Nate Smith earns his second consecutive career-opening No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated Dec. 23) with “World on Fire.” The song increased by 9% to 29.8 million audience impressions Dec. 8-14, according to Luminate.
Smith co-authored the track with Ashley Gorley, Taylor Phillips and Lindsay Rimes, the lattermost of whom solely produced it.
“If you would’ve told me in 2018 that right now I’d be celebrating not my first but my second No. 1 at country radio, I wouldn’t have believed it,” Smith tells Billboard. “In December 2018, I was absolutely devastated from the fact that my hometown of Paradise, Calif., had just been destroyed by a fire. I had nothing left to my name, but friends and family came around and helped push me forward.”
Adds Smith, “I wanna say thank you to my passionate fans – it’s all about you.”
Smith scored early success on social media prior to signing to Sony Music Nashville’s Arista roster in November 2021. He presently boasts 1.6 million TikTok followers.
“World on Fire” is from the deluxe edition of Smith’s debut self-titled LP. The set arrived at its No. 6 high on Top Country Albums in May and has earned 653,000 equivalent album units to date. Smith first led Country Airplay with the set’s “Whiskey on You” for two frames in February.
Meanwhile, “World on Fire” is the 19th song to notch its first week at No. 1 on Country Airplay during 2023. Smith is the seventh artist to score multiple leaders this year, joining Luke Combs, Jelly Roll and Morgan Wallen, with three apiece, and Kane Brown, Lainey Wilson and Bailey Zimmerman, each with two.
Doing ‘All’ Right
Chris Janson nets his sixth Country Airplay top 10 as “All I Need Is You” rises to No. 9, up 6% to 17.2 million in audience. He last visited the tier with “Done,” which reigned for two weeks in August 2020, marking his second chart-topper. He first ruled with “Good Vibes” for a week in October. His breakthrough hit, “Buy Me a Boat,” cruised to No. 3 in September 2015.
That’s Pretty ‘Wild’
Luke Combs earns his 20th straight career-opening Country Airplay top 10 (counting only singles promoted to country radio), as “Where the Wild Things Are” pushes to No. 10 (16.6 million, up 16%). It joins Riley Green’s Combs-featuring “Different ‘Round Here,” which ranks at No. 8 (18.6 million, up 6%).
Carrie Underwood boasts the longest career-starting streak of Country Airplay top 10s, with 27 in 2005-18; after Combs’ 20, Tracy Lawrence now ranks third with 19 consecutive career-launching top 10s in 1992-97. Overall, Keith Urban has linked the longest such run: 38 straight top 10s in 2000-17.
