Having sprouted on Billboard’s charts in winter, Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” stood tall throughout spring and summer, and now ties a pair of records just before fall on the Adult Contemporary survey.
The single adds a 24th week at No. 1 on Adult Contemporary (dated Sept. 23), equaling the longest command for a song by a woman, first set by Adele’s “Easy on Me” in 2021-22.
Meanwhile, with both hits on Columbia Records, they now share the mark for the longest Adult Contemporary reign for a song released by the label over the chart’s history.
Most Weeks at No. 1 on Adult Contemporary Chart:
36, “Girls Like You,” Maroon 5, beginning Nov. 10, 2018
35, “Blinding Lights,” The Weeknd, Nov. 7, 2020
28, “Drift Away,” Uncle Kracker feat. Dobie Gray, June 7, 2003
24, “Flowers,” Miley Cyrus, April 15, 2023
24, “Easy on Me,” Adele, Nov. 13, 2021
24, “Shape of You,” Ed Sheeran, May 6, 2017
22, “Perfect,” Ed Sheeran, Feb. 24, 2018
22, “Hey, Soul Sister,” Train, July 3, 2010
21, “Hello,” Adele, Nov. 28, 2015
21, “Breakaway,” Kelly Clarkson, March 12, 2005
21, “A New Day Has Come,” Celine Dion, March 30, 2002
20, “Memories,” Maroon 5, March 21, 2020
20, “Just the Way You Are,” Bruno Mars, Feb. 5, 2011
The Adult Contemporary chart ranks titles by weekly plays on a panel of 85 adult contemporary radio stations. The tally began in Billboard‘s pages (as the “Easy Listening” chart) on July 17, 1961; once Luminate data began powering the chart exactly 32 years later (July 17, 1993; airplay is now provided to Luminate by Mediabase), lengthy reigns became much more common than before.
“Flowers” previously topped the mainstream top 40-based Pop Airplay chart for 10 weeks and the adult top 40-focused Adult Pop Airplay ranking for 17 frames – the most atop the latter list among songs by women.
“Flowers” launched at No. 1 on the all-genre, multimetric Billboard Hot 100 in January and ruled for eight weeks. It’s from Cyrus’ album Endless Summer Vacation, which debuted at its No. 3 best on the Billboard 200 albums chart in March, marking her 14th top 10.
