Florida Georgia Line Marks One Hundred Total Weeks Atop Hot Country Songs With ‘Meant To Be’
Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line's "Meant to Be" extends its record run to 44 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's airplay, streaming and sales-based Hot Country Songs chart (dated Oct. 6).
Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line‘s “Meant to Be” extends its record run to 44 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard‘s airplay, streaming and sales-based Hot Country Songs chart (dated Oct. 6). With its continued domination, FGL becomes the first act to top the chart for 100 cumulative career weeks.
“Meant” extends its reign as it leads Country Streaming Songs for a record-padding 40th week, decreasing by 2 percent to 11 million U.S. streams in the tracking week, according to Nielsen Music. It falls 4-10 on Country Digital Song Sales (6,000 sold, down 34 percent), where it ruled for 22 frames, and drew 12.3 million in country radio audience (43 million overall), after leading the Country Airplay chart dated April 28 (while being dually promoted to country and pop radio).
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Florida Georgia Line – Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley – celebrates its 100th total week atop Hot Country Songs, among its six No. 1s, a first in the chart’s 59-year history. (Hot Country Songs began as an all-encompassing genre survey in 1958. In October 2012, it became an airplay, streaming and sales-driven list, at which point songs began logging far longer average commands.)
“I continue to be humbled and am honestly speechless by watching what our supporters and fans have done for us,” Hubbard tells Billboard. “Being a part of country music history is more than a dream come true, and getting to do what we love on this level is something we will never take for granted.”
“We set out to write good songs, so to see them travel far beyond our reach is still hard to wrap our heads around,” adds Kelley. “We are so thankful to country radio, our fans and our team for believing in even our wildest dreams.”
Here’s how FGL got to 100 weeks at No. 1 on Hot Country Songs with its six leaders: The pair’s first hit, “Cruise,” led for 24 weeks in 2012 and 2013, followed by “Stay” (six weeks, 2013-14); “This Is How We Roll” (featuring Luke Bryan; six, 2014); “Dirt” (two weeks, 2014); “H.O.L.Y.” (18, 2016); and “Meant” (44, 2017-18).
FGL’s 100 cumulative weeks in the Hot Country Songs penthouse outpace runner-up George Strait, as his record 44 No. 1s spent 84 weeks atop the survey. Buck Owens ranks third with 82 weeks (from 21 No. 1s), followed by Tim McGraw (73 weeks, 26 No. 1s) and Kenny Chesney (72 weeks, 23 No. 1s).
With 44 weeks, Rexha owns the mark for the most time at No. 1 among women on Hot Country Songs, thanks solely to “Meant.” She passed Tammy Wynette, in second place with 37 weeks at No. 1 (from 20 No. 1s); Carrie Underwood follows with 35 weeks at the apex (among 14 No. 1s).
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MAKING IT LOOK “SIMPLE” Meanwhile, Florida Georgia Line holds the Nos. 1 and 2 positions on Hot Country Songs, as “Meant to Be” follow-up “Simple” pushes 3-2. The latter leads Country Digital Songs for an 11th week (9,000, down 9 percent); lifts 5-3 on Country Airplay (34.6 million, up 2 percent); and repeats at No. 5 on Country Streaming Songs (7.4 million, up 7 percent).
Luke Bryan had last doubled up at Nos. 1 and 2 on Hot Country Songs simultaneously, on June 28, 2014, with FGL’s “This Is How We Roll,” featuring Bryan, at No. 1 and Bryan’s “Play It Again” at No. 2.
The only other artists to claim the top two slots on Hot Country Songs in the same week: Taylor Swift (2012), Willie Nelson (1982) and Buck Owens (1964).
MORRIS EN-“RICH”-ES TOP 10 Maren Morris’ “Rich” enters the Country Airplay top 10, climbing 11-10 with a 6 percent increase to 22.7 million audience impressions.
Co-penned by Morris, “Rich” becomes her fourth top 10, following the No. 1s “Craving You,” by Thomas Rhett featuring Morris (July 2017), and “I Could Use a Love Song” (January 2018) and her breakthrough “My Church” (No. 9, May 2016).