‘World’ Record: Nate Smith Ties for Longest-Leading No. 1 in Country Airplay Chart History

Nate Smith’s “World on Fire” leads Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated Feb. 24) for a 10th week, tying for the longest domination in the survey’s 34-year history. It matches Morgan Wallen’s “You Proof,” which began its rule in October 2022.

Previously, two hits shared the mark for the longest Country Airplay command – eight weeks each – for nearly 20 years: Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett’s “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” in 2003, and Lonestar’s “Amazed,” in 1999.

In the Feb. 9-15 tracking week, “World on Fire,” released on Arista Nashville/RCA Nashville, drew 30.8 million in audience, according to Luminate.

The song, which Smith wrote with Ashley Gorley, Taylor Phillips and Lindsay Rimes, the lattermost of whom solely produced it, is the second straight career-opening Country Airplay leader for Smith. The Paradise, Calif., native first ruled with “Whiskey on You” for two weeks last February. Both songs are on the deluxe edition of his debut self-titled LP. The set arrived at its No. 6 high on Top Country Albums last May.

“The crazy thing about this song is that it wasn’t even supposed to come out!,” Smith recently told Billboard. “It was starting to gain a lot of traction on social media and the demand was high. I’m so lucky to have a team that knew how to strategically release it alongside my debut album by releasing the deluxe version the same day [April 28, 2023] that the debut dropped. This song completely anchored the album.”

Smith, meanwhile, debuts at No. 40 (2.5 million) on the latest Country Airplay chart with his newest single, “Bulletproof,” released Feb. 8.

Gwen & Blake Are Back

Also notably, Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton debut at No. 35 on Country Airplay with “Purple Irises” (2.7 million). The song is the pair’s third collaboration to have hit the chart, following two No. 1s in 2020: “Nobody but You” (for two weeks that May) and “Happy Anywhere” (one week, that December).

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