Scotty McCreery adds his fifth total and consecutive No. 1 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart, as “Damn Strait” ascends to the summit of the July 23-dated chart. In the tracking week ending July 17, the song drew 27.2 million audience impressions, according to Luminate.
Notably, McCreery has topped Country Airplay with each single that the 2011 winner of American Idol has released since he signed with Triple Tigers Records in 2017.
“My first country music concert was George Strait, and along with my love for Elvis [Presley], he inspired me to become a country music singer myself,” says McCreery. “When I did American Idol, George called me and requested I sing his [1995] hit ‘Check Yes or No,’ and I still sing it from time to time in concert. Now, having my fifth straight No. 1 on a song that pays tribute to George, while at the same time being a classic country heartbreaker such as he might have sung, is such a full-circle moment that means the world to me. Trent Tomlinson and Jim Collins wrote a clever song that reaches beyond name-dropping Strait hits to tell a meaningful story.”
“Strait” is the sophomore single from McCreery’s album Same Truck, which arrived at its No. 10 high on Top Country Albums last October, marking the seventh top 10 for the 28-year-old Garner, N.C., native. He earned his third and most recent No. 1 set with Seasons Change in March 2018.
Same Truck lead single “You Time” became McCreery’s fourth Country Airplay No. 1 for a week last October. He first ruled Country Airplay with “Five More Minutes” (one week, March 2018) and led again with “This Is It” (two, February 2019) and “In Between” (one, June 2020).
McCreery first appeared on Country Airplay with the No. 15-peaking “I Love You This Big” in August 2011 and has posted two top 10s in addition to his No. 1s: “See You Tonight” (No. 8, March 2014) and “Feelin’ It” (No. 10, December 2014).
On the multi-metric Hot Country Songs chart, “Strait” ranks at No. 8, after hitting No. 6 in June. It drew 4.6 million U.S. streams and sold 2,000 downloads in the week ending July 14.
Meanwhile, as the song crowns Country Airplay, it’s just the fourth No. 1 to namecheck another artist in its title. Eric Church’s “Springsteen,” his ode to Bruce Springsteen, was boss of the chart for two weeks in 2012; Brad Paisley’s “Old Alabama,” featuring Alabama, reigned for two frames in 2011; and Joe Diffie’s “Bigger Than the Beatles” (mop-)topped the chart for two weeks in 1996. (Strait and Alabama boast 26 and seven No. 1s, respectively, since the survey began in 1990.)
Wall-to-Wall Wallen
Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album dominates Top Country Albums for a record-extending 65th week, with 49,000 equivalent album units. Concurrently, the set’s “Wasted on You” controls Hot Country Songs for a ninth week. After leading Country Airplay for three frames, it descends to No. 2 with 25.8 million in audience (down 11%). It also corralled 12.4 million clicks and sold 4,000 in the tracking week.
Plus, Wallen’s standalone single “You Proof,” now being promoted to country radio, pushes 41-36 on Country Airplay, up 46% to 2.5 million impressions. It also rises 4-3 on Hot Country Songs after debuting atop the survey in May. It tops Country Streaming Songs for a fifth week (12.7 million streams, up 4%).
New Blood
Muscadine Bloodline, the Mobile, Ala.-based duo comprising Charlie Muncaster and Gary Stanton, makes its first appearance on Country Digital Song Sales as “Me On You,” released July 8, launches at No. 2 with 4,000 sold.
The act has posted two entries on Billboard‘s Independent Albums survey. Its self-titled EP arrived at its No. 15 best in February 2017 and Movin’ On started at its No. 17 peak in May 2018.
The twosome, currently on tour, released the LP Dispatch to 16th Ave. in February.
‘Eyes’ Opens
Keith Urban rolls up his 27th Country Digital Song Sales top 10 as “Brown Eyes Baby” bows at No. 7 with 3,000 sold.
Concurrently beginning at No. 42 on Hot Country Songs, the song is the second single from Urban’s forthcoming album, after “Wild Hearts,” which hit No. 4 on Country Airplay and No. 19 on Hot Country Songs in June
