On April 25, 2009, Rascal Flatts’ “Here Comes Goodbye” ascended to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, becoming the 10th of the trio’s 12 leaders.
The song was written by Clint Lagerberg and Chris Sligh (the latter a finalist on American Idol in 2007) and produced by Dan Huff. It introduced Rascal Flatts’ LP Unstoppable, which launched as the band’s fifth of eight No. 1s on the Top Country Albums chart. It also marked the group’s fourth and most recent leader on the all-genre Billboard 200.
The act – Gary LeVox, his cousin Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney – broke through in 2000 with the No. 3 Hot Country Songs hit “Prayin’ for Daylight,” its first of 30 top 10s. Rascal Flatts won the vocal group of the year trophy at the Country Music Association Awards six straight years beginning in 2003.
The band was forced to cancel its farewell tour in 2020 due to the pandemic, but has left the door open for further collaboration. All the members have announced that they’ll be working on individual projects, with LeVox having released his first Christian single, “The Distance,” which hit No. 28 on Hot Christian Songs in April 2021. His EP One on One arrived at its No. 29 best on Top Christian Albums that June.
DeMarcus is the owner and CEO of Red Street Records, which launched in 2018 and includes Christian and country rosters. Rooney has commented publicly about his battle with alcoholism and fight for sobriety. He posted earlier this year, “Moving forward, I will do my best to reflect God’s light of love and grace onto others like so many have done for me.”
