Brett Young achieves his first No. 1 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart (dated June 10) as "In Case You Didn't Know" ascends 2-1, increasing 3 percent to 46 million audience impressions in the week ending May 28, according to Nielsen Music.
The ballad, which the 36-year-old Young wrote with Trent Tomlinson, Tyler Reeve and Kyle Schlienger, hits the summit in its 25th week. It follows Young's debut single, "Sleep Without You," which peaked at No. 2 on Country Airplay (Dec. 10, 2016) and No. 3 on Hot Country Songs (Dec. 3). (Both songs are from Young's self-titled debut LP.) "Case" holds at its No. 2 high for a seventh straight week on the latter list. Aided by a 69-cent sale price in the iTunes Store, "Case" sports a 56 percent surge with 46,000 downloads sold as it bullets at No. 3 on Country Digital Song Sales. It retains its No. 2 high on Country Streaming Songs with 9 million U.S. streams (down 4 percent).
"There are fewer greater rewards for a songwriter than when you write a song that impacts someone's life," says Young. "I think as a writer that may be one of our biggest inspirations and challenges. And when it happens it's simply the most fantastic feeling a songwriter can have."
WKLB Boston program director Mike Brophey tells Billboard that the love song "connected with listeners as soon as we started playing it. It [also] gained noticeable excitement with listeners through social-media chatter."
NO STOP SIGN Sam Hunt's "Body Like a Back Road" leads Hot Country Songs for a 16th week. Fueling its continuing domination are 16.3 million U.S. clicks (down 2 percent), leading "Road" to also top Country Streaming Songs for a 16th frame. It drops to No. 2 after 16 weeks atop Country Digital Song Sales, although it gains 11 percent to 53,000 sold and remains at No. 3 on Country Airplay after leading the survey for three weeks (starting on the chart dated May 6), with 41.2 million in audience (down 3 percent).
With a sweet 16 weeks at No. 1 on Hot Country Songs, "Road" ties Buck Owens' "Love's Gonna Live Here" (1963-64) as the fifth-longest-leading No. 1 in the history of the chart, which began as an all-encompassing song scorecard for the genre in 1958. Florida Georgia Line's "Cruise" leads with 24 weeks in charge in 2012 and 2013.
THEY'RE 'BACK': While Chris Stapleton's From A Room: Volume 1 leads Top Country Albums for a second week (2-1; 50,000 equivalent album units, down 33 percent), Rascal Flatts' Back to Us bounds arrives at No. 2 with 30,000 units (25,000 in pure sales). On the all-genre Billboard 200, the set arrives at No. 11. The album is the trio's 12th top 10 on Top Country Albums, a sum that includes eight No. 1s.
Also on Top Country Albums, The Voice: The Complete Season 12 Collection, featuring singer-songwriter Lauren Duski, debuts at No. 4 (19,000). Duski, who competed for coach Blake Shelton's team, finished second to Chris Blue. "Deja Vu," an original song that she performed on the season finale (May 22), debuts at No. 1 on Country Digital Song Sales (86,000 downloads sold) and No. 4 on Hot Country Songs. The second song that Duski sang on the finale was Garth Brooks' 1990 Hot Country Songs No. 1 "The Dance." Her take enters Country Digital Song Sales at No. 4 (37,000) and Hot -Country Songs at No. 18.
NEW TOP 10s: Dylan Scott scores his first Country Airplay top 10, with his third chart entry, "My Girl," climbing 11-9, rising 9 percent to 26.2 million impressions. Plus, Thomas Rhett's "Craving You," featuring Maren Morris, jumps 13-10 on Country Airplay (26.2 million, up 16 percent). It's Rhett's eighth Country Airplay top 10 and Morris' second, following her launch single, "My Church," which peaked at No. 9 on the chart dated May 21, 2016.
