TheDance Singles Sales was arecord chart released weekly byBillboard magazine listing each week's best-sellingdance singles in the United States. Its previous names includeHot Dance/Disco 12-inch Singles Sales (1985–1987),Hot Dance Music 12-inch Singles Sales (1987–1992), andHot Dance Music Maxi-Singles Sales (1992–2003). The chart was compiled from a national sample ofretail stores,mass merchants, andinternet sales reports collected and provided byNielsen SoundScan. It was launched on the issue dated March 16, 1985, with the first number-one single being "New Attitude"/"Axel F", asplit single byPatti LaBelle andHarold Faltermeyer fromBeverly Hills Cop soundtrack. The chart became defunct after the issue dated November 30, 2013, withBorgore's "Wild Out" (featuringWaka Flocka Flame and Paige) as its final number-one single.
Madonna achieved 33 number-one singles on the chart, the most by any artist.
From October 26, 1974[1] until August 28, 1976,Billboard magazine'sDisco Action section published weekly charts ofretail single sales from various local regions along with Top Audience Response Records.[2]Billboard debuted its first national chart devoted exclusively to sales of12-inch singles in their issue dated March 16, 1985.[3] This record type is most commonly used in disco anddance music genres whereDJs use them to play in discos ordance clubs because of the exclusive extendedremixes that are often only made available on this format, butBillboard's 12-inch Single Sales chart ranks releases by artists from all styles of music that releasemaxi-singles.[4]
The 50-position weekly ranking joinedBillboard's establishedDance/Disco Top 80 chart, reduced to the same 50 positions, both under the titleHot Dance/Disco, becoming two separate Top 50 charts: 12-Inch Singles Sales and Club Play. A coupling fromMCA Records'Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack,Patti LaBelle's "New Attitude"[5] andHarold Faltermeyer's "Axel F",[6] held the No. 1 slot for the 12-inch Singles Sales chart's first week[7] and was also No. 1 for the second consecutive week on the most played dance/disco chart.[8][7]
The word "disco" was removed from the title of the section of both charts beginning September 19, 1987.[9] After being temporarily renamedHot Dance 50,[10]Billboard retitled the sectionHot Dance Music on October 24, 1987.[11]
On June 20, 1992,Billboard began to also surveycassette tape andCD maxi-singles along with vinyl twelve-inch singles renaming the chartMaxi-Singles Sales.[16] In 1993, theBillboard Music Award winner for #1 12" Dance Single wasRuPaul's[17] "Supermodel (You Better Work)".[18][19] The Maxi-Singles Sales survey began using actual sales figures (SoundScan) to compile the chart on August 28, 1993.[20]
Dance Singles Sales is retitledHot Dance Single Sales when the top 25Hot Dance Radio Airplay begins to appear in print on October 25 of that year.[34] The single "Me Against the Music" byBritney Spears and Madonna won the award for "Hot Dance Singles Sales Single of the Year"[35] at theBillboard Music Awards in 2004.[36][37]
Beginning April 30, 2005, theBillboard Dance section started alternately printing Hot Dance Single Sales and Top Electronic Albums every other week in the magazine[38] until Hot Dance Single Sales[39] became only available at billboard.biz after the February 24, 2007 issue.[40]Billboard reduces the position size of the Hot Dance Singles chart from 25 to 15 positions on March 30, 2007.[41]
The size of the Dance Singles Sales chart is reduced further down to 10 positions on October 3, 2009.[42]Billboard'sDance/Electronic Digital Song Sales, a 50 position chart ranking of the most populardownloaded songs ranked by sales data as compiled byLuminate, debuted online January 23, 2010.[43] After years of fallingrecord sales,[44]Billboard discontinued their weekly Dance Singles Sales survey in 2013.[45] The last chart of the nearly 29 year old national survey was published online November 30, 2013.[46]