Linkin Park’s “The Emptiness Machine” bounds two spots to No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay and Mainstream Rock Airplay charts dated Oct. 5.
The song reigns in just its third week on both lists. It completes the quickest trip to No. 1 on Alternative Airplay in nearly two years, dating to the three weeks that Blink-182’s “Edging” took in November 2022. On Mainstream Rock Airplay, it’s the fastest since Metallica’s “Lux Æterna” needed only two weeks in December 2022.
Linkin Park now boasts 13 No. 1s on Alternative Airplay, tying Green Day for the second-most rulers since the chart began in September 1988.
Most No. 1s, Alternative Airplay:
15, Red Hot Chili Peppers
13, Green Day
13, Linkin Park
12, Cage the Elephant
12, Foo Fighters
10, Twenty One Pilots
8, U2
8, Weezer
7, The Black Keys
7, Imagine Dragons
Linkin Park first reigned in 2001-02 with “In the End.” Prior to “The Emptiness Machine,” it most recently led with “Lost,” for six weeks in March-May 2023. In between its two latest No. 1s, the group’s “Friendly Fire” hit No. 2 this April.
On Mainstream Rock Airplay, “The Emptiness Machine” is Linkin Park’s 11th No. 1, giving the group sole possession of the ninth-most leaders since the chart first published in 1981. The act first led with “Somewhere I Belong” in 2003.
Most No. 1s, Mainstream Rock Airplay:
19, Shinedown
17, Three Days Grace
15, Five Finger Death Punch
14, Foo Fighters
14, Metallica
13, Godsmack
13, Van Halen
12, Disturbed
11, Linkin Park
“The Emptiness Machine” is part of a streak of three No. 1s in a row on the chart for Linkin Park, following “Lost” and “Friendly Fire.” It’s the first such run for the band, after it strung together two straight leaders twice.
Concurrently, “The Emptiness Machine” tops the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart for a third week via 8.6 million audience impressions in the week ending Sept. 26, up 8%, according to Luminate.
The song ruled the most recently published multimetric Hot Hard Rock Songs chart (dated Sept. 28, reflecting the tracking week of Sept. 13-19); in addition to its radio airplay, it earned 8.4 million official U.S. streams and sold 3,000 in that span.
“The Emptiness Machine” is the lead single from From Zero, Linkin Park’s eighth studio album, due Nov. 15. It’s the band’s first full-length with new co-singer Emily Armstrong and drummer Colin Brittain, following the death of singer Chester Bennington in 2017 and departure of longtime drummer Rob Bourdon.
All Billboard charts dated Oct. 5 will update on Billboard.com on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
