TobyMac Breaks Record for Most Christian Airplay No. 1s Among Soloists With ‘Faithfully’
Singer-songwriter TobyMac rolls up his 13th No. 1 on Billboard’s Christian Airplay chart as “Faithfully” rises to the top of the Feb. 17-dated ranking. It increased by 1% to 5.9 million audience impressions Feb. 2-8, according to Luminate.
With his newest No. 1, TobyMac solely claims the most leaders among soloists since the Christian Airplay chart began in 2003, passing Jeremy Camp and Matthew West. Overall, MercyMe leads with 19 No. 1s, followed by twosome For King & Country with 14.
TobyMac (real name Toby McKeehan), from Fairfax, Va., co-wrote “Faithfully” with Kyle Williams, and the pair produced it with Micah Kuiper. The single is from TobyMac’s set Life After Death, which arrived at No. 1 on Top Christian Albums in September 2022, becoming his sixth leading set.
TobyMac created the album after the passing of his 21-year old son, Truett Foster McKeehan, who died in October 2019 from an accidental drug overdose. “I immediately went to write, because that’s what I know to do when I’m in so much pain,” he told Billboard ahead of the set’s release. “You [write] what you know, what you love and what brings you peace.”
“Faithfully” follows TobyMac’s holiday track “Christmas Hits Different,” which reached No. 2 on Christian Airplay in December, becoming his 28th of 29 career top 10s.
TobyMac last topped Christian Airplay with “Cornerstone,” featuring Zach Williams, for two frames last July. He first reigned with “Made to Love” for nine weeks beginning in December 2006.
On Billboard’s Christian AC Airplay list, “Faithfully” adds a second week in the penthouse, with a 2% advance in plays. It became TobyMac’s 10th leader on the chart.
Jim Asker
Billboard