R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion" spent 21 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.
Released in February 1991 as the lead single from Out of Time, the song became R.E.M.'s highest-charting U.S. hit, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its 21-week run reflects sustained mainstream interest even though the single never reached No. 1.
The track was unusual for a major pop hit: Peter Buck's prominent mandolin drives the arrangement, while Michael Stipe delivers an emotionally uncertain vocal about obsession, frustration, and unrequited feeling. The title uses a Southern expression meaning to lose one's temper or patience, rather than literally abandoning a faith.
The song performed even better on rock-oriented radio charts, topping the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart for three weeks and the Modern Rock Tracks chart for eight weeks. Its 21 Hot 100 weeks are easy to confuse with those separate chart totals, or with its No. 4 peak position. The figures measure different aspects of the single's performance.