June 21, 2022, Issue 812
Lynch, Aldean/Underwood Lead Airplay The fiercest battle we’ve seen in some time for the “Label of the Year” title is raging as we begin the eighth month of the 2022 chart year. The virtual-three-way tie for the top honor among Broken Bow, Big Loud and Capitol is the closest we’ve seen in the 13 years that Capitol has dominated Country-chart label shares. In fact, only 36,000 points separate the three imprints. Each boasts double-digit charts shares, something we have never seen in the past. Enabling that rare statistic are the myriad of collaborations, which yield chart-share points for both artists’ imprints. Broken Bow’s drive to the top is powered by the tremendous one-two MacKenzie Porter punch of the year’s top two songs and Dustin Lynch thus far – “Thinking ‘Bout You” from Dustin Lynch and MacKenzie Porter and “If I Didn’t Love You,” the duet from Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood. Further bolstering BBR Morgan are Lainey Wilson joining Cole Wallen Swindell on “Never Say Never” (10) and Aldean’s three-week No. 1 “Trouble With A Heartbreak,” currently at No. 29 for the year, but also aimed squarely at the year’s Top 10. Big Loud stakes its claim to No. 1 with Hardy, Dierks Bentley and Breland a pair of Morgan Wallen hits. “Sand In My Boots” ranks No. 3 for the year, while “Wasted On You,” at No. 38, may well be destined for the year’s Top 10. Also propelling Big Loud to double-digit chart shares are the Dierks Bentley, Breland and Hardy collab “Beers On Me” (11); Jake Owen’s “Best Thing Since Backroads” (24); Hardy’s “Give Heaven Some Hell” (27) and Ernest and Wallen’s “Flower Shops” (41). Capitol’s hopes for a 14th consecutive showing as LOTY are bolstered by the aforementioned Underwood/Aldean duet and the Bentley collab, along with current Top 50 showings by Keith Urban’s “Wild Hearts,” (13) (continued on page 7)
10,000 Billable Hours: Dan + Shay‘s Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney with WXTU/Philadelphia‘s Mark Razz (left) and WCTO/Allentown, PA’s Jerry Padden at Lincoln Financial Field Saturday (6/18).
Ruppel’s Country Pride Journey
Less than a year ago, newly minted Townsquare/Lansing, MI Dir./Content & WITL PD/on-air talent Jonathan “JR” Ruppel shared on Facebook that he is a gay man. While his journey to living his truth was lifelong, a series of events two years in the making allowed him to open and walk through that door, including a nudge from Country Aircheck. “Reading your piece last year about other openly gay men and women in the Country radio community gave me the courage to come out myself,” Ruppel says. “I had known about Blair Garner and Cody Alan, of Ruppel course, but I had no idea there were so many
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