SiriusXM’s ‘Billboard #2 Countdown Channel’ Celebrates Runner-Up Hot 100 Classics
Written by djfrosty on September 7, 2023
These songs are two good. Over the Billboard Hot 100’s history, which dates to 1958, more than 500 songs have peaked in the No. 2 spot. Despite never having reigned as the biggest hit of any single week, their legacies endure.
From Thursday (Sept. 7) through Sept. 21, you can listen to revered runner-up Hot 100 hits on SiriusXM’s Billboard #2 Countdown Channel, an exclusive limited-run channel on the SiriusXM App (channel 14).
The Hot 100’s No. 2-peaking songs range from the first – Perez Prado and His Orchestra’s “Patricia,” which reached the rank on the inaugural survey (dated Aug. 4, 1958) – through hits from 2023 by Drake and 21 Savage (“Search & Rescue”), Lil Durk featuring J. Cole (“All My Life”) and Taylor Swift featuring Ice Spice (“Karma”).
Among other songs that put the “best” in second-best are multiple No. 2 Hot 100 hits each by The Beatles, Justin Bieber, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Michael Jackson, Elton John, Dua Lipa, Madonna, Elvis Presley, Prince and Stevie Wonder.
The Billboard #2 Countdown Channel marks the latest partnership between SiriusXM and Billboard. Previously, the Billboard Top 500 R&B Countdown highlighted hits for Black Music Month, the Billboard Women of Pop 1000 Countdown honored Women’s History Month, the Cupid Countdown made Valentine’s Day even sweeter, the Billboard Top 112 Songs of Christmas Countdown dashed through the sounds of the season and the Billboard Top 500 Summer Hits recapped the biggest summer songs in the Hot 100’s history.
Additionally, SiriusXM’s Big 40 Countdown, on ’80s on 8, and the Back in the Day Replay, on ’90s on 9, are based on historical weekly Hot 100 charts, while the Prime 30, on Prime Country, time-travels back through Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart.
(The Billboard #2 Countdown Channel recap is based on actual performance on the weekly Hot 100 chart. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 2 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 100 earning the least. To ensure equitable representation of the biggest hits from each era, certain time frames were weighted to account for the difference between turnover rates from those years.)