Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 2008, 26 different songs topped the chart in 52 issues of the magazine, based on weekly airplay data from country music radio stations compiled by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems. [1]
At the start of the year the number one was "Our Song" by Taylor Swift, which had risen to the top in the issue dated December 22, 2007. [2] It remained at the top of the chart until the issue dated February 2, when it was replaced by "Letter to Me" by Brad Paisley. Both Swift and Paisley had three songs at number one in 2008. Paisley reached the top with "Letter to Me", "I'm Still a Guy" and "Waitin' on a Woman" and Swift with "Our Song", "Should've Said No" and "Love Story". Carrie Underwood also had three chart-toppers in 2008 with "All-American Girl", "Last Name" and "Just a Dream". Paisley and Swift tied for the most weeks at number one by an artist in the year, each spending eight weeks at the top. The last number one of the year was "Roll with Me", the final number one single by Montgomery Gentry.
Four acts topped the chart for the first time in 2008. The first was James Otto, who reached number one for the first time in May with "Just Got Started Lovin' You". [3] Although it only spent two weeks at number one, Otto's song was ranked number one on Billboard's year-end chart of the most popular country songs. [4] In October, former Hootie & the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker scored his first country number one with "Don't Think I Don't Think About It", making him the first African-American to have a solo number one since Charley Pride in 1983. [5] Jimmy Wayne and the Zac Brown Band also topped the chart for the first time in 2008. [6] [7] Additionally, veteran reggae band The Wailers received a secondary credit on Kenny Chesney's song "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven" for one of its two weeks in the top spot. This gave the group its first appearance at number one on Hot Country Songs and marked the first appearance at number one on the chart by any act of the reggae genre and the first by any act from Jamaica. [8]
Darius Carlos Rucker is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, which he founded in 1986 at the University of South Carolina along with Mark Bryan, Jim "Soni" Sonefeld, and Dean Felber. The band released five studio albums with Rucker as a member and charted six top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Rucker co-wrote most of the songs with the other members of the band.
Bradley Douglas Paisley is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Starting with his 1999 debut album Who Needs Pictures, he has released eleven studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nashville label, with all of his albums certified Gold or higher by the RIAA. He has scored 35 Top 10 singles on the US Billboard Country Airplay chart, 20 of which have reached number one. He set a new record in 2009 for the most consecutive singles (10) reaching the top spot on that chart.
Blake Tollison Shelton is an American country music singer and television personality. In 2001, he made his debut with the single "Austin". The lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" spent five weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The now Platinum-certified debut album also produced two more top 20 entries.
Carrie Marie Underwood is an American country singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of American Idol in 2005. Her single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the only 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), was preceded by the single "Cowboy Casanova", which had one of the biggest single-week upward movements on the Hot 100.
"Before He Cheats" is a song by American singer Carrie Underwood from her debut studio album, Some Hearts (2005). Written by Chris Tompkins and Josh Kear, it was released as the fourth single from the album. The song tells the story of a woman taking revenge on her unfaithful partner.
New Zealand-born Australian country music singer Keith Urban has released 12 studio albums, four compilation albums, and 55 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.
The discography of Brad Paisley, an American country music singer, consists of 12 studio albums, three compilation albums, and 46 singles. All but two of Paisley's singles have hit the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, with all but six reaching the Top Ten. He has 21 Number Ones, including a streak of ten consecutive, starting with the 2005–06 Dolly Parton duet "When I Get Where I'm Going". When "Waitin' on a Woman", reached number 1 in late 2008, Paisley set a new record for the most consecutive Number Ones (10) by any country artist since the inception of Nielsen SoundScan in 1990. This streak lasted until mid-2009's number 2 single "Welcome to the Future".
Montgomery Gentry is an American country music duo founded by Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry. Its discography comprises 11 studio albums, five compilation albums, two extended plays, and 38 singles. The duo made its debut in 1999 with the single "Hillbilly Shoes," which went to number 13 on the Hot Country Songs charts, but did not reach number one until mid-2004, with "If You Ever Stop Loving Me." The duo has sent four more singles to Number One for a total of five: "Something to Be Proud Of" (2005), "Lucky Man" (2007), "Back When I Knew It All", and "Roll with Me". Besides these, Montgomery Gentry has reached the Top 10 with 10 additional hit singles. All 15 of these songs have charted on the Billboard Hot 100, where the duo's highest peak is "If You Ever Stop Loving Me" at number 30.
Fearless is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released November 11, 2008, by Big Machine Records in the U.S. and Canada, and an international edition was released on March 9, 2009. Written largely by Swift while she was promoting her 2006 eponymous debut album in 2007–2008, Fearless features additional songwriting credits from Liz Rose, Hillary Lindsey, Colbie Caillat, and John Rich. Swift wrote seven of the thirteen songs on the standard edition by herself and, in her debut as a record producer, co-produced all songs with Nathan Chapman.
Joey + Rory was an American country and bluegrass duo composed of singer-songwriters Rory Lee 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 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, 39 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.