Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay are charts that rank the top-performing country songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. Hot Country Songs ranks songs based on digital downloads, streaming, and airplay from radio stations of all formats, a methodology introduced in 2012. [1] Country Airplay, which was first published in 2012, is based solely on country radio airplay, a methodology that had previously been used from 1990 to 2012 for Hot Country Songs. [1]
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The year began with "I Remember Everything" by Zach Bryan featuring Kacey Musgraves at number one on the Hot Country Songs chart and Nate Smith's "World on Fire" topping the Country Airplay listing, both songs retaining that position from the last issue of 2023. [2] [3] Both songs remained at number one throughout January, with the latter retaining its position on the airplay chart throughout the entirety of February as well. In the issue dated February 24, "World on Fire" logged its tenth consecutive week atop Country Airplay, tying the record for the longest-running number one based solely on country radio plays held by Morgan Wallen's "You Proof". [4] In the same week, Beyoncé, a singer primarily associated with R&B and pop music, gained her first country number one with "Texas Hold 'Em", [5] making her the first African-American female artist to achieve a chart-topper in the genre. [6] [7]
In the issue dated March 2, "World on Fire"'s ten-week run at number one on Country Airplay ended as it was replaced by Warren Zeiders' debut single "Pretty Little Poison", the first of nine consecutive one-week chart-toppers. It was the first debut single to top the chart since Smith's "Whiskey on You" thirteen months earlier. [8] In April, 2021 American Idol winner Chayce Beckham gained his first number one with "23". It was the first country radio number one to be solely written by the singer who performed it since Taylor Swift's "Ours" in 2012. [9]
