Blake Shelton Tops Country Airplay With Gwen Stefani Duet 'Nobody But You': 'I Connect With Every Lyric'
4/28/2020 by Jim Asker
Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton pose onstage during the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center on Jan. 26, 2020 in Los Angeles.
Also, Kenny Chesney scores 57th top 10 and a new high start for Morgan Wallen.
"Nobody but You," by real-life couple Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani, rises 2-1 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart dated May 2.
It increased by 3% to 38.1 million audience impressions in the week ending April 26, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.
"'Nobody but You' wasn't written as a duet, but it is a duet," Shelton tells Billboard. "I have to thank [the song's writers] Shane McAnally, Ross Copperman, Josh Osborne and Tommy Lee James for trusting us with this incredible song that captures exactly how I feel about Gwen, and I can connect with every lyric. I still pinch myself every time I hear one of my songs on the radio, but I have to pinch and twist really hard to believe I'm singing it with Gwen Stefani. As always, thank you to the fans that listen and I cannot wait until we can all be together celebrating music again."
On the airplay-, streaming- and sales-powered Hot Country Songs chart, "Nobody" holds at its No. 3 high, having drawn 9.4 million U.S. streams and sold 9,000 downloads in the week ending April 23.
Shelton scores his 27th Country Airplay No. 1, the third-highest total since the chart launched in January 1990. Kenny Chesney leads with 30 No. 1s, followed by Tim McGraw with 29.
Shelton last led Country Airplay with "God's Country," which reigned for two weeks last July. "Dive Bar," with Garth Brooks, peaked at No. 6 in March, marking his 33rd top 10, three weeks before "Nobody" became his 34th.
Shelton's first Country Airplay entry, "Austin," ruled for a career-best five weeks in 2001. He rattled off a record 17 consecutive No. 1 singles from "Hillbilly Bone" (featuring Trace Adkins) in 2010 through "Came Here to Forget" in 2016.
Meanwhile, Stefani rules Country Airplay in her first visit to the ranking, adding another tally to her chart-topping résumé. No Doubt, with Stefani as frontwoman, boasts three No. 1s on Pop Songs and one on Adult Pop Songs (along with five Alternative Songs top 10s). As a soloist, prior to leading Country Airplay, Stefani scored two Pop Songs No. 1s and one each on Rap Airplay and Rhythmic Songs. She also topped the all-genre, multi-metric Billboard Hot 100 with her solo smash "Hollaback Girl" for four weeks in 2005.
'HERE' HE IS AGAIN Kenny Chesney collects his 57th Country Airplay top 10, as "Here and Now” lifts 11-10, gaining by 3% to 18.6 million in audience. Chesney ties Tim McGraw for the second-most top 10s in the chart's archives, after George Strait's 61.
The song follows Chesney's last top 10, "Tip of My Tongue," which reached No. 8 in December. He first reached the region with "Fall in Love," a No. 6 hit in 1995.
'HOMETOWN' NEWS Morgan Wallen makes his best Hot Country Songs entrance, as "More Than My Hometown" flies onto the chart at No. 12.
The track, which previews Wallen's upcoming second studio album, was released on April 17 and sold 14,000 downloads in its first week, sparking its No. 2 start on Country Digital Song Sales, where he adds his sixth top 10. It also earned 7.3 million first-week U.S. streams
Wallen posted a No. 15 previous-best Hot Country Songs bow last August as featured on Diplo's "Heartless." As a lead artist, he logged a No. 29 prior top arrival with "This Bar" in January.
Meanwhile, Wallen's current radio single "Chasin' You" pushes 3-2 on Country Airplay (34.9 million in audience, up 10%).