Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 2003, 19 different songs topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles & Tracks, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on weekly airplay data from country music radio stations compiled by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems. [1]
Singer George Strait's song "She'll Leave You with a Smile" was at number one at the start of the year, having been at the top since the issue dated December 28, 2002. [2] It remained at number one for one further week in 2003 before being replaced by "19 Somethin'" by Mark Wills. The highest total number of weeks spent at number one by a song in 2003 was the eight achieved by "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere", a collaboration between Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett. The success of "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" gave Buffett his first ever country number one, more than thirty years after he began his singing career. [3] The duet spent an initial seven weeks at the top, was replaced for a week, and then returned for a final week at number one. The song's first spell at number one tied for the longest unbroken run at the top with "Have You Forgotten?" by Darryl Worley. In addition, the song's eight-week run at number one tied with Lonestar's "Amazed" for the longest-running number one based on country radio airplay since Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems was initiated in 1990, a record which would stand until 2022. [4] Another collaboration between a younger star and a music veteran to top the charts in 2003 was "Beer for My Horses" by Toby Keith and Willie Nelson, which spent six weeks at number one and made Nelson, at age 70, the oldest singer to top the chart. [5] [6] The number one position was dominated by male artists; no solo female singers topped the chart in 2003, [7] although the all-female band Dixie Chicks spent a single week at number one.
Three singers achieved their first number one hits in 2003, Gary Allan with "Man to Man", [8] Joe Nichols with "Brokenheartsville", [9] and Dierks Bentley with "What Was I Thinkin'". [10] "Brokenheartsville"'s rise to the top benefited from a backlash against previous chart-toppers Dixie Chicks, after the group's lead singer Natalie Maines made controversial comments about then-United States President George W. Bush. This led to a number of radio stations dropping their song "Travelin' Soldier" and thus impacting its chart performance. [11] [12] Allan followed up "Man to Man" with a second number one later in the year with "Tough Little Boys" and was one of only two artists to place multiple songs at the top of the chart in 2003, the other being Keith, whose six weeks at number one with "Beer for My Horses" and five with "I Love This Bar" gave him a total of eleven weeks at number one, the most by any act in 2003. The final number one of the year was "There Goes My Life" by Kenny Chesney.
Dance Club Songs was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by Billboard magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the United States.
"Forever and for Always" is a song by Canadian country music singer Shania Twain. The song was released as the fourth single from her fourth studio album Up! (2002), on April 7, 2003; it was also the third to be sent to country radio. The song was written by her then-husband Robert John "Mutt" Lange and Twain. The song is about two people who fall in love as children and are still with each other even as they grow older. "Forever and for Always" was certified gold for 500,000 digital downloads by the RIAA in 2006.
"Landslide" is a song by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, written and performed by Stevie Nicks. The song was first featured on the band's self-titled album Fleetwood Mac (1975). The original recording also appears on the compilation albums 25 Years – The Chain (1992), The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac (2002) and 50 Years – Don't Stop (2018), while a live version was released as a single 23 years later from the live reunion album The Dance (1997). "Landslide" reached No. 51 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart. "Landslide" was certified gold in October 2009 for sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States. According to Nielsen Soundscan, "Landslide" sold 2,093,186 copies in the United States as of 2017.
American country music singer Carrie Underwood has released nine studio albums, one greatest hits album, and 29 singles. Underwood rose to fame after winning the fourth season of American Idol in 2005. Her debut album, Some Hearts, was released in 2005 and is the fastest-selling debut country album in Nielsen SoundScan history. It also became the best-selling solo female country debut in Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) history, as well as the top-selling debut album of any American Idol contestant in the United States.
American singer Lady Gaga has released five solo studio albums, two collaborative studio albums, two film soundtracks, three remix albums, two compilation albums, four EPs, two live albums, 40 singles, and 14 promotional singles. Gaga made her debut in August 2008 with the studio album The Fame, which peaked at number two in the United States, where it was subsequently certified triple Platinum, while topping the charts in Austria, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Its first two singles, "Just Dance" and "Poker Face", reached number one in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and for the latter, becoming the world's biggest single of the 2009 calendar year. The album spawned three more singles: "Eh, Eh ", "LoveGame" and "Paparazzi". The latter reached the top ten in many countries worldwide, and number one in Germany.