations can be made.
Streaming has become an increasingly important factor in the rankings, which is why Billboard chart staff works to ensure that a song’s overall popularity is taken into account when assigning its ranking.
One of the most efficient methods for doing this is to take into account both on-demand streams and radio airplay from stations across America. Doing this allows us to identify the top dance and electronic songs across Canada and compare them against each other.
Another way to determine which songs are the most successful is by comparing their cumulative sales and airplay points from the prior year. This provides a more precise assessment of which songs will be top sellers in any given year.
London-based DJ/producer Jonas Blue’s music has seen over one billion streams this past year, leading to the success of his debut album Jonas Blue: Electronic Nature: The Mix 2017. Included among its hits were “Fast Car” and “Mama,” with Demi Lovato and Stefflon Don featuring on its top. His most recent single “Instruction” also reached number one on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.
The English producer’s catchy house music has earned him a dedicated fanbase that includes performances at Berlin’s O2 Academy and Manchester’s HMV Forum. Additionally, he frequently performs on BBC Radio 1’s main stage.
Guernsey-born, London-based producer is one of the biggest names in dance/electronica. His self-titled LP spent 14 weeks on the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart and his A$AP Rocky-assisted single “Love$ick” debuted at No. 6 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs.
Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Albums
Though dance music has increasingly become a singles game, the long player remains an essential aspect of an artist’s career. It allows them to develop a unified identity and fan base through multiple tracks, as well as serve as an artifact that may last long after individual songs fade away.
The advent of electronic dance music in the United States during the 2000s spawned a wave of artists who adopted this new genre and created works that will be remembered for years to come. Some broke records and created iconic records, while others took their time crafting classic LPs that would last.
Dance artists have had some success at it, and Billboard has recognized some of their top dance/electronic albums from the past decade that remain timeless masterpieces and will continue to shape the industry for years to come. Here is a selection of Billboard’s Top 25 Dance/Electronic Albums of All-Time that have had an immense impact on this decade and will continue to influence future generations of performers and producers alike.
In 2012, Flume, an Australian producer, made waves with his contemporary electronic music fused with R&B influences. His debut album reached No. 1 on the charts and earned him a nomination for Best Dance Recording at the Grammys that same year.
Fools Gold made a major statement with 2014’s “Fear,” an electro-house banger that sounds like Daft Punk’s Tron: Legacy soundtrack had been written half a decade earlier. This infectious dancefloor anthem will make you want to get up and dance!
In 2013, rapper Fatboy Slim and vocalist Ellie Goulding’s bizarre collaboration “Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat” revolutionized dance music. Combining spoken-word lyricism with house beats to create an anthem of sorts, this song set an example for how to balance songcrafting with electronica; it even earned itself a nomination at the 2013 Grammy Awards for Best Dance Recording!
This album is a celebration of the dance community, featuring names like AlunaGeorge and Justin Bieber on its credits. It serves as proof that EDM can have such an impact on culture – an incredible testament to its power to transcend boundaries.
Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Artists
Billboard’s charts feature the top dance and electronic artists based on their popularity with fans around the world. Fans cast their votes for their favorite artists by streaming songs, watching videos, liking social media posts – all of which contributes to their rise in fame.
Many of the acts featured below are relatively recent additions to Billboard dance charts, yet they have made a name for themselves by fusing electronic and dance sounds with pop sensibility, often creating their own distinct genres.
Jones is one of the most promising producers in dance music, boasting an infectious blend of house and pop melodies with techno-tinged electronic beats. Since his debut single “You Don’t Know Me” in 2017, Jones’ sound has amassed over 330 million Spotify streams worldwide.
Louis the Child is an up-and-coming producer who has made quite an impression on the dance charts with a string of hits. His single “Momentum,” which peaked at No. 23 in 2017, made it onto Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, while he has collaborated with notable artists like Stefflon Don and Demi Lovato for collaborations.
He’s performed at festivals such as EDC Las Vegas and Bonnaroo, with his debut album Ultraviolet reaching No. 7 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Albums chart earlier this year.
Yelle is the French electro-pop duo behind 2012 hit “A Cause Des Garcons.” Their energetic cover of an 80s classic brought street dancing vibes into seedy one-offs and discos worldwide, leading to performances at festival shows across Los Angeles, Paris, and Berlin that have only continued to expand their fan base.
After making their first appearance on the Hot Dance/Electronic Albums survey in 2016, acclaimed duo made an even greater impact this year with their second studio album, Los Amsterdam. It earned them three Hot Dance/Electronic singles (including one featuring Steve Aoki) and was one of the best-selling dance LPs of 2017.
In addition to their Top Dance/Electronic Albums, the Dutch duo was nominated for several other awards this year, including Song of the Year for “Both of Us.” It’s an indication of their unique sound that their ethereal anthems continue to reach new heights even after being out of the spotlight for so long.