We can’t speak for God, but Nine Inch Nails are getting “Closer” to Billboard history.
The Trent Reznor-led outfit has become just the fourth act in history to chart on the Billboard Alternative Airplay tally in five distinct decades: the ’80s, the ’90s, the 2000s, the 2010s and the 2020s. They land on the ranking for the first time in the 2020s with their new single, “As Alive as You Need Me to Be,” recorded for the Tron: Ares movie soundtrack.
NIN joins Red Hot Chili Peppers, U2 and Depeche Mode as the only other artists to achieve that feat. Notably, Alternative Airplay started in 1988, so there wasn’t much time to make the chart in the ’80s.
There are two other acts that have charted on Alternative Airplay in ’80s, ’90s, 2000s and 2010s that could join the five-decade club should they score an entry before the calendar flips to 2030: Beastie Boys and Jane’s Addiction. However, it seems like it might stay a four-member club, since the Beasties haven’t been active since member Adam Yauch‘s 2012 death, and Jane’s disbanded in 2024 following an onstage altercation.
NIN’s Tron: Ares soundtrack will be released on Sept. 19. While Reznor has frequently scored films alongside his bandmate Atticus Ross, the Tron: Ares soundtrack is specifically being billed as a Nine Inch Nails project.
Disney’s Tron: Ares hits theaters Oct. 10.
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