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Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” reigns as the No. 1 title on Billboard’s Songs of the Summer chart for the 2023 summer season.
Notably, a country song tops the season-ending tally for the first time since 1974 — while, with Luke Combs’ “Fast Car” at No. 2, country hits claim the top two spots for the first time.
The 20-position Songs of the Summer running tally tracks the most popular titles based on cumulative performance on the weekly streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Billboard Hot 100 chart from Memorial Day through Labor Day (this year encompassing charts dated June 10 through Sept. 9).
“Last Night” claims the title on the 2023 Songs of the Summer chart after leading the weekly chart all 14 weeks this season. On the Hot 100, it dominated for 16 weeks – the most ever for a non-collaboration. It also topped the Hot Country Songs chart for 25 weeks.
The single is just the second that has hit the top 10 on both the Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs and won top seasonal honors on Songs of the Summer: It joins John Denver’s “Annie’s Song,” which reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 and No. 9 on Hot Country Songs in 1974.
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Here is a rundown of the Songs of the Summer chart’s top 10 for 2023:
No. 1, “Last Night,” Morgan Wallen
No. 2, “Fast Car,” Luke Combs
No. 3, “Calm Down,” Rema & Selena Gomez
No. 4, “Flowers,” Miley Cyrus
No. 5, “All My Life,” Lil Durk feat. J. Cole
No. 6, “Cruel Summer,” Taylor Swift
No. 7, “Karma,” Taylor Swift feat. Ice Spice
No. 8, “Snooze,” SZA
No. 9, “Kill Bill,” SZA
No. 10, “Fukumean,” Gunna
Meanwhile, with Luke Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s 1988 classic “Fast Car” at No. 2 on the final 2023 Songs of the Summer chart, country hits hold the list’s top two positions for the first time (dating to the Hot 100’s 1958 inception).
Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs attend the 2019 CMT Music Awards at Bridgestone Arena on June 5, 2019, in Nashville.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for CMT
Also, as noted above, Taylor Swift and SZA each boast two tracks in the Songs of the Summer top 10 for 2023: Swift with “Cruel Summer” and “Karma” (featuring Ice Spice), and SZA with “Snooze” and “Kill Bill,” respectively.
(“Cruel Summer” is also the first “summer”-titled Songs of the Summer chart hit since Calvin Harris’ “Summer,” which placed at No. 8 for 2014.)
Harry Styles’ “As It Was” ruled as the season-ending No. 1 on the 2022 Songs of the Summer chart, after BTS’ “Butter” glided to a top finish in 2021; DaBaby’s “Rockstar,” featuring Roddy Ricch, wrapped on top in 2020; Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, led in 2019; and Drake’s “In My Feelings” won in 2018.
Check out the top 10 summer songs every year throughout the Hot 100’s history (from the chart’s start in 1958), the top 500 Greatest of All Time Songs of the Summer and this season’s final Songs of the Summer chart in its entirety.
Continuing his chart breakthrough that began in 2022, singer-songwriter Zach Bryan’s “I Remember Everything” featuring Kacey Musgraves launches at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song – each singer-songwriter’s first Hot 100 leader – is from Bryan’s self-titled LP, which concurrently premieres at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
Luke Combs’ “Fast Car” keeps at its No. 2 Hot 100 high and takes over as the most-heard song on radio, a rare feat for a country hit.
Plus, Miley Cyrus’ “Used to Be Young” debuts at No. 8 on the Hot 100, marking her 12th career top 10.
The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data, the lattermost metric reflecting purchases of physical singles and digital tracks from full-service digital music retailers; digital singles sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites are excluded from chart calculations. All charts (dated Sept. 9, 2023) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Sept. 6, a day later than usual due to the Labor Day holiday in the U.S. yesterday, Sept. 4). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
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Here’s a look at the coronation of “I Remember Everything,” the 1,154th song to top the Hot 100 over the chart’s 65-year history, and the 70th to debut at No. 1.
Streams, sales & airplay: Released Aug. 25 on Belting Bronco/Warner Records, “I Remember Everything” drew 33.7 million streams and sold 10,000 downloads in the tracking week ending Aug. 31, according to Luminate. Not being formally promoted to radio, it also tallied 263,000 radio airplay audience impressions, with two-thirds (175,000) from reporters to Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.
The single also debuts at No. 1 on the Streaming Songs chart (notably, it snagged the top spot on Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist upon its release) and No. 4 on Digital Song Sales.
Bryan, Musgraves’ first No. 1: Bryan and Musgraves each achieve their first Hot 100 No. 1 with “I Remember Everything.” Bryan charted four entries prior to this week, with one hitting the top 10: His first charted song, “Something in the Orange,” reached No. 10 in January; with 66 total weeks on the tally (May 7, 2022-Aug. 5, 2023), it became the longest charting country hit by a solo male in the survey’s history. Plus, the U.S. Navy veteran, born in Okinawa, Japan, and raised in Oologah, Okla., won for new male artist of the year at the Academy of Country Music Awards in May.
Musgraves completes over a decade’s journey to No. 1 on the Hot 100, having first reached the chart with “Merry Go ‘Round” (No. 63 peak, 2013; it’s also her lone Country Airplay top 10 to date). She previously charted highest on the Hot 100 with “Follow Your Arrow” (No. 60, 2014) and added her other entry before this week, “Rainbow” (No. 98, 2019). The Golden, Texas, native has won six Grammy Awards, with her most recent LP, 2018’s Golden Hour, claiming album of the year honors at the 61st Grammy Awards.
A Hot 100, country and rock first: “I Remember Everything” concurrently opens at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs and Hot Rock & Alternative Songs charts (as well as Hot Rock Songs), which use the same methodology as the Hot 100. It’s the first song to top the Hot 100, Hot Country Songs and Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (dating to 2009, when the lattermost list began).
Bryan tops all three genre charts for a second time, after “Something in the Orange” led Hot Country Songs, Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Rock Songs for six, 20 and 20 weeks, respectively. Musgraves leads each ranking for the first time.
“I Remember Everything” is the 24th song to have topped both the Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs (dating to 1958, when the Hot 100 originated and Hot Country Songs became the country genre’s singular Billboard chart). Four such songs have led the Hot 100 in 2023, the most in a year since 1975.
Songs to Have Hit No. 1 on Both the Hot 100 & Hot Country Songs Charts:
“I Remember Everything,” Zach Bryan feat. Kacey Musgraves, 2023
“Rich Men North of Richmond,” Anthony Oliver Music, 2023
“Try That in a Small Town,” Jason Aldean, 2023
“Last Night,” Morgan Wallen, 2023
“All Too Well (Taylor’s Version),” Taylor Swift, 2021
“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” Taylor Swift, 2012
“Amazed,” Lonestar, 1999-2000
“Islands in the Stream,” Kenny Rogers, duet with Dolly Parton, 1983
“I Love a Rainy Night,” Eddie Rabbitt, 1981
“9 to 5,” Dolly Parton, 1981
“Lady,” Kenny Rogers, 1980
“Southern Nights,” Glen Campbell, 1977
“Convoy,” C.W. McCall, 1975-76
“I’m Sorry,” John Denver, 1975
“Rhinestone Cowboy,” Glen Campbell, 1975
“Thank God I’m a Country Boy,” John Denver, 1975
“Before the Next Teardrop Falls,” Freddy Fender, 1975
“(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song,” B.J. Thomas, 1975
“The Most Beautiful Girl,” Charlie Rich, 1973
“Honey,” Bobby Goldsboro, 1968
“Harper Valley P.T.A.,” Jeannie C. Riley, 1968
“Big Bad John,” Jimmy Dean, 1961
“El Paso,” Marty Robbins, 1959-60
“The Battle of New Orleans,” Johnny Horton, 1959
As Billboard reported in July, country music has surged this year: consumption for the genre in the United States was up 20.3% year-over-year in the first 26 weeks of 2023, according to Luminate. (Comparatively, country grew by 2.5% over the same period in 2022.)
Four country No. 1s in a row for the first time: On the newest, Sept. 9-dated Hot 100, “I Remember Everything” supplants Anthony Oliver Music’s “Rich Men North of Richmond” at No. 1, after the latter led the last two weeks (Aug. 26 and Sept. 2). Before that, Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” rebounded for the last two of its 16 weeks on top (Aug. 12 and 19), directly following Jason Aldean’s one-week reign with “Try That in a Small Town” (Aug. 5).
Four country songs have topped the Hot 100 consecutively for the first time in the chart’s history, extending a record run for the genre. Previously, country hits reigned back-to-back twice: in 1981 (Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” and Eddie Rabbitt’s “I Love a Rainy Night”) and 1975 (Freddy Fender’s “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” and John Denver’s “Thank God I’m a Country Boy”).
Zach, Kacey, Kenny and Dolly: “I Remember Everything” is just the second shared Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs No. 1 by a male and female artist together. It joins Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton’s 1983 classic “Islands in the Stream” (written by the Bee Gees).
Zach, Kacey, Ed and Bey: Bryan and Musgraves also co-wrote “I Remember Everything,” which Bryan solely produced. It’s the first Hot 100 No. 1 by a male and female artist also boasting co-writing credit with no other billed writers since Ed Sheeran and Beyoncé’s “Perfect,” which reached the top of the chart dated Dec. 23, 2017. (Sheeran wrote and originally recorded the love song solo; Beyoncé joined for its remix and gained co-writing credit.)
Bryan begins atop Billboard 200 and Hot 100: Zach Bryan logs just the ninth instance of an act debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 simultaneously. As “I Remember Everything” opens atop the Hot 100, parent LP Zach Bryan soars onto the Billboard 200, likewise as his first No. 1, with 200,000 equivalent album units.
Bryan joins only Taylor Swift, BTS, Drake and Future and having scored such a double debut. Swift initiated the club and has earned the honor four times, while Drake has done so twice.
Artists to Have Debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 & Hot 100 Simultaneously:
Zach Bryan: Zach Bryan, Billboard 200 & “I Remember Everything” (feat. Kacey Musgraves), Hot 100, Sept. 9, 2023
Taylor Swift: Midnights & “Anti-Hero,” Nov. 5, 2022
Drake: Honestly, Nevermind & “Jimmy Cooks” (feat. 21 Savage), July 2, 2022
Future: I Never Liked You & “Wait for U” (feat. Drake & Tems), May 14, 2022
Taylor Swift: Red (Taylor’s Version) & “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version),” Nov. 27, 2021
Drake: Certified Lover Boy & “Way 2 Sexy” (feat. Future & Young Thug), Sept. 18, 2021
Taylor Swift: Evermore & “Willow,” Dec. 26, 2020
BTS: BE & “Life Goes On,” Dec. 5, 2020
Taylor Swift: Folklore & “Cardigan,” Aug. 8, 2020
Zach Bryan also bows at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums, Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Americana/Folk Albums charts.
Warner back at No. 1: With “I Remember Everything,” Warner Records rules the Hot 100 for the first time since the label notched three No. 1s in 2013, when Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ “Thrift Shop” (featuring Wanz) and “Can’t Hold Us” (featuring Ray Dalton) led for six and five weeks starting that February and May, respectively (with the songs on ADA/Warner); in between, Baauer’s “Harlem Shake” (Jeffree’s/Mad Decent/Warner) reigned for five frames beginning that March.
The label formed in 1958 and first reached No. 1 with The Everly Brothers’ “Cathy’s Clown” in May 1960. It rebranded from Warner Bros. to Warner Records in 2019, making “I Remember Everything” its first leader under its newer name.
Bryan’s Belting Bronco imprint scores its first placement atop the Hot 100.
We ‘remember’ ‘everything’: Here’s something to remember. Thanks to “I Remember Everything,” the word “remember” is in the title of a Hot 100 No. 1 for the first time. Previously, Madonna notched the highest charting such song, as “I’ll Remember” reached No. 2 in 1994.
Meanwhile, the word “everything” appears atop the Hot 100 for a ninth time (and for a second time by an artist with Bryan in his name):
“I Remember Everything,” Zach Bryan feat. Kacey Musgraves, 2023
“Give Me Everything,” Pitbull feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer, 2011
“Everything You Want,” Vertical Horizon, 2000
“(Everything I Do) I Do It for You,” Bryan Adams, 1991
“I’ll Be Your Everything,” Tommy Page, 1990
“Everything She Wants,” Wham!, 1985
“I Just Want to Be Your Everything,” Andy Gibb, 1977
“Everything Is Beautiful,” Ray Stevens, 1970
“Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season),” The Byrds, 1965
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Luke Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s self-written 1988 Hot 100 top 10 “Fast Car” adds an eighth week at its No. 2 high, steady in rank. It concurrently crowns the Radio Songs chart, rising 2-1 with 78.8 million in audience.
As it led Country Airplay for five weeks, the song is just the fifth – and the first by a solo male with no accompanying acts – to have topped the Country Airplay and all-format Radio Songs charts, dating to the surveys’ 1990 inceptions (and the latter list’s 1998 expansion to include country panelists, among other format reporters). Here’s a recap, with all five songs having achieved both country and pop radio success.
Radio Songs No. 1s That Also Topped Country Airplay:
“Fast Car,” Luke Combs, one week to date atop Radio Songs, 2023
“I Hope,” Gabby Barrett feat. Charlie Puth, one, 2020 (Barrett was solely credited on Country Airplay; Puth joined for its pop remix)
“Meant to Be,” Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line, five weeks, 2018
“Need You Now,” Lady A, two, 2010
“You Belong With Me,” Taylor Swift, two, 2009
(As a writer, Chapman previously peaked as high as No. 2 on Radio Songs with her own single “Give Me One Reason,” in 1996.)
Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red” pushes from No. 5 to a new No. 3 Hot 100 high, as it wins top Airplay Gainer honors (up 25% to 28.2 million in airplay audience). It leads the multimetric Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts for a second week each.
Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” descends 3-4 on the Hot 100, following 16 weeks at No. 1 – the most ever for a non-collaboration; Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” slips 4-5, after reaching No. 3; and Oliver Anthony Music’s “Rich Men North of Richmond” falls to No. 6 after spending its first two weeks on the chart at No. 1 (down 8% to 21.2 million streams and 71% to 34,000 sold, although it leads Digital Song Sales for a third week; it’s up 7% to 2.4 million in radio audience).
SZA’s “Snooze” returns to the Hot 100’s top 10, at a new No. 7 best, from No. 11, up 64% to 17.3 million streams following the Aug. 25 premiere of its official video, good for the chart’s top Streaming Gainer award. It leads the multi-metric Hot R&B Songs chart for a seventh week.
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Miley Cyrus’ “Used to Be Young” bounds onto the Hot 100 at No. 8, with 25.9 million in airplay audience, 17.8 million streams and 19,000 sold from its release Aug. 25 through Aug. 31. It opens at No. 2 on Digital Song Sales, No. 9 on Streaming Songs and No. 19 on Radio Songs – it’s the second song to start in the Radio Songs top 20 this year, after Cyrus’ “Flowers” began at No. 18 in January (on its way to an 18-week command, the longest ever for a song by a woman).
Cyrus collects her 12th Hot 100 top 10. Her previous top 10s, including one under her former Hannah Montana alter ego: “Flowers” (No. 1, eight weeks, 2023); “Without You,” with The Kid LAROI (No. 8, 2021); “Malibu” (No. 10, 2017); “Wrecking Ball” (No. 1, three weeks, 2013); “We Can’t Stop” (No. 2, 2013); “Can’t Be Tamed” (No. 8, 2010); “Party in the U.S.A.” (No. 2, 2009); “He Could Be the One” (Hannah Montana; No. 10, 2009); “The Climb” (No. 4, 2009); “7 Things” (No. 9, 2008); and “See You Again” (No. 10, 2008).
Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” holds at No. 9, after reaching No. 7, and Gunna’s “Fukumean” drops 7-10, after hitting No. 4.
Again, for all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram and all charts (dated Sept. 9), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (Sept. 6).
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
Royal Blood is flowing in the U.K., where the British rock duo is favorite for the chart crown with Back to the Water Below (via Warner Records).
Comprising Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher, Royal Blood takes a solid advantage into the second half of the week. According to the Official Charts Company, Back to the Water Below is currently outselling its nearest rival, The 1975’s self-titled LP, by a ratio of more than 2 to 1.
If it stays on course, Back to the Water Below will mark Royal Blood’s fourth consecutive leader, a streak that dates back to, and includes, their eponymously titled debut from 2014.
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The 1975 (Dirty Hit/Polydor) blasts to No. 2 on the midweek tally thanks to a multi-format reissue, timing to celebrate its 10th anniversary. The album originally debuted at No. 1 following its release in 2013, triggering the British band’s own streak of five consecutive No. 1 studio albums.
A midweek podium place is snagged by Everything Is Alive (Dead Oceans), the fifth album from veteran British shoegaze exponents Slowdive. It’s new at No. 3 on the Official Chart Update, and is set to give the Reading-raised band their first appearance in the U.K. top 10. Slowdive has cracked the top 40 on two occasions, with 1991’s Just for a Day (No. 32) and their 2017 comeback effort, Slowdive (No. 17).
Meanwhile, Sigur Rós’s latest release Atta (BMG) is on track for a No. 4 debut, for what would be the Icelandic act’s fourth top 10 appearance on the national tally.
Further down the chart blast, Jethro Tull’s 14th studio album The Broadsword and the Beast (Parlophone) is poised for a return at No. 6, thanks to its 40th anniversary reissue. The album peaked at No. 27 after its original release back in 1982.
Also eyeing a top 10 berth is Rivers of Heresy (Roadrunner), the first album from Empire State Bastard, a collaboration of Biffy Clyro vocalist Simon Neal and former Oceansize frontman Mike Vennart. It’s new at No. 7 on the midweek chart.
Finally, veteran Scottish pop band Deacon Blue could bag a seventh top 10 album with All The 45s: The Very Best of Deacon Blue (Cooking Vinyl). The career retrospective is set to drop in at No. 8, just in time for Deacon Blue’s new U.K. tour.
All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Albums Chart is published late Friday, Sept. 8.
As alternative went mainstream in the 1990s, Smash Mouth contributed some of the biggest songs of the decade, and continued to chart hit singles into the 2000s. As previously reported, the band’s former lead singer, Steve Harwell died Monday (Sept. 4), a representative for the band confirmed to Billboard. Harwell, who performed as lead vocalist […]
Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire” (via Geffen) hasn’t lost any of its bite. The U.S. pop phenomenon’s GUTS-era hit finds new wings as it lifts 3-1 on the latest U.K. chart, published Friday, Sept. 1.
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That’s the first stint at the summit for “Vampire,” which previously peaked out at No. 2. And it gets there in its ninth week on the tally.
With its latest flight, “Vampire” gives Rodrigo a trio of U.K. No. 1s, following “drivers license” and “good 4 u,” which both summited in 2021.
Rodrigo is now the female solo artist with the most U.K. No. 1 singles this decade, the Official Charts Company reports.
Since bursting onto the scene with her debut album SOUR and its singles, Rodrigo has set a handful of U.K. chart records. When SOUR and “Good 4 U reached No. 1 in the same week in May 2021, she became the youngest solo artist in history to nab the chart double, at 18 years and 3 months.SOUR also set a U.K. benchmark for the most first-week streams for a debut album. The following month, in June 2021, Rodrigo became the first female solo artist to claim three simultaneous U.K. top 5 singles with “Good 4 U,” “Déjà vu” and “Traitor.”
“Vampire” bumps Doja Cat’s “Paint The Town Red” (Ministry of Sound), which had led at the midweek stage and finishes the chart cycle up 4-2, for a new peak position.
It’s another “Girl Powered” Official U.K. Singles Chart, as solo female artists dominate positions 1-5.
The top debut on the survey this week belongs to Miley Cyrus, whose ballad “Used To Be Young” (Columbia) bows at No. 12 for the U.S. pop star’s 23rd top 40.
Also making its mark for the first time is “Cheat On Me,” taken from Afrobeats star Burna Boy’s U.K. No. 1 album I Told Them… “Cheat On Me” (Atlantic) is new at No. 19, with another album cut, “City Boys” opening its account at No. 31. The Nigeria-born artist now boasts 12 U.K. top 40 singles.
Finally, Selena Gomez grabs her 20th U.K. top 40 appearance with “Single Soon” (Interscope), a new entry at No. 21.
Burna Boy bags his first U.K. chart crown – and a piece of history – with his latest album I Told Them…(via Atlantic).
The Nigeria-born artist (real name: Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu) blasts to the top of the latest Official U.K. Albums Chart, published Sept. 1, becoming the first international Afrobeats artist to secure the title.
The leader at the midweek stage, Burna Boy’s seventh and latest LP goes one better than 2022’s Love, Damini, which peaked at No. 2.
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“Burna Boy has transformed into a global superstar and this No. 1 album reflects his growth over the last few years,” comments Austin Daboh, vice president of Atlantic Records U.K. in a statement. “The success of this album is the combination of world class music, a coherent strategy based in culture, and unmatched passion, energy and commitment from his wider team and Atlantic Records.”
It’s not his first taste of the high life. Burna Boy scaled the U.K. singles chart summit with 2019’s “Own It,” a collaboration with Stormzy and Ed Sheeran. The records keep tumbling. Earlier this summer, he became the first African artist to headline a stadium concert in the U.K., when he played his Love, Damini tour date at a packed-out 60,000 capacity London Stadium, and he has a Grammy Award to his name, for 2020’s Twice as Tall (best global music album).
Meanwhile, Claire Richards steps on up to a solo career best with her second studio album Euphoria (Edsel), new at No. 2. The Steps star now has two solo top 10s, with 2019’s My Wildest Dreams peaking at No. 9. As a member of Steps, Richards has an addition 11 top 10 albums, including four leaders: 1999’s Steptacular, 2001’s Gold: The Greatest Hits, 2011’s The Ultimate Collection and 2022’s Platinum Collection.
London rapper Digga D (real name: Rhys Herbert) scores a third U.K. top 10 with Back to Square One (Black Money Records). Digga D snagged his first and only No. 1 in 2022 with the Noughty By Nature mixtape.
U.S. alternative-pop artist Ashnikko makes her debut U.K. top 10 appearance with Weedkiller (Parlophone), new at No. 7, ahead of Alice Cooper’s 22nd solo studio album Road (Ear Music), which starts at No. 8. That’s the sixth top 10 LP as a solo artist for the veteran shock-rock artist.
Finally, U.S. country artist Zach Bryan’s enjoys his first U.K. top 40 spot with his self-titled fourth studio album. Zach Bryan (via Warner Records) is new at No. 22.
Zach Bryan lands his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart as his new self-titled set bows atop the tally (dated Sept. 9). The 16-song country-rock effort, his fourth full-length studio album, launches with 200,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Aug. 31, according to Luminate — the largest week for any rock album in four years. It’s also the first rock effort to hit No. 1 in more than a year. The set’s opening frame is largely powered by streaming activity — and the album boasts the biggest streaming week ever for a rock album.
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Beyond Bryan’s rock achievements, his self-titled set also marks the third country title to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2023, and garners the fifth-largest debut streaming week for a country album.
Country and rock albums are defined as those that are eligible for, or have charted on, Billboard’s Top Country Albums and Top Rock Albums charts, respectively. Bryan is among a handful of recent acts that have placed a genre-blending album on both the Top Country Albums and Top Rock Albums charts. Others include Jelly Roll, HARDY, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, and Koe Wetzel.
Bryan’s first No. 1 comes after sustained momentum on the Billboard 200 in the last year-plus from his previous studio effort, American Heartbreak. It debuted and peaked at No. 5 in June 2022 and spawned the top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hit “Something in the Orange.” Heartbreak has yet to depart the weekly top 40 of the Billboard 200 in its 67 consecutive weeks on the list (it climbs 16-14 on the new tally).
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Sept. 9, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Sept. 6 — one day later than usual due to the Labor Day holiday on Monday, Sept. 4, in the U.S. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Of Zach Bryan’s 200,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Aug. 31, SEA units comprise 181,000 (equaling 233.09 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 16 songs — the largest streaming week ever for a rock set, and the fifth-largest streaming debut week for a country album), album sales comprise 17,000 (it was only available to purchase as a digital download, as its CD and vinyl LP are due out on Oct. 13) and TEA units comprise 2,000.
As noted above, Zach Bryan is the first rock album to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in more than a year. The last to do so was Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Unlimited Love, which spent one week at No. 1 — its debut frame — on the list dated April 16, 2022. Zach Bryan also logs the largest week, by equivalent album units earned, for a rock album in four years, since Tool’s Fear Inoculum launched at No. 1 on the Sept. 19, 2019, chart with 270,000 units.
A little over a year ago, Bryan earned his first Billboard 200 chart entry with his third studio album — and major label debut — American Heartbreak, debuting and peaking at No. 5 on the June 4, 2022-dated list. The album has generated 2.6 billion on-demand official streams for its songs in the U.S. and has been a consistent streaming star since its debut. The set has been among the week’s top 20 most-streamed albums, by on-demand streams, in all but three weeks since its debut.
The Heartbreak single “Something in the Orange” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs and Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, reached the top three on the all-genre Streaming Songs chart, and hit No. 10 on the all-genre, multi-metric Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Following Heartbreak, Bryan placed five more titles on the list, including his new self-titled effort.
Four former No. 1s trail Bryan on the new Billboard 200. Travis Scott’s Utopia falls to No. 2 (91,000 equivalent album units earned; down 44%) after spending its first four chart weeks at No. 1. Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time dips 2-3 (83,000; down 8%), Taylor Swift’s Midnights rises 5-4 (49,000; down 8%) and SZA’s SOS vaults 11-5 (48,000; up 15% after increased sales and streams generated by its current single “Snooze,” including the release of its official music video and new remixes).
The Barbie soundtrack falls 4-6 (48,000 equivalent album units earned; down 14%) and Peso Pluma’s Génesis climbs 9-7 (43,000; down 3%). Swift has two more former leaders in the top 10, as Lover in a non-mover at No. 8 (43,000; down 8%) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) dips 7-9 (41,000; down 14%). Rounding out the top 10 is Wallen’s chart-topping Dangerous: The Double Album, holding steady at No. 10 with 40,000 units (down 5%).
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
This weekend, as millions have been reading about the death of beloved singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett, many were surprised to read that his famous signature song, “Margaritaville,” peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Most just assumed that a song that well-known and loved must have been a No. 1. First off, there’s no […]
“At a moment like this, I can’t help but wonder … What would Jimmy Buffett do?,” Alan Jackson ponders in his and Buffett’s 2003 smash “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere.” Buffett then joins in to offer his sage advice, and Jackson’s handoff reflects the revered status to which Buffett rose in music and pop culture overall.
As previously reported, Buffett died on Friday (Sept. 1) at age 76. As announced on his website and social media accounts, “Jimmy passed away on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs,” the early Saturday morning (Sept. 2) post reads. “He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many.”
Buffett became a force on Billboard’s charts over six decades — after working as a correspondent for Billboard magazine. He made his chart debut just over 50 years ago, when “The Great Filling Station Holdup” entered the Hot Country Songs chart dated May 12, 1973. Later that year, he reached the Top Country Albums and Adult Contemporary charts for the first time, and in 1974 he made his way to the Billboard Hot 100, as “Come Monday” marked his first entry, and first top 40 hit, climbing to No. 30.
Buffett charted 13 Hot 100 hits during his lifetime, through 2011. After tallying five top 40 entries in the ’70s, reaching the top 10 with his signature anthem “Margaritaville” (No. 8, 1977), he tallied his second- and third-biggest hits thanks to turns on Jackson’s “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” (No. 17, 2003) and Zac Brown Band’s “Knee Deep” (No. 18, 2011). The latter two tracks also became Jackson’s first and second No. 1s on Hot Country Songs, where Buffett logged 20 hits, including eight top 40 titles.
The Pascagoula, Miss., native, raised in Mobile, Ala., also sent 40 albums onto the Billboard 200 chart during his lifetime, including 12 top 10s, from Son of a Son of a Sailor (No. 10, 1978) through Life on the Flip Side (No. 2, 2020). He led the list with License to Chill in 2004. He charted eight top 10 sets on Top Country Albums, led by three No. 1s: License to Chill, Take the Weather With You (2006) and Life on the Flip Side.
Meanwhile, Buffett became the rare Billboard alum to segue from the edit department to the chart well. He resigned as a Nashville reporter when his first album was released in 1970. As he explained in 2020, “There was a conflict of interest. When I signed to Barnaby (Records), I couldn’t still write for Billboard, so that was the end of my days there.” (Of his assignments at Billboard, he said in 2021, “I can never give anybody a bad review because I knew how hard it was to get up there.”)
“But I’m glad I got 50 years of albums in me,” he mused in 2020. “This thing’s been an absolute joy. We’ve figured out ways to keep it going. I think it’s really about learning to be a performer before anything else and always trying to better yourself on stage. That’s the key, that core experience, and what’s kept me going. It’s been a good run.”
Below, spotlighting Buffett’s beloved catalog, are his 10 biggest hits on the Hot 100, ranked from No. 10 to No. 1. (The recap is based on actual performance on the weekly Hot 100 chart. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 100 earning the least. To ensure equitable representation of the biggest hits from each era, certain time frames were weighted to account for the difference between turnover rates from those years.)
“Hey Good Lookin’”
Luke Combs’ rolls up his 17th No. 1 – and makes history in the top two – on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated Sept. 9), as “Love You Anyway” climbs 2-1 and his former five-week leader “Fast Car” rebounds 3-2.
Combs is the first artist to hold the top two positions on Country Airplay without any other billed acts since the list launched in 1990. Only one other act has taken the two ranks simultaneously at all: On the charts dated May 31 and June 7, 2014, Luke Bryan’s “Play It Again” was No. 1 and Florida Georgia Line’s “This Is How We Roll” featuring Bryan placed at its No. 2 peak.
In the Aug. 25-31 tracking week, “Love You Anyway” increased by 9% to 32 million impressions, according to Luminate. Combs wrote the song with Ray Fulcher and Dan Isbell.
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Combs claims another Country Airplay record, as “Love You Anyway” reaches No. 1 after a mere four-week break since “Fast Car,” his update of Tracy Chapman’s 1988 Billboard Hot 100 hit, wrapped its reign. No artist had previously led with different songs in a lead role on both so quickly, as Combs passes Morgan Wallen, whose “You Proof” spent the last of its record 10 weeks at No. 1 this January, while he returned to the top after just a six-week gap with “Thought You Should Know” in February.
Counting featured roles, Tim McGraw wasted no time between No. 1s in March 2002: Jo Dee Messina’s “Bring On the Rain” featuring McGraw led for a week, and his “The Cowboy in Me” supplanted it at the summit the following frame.
Additionally, Combs rules Country Airplay just nine weeks after “Fast Car” topped the tally for the first time – also a record for the quickest turnaround among acts reaching No. 1 with different songs. Multiple artists led with new No. 1s 10 weeks apart (counting from their first weeks on top), most recently Shania Twain, from “You Win My Love” to “No One Needs To Know” in 1996.
Combs’ unprecedented achievements reflect the historically atypical release schedule for his two latest Country Airplay No. 1s, as “Love You Anyway” was intended to be his lone current promoted single but “Fast Car” went viral and they wound up scaling the survey in tandem.
Taste of the Top 10
Meanwhile, Lainey Wilson nets her fifth Country Airplay top 10 as “Watermelon Moonshine” rises 11-10 (19.3 million, up 22%). It follows her feature on HARDY’s “Wait in the Truck,” which peaked at No. 2 in April.
Additional reporting by Gary Trust.
