weekly September 25, 2023, Issue 877
Chart Year Update: More Morgan
In the final update before the official tally in Country Aircheck’s yearend print issue, the airplay chart share race and top songs of 2023 are coming into focus. With five charting songs, two multi-week No. 1s and eight weeks with two songs simultaneously in the top 10, it should come as no surprise that Morgan Wallen has powered Big Loud to the top of the label ranking (see page 9). Meanwhile, Bailey Zimmerman has the top song so far (see Top 25, page 6). Methodology: The 2023 chart year runs Nov. Morgan Wallen 6, 2022 to Nov. 11, 2023. Airplay points for this update were tabulated through Sept. 9, 2023. Songs that spent at least one week on the current chart in that window are credited for all current and recurrent airplay. Collaborations are credited to each artist’s label in full – each receives 100% of the airplay points amassed by the song. As always, airplay is from our friends and partners at Mediabase 24/7. Bailey Wallen’s five tracks (including “Thought You Zimmerman Should Know” [No. 2], “Last Night” [6] and “You Proof” [7]) are joined by Hardy’s collab with Lainey Wilson, “Wait In The Truck” (17) in boosting Big Loud’s 11.3% chart share more than two percentage points ahead of second place. Multiple releases from Luke Combs – “Going, Going, Gone” [9], “Fast Car” [24] and “Love You Anyway” [30]) – along with Old Dominion’s “Memory Lane” (26) fuel Columbia into the runnerLuke Combs up spot, ahead of MCA, which has two tracks from Jordan Davis (“What My World Spins Around” and “Next Thing You Know”) and Parker McCollum’s “Handle On You” within the top 30. As the end of the chart year approaches, and with two Wallen singles climbing the chart, the odds favor Big Loud claiming the Label of the Year title for the first time. The bigger question may be who is able to claim second place, with less than a percentage point separating Columbia and MCA. –Lon Helton, Chris Huff (continued on page 9)
Mid-Air: Big Machine’s Brian Kelley (c) with WLFP/Memphis’ Chris Michaels and Erin Austin at the Mid-South Fair.
NSHOF: Keith Urban
Spotlighting inductees ahead of the Oct. 11 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala continues with Keith Urban. Beyond his own hits – ranging from first No. 1 “But For The Grace Of God” to the longest running song on Country Aircheck’s Power Gold 100 “Somebody Like You” – he’s also written songs recorded by other artists. Among them, Tyler Hubbard’s “Dancin’ In The Country,” Breland’s “Throw It Back” and a Christmas song that Toby
Keith Urban
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