The Beatles’s comeback single “Now and Then” faced mixed reviews from critics and some longtime fans in 2023, but its lukewarm reception didn’t hinder its success on the Billboard charts. Months after its release, the tune continues to thrive on one of the company’s radio lists, surpassing every other hit from the legendary band.
“Now and Then” has now spent an impressive 10 weeks on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Airplay chart. The weekly tally ranks tracks based on their radio audience at stations across the country, focusing on a genre known as “adult alternative”—a broad term for rock music that appeals to a more mature crowd. This frame, the tune dips slightly to No. 17 on the 40-spot tally.
With a 10 weeks now earned on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart, “Now and Then” stands as The Beatles’s longest-running hit on the ranking. In fact, it’s been there so long, it has surpassed the combined total of all their other charting titles.
Apart from “Now and Then,” The Beatles have placed only two other tracks on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart. Given that the ranking was established long after the band’s prime, it’s not shocking that most of their beloved classics have never been able to accumulate enough plays in a a tracking week to make it to the tally.
Before “Now and Then,” The Beatles’s longest-running entry on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart was “Real Love.” The tune spent five weeks on the tally. Their most recent release has now doubled that duration.
The only other charting single on the Adult Alternative Airplay list from The Beatles is “Free as a Bird.” The cut, which was released around the same time as “Real Love,” held on for three weeks in 1996. Combined, their two hits from that year have spent a total of eight weeks on the roster.
“Now and Then” has established itself as The Beatles’s biggest single on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart. Not only has it outlasted any other hit from the rock band, it also achieved a higher peak. The single not only secured The Beatles’s first top 10 but also clinched their only No. 1 on this particular chart.
