Morgan Wallen ‘Up’ To First Country Airplay No. 1 With FGL, Who Also Top Hot Country Songs
Morgan Wallen's "Up Down," featuring Florida Georgia Line, surges from No. 6 to No. 1 in its 32nd week on Billboard's Country Airplay chart (dated June 30), as it hikes by 17 percent to 39.7 million…
Morgan Wallen‘s “Up Down,” featuring Florida Georgia Line, surges from No. 6 to No. 1 in its 32nd week on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated June 30), as it hikes by 17 percent to 39.7 million audience impressions in the tracking week ending June 24, according to Nielsen Music.
On Hot Country Songs, which blends airplay, streaming and sales data, “Up” lifts 6-5 for a new high.
“‘Up Down’ has changed my life,” Wallen tells Billboard. “It’s taken me and my guys from a van to a tour bus, from clubs to opening for Luke Bryan in stadiums. The song has shown me how many people are just like me when it comes to the things we consider to be a good time, and the things we love.
“Having FGL [Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley], whom I now consider to be two of my closest friends, with me just makes it that much sweeter. And, none of this would be possible without country radio for giving me a real chance to be heard by the fans.”
“Up” makes the biggest jump to No. 1 on Country Airplay since LOCASH’s “I Know Somebody,” which also romped 6-1 on the tally dated Oct. 29, 2016.
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The 25-year-old Wallen earns his first Country Airplay No. 1 in his second chart appearance; his debut single, “The Way I Talk,” peaked at No. 30 on May 6, 2016. Both tracks are from Wallen’s debut LP, If I Know Me, which debuted and peaked at No. 11 on theTop Country Albums chart dated May 12.
“Up” is FGL’s 13th Country Airplay leader, tying the twosome with Zac Brown Band for third place among duos and groups for the most No. 1s in the chart’s 28-year history, after Brooks & Dunn (20) and Rascal Flatts (14). Among all acts, Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw share the mark with 29 No. 1s apiece.
FGL DOUBLES UP: Meanwhile, Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line’s “Meant to Be” rolls to its 30th week at No. 1 on Hot Country Songs. The reign is the second-longest on the 58-year-old list, after Sam Hunt‘s “Body Like a Back Road” (34 weeks in 2017).
As Wallen’s “Up Down,” featuring FGL, jumps 6-1 on Country Airplay, FGL leads both Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay simultaneously with different songs. It marks only the third time that an act has dominated both charts with different songs (since Hot Country Songs transitioned to its triple-metric methodology on Oct. 20, 2012), and FGL has been involved each time.
Such a double had last occurred when Luke Bryan‘s “Play It Again” led Country Airplay for a fourth and final week, while FGL’s “This Is How We Roll,” featuring Bryan, topped Hot Country Songs for its fifth of six frames on June 21, 2014.
Previously, on the charts dated May 18 and 25, 2013, FGL’s “Cruise” was amid its 24-week rule on Hot Country Songs, while follow-up “Get Your Shine On” led Country Airplay those same two weeks.
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