Randy Houser ‘Went’ to No. 1, Country Airplay Welcomes Three New Top 10s
Randy Houser's "We Went" jumps 3-1 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart, while Florida Georgia Line's "Confession," Chase Bryant's "Little Bit of You" and Rascal Flatts' "I Like the Sound of That"…
Randy Houser‘s “We Went” jumps 3-1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated March 19), increasing by 11 percent to 45.5 million audience impressions in the tracking week, according to Nielsen Music. The gritty country-rocker is the lead single from Houser’s fourth studio album, Fired Up (due March 11), and his third leader, following 2013’s “How Country Feels” and “Runnin’ Outta Moonlight.”
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“‘We Went’ [is] a song we cut immediately after hearing it,” Houser told Billboard. “The melody moves and the story is just really adventurous, a Bonnie and Clyde vibe. With the album coming out this Friday, it has me feeling so appreciative.”
On Hot Country Songs, “Went” becomes Houser’s sixth top 10, rising 12-7, also boosted by a 3 percent lift to 731,00 weekly domestic streams. 2009’s No. 2-peaking “Boots On” marks his highest rank on the survey.
“The research on the song has been consistently strong,” says Entercom Communications director of country programming Mike Moore, adding that Houser “continues to find songs that resonate with the audience.”
Houser’s next single, “Song Number 7,” goes for adds March 28.
PERFECT 10s: Three other songs reach the Country Airplay top 10. Florida Georgia Line‘s “Confession” climbs 12-7 (32.8 million, up 7 percent), marking the 10th top 10 for the duo (Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard). The sum includes seven No. 1s, starting with the pair’s 2012 debut, “Cruise.”
“Confession” is the fifth single from FGL’s second album, Anything Goes, which was released in 2014. With Anything Goes and 2012’s debut, Good Times, now having each generated five Country Airplay top 10s, FGL is just the fifth act to accomplish the feat with its first two major-label albums, following Brooks & Dunn, Dixie Chicks (who scored six from their second set), Taylor Swift and Zac Brown Band.
Chase Bryant‘s “Little Bit of You” makes Country Airplay history, as it enters the top 10 in its 47th week (11-8; 32.1 million, up 4 percent). The song passes Lee Brice‘s “Love Like Crazy (2010) and Chase Rice‘s “Gonna Wanna Tonight” (2015), which each took 46 weeks to reach the tier. “Forty-seven weeks doesn’t feel like a long time when you believe in someone as much as we believed in Chase,” says Red Bow vp promotion Renee Leymon. Bryant scores his second Country Airplay top 10 and bests the peak of his prior (and debut) entry, “Take It on Back” (No. 9, 2015).
Rascal Flatts‘ “I Like the Sound of That” likewise hits the Country Airplay top 10 (13-9; 30.3 million, up 5 percent), becoming the trio’s 30th top 10, a mark that just 10 other acts have reached dating to the chart’s 1990 inception. The fourth single from Rewind was written by Jesse Frasure, Shay Mooney and best new artist Grammy Award winner Meghan Trainor (who first beamed to Billboard about the song nearly two years ago).
APPETIZING: On Top Country Albums, Old Dominion‘s debut major-label full-length, Meat and Candy, surges to a new peak (20-3). Sale-pricing ($3.99) at Google Play and in the iTunes Store spurs its 340 percent vault to 10,000, the set’s best sum since it opened with 21,000 (No. 5; Nov. 28, 2015). The album has sold 80,000 to date.
AT 17: Finally, on Hot Country Songs, Thomas Rhett‘s “Die a Happy Man” ranks at the summit for a 17th week (the last 16 in succession). The song now stands alone for the third-most weeks spent at No. 1, dating to the chart’s 1958 launch as an all-encompassing genre ranking, passing Buck Owens‘ “Love’s Gonna Live Here” (16 weeks, 1963-64). Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise” (2012-13) reigns with 24 weeks at No. 1, followed by Leroy Van Dyke‘s “Walk on By” (19 weeks, 1961-62).