The Killers reach No. 1 on Billboard‘s Adult Alternative Airplay chart (dated Oct. 15) with “Boy,” their third leader on the list.
The song is the Brandon Flowers-fronted act’s first No. 1 on the survey since “The Man,” which ruled for a week in 2017. The group first led with “Read My Mind” for six weeks in 2007.
In between “The Man” and “Boy,” The Killers appeared on Adult Alternative Airplay five times, paced by the No. 2-peaking “Caution” in 2020.
“Boy” has ruled three Billboard airplay charts, including two individual-format tallies. The song tops Adult Alternative Airplay as it begins descending Alternative Airplay, where it falls to No. 3 after six weeks at No. 1. “Boy” is The Killers’ first song to lead both Alternative Airplay and Adult Alternative Airplay; the band also boasts three rulers on the former, with “Boy” preceded by “Caution” in 2020 and “When You Were Young” in 2006.
On the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart, “Boy” led for five weeks and currently ranks at No. 3 with 3.6 million audience impressions, according to Luminate.
Elsewhere, “Boy” places at No. 23 on the multi-metric Hot Alternative Songs chart and No. 38 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, after reaching Nos. 12 and 17, respectively, upon its August debut. In addition to its radio airplay, the song earned 594,000 official U.S. streams in the tracking week ending Oct. 6.
“Boy” has also crossed over to Adult Pop Airplay, where it bullets at No. 33, after reaching No. 32 the week before. It’s the band’s eighth entry on the chart.
The song is currently a standalone single, having been recorded during the sessions for The Killers’ previous album, 2021’s Pressure Machine. The band is currently working on its eighth studio set.
