Hot Dance Airplay - History

History

The chart made its debut on October 17, 2003, with "Just the Way You Are" by Milky being the first number-one song, even though it had been number one for three weeks, having topped it the week ending September 28. The reason for this is because the chart was unpublished for the first ten weeks of its existence, which means that its official issue start date was August 17, when the actual first number-one was "Never (Past Tense)" by Roc Project featuring Tina Arena.

In the issue dated November 19, 2011, the chart's name and methodology was changed. Director of charts Keith Caulfield explained in his "Over the Counter" column: "Effective this week, Billboard's Dance Airplay chart is renamed Dance/Mix Show Airplay, as its source of data is widely expanded. Formerly a ranking based on airplay at six dance-formatted reporters (four terrestrial radio stations, plus SiriusXM's BPM channel and Music Choice's Dance/Electronica channel) the plays-based list expands to include mixshow plays on mainstream top 40 and select rhythmic stations that have submitted their hours of mixshow programming, as monitored by Nielsen BDS, to Billboard."

In comparison to other Dance charts, It's a valid observation to note that American commercial radio's definition of dance music is marginal and this is reflected in the chart's content. Since the adjustment, the chart has been composed largely of remixed pop and urban songs and less Dance tracks, eschewing material that is dance music and/or by dance artists in its original form, moving away from its original mission to feature true Dance hits.

The current number one for the issue dated June 8, 2013, is "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams.