Morgan Wallen Has the Two Longest-Leading Country Airplay No. 1s of the 2020s
Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” tops Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated June 24) for a seventh consecutive, and total, week – as he now boasts the two longest-leading No. 1s on the chart this decade. His single “You Proof” ruled for a record 10 weeks beginning last October.
In the tracking week ending June 15, “Last Night” earned 33 million audience impressions (down 2%) on Country Airplay chart reporters, according to Luminate.
The song, on Mercury which John Byron, Ashley Gorley, Jacob Kasher Hindlin and Ryan Vojtesak co-wrote, became Wallen’s ninth Country Airplay leader (on the May 13 chart).
“Last Night” ties for the fourth-longest Country Airplay command. Here’s a look at the longest-leading No. 1s since the survey began in January 1990.
Weeks at No. 1, Title, Artist(s), Date Reached No. 1:
10, “You Proof,” Morgan Wallen, Oct. 15, 2022
8, “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” Alan Jackson & Jimmy Buffett, Aug. 9, 2003
8, “Amazed,” Lonestar, July 17, 1999
7, “Last Night,” Morgan Wallen, May 13, 2023
7, “Beautiful Crazy,” Luke Combs, March 2, 2019
7, “Live Like You Were Dying,” Tim McGraw, July 17, 2004
7, “There Goes My Life,” Kenny Chesney, Dec. 20, 2003
7, “Have You Forgotten?,” Darryl Worley, April 5, 2003
7, “The Good Stuff,” Kenny Chesney, July 27, 2002
Notably, Wallen and Chesney are the only acts with two Country Airplay No. 1s to reign for at least seven weeks each.
Meanwhile, “Last Night” has crossed over to pop and adult radio, marking Wallen’s first top 10 on both Adult Pop Airplay and Pop Airplay, as it rises to Nos. 8 and 9 on the June 24-dated tallies, respectively. The song has also crowned the all-genre, multi-metric Billboard Hot 100 for 10 weeks running.
New Top 10s
Jelly Roll banks his second Country Airplay top 10 as “Need a Favor” pushes 12-9 (17.5 million, up 13%). The song is the lead single from the his inaugural country album, Whitsitt Chapel, which arrived at No. 2 on the June 17 Top Country Albums with 90,000 units – the largest week for an initial entry since the chart transitioned to a consumption-based methodology (from one based on pure sales) in February 2017.
“Favor” follows “Son of a Sinner,” which became Jelly Roll’s first Country Airplay No. 1, in his first appearance on the chart, in January. Concurrently, he has another song on the latest list, as “Save Me,” with Lainey Wilson, climbs 50-48 (1.2 million, up 2%).
Plus, Jon Pardi nets his 10th Country Airplay top 10 as “Your Heart or Mine” rises 11-10 (17.3 million, up 7%). It follows “Last Night Lonely,” which became his fifth No. 1 last September.
Jim Asker
Billboard