Luke Combs’ Career Run Atop Country Airplay Chart Marks New Milestone: ‘More Than I Could Have Ever Dreamed Of’
Written by djfrosty on September 27, 2024
Luke Combs claims a second week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated Oct. 5) with “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma.” The song increased by 2% to 30.7 million audience impressions Sept. 20-26, according to Luminate.
Co-authored by Combs, the hit from the soundtrack Twisters: The Album is the 13th of his 18 Country Airplay leaders to dominate for multiple weeks – and marks another notable career achievement: Combining all his No. 1s, he has now spent more than a year – 53 weeks – at the summit. Kenny Chesney has logged the most weeks at No. 1 (83), dating to the chart’s 1990 start, followed by Tim McGraw (80), George Strait (66), Alan Jackson (60), Blake Shelton (57), Toby Keith and Combs (53 each).
“I’m really blown away,” Combs tells Billboard. “The support from country radio for my music and fans has always been more than I ever could have imagined. I’ve always known they were huge supporters of my music but this proves it in more ways than one.
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“I never thought I would get one week at No. 1, but when I did, I felt like I had won the lottery,” Combs marvels. “So, for my songs to have spent a full year at No. 1 with guys I grew up listening to and admiring is more than I could have ever dreamed of. Thank you, country radio, for letting this young man from North Carolina, who most had never heard of when y’all started playing my music, live out his dreams and do what he loves.”
Combs’ longest-leading Country Airplay No. 1 is “Beautiful Crazy,” which posted a seven-week command beginning in March 2019, followed by “Forever After All” (six weeks, starting in June 2021) and “Fast Car” and “Even Though I’m Leaving” (five each, beginning in July 2023 and November 2019, respectively).
Says Tom Oakes, SummitMedia operations manager and program director of Country Airplay reporter KTTS in Springfield, Mo., Combs’ success “is a testament to his ability to relate to the audience. He comes across as an everyday guy working hard to make his mark, raise a family and overcome the challenges life serves up. It comes through his songs, which speak to listeners on a level which they experience and live every day, whether it’s a serious or more dramatic theme, or just flat-out fun.
“At the core of his staying power is his ability to consistently appeal to listeners, as seen through long-term positive research on his music and his success on the concert circuit,” Oakes adds. “‘Oklahoma’ is different production-wise, as it is a straight-out rocker. Whatever he comes with next will likely be different in style and fresh-sounding.”