Elton John and Dua Lipa‘s “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)” is the hottest song on the Billboard Adult Contemporary radio airplay chart, as it rises to No. 1 on the list dated May 21, reflecting play in the May 9-15 tracking week, according to Luminate.
The coronation marks the latest historic feat for John, as he notches his record-extending 18th AC No. 1. That’s among 41 top 10s and 75 entries overall, also bests among all artists in the tally’s archives, which date to July 1961.
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John furthers his lead over the Carpenters, who logged 15 AC No. 1s, in 1970-81. Next up: Barry Manilow (13), Celine Dion, Lionel Richie (11 each), Whitney Houston and Olivia Newton-John (10 each).
Here’s a recap of John’s 18 AC chart-toppers:
“Daniel,” two weeks at No. 1, beginning May 12, 1973
“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” with Kiki Dee, one, Sept. 11, 1976
“Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word,” one, Dec. 18, 1976
“Mama Can’t Buy You Love,” one, Aug. 25, 1979
“Little Jeannie,” two, June 14, 1980
“Blue Eyes,” two, Sept. 11, 1982
“That’s What Friends Are For” (Dionne & Friends; Dionne Warwick, John, Gladys Knight & Stevie Wonder), two, Jan. 11, 1986
“I Don’t Wanna Go On With You Like That,” one, Aug. 20, 1988
“Healing Hands,” one, Oct. 21, 1989
“You Gotta Love Someone,” five, Dec. 15, 1990
“Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,” with George Michael, two, Feb. 8, 1992
“The One,” six, July 25, 1992
“Simple Life,” three, March 20, 1993
“Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” eight, July 9, 1994
“Believe,” two, May 20, 1995
“Something About the Way You Look Tonight,” 10, Nov. 22, 1997
“Merry Christmas,” with Ed Sheeran, one, Jan. 1, 2022
“Cold Heart (Pnau Remix),” with Dua Lipa, one to-date, May 21, 2022
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John also extends the longest span of an artist leading the AC chart: 49 years and a week, from “Daniel” to “Cold Heart.” (That’s almost double the stretch of the runner-up: Chicago spanned 25 years, 10 months and two weeks from “Beginnings” in 1971 to “Here in My Heart” in 1997.)
Plus, John claims his second AC No. 1 this year, after “Merry Christmas,” with Ed Sheeran, topped the Jan. 1 ranking. For John, 2022 joins 1992 and 1976 as years in which he has ascended to the AC summit with multiple songs. He also links his first set of back-to-back No. 1s since his streak of three in 1990-92.
Meanwhile, Lipa adds her second AC leader, after “Levitating” reigned for 14 weeks beginning last July.
In “Cold Heart,” John sings part of his 1990 hit “Sacrifice” and Lipa reprises his 1972 classic “Rocket Man” and his 1983 single “Kiss the Bride,” with John’s 1976 track “Where’s the Shoorah?” serving as the mash-up’s coda. The new blend sports trio Pnau’s co-writing and co-production.
“Cold Heart” brings three of those songs to No. 1 on AC for the first time; “Sacrifice” reached No. 3, “Rocket Man” hit No. 39 (a surprisingly low peak in retrospect, given its legacy as one of John’s signature songs) and “Kiss the Bride” missed the chart. (On the all-genre, multi-metric Billboard Hot 100, the tracks rose to Nos. 18, 6 and 25, respectively.)
“I’ve always tried to be relevant,” John told Billboard upon the release of “Cold Heart” parent album The Lockdown Sessions last year about his longevity. Of “Cold Heart,” specifically, he mused, “A lot of it is, of course, due to Dua Lipa’s popularity and the brilliant Pnau remix, but I feel very, very content and happy that I’m relevant.”
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