Nine Inch Nails join rarified air on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart thanks to the debut of “As Alive as You Need Me to Be” on the tally dated Aug. 9.
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With the song’s No. 21 bow, the Trent Reznor-led band becomes one of just four acts with at least one Alternative Airplay appearance in each of the decades that the list has existed, dating to its September 1988 start.
In addition to the feat requiring substantial longevity — charting singles in the 1980s, ‘90s, 2000s, ‘10s and ‘20s — the pool of eligible acts is fairly miniscule because the chart existed for around just 15 months in the ‘80s.
Nine Inch Nails scored a photo finish at the start: The band debuted on Alternative Airplay in December 1989 with “Down In It,” which peaked at No. 16 in January 1990. Throughout the ‘90s, the act reached the ranking 10 additional times, paced by the No. 8-peaking “Hurt” in 1995.
One of those 11 ‘90s entries, “Into the Void” debuted on the ranking in 1999 but also counts as one of Nine Inch Nails’ eight 2000s appearances, having hit No. 11 in January 2000. The most prosperous decade of the band’s Alternative Airplay career, the 2000s brought Reznor and co. all four of its total No. 1s consecutively in 2005-07: “The Hand That Feeds,” “Only,” “Every Day Is Exactly the Same” and “Survivalism.”
In the 2010s, Nine Inch Nails appeared on Alternative Airplay twice, paced by the No. 7 hit “Came Back Haunted” in 2013. Prior to “As Alive as You Need Me to Be,” the band’s last entry was “Less Than” (No. 22, 2017).
The only other acts to string together the every-decade feat? Depeche Mode, Red Hot Chili Peppers and U2.
Depeche Mode notched two Alternative Airplay entries in 1989 (led by the No. 3-peaking “Personal Jesus”) and returned to the ranking in 2023 with the No. 9 hit “Ghosts Again.” Red Hot Chili Peppers, the chart’s all-time leaders for the most No. 1s (15), made the tally twice in 1989 (led by “Knock Me Down” at No. 6) and have four ‘20s appearances, including two No. 1s in “Black Summer” and “Tippa My Tongue.” As for U2, the Bono-led band logged seven entries in 1988-89, including the No. 1 “Desire.” In the ‘20s, the quartet has charted twice, paced by “Atomic City” (No. 14, 2023).
A few honorable mentions: In addition to the four acts whose longevity has benchmarks in all five decades, three have had entries in both the ‘80s and ‘20s — a different kind of endurance, albeit with gaps in one or more of the decades in between. The Cure, which returned with the No. 14-peaking “A Fragile Thing” last year, did not make Alternative Airplay in the 2010s (though frontman Robert Smith did so once that decade as a featured act on Crystal Castles’ “Not in Love”). Iggy Pop, who charted for a week at No. 40 in 2023 with “Frenzy,” also had a ‘10s outage. Kate Bush missed the entirety of the 2000s and 2010s before “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” peaked at No. 2 in 2022, powered by its high-profile synch in Netflix’s Stranger Things. The song’s stamina even predates the chart, as it was released and originally became a hit in 1985.
Two more acts could join Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Red Hot Chili Peppers and U2 with appearances in all five decades so far if they’re able to snag at least one in the five years left in the ‘20s: Beastie Boys (unlikely, though, given the group’s 2012 disbandment following the death of Adam Yauch) and Jane’s Addiction (which dissolved earlier this year).
Back to Nine Inch Nails: “As Alive as You Need Me to Be” is the band’s highest charting song on Alternative Airplay in 12 years, with its No. 21 start surpassing the No. 22 peak of “Less Than”; “Came Back Haunted” hit its No. 7 best in July 2013.
The new single, released July 17, also debuts at No. 29 on Mainstream Rock Airplay. On the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart, it opens at No. 22 with 2 million radio audience impressions in the week ending July 31, according to Luminate.
“As Alive as You Need Me to Be” is from the soundtrack for the upcoming movie Tron: Ares, premiering in theaters Oct. 10. The album, featuring all new Nine Inch Nails music, is due Sept. 19.
