weekly May 11, 2026, Issue 1011
Halfway Airplay: Morgan, Sony & More
The chart year is halfway over. Let that one sink in for a minute. Not quite as shocking: Morgan Wallen and Ella Langley are dominating airplay at Country radio. In Q1, Langley had the lead, but Wallen’s six titles (with collaborations, compared to Langley’s four) have put him in the lead at the midpoint. As both are featured on the rapidly rising “I Can’t Love You Anymore,” expect a close race coming down the stretch. Not so fast (car), says the third-place Luke Combs, whose four titles are among the 13(!) powering Sony Music Nashville to the top Morgan Wallen of the label chart share leaderboard. The Sony team claims the pinnacle over Big Loud, which has won the airplay championship each of the last four years and has posted 11 songs with airplay so far. Rounding out the top five artists are Jordan Davis and Jelly Roll, both of whom posted top five collaborations in the first half of the ‘26 chart year – “Ain’t A Bad Life” with Thomas Rhett, and “Amen” with Shaboozey, Ella Langley respectively. Speaking of the top songs (see list page 7), Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” rises from No. 9 in Q1 to No. 1. With the aforementioned collabs at Nos. 2 and 5, it’s Wallen’s “20 Cigarettes” in third and Hardy’s “Favorite Country Song” in fourth. The latter topped the Q1 airplay chart. In-tab on this midyear report are 93 songs, 20 of which hit No. 1. Twenty songs feature women, seven are from duos or groups.
Top 2026 Airplay Labels (Q1-2) 1. Sony 11.6% 2. Big Loud 10.9% 3. MCA 7.8% 4. Blue Highway 7.2% 5. Triple Tigers 6.8%
6. Mercury 6. Stoney Creek 8. Nashville Harbor 9. Broken Bow 10. WAR
5.8% 5.8% 5.6% 5.4% 5.2% (continued on page 7)
Keep Calm & Carry On: Hey Now Records’ Kenny Chesney celebrates his highest add day and closing the panel with every station adding “Carry On” (see Chart Chat, page 5). Pictured (l-r) are Morris Higham’s Kyle Quigley, the label’s Bill Lubitz, Kris Lamb, John Esposito, Chesney, Clint Higham, Jane Staszak, Morris Higham’s Buffy Cooper and the label’s Brooke Diaz.
Langley Tour: What In Carnation? Col. NY/Triple Tigers’ Ella Langley kicked off her 2026 Dandelion Tour Thursday (5/7) at Huntington Center in Toledo, OH, with Forever WGTY/York, PA OM/ PD Scott Donato and Rubber City WQMX/Akron PD Sarah Kay in attendance. Both described an opening night crowd eager to see Langley step into her first headlining tour, with Kay
OH Kay: Kay (r) with Langley.
(continued on page 5)
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