Old Dominion Scores Third Country Airplay No. 1; Luke Bryan Shines ‘Light’ on Hot Country Songs
Old Dominion's "No Such Thing As a Broken Heart" (RCA Nashville) rises 2-1 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart dated Sept. 9, up 6 percent to 44.4 -million audience impressions in the week ending…
Old Dominion’s “No Such Thing As a Broken Heart” rises 2-1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart dated Sept. 9, up 6 percent to 44.4 -million audience impressions in the week ending Aug. 27, according to Nielsen Music. On Hot Country Songs, which blends airplay, streaming and sales data, “Broken” holds at its No. 5 peak.
Penned by Jesse Frasure and Old Dominion’s Matthew Ramsey, Trevor Rosen and Brad Tursi (the band also includes Geoff Sprung and Whit -Sellers), “Broken” is the first single from the act’s second studio full-length, Happy Endings (released Aug. 25).
“We feel like [“Broken”] is the most important song that we’ve released to date,” Rosen tells Billboard. “With that in mind, seeing it go all the way to No. 1 is really special. It means so much to us.”
Old Dominion earns its third Country Airplay leader and, with its 25-week trip to the summit, its quickest trip to the top. The group’s first chart-topper, “Break Up With Him,” ruled the survey in its 40th week (Nov. 14, 2015, for its first of two weeks at No. 1). “Song for Another Time” then reached the pinnacle in its 27th frame (Dec. 24, 2016, for one week at No. 1).
“Old Dominion’s sound fits my station’s sound -perfectly,” says WBWL Boston PD Lance Houston. “We started playing ‘Broken’ early and often, and it has performed so well that we now have more than 1,300 plays on it. Also, this is good timing, because [the band] opened for Kenny Chesney this past weekend [Aug. 25-26] at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, and the crowd reaction to this song was incredible.”
ON THE ‘ROAD’ AGAIN: Atop Hot Country Songs, Sam Hunt’s “Body Like a Back Road” stretches its record No. 1 run to 29 weeks. It also dominates Country Digital Song Sales for a record-extending 29th frame (30,000 downloads sold, down 16 percent) and Country Streaming Songs for a 29th week (14.7 million U.S. streams, down 2 percent).
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COMBS CLIMBS: Luke Combs’ “When It Rains It Pours” becomes his second Hot Country Songs top 10, jumping 12-8. His debut hit, “Hurricane,” topped Country Airplay for two weeks beginning May 27 and peaked at No. 3 on Hot Country Songs (where it’s now No. 9).
After the release of the official video for “Rains” on Aug. 15, the song surges by 22 percent to 6.8 million U.S. streams, holding at its No. 6 high on Country Streaming Songs, and by 14 percent to 17,000 sold as it hits a new peak on Country Digital Song Sales (7-5). On Country Airplay, the track lifts 17-16, up 13 percent to 17.4 million.
‘PRETTY’ GOOD: Kenny Chesney collects his 53rd Country Airplay top 10 as “All the Pretty Girls” hops 11-9 (27.8 million, up 10 percent). He ranks third among all artists in the chart’s 27-year history, behind only George Strait (61 top 10s) and Tim McGraw (57).
Concurrently on Country Airplay, Kane Brown achieves his first top 10 as “What Ifs,” featuring Lauren Alaina, rises 14-10 (25.4 million, up 16 percent). Alaina earns her second top 10, following her April 22 leader “Road Less Traveled.”
‘LIGHT’ ON: Following its Aug. 23 release, Luke Bryan’s “Light It Up,” the first entry from his next album (due later this year), arrives at No. 20 on Country Airplay (14.2 million) and No. 21 on Hot Country Songs. “Light,” which Bryan wrote with Old Dominion’s Brad Tursi, sold 18,000 downloads in less than two days of tracking and debuts at No. 3 on Country Digital Song Sales.
Bryan’s last LP, 2015’s Kill the Lights, became the first set to generate six Country Airplay No. 1s when its single “Fast” reached the top on the April 15 chart.
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