2026 #1 Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs (So Far)

12/13/25 Kill Me Fast

Three Days Grace

Three Days Grace is only the second act in the forty-plus year history of Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart to earn their 20th leader with “Kill Me Fast.”

Only Shinedown has logged more #1s (21).

“Kill Me Fast” is the band’s third #1 in a row, starting last January with “Mayday.”

Three Days Grace first charted on the Mainstream Rock survey in ’03 with “(I Hate) Everything About You.”

The following year they landed their first #1 with “Just Like You.”

Bad Omens

2/14 Dying To Love

Bad Omens

Last October, “Specter” had a two-week run at #1. Overall, Bad Omens have scored three #1s starting with “Just Pretend” in ’23. The latter is the band’s most popular song to date and is certified platinum by the RIAA. 

Bad Omens have also released the Top 10 tracks, “The Death Of Peace Of Mind” (#2 in 2023) and Poppy collaboration “V.A.N” (#9 in 2024).

To date, the Metalcore/Alternative Metal band have released three albums but so far “Dying To Love” is not attached to an album.

Bad Omens formed in 2015 and hail from Richmond, VA.

2/21 End Of You

Amy Lee (Evanescence), Poppy, and Courtney La Plante (Spiritbox)

It marks the first Mainstream Rock Airplay #1 for both Poppy and LaPlante.

It’s the first time that three women or women-led acts have ruled in the survey’s 45-year history.

Poppy previously garnered three Top 10s on the chart led by “The Cost of Giving Up” (#2) while Spiritbox charted two entries with “Perfect Soul” (#14) doing the best.

Lee lands her first Mainstream Rock Airplay leader as a solo act. But last year Evanescence, featuring Lee’s lead vocals, reached #1 with “Afterlife.”

2/28 The Bottom

Daughtry

It’s Daughtry’s the third time following “Artificial” and “Pieces.”

“This song went through all these different twists and turns until it found its identity in what it is now,” explained Daughtry. “It was me following my gut and my instinct to get back to me and listen to my voice and not placate to everyone else.”

“The Bottom” is from the ” Shock To The System (Part Two)” album. Released in September, the set was the follow-up to ’24’s first edition.

Shinedown

Searchlight

3/6 Searchlight

Shinedown

“‘(This) is a song about owning your true feelings,” vocalist Brent Smith offered. “It’s an awakening of the soul. Lyrically it is a coming-of-age story that celebrates the moment you decide to go out into the world and find your purpose.”

Shinedown owns the record for most #1s in the history of Mainstream Rock Airplay, with 22.

“Searchlight” is the band’s 24th song to reach #1 on Mediabase’s Active Rock chart.

3/21 Wake Up Calling

Papa Roach

Replacing Shinedown’s “Searchlight,” at #1, “Wake Up Calling” is Papa Roach’s thirteenth song to rule the chart.

Papa Roach first ruled Mainstream Rock Airplay in 2009 with “Lifeline.”

“‘Wake Up Calling‘ is a song about standing on the edge of disaster — being pulled back from the brink,” explains Papa Roach frontman Jacoby Shaddix. 
“It’s one of the most raw, emotional songs we’ve written.”

Pierce The Veil

4/4 So Far So Fake

Pierce The Veil

Pierce the Veil’s “So Far So Fake” has completed a long journey. The song originally appeared on band’s latest album, 2023’s “The Jaws Of Life.” “So Far So Fake” also saw a resurgence in 2025 after going viral on TikTok.

“It’s about if you’ve ever been betrayed by somebody you felt was a friend, and the wound never really mended—where even an apology doesn’t feel like it’s enough,” commented Pierce The Veil frontman Vic Fuentes. “It feels like it can never really be resolved. So, it’s a bit angry, a bit sour, a bit difficult to think about. But I always want to write about things that are affecting my life.”

Papa Roach

4/18 Wake Up Calling

Papa Roach

Following a two-week run at the top Papa Roach returns. “Lyrically, (“Wake Up Calling”) is about who and what in my life brings me back to life, who rattles my cage,” explains frontman Jacoby Shaddix. 

Foo Fighters

Your Favorite Toy

4/25 Your Favorite Toy

Foo Fighters

“We stumbled upon it (the song) after experimenting with different sounds and dynamics for over a year, and the day it took shape I knew that we had to follow its lead, recalla frontman Dave Grohl. “It was the fuse to the powder keg of songs we wound up recording for this record. It feels new.”

“Your Favorite Toy” marks the first Foo Fighters studio album with drummer Ilan Rubin, who joined the group after touring line-up changes following drummer Taylor Hawkins’ death.

It was co-produced by the band and engineer Oliver Roman.

Volbeat

Demonic Depression

5/2 Demonic Depression

Volbeat

The band’s thirteenth #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart is from last year’s ‘God Of Angels Trust” album which also featured previous #1s, “Time Will Heal” and “By A Monsters Hand.”

“‘Demonic Depression’ is based on one of my really good friends and the state of mind that he was in for a couple of years,” offered guitarist/vocalist Michael Poulsen. “I’ve played it for several friends, and they’ve all asked, ‘Did you write that about me?’ Which is a little scary and just shows how many people are dealing with mental issues in certain parts of their lives and how many are constantly struggling.”

Dayseeker: Creature In The Black Night

Crawl Back To My Coffin

5/9 Crawl Back To My Coffin

Dayseeker

The track is from the band’s sixth studio effort, last year’s “Creature In The Black Night.”

The song also marks the first Mainstream Rock #1 for Spinefarm Records.

“Dayseeker are absolutely on the rise as fans are connecting to the band around the world in bigger and bigger numbers, and their ascent has no limits given their unique musical and emotional blend that has connected on such a real and visceral level,” Jonas Nachsin, Spinefarm worldwide GM, told Billboard.

The Post-Hardcore band formed in 2012.

Prior to “Crawl Back To My Coffin,” “Pale Moonlight” was the band’s best showing on the chart, peaking at #7.

From Ashes To New

Drage Me

5/16 Drag Me

From Ashes To New

“Drag Me” is the first song From Ashes To New to reach #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.

It’s the band’s 13th entry on the survey. They first reached Mainstream Rock Airplay in ’16 with “Through It All,” which peaked at #6, marking the band’s first of seven Top 10s: a list that includes “Barely Breathing,” which landed at #2 in ’24.

“Drag Me” is on “Reflections,” the band’s fifth studio album which dropped in April.

The set also contains the singles “New Disease” and “Villain.

Shinedown

After reaching #1 on the Mediabase Active Rock chart, Shinedown’s “Safe and Sound” tops Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart (dated May 30th), marking the band’s record-extending 23rd leader on the chart – other top artists with more than a dozen #1s on the listing include Three Days Grace (17), Five Finger Death Punch (16), Foo Fighters (14), and Metallica (13).

“Safe And Sound,” along with previous hits “Dance, Kid, Dance,” “Killing Fields” and “Searchlight, are on Shinedown’s eighth album, aptly titled “Ei8ht.”

6/6 Words Are Worthless

Sleep Theory

“A violin-enhanced power ballad like only Sleep Theory could craft,” reads a press release regarding the song.  

The video, which features the band in performance mode, boasts “a Goth noir vibe.”

“Words Are Worthless” follows “Stuck In My Head” and “Static” to the top of Mainstream Rock. All three songs are from the band’s debut album “Afterglow.”

“Afterglow” only reached #117 on the Billboard 200. But it landed in the Top 10 on the U.S. Top Album Sales and Top Hard Rock Albums charts.

6/13 When I Wake Up

The Pretty Reckless

The Pretty Reckless reach #1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart with “When I Wake Up.” It’s the band’s ninth #1 on the survey and extends their record for the most Mainstream Rock Airplay #1s by a female fronted band.

“‘When I Wake Up’ is the story of a dream becoming a nightmare,” reflects frontwoman Taylor Momsen. “When a life of excess leads you on a rollercoaster that is doomed to crash but you just can’t see it.”

The song is from the band’s fifth album, “Dear God.”

6/20 Who Will You Follow

Evanescence

The song is off Evanescence’s “Sanctuary” album and is the band’s second #1 on the chart coming after last year’s “Afterlife.”

“It’s about the quest for what is real… being able to connect on what is real amidst a flood of lies being shoved in our face,” Evanescence frontwoman Amy Lee explains. “Somebody else is literally profiting off of you believing a lie. It is just wild out there. I want us to find each other in reality, dark as it may be, because you can’t fix it until you face it.”

“Who Will You Follow” also topped the Billboard Rock & Alternative Airplay chart.

7/4 Twisting The Knife

Ice Nine Kills w/ McKenna Grace

The song was recorded for the Scream 7 soundtrack which premiered last February. Grace appears in the film as Hannah Thurman.

“When we learned that Mckenna Grace is a fan of our band, it made perfect sense to invite her to sing,” states Ice Nine Kills frontman Spencer Charnas.

It’s the first time that either Ice Nine Kills or Grace has topped the Mainstream Rock survey.

The song also landed at #1 at Active Rock Radio becoming the first effort written for the iconic franchise to reach the top at radio.

7/11 Eye Of The Storm

Five Finger Death Punch

Five Finger Death Punch earns its 18th #1 single on the Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. The song is from the band’s tenth album, “Legacy.”

“Legacy” is the band’s first effort since “The Way Of The Fist” (2007) not be produced by Kevin Churko…  Drew Fulk stepped in.

Meanwhile, Five Finger Death Punch’s previous #1 hits “Welcome To The Circus” (2022) and “Darkness Settles In” (2021) are officially RIAA-certified gold.