Linkin Park Debuts at No. 1 on Rock & Alternative Airplay Chart With ‘Friendly Fire’

Kevin Rutherford
·2 min read

The fifth No. 1 debut in the history of Billboard’s Rock & Alternative Airplay chart belongs to Linkin Park, whose “Friendly Fire” premieres atop the March 9-dated tally.

“Friendly Fire” bows with 7.9 million radio audience impressions earned Feb. 23-29, according to Luminate.

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The last song to debut at No. 1? Linkin Park’s “Lost,” which started atop the Feb. 25, 2023-dated survey.

In fact, Linkin Park owns three of the five No. 1 debuts since the ranking began in 2009. The group notched the first when “The Catalyst” debuted atop the Aug. 21, 2010, list.

The other No. 1 starts belong to Foo Fighters’ “Rope” (March 12, 2011) and Green Day’s “Oh Love” (Aug. 4, 2012).

Linkin Park now boasts five No. 1s on Rock & Alternative Airplay, tying The Black Keys and Imagine Dragons for the fifth-most in the chart’s history. Foo Fighters lead all acts with 11.

Most No. 1s, Rock & Alternative Airplay

  • 11, Foo Fighters

  • 7, Green Day

  • 6, Cage the Elephant

  • 6, twenty one pilots

  • 5, The Black Keys

  • 5, Imagine Dragons

  • 5, Linkin Park

  • 4, Red Hot Chili Peppers

  • 3, Weezer

Linkin Park’s other Rock & Alternative Airplay No. 1s are “New Divide” in 2009 and “Burn It Down” in 2012, both of which debuted at No. 2.

Concurrently, “Friendly Fire” launches at No. 8 on Mainstream Rock Airplay and at No. 9 on Alternative Airplay. It’s the band’s 19th top 10 on each tally. On the latter, Linkin Park pulls into sole possession of the sixth-most top 10s in the chart’s 35-year history. Foo Fighters lead with 30.

Most Top 10s, Alternative Airplay

  • 30, Foo Fighters

  • 28, Red Hot Chili Peppers

  • 26, Green Day

  • 23, U2

  • 21, Weezer

  • 20, Pearl Jam

  • 19, Linkin Park

  • 18, Pearl Jam

  • 17, Muse

  • 17, The Smashing Pumpkins

As “Friendly Fire” was released Feb. 23, the song is also expected to appear on the multimetric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs ranking via its first-week streams and sales, in addition to its radio airplay. All Billboard charts dated March 9 will update on Billboard.com on Tuesday, March 5.

“Friendly Fire” was originally recording during sessions for One More Light, Linkin Park’s 2017 final studio album, before the death of frontman Chester Bennington that year. The song will be on Papercuts, the band’s singles collection spanning its career, due April 12.

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