Alternative went mainstream in the mid-1990s, and No Doubt was at the forefront of pop radio’s segue to playing more modern rock.
The group, fronted by lead singer Gwen Stefani, first appeared on Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart dated March 23, 1996, with “Just a Girl.” The wry empowerment song — which builds from Stefani’s “little old me” coo to its exasperated closing shriek, “I’ve had it up to he-re!” — became the band’s first of three hits on the chart that year, reaching No. 24 in April.
The ska-infused “Spiderwebs” hit No. 11 on Pop Airplay that October. As that song peaked, programmers were already intrigued by the band’s ballad “Don’t Speak,” a more down-the-middle choice for the format. The song went on to rule the ranking for 10 weeks in 1996-97. (Only 4% of all No. 1s in the chart’s 31-year history have led for double-digit weeks.)
All three hits were released on No Doubt’s third album, Tragic Kingdom, which dominated the Billboard 200 chart for nine weeks beginning in December 1996. To date, the set has earned 9.4 million equivalent album units in the United States, according to Luminate. In addition to their pop radio success, the three tracks all reached the top 10 on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart.
The band remained a chart force into the 2000s and beyond, upping its count to five Pop Airplay top 10s, including two more No. 1s in 2002: “Hey Baby,” featuring Bounty Killer, and “Underneath It All,” featuring Lady Saw. The group most recently reached the list with the top 20 entry “Settle Down” in 2012.
Ahead of No Doubt playing Coachella on April 13, count down the band’s top-charting songs on the Pop Airplay survey below.
“I already know what it’s going to feel like because we’re just so in sync when we’re onstage,” Stefani recently told Nylon of No Doubt’s Coachella appearance. “It’s going to feel like riding a bike again. We’re going to be laughing, and we’re going to look at each other and go, ‘Oh my gosh – there you are.’ ”
No Doubt’s Biggest Billboard Hits chart is based on actual performance on Billboard’s weekly Pop Airplay chart through April 13, 2024. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 40 earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted to account for different chart turnover rates over various periods.
