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Cover of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by The Smashing Pumpkins
Cover: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

Song · The Smashing Pumpkins

“Tonight, Tonight” by The Smashing Pumpkins

From the album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995)

“Tonight, Tonight” by The Smashing Pumpkins appears on 98 radio countdowns from 41 stations between 1996 and 2026. It was first released in 1995 on the album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Its best result is #4 on the X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #7 alternative song of 1996, #85 alternative song of all time and #89 of the '90s.

98countdowns
41stations
#4best position
0#1 finishes
4top 10 finishes
1996–2026years charted

Watch

The Smashing Pumpkins - Tonight, Tonight (Official Music Video)

Video from YouTube (SmashingPumpkinsVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Tonight, Tonight" comes from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, the Smashing Pumpkins' sprawling third album from 1995, and went out as its fourth single in 1996. Billy Corgan wrote it and sings it, and he produced it with Flood and Alan Moulder, the same trio that mixed it. What they built is alternative rock blown up to symphonic scale: a sweeping, orchestral rush, drums rolling like thunder, and Corgan's thin, keening voice riding on top of it all like a kid who refuses to come down from the rooftop.

Critics loved it and so did the public. It went to number one in Iceland, reached the top 20 in the UK, Ireland, Scotland and New Zealand, and went gold in the UK and platinum in New Zealand. Its video won several awards of its own.

The song kept turning up in other forms: a shorter acoustic take, "Tonite Reprise", was one of six B-sides on the single and also sat on the original triple-LP pressing of Mellon Collie, an extended version appeared on the 1996 box set The Aeroplane Flies High, and the song itself landed on the 2001 hits collection Rotten Apples.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1996 26 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1996 107
1996 22 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1996 91
1996 5 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1996 25
1996 8 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1996 101
1996 10 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1996 99
1996 29 107.7 The End Seattle, WA The End Top 107 Songs of 1996 107
1996 37 WBCN Boston, MA WBCN Top 104 Songs of 1996 104
1996 79 WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 1996 100
1996 55 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 1996 100
1996 13 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 96 Songs of 1996 96

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1999 240 KROQ KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999) 300
1999 119 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 41 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 25 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 130 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 300 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 300
1999 168 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 92 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 124 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 67 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 115 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
1999 65 The Buzz The Buzz Top 99 Songs of All-Time (1999) 99
2000 220 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 67 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2000 104 The Edge KEDJ Countdown 2000 (106 songs) 106
2001 223 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 66 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 267 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 173 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 66 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 660 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2002 172 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 160 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 66 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 23 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 66 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 163 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2005 59 Live 105 Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of the '90s (August 2005) 106
2005 72 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the 90s 96
2005 327 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 71 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 64 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 77 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Songs of the '90s (December 2006) 107
2006 472 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 132 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 317 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2007 155 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 406 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2007 557 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2008 219 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 412 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 84 CFNY 102.1 The Edge The Top 200 Songs of the 90's According to 102.1 The Edge 200
2009 58 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 413 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 151 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of All-Time (2009) 200
2010 143 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of the 90's (September 2010) 200
2010 411 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 410 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2012 59 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 102 New Rock Songs of All-Time 102
2013 410 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 408 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 110 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2014 565 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) 885
2015 107 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2016 486 WYEP WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 913
2017 179 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2017) 500
2018 735 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs 892
2019 33 X96 X96's Top 100 Songs of the 90's 100
2019 938 WYEP WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 1099
2019 87 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2019 466 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2019 938 WYEP WYEP Big Spring Countdown 2019 1017
2020 74 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2020 1468 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2020 243 Q105.7 Q105.7 Memorial Day 500 (2020) 499
2020 293 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2020 401 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2020) 500
2021 888 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 491 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2021 55 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2022 42 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 1264 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2022 603
2022 133 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2022 57 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2022 23 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2022 4 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2023 73 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 67 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2023 53 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2023 21 ALT 104.5 ALT 104.5 Top 104 of ALT Time 104
2024 392 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 500
2024 272 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2024) 400
2024 790 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2025 77 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s 500
2025 389 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2025 186 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025) 400
2025 789 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2026 927 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180
2026 337 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2026) 500
2026 127 101X 101X 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: Tonight Tonight.

Charting alongside it in 1996

Best songs of 1996 →
  1. 1Down311
  2. 2PepperButthole Surfers
  3. 3Where It's AtBeck
  4. 4SpiderwebsNo Doubt
  5. 5What I GotSublime
  6. 6MachineheadBush

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