Sam Hunt Nets Sixth Country Airplay No. 1 With ‘Kinfolks’
Hunt claims his first Country Airplay No. 1 since his crossover smash "Body Like a Back Road," which reigned for three weeks in May 2017. It ruled Hot Country Songs for 34 frames starting that…
Sam Hunt scores his sixth leader on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart, and first since 2017, as “Kinfolks” ascends 2-1 on the survey dated Feb. 29, up 5% to 36.6 million audience impressions in the week ending Feb. 23, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.
Hunt co-authored “Kinfolks” with Zach Crowell, Jerry Flowers and Josh Osborne and the song previews Hunt’s album Southside (due April 3), his first LP since his 2014 debut, Montevallo.
On the airplay-, streaming- and sales-powered Hot Country Songs chart, “Kinfolks” holds at its No. 3 high, also having drawn 7.8 million U.S. streams (up 5%) and sold 3,000 downloads (up 1%) in the week ending Feb. 20.
Hunt claims his first Country Airplay No. 1 since his crossover smash “Body Like a Back Road,” which reigned for three weeks in May 2017. It ruled Hot Country Songs for 34 frames starting that February.
Hunt first topped Country Airplay with his debut hit, Montevallo lead single (of five) “Leave the Night On,” for a week in November 2014, followed by “Take Your Time” (one, May 2015) and “House Party” (one, September). “Break Up in a Small Town” reached No. 2 in February 2016 and “Make You Miss Me” led for a week in September 2016.
“Kinfolks” follows stand-alone single “Downtown’s Dead,” which peaked at No. 15 in June 2018.
Hunt will launch his Southside Summer Tour 2020 on May 28 in Charlotte, N.C., with the trek set to include supporting artists Brandi Cyrus, Travis Denning, Ernest and Kip Moore.
3,360 HOURS AT NO. 1 Dan + Shay and Justin Bieber’s “10,000 Hours” dominates Hot Country Songs for a 20th week, solely claiming the fourth-longest reign since the survey became an all-encompassing genre ranking in 1958. It passes the 19-week command of Leroy Van Dyke’s “Walk on By” in 1961-62.
The only songs to lead longer: Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line’s “Meant to Be” (50 weeks, 2017-18); Sam Hunt’s “Body Like a Back Road” (34 weeks, 2017); and Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise” (24 weeks, 2012-13).
“Hours” tops Country Streaming Songs for a 15th week, with 14.7 million streams, and sold 7,000 in the week ending Feb. 20. It led Country Airplay for two weeks beginning on the Jan. 25-dated list.
CHESNEY, THEN AND ‘NOW’ Kenny Chesney makes his 91st Country Airplay visit as “Here and Now” roars in at No. 25 with 5.1 million in radio reach, aided by hourly plays on participating iHeartMedia stations during its Feb. 21 release day.
Chesney boasts the second-most Country Airplay entries, after George Strait’s 100, dating to the list’s January 1990 launch. (Garth Brooks now ranks third, with 90.) Chesney’s haul includes a record 30 No. 1s, among 56 top 10s.
“Here” follows Chesney’s “Tip of My Tongue,” which debuted at No. 20 last July and rose to No. 8 in December. The new single is the first single from his album expected this spring.
‘CATCH’-Y TOP 10 Brett Young’s “Catch” climbs into the Country Airplay top 10 (11-10), increasing by 10% to 21.3 million audience impressions. Young adds his sixth top 10, a total that includes four No. 1s. “Catch” follows “Here Tonight,” which led for two weeks in April 2019.