Luke Bryan No. 1, Carrie Underwood Soars Onto Country Airplay Chart
Bryan notches his 10th leader, while Underwood makes her grandest career entrance.
Luke Bryan claims his 10th career leader on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart and becomes the only artist to score three No. 1s this year, as “Roller Coaster” rumbles 2-1. Bryan’s other two chart-toppers this year are “Drink a Beer,” which started a two-week reign on the Feb. 15 list, and “Play It Again,” which wrapped a four-week run on the June 21 chart.
Bryan breaks past three artists that have each topped the chart twice in 2014: Dierks Bentley, Lady Antebellum and Blake Shelton.
Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean No. 1; Carrie Underwood Debuts on Country Charts
Meanwhile, Carrie Underwood posts a career-best bow on Country Airplay, as “Something in the Water” roars in at No. 17. She posted her previous best start with “So Small,” which entered at No. 20 on the Aug. 18, 2007, list and went on to spend three weeks at the summit.
Propelled significantly by coordinated hourly play Sept. 29 on iHeartMedia-owned stations, the track is a new song from Underwood’s Greatest Hits: Decade #1, due Dec. 9. Although the set’s track listing hasn’t yet been revealed, it’s expected to include most, if not all, of her 13 Country Airplay leaders. She most recently topped the chart with “Blown Away,” which reigned for two weeks starting on Oct. 27, 2012.
With “Water” also having been released commercially on Sept. 29, expect the song to make a notable splash on this week’s airplay/sales/streaming-based Hot Country Songs chart. All charts will be refreshed on Thursday (Oct. 9), as they are each week, on Billboard.com.