Tracy Chapman Tops a Billboard Chart for the First Time Since 2000, Driven by Luke Combs’ ‘Fast Car’
Written by djfrosty on June 14, 2023
Tracy Chapman rises from No. 3 to No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Songwriters chart (dated June 17), leading for the first time, thanks to Luke Combs’ cover of her classic hit “Fast Car.”
Combs’ version of the song, on which Chapman is the sole credited writer, holds at its No. 2 high on the Hot Country Songs chart and jumps 8-4 on the Billboard Hot 100 – out-peaking Chapman’s original recording, which reached No. 6 on the Hot 100 in 1988.
Combs’ cover hits new heights with 34.2 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 30%), as it surges at country, pop and adult formats; 20.2 million U.S. streams (up 1%); and 9,000 downloads sold (up 4%) June 2-8, according to Luminate.
Chapman has tallied five entries on the Hot 100 as a billed recording artist: “Fast Car” (No. 6 peak in 1988), “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution” (No. 75, 1988), “Baby Can I Hold You” (No. 48, 1988), “Crossroads” (No. 90, 1989) and “Give Me One Reason” (No. 3, 1996).
Combs’ “Fast Car” is the third version of Chapman’s breakthrough song to chart on the Hot 100. It follows Chapman’s original and Jonas Blue’s dance cover, featuring Dakota (No. 98 peak, 2016).
Notably, as Chapman crowns Country Songwriters, she earns her first No. 1 placement on a Billboard chart since 2000, when her single “Telling Stories (There Is Fiction in the Space Between)” topped the Adult Alternative Airplay chart for eight weeks. Before that, she ruled the Billboard 200 with her debut self-titled album in August 1988, as well as Adult Pop Airplay for eight weeks in 1996 with “Give Me One Reason.”
Chapman’s eponymous debut album marked her first chart appearance when it entered the Billboard 200 chart dated April 30, 1988. “Fast Car” followed on Adult Contemporary and Mainstream Rock Airplay that May, and then the Hot 100 that June. She has won four Grammy Awards, including best female pop vocal performance for “Fast Car” and best rock song for “Give Me One Reason.”
Billboard launched the Hot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers charts, as well as genre-specific rankings for country, rock & alternative, R&B/hip-hop, R&B, rap, Latin, Christian, gospel and dance/electronic, in June 2019, while alternative and hard rock joined in 2020, along with seasonal holiday rankings in 2022. The charts are based on total points accrued by a songwriter and producer, respectively, for each attributed song that appears on the Hot 100. The genre-based songwriter and producer charts follow the same methodology based on corresponding “Hot”-named genre charts. As with Billboard’s yearly recaps, multiple writers or producers split points for each song equally (and the dividing of points will lead to occasional ties on rankings).
The full Hot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers charts and genre-specific rankings can be found on Billboard.com.