List of Billboard Adult Contemporary number ones of 2016

Adult Contemporary is a chart published by Billboard ranking the top-performing songs in the United States in the adult contemporary music (AC) market. In 2016, nine different songs topped the chart in 53 issues of the magazine, based on weekly airplay data from radio stations compiled by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems.

British singer Adele spent 16 weeks at number one with "Hello".

On the first chart of the year, British musician Seal moved into the number one position with his version of the 1970 song "This Christmas", displacing "Hello" by Adele.[1] The following week, "Hello" regained the top spot and held it for 16 consecutive weeks, the year's longest unbroken run atop the chart. Adele would return to number one for two weeks later in the year with "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)", and her total of 18 weeks in the top spot during 2016 was the most for any artist. She was the only act to take more than one song to the top of the AC listing during the year. In March, the BBC described Adele as the biggest star in pop music at the time.[2]

From the issues of Billboard dated July 9 through November 26, the top spot was occupied by two songs from film soundtracks. Justin Timberlake spent 13 weeks at number one beginning in the July 9 issue with "Can't Stop the Feeling!" from the film Trolls,[3] before Pink had a six-week run in the top spot with "Just like Fire", from Alice Through the Looking Glass.[4] Timberlake's song returned to the top of the chart in November for two further weeks. It was the singer's first AC number one as a solo artist,[5] although he had topped the listing 16 years earlier as a member of the group NSYNC with their song "This I Promise You".[6][7] Having begun with one version of "This Christmas" atop the chart, 2016 ended with a different version of the song in the top position. The band Train took its version of the song to number one in the issue of Billboard dated December 17, yielded the top spot the following week to Josh Groban with his recording of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", but returned to number one in the final issue of the year. The two songs continued a trend of Christmas-themed songs topping the AC chart at the end of the year, reflecting the fact that adult contemporary radio stations usually switch to playing exclusively festive songs in December.[8][9]

Chart history

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Justin Timberlake spent 15 non-consecutive weeks in the top spot with "Can't Stop the Feeling!".
 
"Stitches" was a chart-topper for Canadian singer Shawn Mendes.
 
The band Train ended the year at number one with their version of "This Christmas". The year had begun with Seal's version of the same song atop the chart.
Key
Indicates best-performing AC song of 2016[10]


Issue date Title Artist(s) Ref.
January 2 "This Christmas" Seal [1]
January 9 "Hello" Adele [11]
January 16 [12]
January 23 [13]
January 30 [14]
February 6 [15]
February 13 [16]
February 20 [17]
February 27 [18]
March 5 [19]
March 12 [20]
March 19 [21]
March 26 [22]
April 2 [23]
April 9 [24]
April 16 [25]
April 23 [26]
April 30 "Stitches" † Shawn Mendes [27]
May 7 [28]
May 14 "Love Yourself" Justin Bieber [29]
May 21 [30]
May 28 [31]
June 4 [32]
June 11 [33]
June 18 [34]
June 25 [35]
July 2 [36]
July 9 "Can't Stop the Feeling!" Justin Timberlake [37]
July 16 [38]
July 23 [39]
July 30 [40]
August 6 [41]
August 13 [42]
August 20 [43]
August 27 [44]
September 3 [45]
September 10 [46]
September 17 [47]
September 24 [48]
October 1 [49]
October 8 "Just like Fire" Pink [50]
October 15 [51]
October 22 [52]
October 29 [53]
November 5 [54]
November 12 [55]
November 19 "Can't Stop the Feeling!" Justin Timberlake [56]
November 26 [57]
December 3 "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)" Adele [58]
December 10 [59]
December 17 "This Christmas" Train [60]
December 24 "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" Josh Groban [61]
December 31 "This Christmas" Train [62]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. January 2, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
  2. ^ Savage, Mark (March 1, 2016). "Adele review: Pop's biggest star opens world tour in Belfast". BBC. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  3. ^ Vincent, Alice (May 6, 2016). "Justin Timberlake's new song, Can't Stop the Feeling, includes puppies, James Corden and earworms". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  4. ^ Feeney, Nolan (April 15, 2016). "Pink releases 'Just Like Fire' from 'Alice Through the Looking Glass'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  5. ^ "Justin Timberlake Chart History: Adult Contemporary". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  6. ^ "'N Sync Chart History: Adult Contemporary". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  7. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Justin Timberlake Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  8. ^ Trust, Gary (December 24, 2018). "Katy Perry's 'Cozy Little Christmas' Hits No. 1 on Adult Contemporary Chart". Billboard. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  9. ^ Judkis, Maura (December 21, 2015). "Jingle bell rock: Lots of radio stations go all-Christmas in December. Here's why". Washington Post. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  10. ^ "Billboard Adult Contemporary Year End, 2016". Billboard. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  11. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. January 9, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  12. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. January 16, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  13. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. January 23, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  14. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. January 30, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  15. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. February 6, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  16. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. February 13, 2016. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
  17. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. February 20, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  18. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. February 27, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  19. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. March 5, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  20. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. March 12, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  21. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. March 19, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  22. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. March 26, 2016. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  23. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. April 2, 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  24. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. April 9, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
  25. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. April 16, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  26. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. April 23, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  27. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. April 30, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  28. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. May 7, 2016. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  29. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. May 7, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  30. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. May 21, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  31. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. May 28, 2016. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  32. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. June 4, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  33. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. June 11, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  34. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. June 18, 2016. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  35. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. June 25, 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  36. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. July 2, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  37. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. July 9, 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  38. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. July 16, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  39. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. July 23, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  40. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. July 30, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  41. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. August 6, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  42. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. August 13, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  43. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. August 20, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  44. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. August 27, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  45. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. September 3, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  46. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. September 10, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  47. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. September 17, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  48. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. September 24, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  49. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. October 1, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  50. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. October 8, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  51. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. October 15, 2016. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  52. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. October 22, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  53. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. October 29, 2016. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  54. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. November 5, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  55. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. November 12, 2016. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  56. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. November 19, 2016. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  57. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. November 26, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  58. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. December 3, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  59. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. December 10, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  60. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. December 17, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  61. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. December 24, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  62. ^ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. December 31, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2016.