Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 2002, 21 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 Alan Jackson's song "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" was at number one at the start of the year, having been at the top since the issue dated December 29, 2001, [2] and remained at number one until the issue dated February 2, when it was replaced by "Good Morning Beautiful" by Steve Holy. [3] This marked Holy's first appearance at the top of the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. [4] Other acts who reached the number one position for the first time in 2002 included Darryl Worley with "I Miss My Friend", Chris Cagle with "I Breathe In, I Breathe Out" and Rascal Flatts with "These Days". [5] [6] [7] Additionally, while not his first number one, when Tracy Byrd topped the chart in October with "Ten Rounds with José Cuervo", it marked his first appearance at the top of the chart for more than nine years, as well as the first number one for songwriter Casey Beathard. [8] [9]
The longest unbroken run at number one during 2002 was seven weeks, achieved by Kenny Chesney's song "The Good Stuff", which was also ranked number one on Billboard's year-end chart of the most popular country songs. [10] Two artists achieved three number one hits during 2002. Tim McGraw topped the chart in March with "Bring On the Rain", a collaboration with Jo Dee Messina, which was replaced at the top the following week by his single "The Cowboy in Me". [11] Later in the year he returned to the number one position with "Unbroken". Toby Keith reached number one with "My List", "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)" and "Who's Your Daddy?". McGraw and Keith's singles contributed to a dominance of the chart in 2002 by male vocalists. Other than Messina's collaboration with McGraw, the only number one by a female artist was "Blessed" by Martina McBride, which would be the last number one for a solo female artist for more than two years. [12] The final number one hit of the year was "She'll Leave You with a Smile" by George Strait.
Kenneth Arnold Chesney is an American country singer. He has recorded more than 20 albums that include more than 40 Top 10 singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, 33 of which have reached number one. Many of these also have charted within the Top 40 of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, making him one of the most successful crossover country artists. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide.
Carrie Marie Underwood is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of American Idol in 2005. Underwood's single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the first country artist to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the only solo country artist in the 2000s to have a number-one song on the Hot 100. Her debut album, Some Hearts (2005), was bolstered by the successful crossover singles "Jesus, Take the Wheel" and "Before He Cheats", becoming the best-selling solo female debut album in country music history. She won three Grammy Awards for the album, including Best New Artist. The next studio album, Carnival Ride (2007) had one of the biggest opening weeks of all time by a female artist and won two Grammy Awards. Her third studio album, Play On (2009), produced the single "Cowboy Casanova", which had one of the biggest single-week upward movements on the Hot 100.
Australian country music singer Keith Urban has released 12 studio albums, four compilation albums, and 57 singles. He began his career in 1991 with the release of his self-titled debut album on EMI and Capitol Records in Australia. After an American album in 1997 as a member of The Ranch, he embarked on a solo career there as well, subsequently releasing five more studio albums. His highest-certified album in the US is 2004's Be Here, which is four-times-platinum.
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 country music singer and songwriter Dierks Bentley has released ten studio albums, one live album, one compilation album, and 33 singles. In 2003, Capitol Nashville released Bentley's self-titled debut album. The album's first single, "What Was I Thinkin'", reached number 1 on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and 22 on the Billboard Hot 100, his highest-charting single there to date. Bentley then released two studio albums in 2005 and 2006 and produced several number 1 hits on Billboard Hot Country Songs. In 2007, Bentley released a live concert DVD, Live and Loud at the Fillmore, which was recorded in Denver, Colorado.
American country music singer Miranda Lambert has released ten studio albums, one extended play, one video album, and has made 23 other album appearances. She has released 39 singles, nine promotional singles, and 37 music videos. Lambert has sold 7 million albums in the United States, with her first seven studio albums being certified platinum. In 2001, Lambert released a self-titled and self-financed independent album. After gaining exposure as the third-place winner of the television competition Nashville Star, Lambert signed with Epic Nashville in 2004.
American country music singer Blake Shelton has released 12 studio albums, four extended plays, five compilation albums, and 54 singles. According to Recording Industry Association of America, Shelton has sold 52 million singles and 13 million albums in the United States. He also has achieved 14 No. 1 hits on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. Billboard ranked him as the 31st Top Artist of the 2010s decade.
Joey + Rory was an American country and bluegrass duo composed of singer-songwriters Rory Feek and Joey Feek, who were husband and wife. Both members of the duo were vocalists and songwriters, with Rory also playing acoustic guitar. Rory Lee Feek had written singles for other artists prior to the duo's foundation. The duo was the third-place finalist on CMT's competition Can You Duet in 2008. The duo recorded eight studio albums for Vanguard Records and Gaither Music Group and charted three singles on Hot Country Songs.
American country music singer Jason Aldean has released eleven studio albums, one extended play, and forty solo singles. All of his music has been released through BBR Music Group, with Michael Knox as his sole record producer.
American country music band Zac Brown Band has released seven studio albums, two extended plays, two live albums, and twenty-nine singles. Fourteen of those singles reached number one on either the US Billboard Hot Country Songs or Country Airplay chart, while one reached number one on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.
American country music singer and songwriter Chris Young has released nine studio albums, twenty three singles, and nineteen music videos. Eleven of his singles have reached number one on either the US Billboard Hot Country Songs or Country Airplay charts. In 2006, Young rose to fame as the winner of season four of American reality singing competition Nashville Star. He released his debut self-titled album in October of that year, which produced two singles that failed to reach the Top 40 of the Country Songs chart.