Hot 100
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Zach Bryanâs âSomething in the Orangeâ spent six weeks atop Billboardâs Hot Country Songs chart. But the track wasnât recorded anywhere near Nashville â it was crafted alongside producer Ryan Hadlock, over 2,000 miles away at Bear Creek, the rustic barn-turned-studio that Hadlockâs parents had built in 1977 just outside of Seattle, not far from the birthplace of grunge. The genre-fluid song didnât just top the country chart â it peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, too.
âEven the term âcountry musicâ is almost becoming passĂ© in some ways because in working with Zach, in a lot of ways, he doesnât really consider himself a straight-up country musician,â says Hadlock, who also produced Bryanâs âFrom Austin.â âHeâs a singer-songwriter who happens to be from Oklahoma, has an accent and sings about the world heâs in⊠I think he will be doing amazing things for a really long time.â
Within Nashville, too, a similar genre-mashing ethos has bubbled up on hits such as Morgan Wallenâs muted, acoustic-based chart juggernaut âLast Night,â which spent 16 nonconsecutive weeks atop the Hot 100 in 2023. âHe has one of those magical voices that allows him to span multiple formats, really,â says producer Joey Moi, who has worked with Wallen since his debut album. âHe can sing a traditional country song, or over a hip-hop, contemporary production or a contemporary country production, and it still sounds like a Morgan Wallen song.â
As more and more country tracks have risen to the upper reaches of the Hot 100 this past year, many of the standouts â not only âSomething in the Orangeâ and âLast Night,â in addition to other tracks by Bryan and Wallen, but also Luke Combsâ rendition of Tracy Chapmanâs âFast Carâ (which reached No. 2), Bailey Zimmermanâs âRock and a Hard Placeâ (which hit the top 10) and Jelly Rollâs rock and country-blending âNeed a Favorâ (which broke into the top 20) â demonstrate an instinct for crafting sounds that appeal beyond the genre.
A mix of newcomers and veterans, they include Hadlock; Wallenâs âLast Nightâ producers, Moi and Charlie Handsome; Zimmerman producer Austin Shawn; Combsâ âFast Carâ co-producers, Jonathan Singleton and Chip Matthews; and Jelly Roll producer Austin Nivarel.
Notably, many of these studio creatives have rĂ©sumĂ©s that extend beyond country. Before working with Big Loud artists like Wallen and Florida Georgia Line, Moi produced Canadian rock band Nickelback. Hadlock has worked with names ranging from Foo Fighters to Brandi Carlile, while Handsomeâs credits include Post Malone, Kanye West, Juice WRLD and Lil Wayne.
For Wallen and Bryan, scaled-back production proved essential to the genre-traversing success of their respective hits. âWe purposefully kept it simple,â Moi says of âLast Night.â âThere are a handful of parts going on, but itâs more about the negative space and making it about the story, the vocal and the instrumental that runs throughout. It lends itself to being accessible by more lanes as far as radio formats; it was tougher to define as just a country song, or just a pop song or [adult top 40] song. It kind of fit everywhere.â
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Moi says the songâs sparse production partially resulted from Wallenâs own creative inclinations. âMy natural instinct is to build these larger-than-life productions, and Morgan is great about coming behind me and being like, âTake this out and that part out,â making sure Iâm not doing too much on certain things,â Moi says. âIâd say he has had his best opportunity on the last two records to really imprint upon every aspect of it, from the songwriting to demos to our approach to tracking in the studio and postproduction. You can hear his contemporary, youthful thoughts over all of it.â
Similarly, Hadlock notes the minimal production on âSomething in the Orange,â which utilized vintage mics and gear. âSometimes old equipment is better at capturing emotion, and part of it is having a good room; I think people donât always realize how much an instrument the room is that people are playing in,â says Hadlock, whose goal was a recording that sounded like Bryan was âplaying right in front of you,â that would make âpeople listen to it and say, âWow, thatâs an amazing live recording.â â
For Shawn, the freedom to experiment was key in landing the right feel for Zimmermanâs âRock and a Hard Place.â He and Zimmerman produced the song a half-dozen different ways before landing on the approach they used for the final recording. âWe produced an almost John Mayer-esque, real smooth-sounding [version], then the acoustic version and one that was a dark piano ballad, with strings and fiddle that sounded almost like you were listening to a country Goo Goo Dolls song,â Shawn says.
As he did with âFall in Love,â Shawn incorporated a âthree-minute-long sample of just windâ into âRock and a Hard Place.â âIt feels like you are in a desert, and I wanted to feel that open style â we added fiddle and pedal steel, just subtly to bring out the emotive aspect. We wanted this song to feel like you could play it on acoustic guitar, but at the same time, it can still fit into a country radio modern format.â
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Shawn, who co-wrote Zimmermanâs âFall in Love,â recalls the no-barriers approach he and Zimmerman took early on in developing his sound. âWe thought about the kinds of songs he would want to hear and made the music as fans, just encompassing everything we love⊠Thereâs no gimmicks with this kid. His gift is making the music that defines him and his lifestyle.â
Ultimately, producers who encourage such experimentation â whether Combsâ cover of a 1980s folk-pop classic, Bryanâs poetic blend of country, folk and rock or Wallenâs country-to-hip-hop range â have shaped songs that are resonating with a multitude of listeners.
âHe has always wanted to stay in the country lane, but we all knew he had a sort of contemporary side,â Moi says of Wallen. âIf we planted our roots and built our foundation in a good spot, [we knew] weâd have the opportunity to explore other genres, and I think weâre in a sweet spot for that right now.â
This story originally appeared in the Oct. 7, 2023, issue of Billboard.
The growing popularity of Calle 24âs riveting corridos number âQuĂ© Ondaâ with Chino Pacas and Fuerza Regida caught him by surprise â particularly because he didnât initially intend for it to be his own track.
Born Diego MillĂĄn, he recalls that he wrote the foundation of the song for another group (who he declines to disclose), but when it ultimately didnât work out for the band, he decided to keep the song for himself. He then showed the song to Fuerza Regida frontman JesĂșs Ortiz Paz (better known as JOP), and the two immediately decided to grow it even further with the addition of singer Chino Pacas.
The trackâs horn-blaring, upbeat feel narrates a rendezvous both passionate and filled with debauchery, which has quickly resonated with listeners. Following its release on Aug. 30, âQuĂ© Ondaâ has quickly become Calle 24âs biggest hit to date: it debuted at No. 61 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated Sept. 16, marking his first entry on the chart, and has reached a No. 8 high on Hot Latin Songs.
At just 20 years old, the Chihuahua, Mexico-born musician is signed to Street Mob Records â JOPâs record label (which recently inked a deal with Cinq Music) â and is now performing as a solo act, after Calle 24 first formed as a group of four. âThe name stayed with me, but my friendship and camaraderie with the others continues,â he says. Heâs also quickly becoming an extremely sought-after songwriter within the booming regional Mexican music scene, with credits on Fuerza Regidaâs âSabor Fresaâ and âIgualito a Mi ApĂĄ,â featuring Peso Pluma. Heâs involved in the San Bernardino bandâs upcoming work as well.
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Below, Calle 24 tells Billboard about the success of âQuĂ© Onda,â working as a solo artist, his relationship with JOP and more.
Whatâs your reaction to your first Hot 100 hit?
Iâm very excited. I didnât think this was going to happen to me, but thank God it did. I hope itâs not the [last] time.
How did the song come together?
[Another group] asked me to do the song. Me and my [writing] partner Miguel Armenta, who is also a co-writer for âBebe Dame,â started working on the song about a month or so ago in California, and midway through it, we said, âItâs coming along very well.â That same day we recorded it, and it was something very impressive. Now that regional Mexican music is expanding, you know when songs are on another level â we thought this could go worldwide because of the lyrics, the rhythm, all of that.
So, the other project didnât happen, and I was like, âWell, Iâm going to take my song,â because I wrote it. [JOP] told me we should do it together, so we uploaded a Reel to Instagram, promoting the song. That day, we added the voices, and we did not imagine [the results]. That night it accumulated several million [streams]. It was something crazy.
Tell me about the other people that worked on the song.
Cristian Humberto, and Jonathan Caro, who is a co-writer on âSabor Fresa.â JOP also participated a little bit in the lyrics. We are a team. Weâd rather work together: they say that more heads think better than one, so we set out to do that. Thatâs how we come out with more quality work. We are like a family, really. Itâs better when people get along well because things come out much better with more enthusiasm.
How did Calle 24 form?
I am now a solo artist. We used to be a group, but it disintegrated because I believe that my colleagues had their own visions and work plans â and it is understood. Calle 24 started here in CuauhtĂ©moc, where I live in Chihuahua, with me, Ezequiel Rodriguez, Santiago Castillo and Angel Rivera. When I started four years ago, I was a solo artist like now. But they knew how to record at home, and I was impressed because I had gone to record in a studio and my song sounded worse than theirs. I was one of the first ones who approached them, and we started working together. The name stayed with me [now that Iâm a solo artist]. I am Calle 24. But my friendship and camaraderie with the others continues.
How did you meet JOP?
Me and Ezequiel were in Chihuahua, and [JOP] was looking for underground artists from California or Texas. He contacted a colleague called GĂŒero X to do a song and we began talking. We didnât know that GĂŒero X had just signed with JOP, [but] we did the song we were going to release, and out of the blue GĂŒero X said, âI just signed with Street Mob and JesĂșs wants to connect with youâ. So I sent him a load of songs, and after a week, he said, âSign them!â I was over the moon. That was in July 2020. Imagine, I was 17 years old at the time. It was this great opportunity. In January 2021, I wrote [Fuerza Regidaâs] âÂżQuĂ© EstĂĄ Pasando?â
Since 2021, youâve done extremely well on streaming platforms.
The truth is that it has been very nice. Itâs difficult, but little by little, people are accepting more of what we do. Since the first song we released, which was âÂżQuĂ© EstĂĄ Pasandoâ, the reception has been very good and we try to improve every day. It has been an incredible process.
Did you always think you would do corridos or regional Mexican music?
Never. In my childhood, I never listened to corridos. My mom was more into country and pop, so I listened more to Luis Fonsi, Caballo Dorado, things like that. One day, when I was about 8 years old, a friend came and told me, âCheck out this song,â and it was a corrido. I got that little itch for that music, and from then, I never let it go. I made my first song when I was 11 years old with the help of my parents. To this day, they still support me â thatâs what motivated me the most. When I was 13, they bought me my first guitar on my birthday. I knew it was going to be something. The truth is that I always had that hunch. You have to believe in yourself. Now I see that it was not in vain.
A version of this story originally appeared in the Sept. 23, 2023, issue of Billboard.
Jamie Foxx
Image Credit: Larry Busacca/Getty Images
Entries:âInfatuation,â No. 92, July 30, 1994âSlow Jamz,â No. 1, Feb. 21, 2004âGold Diggerâ by Kanye West feat. Jamie Foxx, No. 1, Sept. 17, 2005âUnpredicatable,â feat. Ludacris, No. 8, Feb. 11, 2006âGeorgiaâ by Ludacris & Field Mob feat. Jamie Foxx, No. 39, Jan. 14, 2006âDJ Play a Love Song,â feat. Twista, No. 45, June 17, 2006âPlease Excuse My Handsâ by Plies feat. Jamie Foxx & The-Dream, No. 66, Oct. 4, 2008âJust Like Me,â feat. T.I., No. 49, Jan. 3, 2009âShe Got Her Ownâ by Ne-Yo feat. Jamie Foxx & Fabolous, No. 54, March 7, 2009âBlame It,â feat. T-Pain, No. 2, May 16, 2009âDigital Girl,â feat. Drake, Kanye West & The-Dream, No. 92, Aug. 22, 2009âWinner,â feat. Justin Timberlake & T.I., No. 28, April 24, 2010âFall for Your Type,â feat. Drake, No. 50, Feb. 19, 2011âYou Changed Me,â feat. Chris Brown, No. 93, June 13, 2015âJamâ by Kevin Gates feat. Trey Songz, Ty Dolla $ign & Jamie Foxx, No. 97, Feb. 20, 2016
Over 30,000 songs have graced the Billboard Hot 100 in the chartâs 65-year history. Of those, 1,151 have reached No. 1 (as of the chart dated Aug. 19, 2023) â a select 3.8 percent.
One of the rarest feats, perhaps, is repeating at No. 1 on the Hot 100 10 times â as only 10 artists in history have earned the distinction.
The elite list features eight solo artists and two groups. The Beatles lead all acts, with a whopping 20 No. 1s â a record theyâve held since 1965, when they surpassed Elvis Presley.
Presley, whoâs notably absent from the list below, scored seven No. 1s in the Hot 100 era. The start of Presleyâs career predated the Hot 100, which launched on Aug. 4, 1958, meaning that some of his classics, such as âDonât Be Cruel,â âHound Dogâ and âJailhouse Rock,â preceded the chartâs existence. He did, however, reach the summit with âA Big Hunk Oâ Love,â âStuck on You,â âItâs Now or Never,â âAre You Lonesome Tonight,â âSurrender,â âGood Luck Charmâ and âSuspicious Minds.â
As for the artists just outside the 10 No. 1 hits club: Bee Gees, Elton John, Katy Perry, Paul McCartney (solo and with Wings), Taylor Swift and Usher have all topped the Hot 100 nine times, while BeyoncĂ© (excluding Destinyâs Childâs four leaders with her as a member), Justin Bieber, Bruno Mars, George Michael (excluding two billed solely to Wham!) and The Rolling Stones have eight each.
Here are the 10 artists who have tallied 10 or more No. 1 hits on the Hot 100:
Title, Weeks at No. 1, Peak Date
The Beatles, 20 No. 1s
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
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