Bubbling Under Hot 100

The Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart was first introduced in the June 1, 1959 issue of Billboard, under the name "Bubbling Under the Hot 100".^[1] Containing a listing of 15 singles, the chart was described as "the new listing that predicts which new records will become chart climbers." Its first number-one single was "A Prayer and a Juke Box" by Little Anthony and the Imperials^[1] (the song would later peak at #81). It would continue to be published in issues of Billboard until August 24, 1985, after which it was discontinued.^[2] Prior to its discontinuation, the chart had not been issued in four issues; three from 1974 and one in 1978.^[3] However, it returned as a feature in the December 5, 1992, issue of Billboard and continues to the present day.^[3] From the end of 1970 to 1985, there was a Bubbling Under the Top LPs album chart paired with the Bubbling Under the Hot 100.

From June 1959 through August 1985, Billboard compiled the chart based on playlists reported by radio station and retail sales outlets surveys. In 1992, Billboard employed updated data capture technology in compiling the chart, using point-of-sale retail information provided by Nielsen SoundScan, input from radio station airplay monitoring provided by Broadcast Data Systems and playlists from small-market systems.

The chart's first issue mentions that a rank position indicates "relative potential to earn an early listing on the Hot 100"^[1] and records were ranked starting with number 1. From August 28, 1961, to August 24, 1985, the chart positions were numbered starting with number 101.^[4] Songs that have already appeared on the Hot 100 are not included in the Bubbling Under chart as they exit the charts, but may re-enter the Bubbling Under chart at a later date.

Changes and alterations

Over the years, the chart would undergo several changes and alterations. In the 1960s, the chart included as many as 35 slots; on two rare occasions in 1963 and 1968, the chart contained 36 slots.^[5][6] By the 1980s, the chart contained only 10 slots.^[2]

On the first issue of its 1992 revival, the chart was renamed to "Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles" from its previous name, "Bubbling Under the Hot 100". The same issue increased the total number of slots on the chart to 25 and the chart numbering began with the number 1.

Several reference books on the history of the Billboard "Bubbling Under" charts have been published by chart statistician Joel Whitburn's company Record Research. The latest book to be published by the company was 2005's Bubbling Under the Billboard Hot 100: 1959-2004 (ISBN 978-0-89820-162-8). Whitburn's book Top Pop Singles, 12th Edition (ISBN 978-0-89820-180-2), covers all Billboard Hot 100 and Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart entries from 1955 to 2008.

• Songs which spent the most weeks on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles:

Pearl Jam – "Alive" (61 weeks, 1998–1999)^[7]

Pearl Jam – "Even Flow" (52 weeks, 1997–1998)^[7]

Lil Baby – "Freestyle" (49 weeks, 2018–2019)^[8] (the song to spend the most time on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles before entering the Hot 100)

Benny Benassi featuring Gary Go – "Cinema" (48 weeks, 2011–2012)^[9]

Luther Vandross – "Think About You" (43 weeks, 2003–2004)^[7]

Rise Against – "Savior" (37 weeks, 2010)^[10]

Of Monsters and Men – "Mountain Sound" (36 weeks, 2012–2013)^[11]

Billie Eilish – "Bellyache" (32 weeks, 2018–2019)^[12]

• Released in 1982, "Nasty Girl" by Vanity 6 spent a record seven weeks at number 101, but never cracked the Billboard Hot 100.^[3]
• American soul singer Ray Charles holds the record for having the most "bubblers" ever under a consistent artist credit, charting 14 of them from 1963 to 1993.^[3] Don Everly also appears as an artist on 14 bubblers, 13 as one-half of The Everly Brothers, and one as a solo artist. Similarly, Joel Whitburn also gives credit for 14 bubblers to George Clinton's Parliament/Funkadelic aggregation, which issued records under a variety of band names or solo identities. On the Bubbling Under charts, the loose-knit group appeared three times as Parliament, once as The Parliaments, three times as Funkadelic, once as The Brides of Funkenstein, twice as Bootsy's Rubber Band, once under the name of William "Bootsy" Collins, and three times under George Clinton's name.^[13] It could be argued that at least some of these groups are actually separate (though related) artists, however Whitburn lists them as one act under multiple aliases.
• The Robbs hold the record for the act with the most appearances on the Bubbling Under chart without having any of their records cross over into the Hot 100. Between 1966 and 1971, six of the group's singles appeared on the bubbling under charts. Their best showing was 1966's "Race with the Wind", which peaked at number 3.^[3] Slipknot comes in second place with five. Their highest peaking single is "Psychosocial" at number 2.^[14]
• During the 1960s, there were as many as 35 slots in the Bubbling Under chart (with two exceptions; see below). Forty-three different songs grabbed the very bottom rung by peaking at number 135, including tunes from Donovan ("Summer Day Reflection Song"), Doris Day ("Send Me No Flowers"), The Applejacks ("Tell Me When", a Top 10 UK hit) and two from Sammy Davis, Jr. ("Bee-Bom" and "If I Ruled The World"). The Nightcrawlers cult classic "The Little Black Egg" peaked at #135 in 1965, but was re-released and cracked the Hot 100 (at #85) two years later. Shirley Ellis also hit number 135 with "Ever See A Diver Kiss His Wife While The Bubbles Bounce About Above The Water?", the longest-titled song ever to "bubble under". ("Coal Man", by Sir Mack Rice, is the only song to spend two weeks at number 135, and peak there, in 1969.)
• The chart contained 36 positions on two occasions. The two records that appeared at number 136 were "The Bounce" by the Olympics (April 6, 1963; the song eventually hit number 40)^[5] and "Turn Around, Look at Me" by the Vogues (May 25, 1968; a huge hit that peaked at number 7).^[15]
• One of the most mysterious records ever to appear in any Billboard chart was "Ready 'n' Steady", listed as recorded by an artist named "D. A.", which spent three weeks on the Bubbling Under chart in June 1979. In a 1995 interview, chart statistician Joel Whitburn stated that "Ready 'n' Steady" was "the only record we've never been able to find in the history of the pop charts."^[16] In the 4th edition of Whitburn's book Bubbling Under the Hot 100, published in 2005, the entry for "D. A." was amended with a note stating "the existence of this record and artist is in question." The most recent edition of Whitburn's book Billboard's Top Pop Singles 1955–2010, published in 2011, includes both Top 100 and Bubbling Under singles, but D. A. was not listed.^[17] In 2016, Whitburn finally located a tape recording of the song but determined that it had never been pressed onto a vinyl record, and that a record promoter had managed to get the song on the Billboard chart. "D. A." was Dennis Armand Lucchesi (June 5, 1945 – August 18, 2005), a California-based mortgage broker and part-time musician.^[18]

Discover more about Chart milestones related topics

Alive (Pearl Jam song)

Alive (Pearl Jam song)

"Alive" is the debut single by American rock band Pearl Jam. It was released on July 7, 1991, 51 days before the release of the band's debut album, Ten, on which "Alive" appears. Written by guitarist Stone Gossard, the song originated as an instrumental titled "Dollar Short" and was included on a demo tape circulated in hopes of finding a singer for the group. Vocalist Eddie Vedder obtained a copy of the tape and wrote lyrics that describe a somewhat fictionalized account of the time when he was told that the man he thought was his father was not actually his biological parent.

Even Flow

Even Flow

"Even Flow" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music written by guitarist Stone Gossard, "Even Flow" was released in 1992 as the second single from the band's debut album, Ten (1991). The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The song was included in Pearl Jam's 2004 greatest hits album, rearviewmirror . A remixed version of the song was included on the 2009 Ten reissue.

Lil Baby

Lil Baby

Dominique Armani Jones, known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper from Atlanta, Georgia. He rose to mainstream fame in 2017 following the release of his mixtape Perfect Timing. His debut studio album, Harder Than Ever (2018), spawned the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 single "Yes Indeed". In 2018, he released two more mixtapes: Drip Harder, which contained the single, "Drip Too Hard", that reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was later certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); and Street Gossip, which reached #2 on the US Billboard 200.

Freestyle (Lil Baby song)

Freestyle (Lil Baby song)

"Freestyle" is a song by American rapper Lil Baby. It was released on November 5, 2017 with an accompanying music video, to promote his mixtape Too Hard (2017). The song became one of his most popular hits and helped him rise to prominence. The song is a sleeper hit which began charting outside of the United States in 2022.

Benny Benassi

Benny Benassi

Marco "Benny" Benassi is an Italian DJ, record producer and remixer. He is widely seen as a pioneer of electro house, a genre brought into the mainstream by his 2002 summer club hit "Satisfaction".

Gary Go

Gary Go

Gary Baker, known professionally as Gary Go, is a British songwriter, producer, composer and media artist. He has written and produced songs performed by artists including Rihanna, Robbie Williams, Steve Angello, Benny Benassi, Gryffin, Take That, Celeste, Majid Jordan, Aloe Blacc, Sara Bareilles, Chiiild, Milky Chance, The Knocks, Ruby Rose, Borgore, The 2 Bears, Party Pupils, Kylie, Ronan Keating, Morgxn, Simply Red, Katharine McPhee, Joseph Arthur, Thomas Azier, Carina Round, Laleh, Anthony Ramos and Juliette Lewis.

Cinema (Benny Benassi song)

Cinema (Benny Benassi song)

"Cinema" is a song initially released by Italian DJ and electro house music producer Benny Benassi and British singer-songwriter Gary Go. The song was written and performed by Gary Go with music produced by Benny and Alle Benassi. It was released on 8 March 2011 by Ultra Records and All Around the World, on Benny Benassi's fourth studio album Electroman. The song made its first appearance in the video game Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit in November 2010, months before the song was released as a single. The single EP featured several remixes by Skrillex, Laidback Luke, Alex Gaudino and Congo Rock. The Skrillex remix went on to become a hit in its own right, remaining on Billboard's Dance chart for over two years after its release and winning a 2012 Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording. Artist and producer Kanye West referred to it as "one of the greatest works of art ever made". The song featured in the trailer for the video game Sonic Lost World and in-games Forza Horizon and Beat Fever, as well as soundtracking promos for the WWE Network. The song has been streamed over a billion times online across streaming platforms. The song was further re-imagined by Gary Go on his soundtrack EP Now Was Once the Future and again by electronic dance music duo Galantis in 2020.

Luther Vandross

Luther Vandross

Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive Platinum albums and eight Grammy Awards, including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four different times. In 2004, Vandross won a total of four Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Award for Song of the Year for a song recorded not long before his death, "Dance with My Father".

Mountain Sound

Mountain Sound

"Mountain Sound" is a single by the Icelandic indie folk/indie pop band Of Monsters and Men. The song was released as the second single from the international version of their debut studio album, My Head Is an Animal. It was written by Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson, Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir and Ragnar Þórhallsson; and produced by Jacquire King.

Billie Eilish

Billie Eilish

Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell is an American singer-songwriter. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single "Ocean Eyes", written and produced by her brother Finneas O'Connell, with whom she collaborates on music and live shows. In 2017, she released her debut extended play (EP), titled Don't Smile at Me. Commercially successful, it reached the top 15 of record charts in numerous countries, including the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.

Bellyache (Billie Eilish song)

Bellyache (Billie Eilish song)

"Bellyache" is a song by American singer Billie Eilish from her debut EP, Don't Smile at Me (2017). The song was released as the EP's second single on February 24, 2017, through Darkroom and Interscope Records. It was written by Eilish and Finneas O'Connell, with production being handled by the latter. A midtempo electropop, R&B, and alternative hip hop song, it has hip hop, deep house and Latin macabre influences. Lyrically, the song is written from the perspective of a psychopathic murderer. A remix by Marian Hill was released on May 5, 2017. The song received mainly positive reviews from music critics, several of whom praised the production and lyrics.

Don Everly

Don Everly

Isaac Donald Everly was an American Musician, who was one half of the duo The Everly Brothers alongside his younger brother Phil.