Bon Jovi's "When We Were Us" makes the highest debut for a non-holiday song since 2001 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary radio airplay chart (dated March 17), as the track launches at No. 15.
The entrance marks the highest for a non-seasonal song since Faith Hill's "There You'll Be" also soared in at No. 15 on the chart dated June 2, 2001. The last non-holiday track to start higher? Elton John's "You Can Make History (Young Again)," which bounded in at No. 11 on Sept. 28, 1996.
(During the holiday season, most AC stations transition to playing yuletide tunes 24/7, and many Christmas songs have debuted in the top 15 since 2004, led by deSol's No. 6 start with "Little Drummer Boy" in 2005.)
The 30-position Adult Contemporary chart measures total weekly plays, as tabulated by Nielsen Music, among its reporting panel of 84 AC stations.
"When We Were Us" is one of two new songs on the recent reissue of Bon Jovi's 2016 album This House Is Not for Sale.
On April 14, Bon Jovi will be inducted (by Howard Stern) into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
"We're gonna just do a couple of months-worth of shows around the [Rock] Hall induction," frontman Jon Bon Jovi recently said. "And 'When We Were Us' just pretty much takes the time to look back, and see … it actually happened. It's just a thank you to all those fans who supported us for generations."
