Jason Aldean, Morgan Wallen + Luke Combs Make Chart History
Country music is dominating the music scene right now: After securing the top two spots on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart earlier in 2023, the genre is expanding its dominance to the top three spots.
It's the first time in the all-genre chart's 65-year history that three country songs have held first, second and third place positions on the mainstream chart.
This comes after Jason Aldean's "Try That in a Small Town" rose to the top spot. It's the Georgia native's first-ever No. 1 on the chart, and his 40th entry overall. The song shot to the top position despite being a subject of debate when its music video dropped in July.
Meanwhile, Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs fill out No. 2 and No. 3 with "Last Night" and "Fast Car," respectively.
Both Wallen's offering and Combs' cover of Tracy Chapman's hit were already enjoying some time at the list's summit. The pair first charted at No. 1 and No. 2 in late June. It was the first time two country artists had held those spots in 42 years.
Billboard's Hot 100 chart measures all genres of music. To determine its rankings, the chart looks at domestic audio and video streams, radio airplay and sales data.
Country music is having its moment in mainstream entertainment. Based on data collected from Hit Songs Deconstructed, Billboard reports that the format tied with pop music as the most prominent primary genre in the first quarter of 2023. Country music had just as many Top 10 hits as pop music.