BILLBOARD.COM/NEWSLETTERS FEBRUARY 11, 2019 | PAGE 1 OF 25

INSIDE

Scotty McCreery ‘Is It’

>page 4

Kacey Musgraves’ ‘Golden’ Moment

>page 10

Little Big Town Goes It Alone

>page 12

Q&A: CRS’ R.J. Curtis

>page 14

Makin’ Tracks: Travis Denning

Gets Real >page 18

Country Coda: Lady A Dialed Up

A No. 1 >page 25

When broadcasters convene in Nashville for the 50th annual Country Radio Seminar (CRS) Feb. 13-15, they will find their industry in a much different position than it occupied during the first convention in 1970.

At that time, the U.S. boasted roughly 600 full-t ime cou ntr y stat ions. They were mostly locally o w n e d A M s i g n a l s i n smaller markets with the music presented between blocks of news, talk, farm reports and/or play-by-play sportscasts. Callout research, satellite radio and streaming platforms did not exist, so the country PD, music director and DJs were often the genre’s lone tastemakers in a given market.

Now 2,000 stations program countr y full time, with corporate PDs sometimes making decisions for more than 100 stations, most of them FM signals with one or more country rivals in the market.

The pie is larger, but the competition is greater, stock prices play a larger role in management decisions, and Nielsen Music now measures many markets year-round through Personal People Meters rather than the old, intermittent diary method. In context, the radio industry — which felt in another era like an exciting gateway to a larger world — seems an extraordinarily conservative medium.

“It’s very high risk,” says Country Radio Broadcasters executive director R.J. Curtis. He is overseeing this year’s CRS in tandem with Bill Mayne, who will leave the organization

in May. “That’s why you see radio playing it safe.”But not everybody. The same spirit one associates with

countr y programmers at that f irst CR S — avid countr y mu sic sup p or ters who were passionate about broadcasting and sharing n e w m u s i c w i t h t h e i r audience — still exists, even if it’s seemingly more difficult to identify.

Much more research is built into programming today than in 1970, and

many country record promoters bemoan radio executives’ reticence to risk adding records based solely on their ears. But there are, in fact, stations and programmers who thrive by consistently jumping on new music. KKBQ Houston; WPCV Lakeland, Fla.; WKLB Boston; and WOGK Gainesville-Ocala, Fla.; were all mentioned by promoters or Stone Door Media Lab partner Jeff Green, who will appear in a Feb. 14 CRS panel, “The Metrics That Matter to Predict Radio Hits.” And everyone in a small, informal poll cited KRTY San Jose, Calif., GM Nate Deaton, who tries to focus more on building and keeping listeners than worrying about them leaving the station.

“There’s so much fear in programming to have someone tune out,” says Deaton. “Well, guess what? They’re going to. It’s the nature of 2019. Attention span is not very long, so there is no programmer in the world that is going to play 14 songs an hour that every single person who listens to the radio station is going to like. It’s not going to happen.”

Country Radio Seminar At 50: Terrestrial Radio Redefines Its Role

BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE Tom.Roland@billboard.com

Country Update

WILSON GREENMONK

Accepting that every listener tunes out frees Deaton to move more aggressively on music, knowing that early adoption of an unproven hit carries short-term risk. Not all of those records will prove to be a winner, and he certainly tempts some of that dreaded tune-out. But it also has long-term benefits. KRTY was an early believer in the mid-2000s in Luke Bryan and Eric Church. Playing their first records and booking them for small shows at Club Rodeo when they were struggling has not been forgotten now that they’re superstars.

“We get stuff here from the big artists that nobody else gets,” says Deaton, citing, for example, an event that gave listeners a chance to attend one of Church’s sound checks.

WHKO Dayton, Ohio, PD/morning host Nancy Wilson, one of the speakers on the CRS metrics panel, is similarly among those who add music early. She cites the general atmosphere at Cox Media, which promotes an edgier programming attitude, but she also shares a trait with Deaton that is unusual in the radio business: She has lived in her market her entire life, giving her a gut-level understanding of the community and its tastes.

“I live and breathe this area,” she says. “You know their kids and what they’re liking, and that does come into play sometimes. Something that you know will work well here in the Dayton area may not necessarily work well in Houston or may not test well in Chicago or even in Tulsa [Okla.], but I guess I know my peeps. I am a peep.”

While many programmers are more likely to make safe choices with their music, they might still show some enthusiasm for the format in ways they simply can’t express in their playlist decisions.

“They have a lot of strong opinions and passion and favorites and stuff,” says Curtis, “but some of them work for a company where they’re not one of the tastemakers deciding who the ‘On the Verge’ artist is for the next six weeks. They’re told to play it.”

Part of the break between safe programming and aggressive music decisions is caused by technological issues. When a song pops up on Pandora or Spotify that the listener doesn’t like, they can skip it while staying in the playlist. But to radio, a skip means turning to a different station. Thus, PDs try to avoid songs that are not proven mass-appeal hits.

Wilson takes a different approach. WHKO went early on singles by then-unproven talents Mitchell Tenpenny, Jimmie Allen and LANCO, trusting gut instincts while putting the station on the front edge of their eventual success.

“It’s your obligation to introduce your listeners to something you know that they would like,” she says. “Sometimes they don’t know that they are going to like it until they hear it because it sounds a little bit different. When Jason Aldean did ‘Dirt Road Anthem’ — oh, my gosh, remember the uproar over that because it had rap in it?”

Underneath it all, modern country radio programmers’ cautiousness may not be as extreme as perceived. The same year that CRS debuted, artist manager Paul Soelberg penned an extensive editorial in Billboard — “Modern Country Radio: Friend or Foe?” — chiding broadcasters for tight rotations, a hyper-focus on superstars and their hesitancy to add new music. The barbs were similar to radio criticisms leveled in 2019.

In fact, nearly every country broadcaster in 1970 was in it for the love of the music, says SiriusXM host Charlie Monk, who co-founded CRS and is believed to be the only person to have attended all 50 years. They got to put that love into the product, too. The passion was felt every year at CRS, and Monk argues that the seminar helped change the dynamic in country radio by inspiring station owners to change formats, thus increasing country’s competition.

“Quite frankly, CRS created in my mind a mass interest in programming country top 40 music,” suggests Monk. “You’d have a station that was like fourth or fifth in the market, and you didn’t know what the hell to do, and [the GM] came to CRS just to get some sales ideas out of it. He didn’t just steal the sales ideas. He tried programming country music all day long. Thus, they became the No. 2 station in the market.”

Country radio remains No. 1 in terms of its ability to expose the genre, though its role has changed as a platform for music discovery. Some stations still own a tastemaker reputation in their market, as they would have in 1970. But SiriusXM and streaming platforms are eroding that point for terrestrial country as a whole. The genre’s stations arrive at the 50th CRS as a major voice in country, but not the sole one.

“Country radio gets to be the star on top of the tree, if you will, and that’s a very important role,” says Green. “That is the final legitimizer of what is a huge hit.”

Chris Janson received an RIAA gold plaque from Warner Music Nashville when he performed at the Grand Ole Opry on Feb. 5. From left: WMN COO Matt Signore, Janson and Opry Entertainment senior vp programming and artist relations Sally Williams.

ASCAP, the Academy of Country Music and the Bluebird Cafe partnered to showcase country artists and songwriters across several shows during the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. From left: Carlton Anderson, Lee Ann Womack, Deana Carter and Jacob Davis.

Cole Swindell celebrated the launch of his Pre-Show Punch Moonshine and his hit “Break Up in the End,” which earned its songwriters a Grammy nomination, on Feb. 6 at The Cowan at Top Golf. From left: songwriters Chase McGill and Jessie Jo Dillon, Swindell and songwriter Jon Nite. A

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BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE FEBRUARY 11, 2019 | PAGE 2 OF 25

Sheryl Crow signed with Big Machine Label Group, helmed by president/CEO Scott Borchetta, and announced plans to release a duets album during 2019.

Scotty McCreery notches his second No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart as “This Is It” (Triple Tigers) ascends 2-1 in its 37th week (on the chart dated Feb. 16). The ballad gained by 8 percent to 39.6 million audience impressions in the week ending Feb. 10, according to Nielsen Music. On the airplay-, streaming- and sales-blended Hot Country Songs list, it enters the top five (6-4).

McCreery co-authored the song with Frank Rogers and Aaron Eshuis for his then-longtime girlfriend Gabi Dugal and sang it at their wedding last June. “Two weeks before I proposed, we wrote ‘This Is It’ as a love song for Gabi,” McCreery tells Billboard. “It’s our story. If the song existed solely for she and I, that would be completely fine with me. But to have our story on the radio and then reach No. 1 on the Billboard chart just makes my heart sing. Gabi is my world, she inspires me every day, and I think people can feel the realness of our love story when they listen to the song and watch the video. The fact that so many couples are now using ‘This’ in their own weddings gives me chills.”

The 2011 American Idol winner earns his second Country Airplay leader in a row from Seasons Change, which became his third Top Country Albums No. 1 in March 2018. He notched his first Country Airplay No. 1 with the album’s first single, “Five More Minutes,” which led for a week the same month.

NEW TOP 10s Jordan Davis notches his second Hot Country Songs top 10 as “Take It From Me” (MCA Nashville) strides 11-9, fueled heavily by its performance on Country Airplay, where it lifts 7-5, up 10 percent to 29.1 million impressions.

Riley Green earns his first Country Airplay top 10 as his debut single, “There Was This Girl” (Big Machine Label Group), hops 11-9 (21 million impressions, up 6 percent). The track is from his EP In a Truck Right Now, released in June 2018. A full album is expected later this year.

Plus, Michael Ray nets his third Country Airplay top 10 as “One That Got Away” (Atlantic/WEA) rises 12-10 (20.1 million, up 6 percent).

‘BRAND NEW’ REMAKE Brooks & Dunn return to Country Airplay with a new version of their first of 20 No. 1s — a record among duos —as “Brand New Man” (Arista Nashville), featuring Luke Combs, bows at No. 49, the chart’s highest opener (1.7 million impressions). The original version, which launched the pair, led for two weeks in 1991, becoming the first of four straight leaders for the twosome.

The reimagined “Man” is the first Country Airplay appearance for Brooks & Dunn since their collaboration with Mac Powell, “Over the Next Hill,” which peaked at No. 55 in 2010. In 2016, Ronnie Dunn’s “Damn Drunk,” featuring Kix Brooks, reached No. 36.

“Man” is the first single from Brooks & Dunn’s Reboot (due April 5), which finds the pair covering their greatest hits with next-generation stars, including Kane Brown, Kacey Musgraves and Brothers Osborne. The set is their first of newly recorded material since 2007’s Cowboy Town, which reached No. 4 on Top Country Albums.

STRAIT RESURFACES Fellow format cornerstone George Strait also debuts new music as “God and Country Music” (MCA Nashville) debuts at No. 36, his 122nd entry on Hot Country Songs. It enters Country Digital Song Sales at No. 4 (7,000 downloads sold), his highest-charting entry and third top 10, following “Let’s Go” (No. 9, 2015) and “Give It All We Got Tonight” (No. 8, 2013).

Strait charts on Hot Country Songs for the first time in three years, after he had graced the survey every year between 1981 and 2016. He last appeared with the No. 36-peaking “Cold Beer Conversation.”

“God” is the first single from his 30th studio album, Honky Tonk Time Machine, due March 29.

Scotty McCreery Tops Country Airplay;Riley Green Claims First Top 10;

Brooks & Dunn, George Strait Return

ON THE CHARTS JIM ASKER jim.asker@billboard.com

McCREERY

BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE FEBRUARY 11, 2019 | PAGE 4 OF 25

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http://www.instagram.com/radiodisneycountry

Country Airplay AIRPLAY MONITORED BY

BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE FEBRUARY 11, 2019 | PAGE 6 OF 25

BILLBOARD COUNTRY AIRPLAY PANEL — 150 STATIONSAkron, OH WQMXAlbany, N.Y. WGNAAlbuquerque, N.M. KBQI KRSTAllentown, Pa. WCTOAtlanta WKHX WUBLAugusta, Ga. WKXCAustin, Texas KASEBakersfield, Calif. KUZZBaltimore WPOCBaton Rouge, La. WYNKBirmingham, Ala. WDXB WZZKBoise, Idaho KAWO KIZNBoston WBWL WKLBBuffalo, N.Y. WYRKCharleston, S.C. WEZL WCKNCharlotte, N.C. WKKT WSOCChattanooga, Tenn. WUSYChicago WEBG WUSNCincinnati WUBECleveland WGARColorado Springs, Colo. KATC KCCYColumbia, S.C. WCOSColumbus, Ohio WCOLCorpus Christi, Texas KRYSDallas KPLX KSCSDayton, Ohio WHKODenver KYGODes Moines, Iowa KHKI

Detroit WDRQ WYCDEl Paso, Texas KHEYFt. Myers, Fla. WCKT WWGRFt. Wayne, Ind. WQHKFresno, Calif. KSKSGainesville, Fla. WOGKGrand Rapids, Mich. WBCTGreensboro, N.C. WTQRGreenville, S.C. WSSLHarrisburg, Pa. WRBTHartford, Conn. WWYZHouston KILT KKBQHuntsville, Ala. WDRMIndianapolis WFMS WLHKJacksonville, Fla. WGNE WQIKJohnson City, Tenn. WXBQKansas City KBEQ WDAF KFKFKnoxville, Tenn. WCYQ WIVKLafayette, La. KMDLLakeland, Fla. WPCVLas Vegas KCYE KWNRLexington, Ky. WBULLittle Rock, Ark. KSSNLos Angeles KKGOLouisville, Ky. WAMZ WQNUMadison, Wis. WWQM WMADMcAllen, Texas KTEX

Memphis WGKX WLFPMiami WKISMilwaukee, WI. WKTI WMILMinneapolis KEEY KMNBMobile, Ala. WKSJMonmouth/Ocean, N.J. WKMKMonterey, Calif.. KTOMNashville WKDF WSIXNassau, N.Y. WJVCNew Bern, N.C. WRNSNew Orleans WNOENew York WNSHNorfolk, Va. WGH WUSHOklahoma City, Okla. KJKE KTSTOmaha, Neb. KXKTOrlando, Fla. WWKAOxnard-Ventura, CA KHAYPhiladelphia WXTUPhoenix KMLE KNIXPittsburgh WDSY WOGI WPGBPortland, Maine WPOR WTHTPortland, Ore. KUPL KWJJProvidence, R.I. WCTKRaleigh, NC WQDRReno, Nevada KBUL KOLC

Richmond, Va. WKHKRiverside, Calif. KFRGRoanoke, Va. WSLCRochester, N.Y. WBEESacramento, Calif. KBEB KNCI KNTYSt. Louis KSD WILSalt Lake City KSOP KUBLSan Antonio, Texas KAJA KCYYSan Diego KSONSan Jose, Calif. KRTYSarasota, Fla. WCTQSeattle KKWF KMPSSpokane, Wash. KXLYSpringfield, Mass. WRNXStockton, Calif. KATMSyracuse, N.Y. WBBSTampa, Fla. WFUS WQYKTucson, Ariz. KIIMTulsa, Okla. KTGX KVOO KWENVisalia, Calif. KJUGWashington, D.C. WMZQWest Palm Beach, Fla. WIRKWichita, Kan. KFDI KZSNWilkes Barre, Pa. WGGYWilmington, Del. WXCYYork, Pa. WGTY

THIS WEEK

LAST WEEK

WKS ON

CHART TITLE Imprint/Label ArtistAUDIENCE (IN MILLIONS) PLAYS

THIS WEEK +/– THIS WEEK +/– RANK

l1 2 37 THIS IS IT Triple Tigers HH No. 1 (1 week/Most Increased Audience) HH Scotty McCreery 39.602 +2.844 8151 553 1

2 1 22 GIRL LIKE YOU Macon/Broken Bow Jason Aldean 37.433 -2.631 7233 -814 2

l3 4 14 BEAUTIFUL CRAZY River House/Columbia Nashville Luke Combs 32.211 +2.719 6403 591 4

l4 5 17 WHAT MAKES YOU COUNTRY Capitol Nashville Luke Bryan 31.189 +2.329 6404 335 3

l5 7 38 TAKE IT FROM ME MCA Nashville Jordan Davis 29.146 +2.648 6313 486 5

6 3 25 SIXTEEN Valory Thomas Rhett 28.764 -3.989 5472 -564 7

l7 9 43 MILLIONAIRE Mercury Chris Stapleton 24.988 +0.767 5609 181 6

l8 10 44 BURN OUT Big Machine Midland 24.012 +0.645 5232 125 8

l9 11 31 THERE WAS THIS GIRL BMLG Riley Green 21.052 +1.120 5185 291 9

l10 12 30 ONE THAT GOT AWAY Atlantic/WEA Michael Ray 20.613 +1.069 4686 338 10

l11 13 18 MAKE IT SWEET RCA Nashville Old Dominion 19.223 +0.598 4235 157 12

l12 14 27 DOWN TO THE HONKYTONK Big Loud Jake Owen 18.980 +0.624 4581 122 11

l13 15 22 LOVE WINS Capitol Nashville Carrie Underwood 18.547 +0.517 3954 52 15

l14 16 21 HERE TONIGHT BMLG Brett Young 18.100 +2.422 4067 488 13

l15 17 29 NIGHT SHIFT Capitol Nashville Jon Pardi 16.699 +1.223 4048 247 14

l16 19 27 ON MY WAY TO YOU CoJo/WMN HH Airpower HH Cody Johnson 13.723 +1.659 3087 171 18

l17 21 26 EYES ON YOU Dack Janiels/Broken Bow HH Airpower HH Chase Rice 13.408 +1.940 3290 365 16

l18 20 16 MISS ME MORE Black River Kelsea Ballerini 12.516 +0.658 3202 208 17

19 18 25 NEVER COMIN DOWN Hit Red/Capitol Nashville Keith Urban 11.827 -0.456 2965 -33 19

l20 22 35 LOVE AIN’T Valory HH Airpower HH Eli Young Band 10.884 +0.809 2863 174 20

l21 23 32 LOVE SOMEONE Atlantic/WMN Brett Eldredge 9.511 +0.824 2468 160 22

l22 24 45 THE DIFFERENCE Valory Tyler Rich 8.915 +0.334 2644 158 21

l23 25 6 GOOD AS YOU Zone 4/RCA Nashville HH Most Added HH Kane Brown 8.847 +1.964 2298 521 23

l24 28 24 WHISKEY GLASSES Big Loud Morgan Wallen 7.689 +1.262 2218 234 24

l25 27 23 RUMOR Curb Lee Brice 7.687 +0.916 2027 99 26

l26 26 44 CAUGHT UP IN THE COUNTRY Curb Rodney Atkins Featuring The Fisk Jubilee Singers 6.784 -0.020 2073 29 25

l27 31 4 GIRL Columbia Nashville Maren Morris 6.179 +1.886 1151 327 32

l28 29 15 TALK YOU OUT OF IT BMLG Florida Georgia Line 5.831 +0.186 1632 33 27

l29 30 23 FEELS LIKE A PARTY Wheelhouse LOCASH 5.031 +0.319 1582 60 28

l30 37 5 RAISED ON COUNTRY RCA Nashville Chris Young 4.999 +1.716 1091 332 35

Country Airplay AIRPLAY MONITORED BY

GOING FOR ADDS

Hardy co-wrote Morgan Wallen ’s “Up Down,” featuring Florida Georgia Line ,

and FGL’s “Simple,” both of which topped Country Airplay in 2018. His debut single

as an artist begins on the list at No. 50 with 1.6 million audience impressions.

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BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE FEBRUARY 11, 2019 | PAGE 7 OF 25

THIS WEEK

LAST WEEK

WKS ON

CHART TITLE Imprint/Label ArtistAUDIENCE (IN MILLIONS) PLAYS

THIS WEEK +/– THIS WEEK +/– RANK

l31 32 17 BUY MY OWN DRINKS Wheelhouse Runaway June 4.516 +0.673 1544 165 29

l32 33 9 WHAT HAPPENS IN A SMALL TOWN Valory Brantley Gilbert + Lindsay Ell 3.692 +0.018 1020 65 36

l33 35 34 FRIENDS DON’T Mercury Maddie & Tae 3.690 +0.286 1224 55 31

l34 34 30 WHAT WHISKEY DOES Stoney Creek Randy Houser Featuring Hillary Lindsey 3.641 +0.032 1259 -4 30

l35 38 6 SOME OF IT EMI Nashville Eric Church 3.495 +0.250 998 48 37

l36 36 20 BACK TO LIFE Big Machine Rascal Flatts 3.336 -0.006 1151 -56 33

l37 39 11 LOVE YOU TOO LATE Warner Bros./WMN Cole Swindell 3.162 +0.006 811 21 40

l38 41 17 DAY DRUNK Warner Bros./WEA HH Breaker HH Morgan Evans 3.145 +0.415 904 73 39

l39 40 12 CLOSER TO YOU Big Machine Carly Pearce 3.023 +0.011 1118 31 34

l40 45 14 THE ONES THAT DIDN’T MAKE IT BACK HOME Valory Justin Moore 2.467 +0.306 675 72 43

l41 43 10 EVERY LITTLE THING Triple Tigers HH Breaker HH Russell Dickerson 2.430 +0.223 731 63 41

l42 44 11 STRONGER THAN ME Pearl Garth Brooks 2.348 +0.179 718 28 42

l43 42 28 YADA YADA YADA EMI Nashville Brandon Lay 2.330 +0.015 938 58 38

l44 47 12 I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU Big Loud Chris Lane 1.990 +0.244 576 31 49

l45 51 24 HOW DOES IT SOUND Dylan Schneider/Placer Dylan Schneider 1.798 +0.096 659 -17 44

l46 48 4 NOTHING TO DO TOWN Curb HH Breaker HH Dylan Scott 1.707 -0.017 641 8 45

l47 50 20 BRING IT ON OVER Mercury Billy Currington 1.684 -0.025 636 7 46

l48 52 15 LADIES IN THE ‘90S 19/Mercury Lauren Alaina 1.671 -0.029 623 49 48

l49 NEW BRAND NEW MAN Arista Nashville HH Hot Shot Debut HH Brooks & Dunn With Luke Combs 1.668 +1.668 236 236 -

l50 NEW REDNECKER Tree Vibez/Big Loud HARDY 1.646 +1.163 328 233 56

51 49 11 BUCKED OFF Arista Nashville Brad Paisley 1.637 -0.075 632 2 47

l52 53 13 I DON’T REMEMBER ME (BEFORE YOU) EMI Nashville Brothers Osborne 1.564 -0.049 541 32 50

l53 54 16 90’S COUNTRY Monument/Arista Nashville Walker Hayes 1.551 +0.226 421 27 54

l54 57 3 MAKE ME WANT TO Stoney Creek Jimmie Allen 1.535 +0.555 535 155 51

l55 59 2 THOUGHT ABOUT YOU McGraw/Columbia Nashville Tim McGraw 1.328 +0.778 356 209 55

56 55 9 GIRL GOIN’ NOWHERE Atlantic/WAR Ashley McBryde 1.036 -0.132 497 -47 52

l57 56 3 PRAYED FOR YOU Wide Open/RECORDS/Good Company Matt Stell 1.031 -0.003 292 33 59

l58 NEW RAINBOW MCA Nashville Kacey Musgraves 0.916 +0.904 189 188 -

59 58 7 WHEN IT COMES TO LOVING YOU 32 Bridge/EMI Nashville Jon Langston 0.812 -0.015 312 -14 57

l60 60 4 ROCKIN’ ALL NIGHT LONG Buena Vista/Capitol Nashville Adam Hambrick 0.646 +0.096 436 32 53

2/18KREE HARRISON I Love The Lie Visionary

RYAN HURD To A T RCA Nashville

ZAC BROWN BAND Someone I Used To Know ZB Collective/BMG/Wheelhouse

2/25ALEXIS EBERT Ride Or Die Smashville

DAVE MCELROY Bullet Proof Nine North/Grassroots/Grapevine

DEREK JOHNSON That Guy Star Farm Nashville

JASON ALDEAN Rearview Town Macon/Broken Bow

WILLIAM SHATNER & JEFF COOK FEAT. NEAL MCCOY & HOME FREE Why Not Me Heartland Nashville

3/4CHRIS JANSON Good Vibes Warner Bros./WAR

DAVID LEE MURPHY No Zip Code Reviver/Blue Chair

HARDY Rednecker Tree Vibez/Big Loud

LINDE LECHANCE Green Eyes SMG Nashville

AIRPLAY MONITORED BY

BILLBOARD COUNTRY BOXSCOREGross Artist AttendanceTicket Price(s) Venue/Date(s) Capacity Promoter(s)

$2,922,112 ERIC CHURCH 29,511 MESSINA TOURING GROUP/AEG PRESENTS$139, $29 CHI Health Center, Omaha, Neb., Jan. 18-19 sellout

$2,870,053 ERIC CHURCH 28,606 MESSINA TOURING GROUP/AEG PRESENTS$139, $30.50 TD Garden, Boston, Mass., Feb. 1-2 sellout

$358,985 ERIC CHURCH 29,200 MESSINA TOURING GROUP/AEG PRESENTS$52.50, $30.50 Enterprise Center, St. Loiis, Mo., Jan. 25-26 sellout

$512,192 KEITH URBAN 5,290TEG LIVE$130.69, $50.78 Newcastle Entertainment Centre, Newcastle, Australia, Jan. 23 5,370

$346,502 CHRIS TOMLIN 2,667 AWAKENING EVENTS$44.75, $24.75 Beacon Theatre, New York, N.Y., Dec. 16 sellout

Reported worldwide boxscore figures for Country artists. Boxscore figures should be submitted to Bob Allen by phone (615-891-1976), fax (615-891-2054) or email (bob.allen@billboard.com).

Texas Regional Radio Report Top 100 is compiled from weekly online playlist reports from 86 radio stations located in Texas and surrounding states, including reports from specialty shows, internet and satellite radio outlets. Songs are ranked by total plays. For tracking, complete chart methodology and more information, visit www.texasregionalradio.com, or contact Dave Smith at 817-283-7984. Copyright 2019, Texas Regional Radio Report

Country AirplayBILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE FEBRUARY 11, 2019 | PAGE 9 OF 25

MOST ADDED®TITLE Imprint/Label Artist ADDSGOOD AS YOU Zone 4/RCA Nashville Kane Brown 35BETTER OFF GONE Big Yellow Dog Logan Mize 19THOUGHT ABOUT YOU McGraw/Columbia Nashville Tim McGraw 15RAISED ON COUNTRY RCA Nashville Chris Young 14GIRL Columbia Nashville Maren Morris 12MAKE ME WANT TO Stoney Creek Jimmie Allen 12REDNECKER Tree Vibez/Big Loud Hardy 12SOME OF IT EMI Nashville Eric Church 11WHISKEY GLASSES Big Loud Morgan Wallen 10BRAND NEW MAN Arista Nashville Brooks & Dunn w/ Luke Combs 10

MOST INCREASED PLAYSTITLE Imprint/Label Artist GAINBEAUTIFUL CRAZY River House/Columbia Nashville Luke Combs +591THIS IS IT Triple Tigers Scotty McCreery +553GOOD AS YOU Zone 4/RCA Nashville Kane Brown +521HERE TONIGHT BMLG Brett Young +488TAKE IT FROM ME MCA Nashville Jordan Davis +486EYES ON YOU Dack Janiels/Broken Bow Chase Rice +365ONE THAT GOT AWAY Atlantic/WEA Michael Ray +338WHAT MAKES YOU COUNTRY Capitol Nashville Luke Bryan +335RAISED ON COUNTRY RCA Nashville Chris Young +332GIRL Columbia Nashville Maren Morris +327

MOST INCREASED AUDIENCETITLE Imprint/Label Artist

GAIN(IN MIILIONS)

THIS IS IT Triple Tigers Scotty McCreery +2.844BEAUTIFUL CRAZY River House/Columbia Nashville Luke Combs +2.719TAKE IT FROM ME MCA Nashville Jordan Davis +2.648HERE TONIGHT BMLG Brett Young +2.422WHAT MAKES YOU COUNTRY Capitol Nashville Luke Bryan +2.329GOOD AS YOU Zone 4/RCA Nashville Kane Brown +1.964EYES ON YOU Dack Janiels/Broken Bow Chase Rice +1.940GIRL Columbia Nashville Maren Morris +1.886RAISED ON COUNTRY RCA Nashville Chris Young +1.716BRAND NEW MAN Arista Nashville Brooks & Dunn With Luke Combs +1.668

TEXAS REGIONAL RADIO REPORTWEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 10, 2019

THIS WEEK

LAST WEEK

WKS ON CHART TITLE (Label) ARTIST

TW SPINS

SPINS +/–

l1 1 13 AIN’T IT BABY (Independent) HH 2 weeks at 1 HH Josh Ward 1902 57

l2 2 21 BETTER PLACE (Independent) Drew Fish Band 1794 224

l3 3 15 SUNDOWN (Little Red Truck) Deryl Dodd w/ Wade Bowen 1643 102

l4 6 17 HANG YOUR HAT ON THAT (Independent) Jon Wolfe 1523 74

l5 9 9 GONER (Independent) William Clark Green 1480 156

l6 10 14 RUN AWAY WITH YOU (Independent) Robert Ray 1434 131

7 5 24 ON MY WAY TO YOU (CoJo Music) Cody Johnson 1380 -79

8 7 19 RIO (Independent) Kyle Park 1355 -77

l9 11 9 I’M YOUR ONLY FLAW (Independent) Josh Abbott Band 1342 160

l10 13 14 BEER BUCKET LIST (Silverado) David Adam Byrnes 1261 182

THIS WEEK

LAST WEEK

WKS ON CHART TITLE (Label) ARTIST

TW SPINS

SPINS +/–

11 8 22 HONEYWINE (Independent) Flatland Cavalry 1239 -157

l12 12 25 TEQUILA MOCKINGBIRD (Independent) Frank Ray 1203 58

l13 14 15 LEAVE HER WILD (Dean Dillon’s Wildcatter ) Sundance Head 1110 132

l14 17 8 WALK AWAY (Independent) Mark Powell 1093 169

15 4 18 SHE REMAINS (Independent) Jamie Richards 1057 -423

l16 30 3 SOMEWHERE BETWEEN I LOVE YOU AND I’M LEAVIN’ (Rounder Rec) Cody Jinks 1050 354

l17 15 27 WD-40 & DUCT TAPE (Independent) Donice Morace 995 22

l18 16 25 DRINKIN’ ALONE (Independent) Dustin Sonnier 971 46

l19 21 11 NONE’YA (Independent) Hayes Carll 955 86

l20 29 3 CHEAT ON ME (Independent) Bri Bagwell 929 231

RECURRENTSTHIS

WEEK TITLE Imprint/Label ArtistTOTAL AUD.

(IN MILLIONS)1 BEST SHOT Stoney Creek Jimmie Allen 24.835

2 SHE GOT THE BEST OF ME River House/Columbia Nashville Luke Combs 23.611

3 SPEECHLESS Warner Bros./WAR Dan + Shay 23.372

4 GOOD GIRL Broken Bow Dustin Lynch 23.051

5 BURNING MAN Capitol Nashville Dierks Bentley Feat. Brothers Osborne 18.586

6 BLUE TACOMA Triple Tigers Russell Dickerson 15.629

7 LOSE IT Zone 4/RCA Nashville Kane Brown 14.922

8 HEAVEN Zone 4/RCA Nashville Kane Brown 14.272

9 TEQUILA Warner Bros./WAR Dan + Shay 14.167

10 ONE NUMBER AWAY River House/Columbia Nashville Luke Combs 13.123

NEW AND ACTIVETITLE Imprint/Label Artist

TOTAL AUDIENCE

TOTAL STATIONS ADDS

AFTER A FEW Mercury Travis Denning 0.585 23 9

SOMEBODY’S DAUGHTER Columbia Nashville Tenille Townes 0.491 24 3

GOT YOUR NAME ON IT Universal Music Canada Jade Eagleson 0.452 1 0

DANCING AWAY WITH MY HEART Riser House Dillon Carmichael 0.446 23 1

ALL TO MYSELF Warner Bros./WAR Dan + Shay 0.397 8 5

I HATE THIS Reviver Tenille Arts 0.354 10 1

MUSGRAVES’ ‘GOLDEN’ GRAMMY MOMENTKacey Musgraves led a golden night for country music and for Nashville during the 61st annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 10, collecting four trophies — including album of the year, for Golden Hour — as the Recording Academy rewarded risk-taking and individualism.

Musgraves’ project, a unique mesh of atmospheric electronica and traditional country, crystallized her talent for finding the silver lining in melancholy drama. It earned both the overall album and best country album trophies during the CBS telecast, while the gorgeous “Butterflies” took best country solo performance and the cleverly worded “Space Cowboy” (co-written by Shane McAnally and Luke Laird) claimed best country song in the pre-telecast, where most of the honors were handed out.

She waved a banner for understatement in the process. Her unembellished piano/vocal rendition of “Rainbow” was one of the highlights of the broadcast, and her simply delivered phrasing of “Here You Come Again” with Dolly Parton looked even more restrained next to Katy Perry’s bombastic take on the song.

“Life is pretty tumultuous right now for all of us,” said Musgraves in her final acceptance speech as she paid homage to the other best album nominees. “Because of that, art is really thriving, and it’s been really beautiful to see that.”

Dan + Shay showcased “Tequila” in their own stripped-down, on-camera performance, just an hour or so after they accepted the award for best country duo/group performance off camera.

Willie Nelson snagged best traditional pop vocal album for a Frank Sinatra tribute, My Way, and Brandi Carlile swiped three straight trophies pre-telecast: Her dramatic “The Joke” — another of the show’s performance highlights — earned American roots performance and American roots song, while By the Way, I Forgive You scored best Americana album.

Carlile recorded that album in the same location, RCA Studio A, where Musgraves cut some of her previous efforts. And like Musgraves, she followed her own arrow to arrive in the winner’s circle, making it that much sweeter.

“Americana music is the island of the misfit toys,” said Carlile. “I am such a misfit. It is this music that has shaped my life and made me who I am and even given me my family. I came out of the closet when I was 15 years old, when I was in high school, and I can assure you that I was never invited to any parties. I never got to attend a dance. To be embraced by this enduring and loving community has been the dance of a lifetime.”

RADIO & RECORDSUniversal Music Group Nashville will relocate to 222 Second Ave. S., Suite 2200, effective March 4 … Sheryl Crow signed a recording contract with Big Machine Label Group. A collaborative album is expected later this year … Zac Brown Band agreed to license its next album with BMG and its Wheelhouse imprint … WHKX Atlanta hired Corey Dylan as a morning sidekick to Cadillac Jack, effective Feb. 7. Formerly affiliated with radio in Tampa, Fla., her most recent gig was as an HSN guest host … Midwest Communications is actively seeking programmers. Submit résumés and airchecks here … WSM-AM Nashville is planning a Music City Mentors program for March 23, providing

access to working music execs for aspiring music professionals aged 15 and up. Go here for more info … Jessica Farias joined iHeartMedia/Colorado Springs (Colo.) as market president, InsideRadio.com reported. She was previously iHeartMedia/Denver regional vp sales. The Colorado Springs cluster includes country KCCY … Midwest Communications is purchasing the six-station Alpha Media/Peoria, Ill., cluster for $21.6 million, according to InsideRadio.com. Signals in the deal include country WXCL … SummitMedia/Springfield, Mo., hired operations manager Bo Jaxon, Talkers.com reported. The job includes the PD role for country KTTS. Jaxon was previously KBWL Denver morning host … WWQM Madison, Wis., added Steph Peters to the morning team, according to Talkers.com. It marks a return to the market’s airwaves following a run as KSON San Diego morning-show producer … Nearly 80 executives in music, media and broadcasting will participate in mentoring breakfast sessions at Country Radio Seminar Feb. 14-15. Go here for full details.

’ROUND THE ROWBillboard hired Annie Reuter as a Nashville-based country correspondent after more than five years as a contributor. She reports to Melinda Newman, who was promoted to executive editor, West Coast and Nashville from West Coast editor … WME Nashville promoted three employees to agent positions. Marissa Smith rises to social action agent from agent assistant, Emily LaRose moves to music agent from agent trainee, and Haley Teske is upped to music agent from agent assistant … Wortman Works Media & Marketing hired account executive Conner McKiever, a former assistant property manager for BH Management. Reach her here … Music industry software firm Your Tempo hired chief business officer Tayler Bock, a former Buddy Lee Attractions booking agent. The move coincides with the Feb. 5 launch of a new cloud-based concert booking product, Talent Buying Pro … The International Bluegrass Music Association added communications director Abby Lee Hood and operations coordinator Kaitlyn Luce. Hood was previously Total Assault social media manager. Luce was a Gresham Hill Management assistant artist manager … Online marketing executive Amanda Quinton established Quinton Digital, an artist development firm that works with Marie Osmond, Matt Stell and Stephanie Quayle. Quinton is owner/president. Director of digital and creative strategy Kelsey Brown is a former dick clark productions senior manager of digital strategy, account manager Jordan Lipsey was previously a United Talent Agency agent assistant, and account manager Maria Abdelnour worked as a freelance digital marketer. Reach Quinton here … Ashley Monroe signed a publishing deal with Low Country Sound and Warner/Chappell Nashville … Bluegrass quintet Carolina Blue signed a booking agreement with Roe Entertainment … Americana/folk duo Steel Blossoms landed a recording contract with Billy Jam … Glen Templeton joined the roster at KORE P.R. … Seven women will be honored in the SOURCE Hall of Fame Awards on Aug. 27: Lytle Management day-to-day manager Sarah Brosmer, former G. Hill & Company founder Gayle Hill, Middle Tennessee State University Department of Recording Industry chair Beverly Keel, What a Story! founder Grace Reinbold, Leadership Music communications and events manager Judi Turner, Trisha Walker International talent buyer Trisha Walker-Cunningham and Bluebird COO/GM Erika Wollam Nichols … The C ou nt r y Music Association nominated 25 artists and executives from eight different c o u n t r i e s f o r t h e 2 019 C M A International Awards. Go here for the full list … Warner Music Nashville senior vp artist development Shane Tarleton joined the board at Safe H a v e n Fa m i l y S h e l t e r … I c o n Entertainment announced plans to bu i ld a 15,0 0 0 -squ a re -fo ot Nashville restaurant, Johnny Cash’s Kitchen and Saloon … George Klein died Feb. 5 in Memphis, The Memphis Commercial Appeal repor ted. A longtime DJ, he was a key confidante of Elvis Presley.

NASHVILLE & NATIONAL TOM ROLAND

Dan Smyers (left) and Shay Mooney of Dan + Shay pose with their first Grammy Award.

BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE FEBRUARY 11, 2019 | PAGE 10 OF 25

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Grammy Awards participants Kane Brown, Maren Morris and Luke Combs celebrated with Sony Music executives during a post-event party at NueHouse Hollywood. From left: Brown, RCA artist Ryan Hurd, Morris, Sony chief creative officer Clive Davis, Sony Music CEO Rob Stringer, Sony Music Nashville chairman/CEO Randy Goodman, Sony Music U.K. chairman/CEO Jason Iley and Combs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUo_yAl8JwU

MUSIC NOTESLittle Big Town is back in the recording studio, but after working with a ream of other producers — including Jay Joyce, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Pharrell Williams, Frank Liddell and Jesse Frasure — the group is self-producing this time around. It’s a test, since it needs to come to an agreement as a foursome instead of letting an outside observer provide a deciding voice in the creative process. “Diplomacy goes a long way,” says group member Jimi Westbrook. Its road band has played a role in previous releases, and it’s the core ensemble for this project. “And,” says Kimberly Schlapman, “they don’t settle.” Little Big Town is part of the lineup when CBS shoots a special, Motown 60: A Grammy Celebration, on Feb. 12 in Los Angeles.

Reba McEntire will return to host the Academy of Country Music Awards for the 16th time when CBS airs the 54th annual ceremony from Las Vegas. She’s also set to announce the finalists on Feb. 20 on CBS This Morning. McEntire will take advantage of the ACM spotlight by releasing her next album, Stronger Than the Truth, on April 5, two days before the awards. Co-produced by McEntire and Buddy Cannon (Kenny Chesney, Willie Nelson), the 12-song project harkens to her honky-tonk roots, and the titles certainly lend credence to that idea, including these three gems: “Storm in a Shot Glass,” “Cactus in a Coffee Can” and “Tammy Wynette Kind of Pain.”

Boot-scootin’ duo Brooks & Dunn will get a Reboot with their April 5 album, a collaborative project that has them reimagining 12 songs from their catalog with the current generation of acts, including Thomas Rhett, Kane Brown, Kacey Musgraves and Luke Combs. Reboot leads a bundle of projects with newly announced dates, including: newcomer Tiffany Woys’ debut EP, Feb. 22; Maren Morris’ Girl, March 8; western singer R.W. Hampton’s This Cowboy, March 29; bluegrass band Mile Twelve’s City on a Hill, March 29; Americana duo The Brookses’ Lucky Charm, April 26; and Justin Moore’s Late Nights and Longnecks, April 26.

Ryman Hospitality’s third Blake Shelton-inspired Ole Red nightclub will open March 11-17 in Gatlinburg, Tenn., with a week of festivities cleverly dubbed Spring Blake. The Swon Brothers, who were members of Shelton’s team on The Voice, will play a show with him on March 13, and four additional former contestants are booked for the week: Lauren Duski, Pryor Baird, Red Marlow and Emily Ann Roberts.

LITTLE BIG TOWN

Thompson Square visited the Hallmark Channel’s Home & Family on Jan. 30 as it promoted its new children’s book, Time to Get Dressed. From left: Thompson Square’s Keifer and Shawna Thompson, and Home & Family hosts Debbie Matenopoulos and Cameron Mathison.

ON THIS DATE IN COUNTRY MUSIC

Feb. 12 • 2008 — Emmylou Harris, Tom T. Hall,

The Statler Brothers and Ernest “Pop” Stoneman are announced as the newest members of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

• 2005 — Rascal Flatts journeys to No. 1 in Billboard with “Bless the Broken Road.”

Feb. 13 • 1969 — Bob Dylan holds the first session for the album Nashville

Skyline at the Columbia Recording Studios on Music Row with local musicians Pete Drake, Charlie McCoy, Kenny Buttrey and future Country Music Hall of Fame member Charlie Daniels.

Feb. 14 • 2018 — Triple Tigers releases the Russell Dickerson single “Blue

Tacoma” to radio. • 2002 — Forty couples are married in a mass Valentine’s Day ceremony

in Newport News, Va. Steve Holy sings “Good Morning Beautiful” for the couples’ first dance.

Feb. 15 • 2004 — LeAnn Rimes sings the national anthem and Lee Greenwood

performs “God Bless the U.S.A.” at the Daytona 500 in Florida, with President George W. Bush also attending. Dale Earnhardt Jr. takes the checkered flag.

• 1979 — Willie Nelson wins best country vocal performance, male, for “Georgia On My Mind,” and best country vocal duo or group — shared with Waylon Jennings — for “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” at the 21st annual Grammy Awards.

Feb. 16 • 2017 — Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert and Florida Georgia Line

net nominations in five categories apiece as the Academy of Country Music announces finalists for the 52nd annual ACM Awards.

Feb. 17 • 2001 — Brad Paisley is inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. He wears

the yellow jacket that Buck Owens wore the night he recorded his album Live at Carnegie Hall.

Feb. 18 • 2015 — Thomas Rhett earns a gold single from the RIAA for “Make

Me Wanna.” • 2014 — Warner Bros. releases Cole Swindell’s self-titled debut album.

Source: RolandNote.com, the Ultimate Country Music Database

HARRIS

NASHVILLE & NATIONAL TOM ROLAND

Click on headlines below for more details

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Billboard’s 2019 Power 100 List Revealed

Will Record Labels Soon Have A Sirius Problem?

Willie Nelson Honored By Kacey Musgraves, Dave Matthews & More At

Grammy Producers & Engineers Salute

Billboard Live Music Summit And Awards 2019 Set For Nov. 5-6 In Beverly Hills

Behind Spotify’s Huge Bet On Podcast Market’s Growth

Top Headlines from .com

BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE FEBRUARY 11, 2019 | PAGE 12 OF 25

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Hot Country SongsSALES, AIRPLAY & STREAMING DATA COMPILED BYHot Country Songs

Ballerini logs her sixth top 20 hit on Hot Country Songs (21-18). It pushes 20-18 on Country Airplay (12.5 million impressions,

up 6 percent) and boasts 3.7 million U.S. streams (up 4 percent).

18KELSEA

BALLERINIMiss Me

More

McGraw posts his 88th entry on Hot Country Songs at No. 46. It climbs 59-55

in its second week on Country Airplay (1.3 million impressions, up 141 percent)

while sporting 4,000 downloads sold.

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BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE FEBRUARY 11, 2019 | PAGE 13 OF 25

THIS WEEK

LAST WEEK

TWO WEEKS

AGOWKS ON CHART

TITLE Artist PRODUCER (SONGWRITER) IMPRINT / PROMOTION LABEL

COUNTRY AIRPLAY

RANKPEAK

POSITION

1 1 1 56 TEQUILA HH No. 1 (3 Weeks) HH Dan + Shay D.SMYERS,S.HENDRICKS (D.SMYERS,J.REYNOLDS,N.GALYON) WARNER BROS./WAR

RC 1

l2 4 4 40 BEAUTIFUL CRAZY HH Digital & Airplay Gainer HH Luke Combs S.MOFFATT (L.COMBS,W.B.DURRETTE,R.WILLIFORD) RIVER HOUSE/COLUMBIA NASHVILLE

3 2

3 3 3 63 MEANT TO BE Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line WILSHIRE (B.REXHA,T.HUBBARD,J.MILLER,D.A.GARCIA) WARNER BROS./BMLG RC 1

l4 6 8 29 THIS IS IT HH Streaming Gainer HH Scotty McCreery F.ROGERS,D.WELLS,A.ESHUIS (S.MCCREERY,F.ROGERS,A.ESHUIS) TRIPLE TIGERS

1 4

5 2 2 38 SPEECHLESS Dan + Shay D.SMYERS,S.HENDRICKS (D.SMYERS,S.MOONEY,J.REYNOLDS,L.VELTZ) WARNER BROS./WAR

RC 1

6 5 7 22 GIRL LIKE YOU Jason Aldean M.KNOX (M.TYLER,J.BOYER,J.MIRENDA) MACON/BROKEN BOW

2 5

7 8 9 34 SHE GOT THE BEST OF ME Luke Combs S.MOFFATT (L.COMBS,R.SNYDER,C.WILSON) RIVER HOUSE/COLUMBIA NASHVILLE RC 2

8 7 6 26 SIXTEEN Thomas Rhett D.HUFF,J.FRASURE,THOMAS RHETT (THOMAS RHETT,S.M.DOUGLAS,JOE LONDON) VALORY 6 6

l9 11 14 31 TAKE IT FROM ME Jordan Davis P.DIGIOVANNI (J.DAVIS,J.DAVIS,J.GANTT) MCA NASHVILLE

5 9

10 9 5 33 BURNING MAN Dierks Bentley Featuring Brothers Osborne R. COPPERMAN,J.R.STEWART (L.DICK,B.PINSON) CAPITOL NASHVILLE

RC 5

l11 12 11 20 WHAT MAKES YOU COUNTRY Luke Bryan J.STEVENS,J.STEVENS (L.BRYAN,D.DAVIDSON,A.GORLEY) CAPITOL NASHVILLE

4 11

l12 13 12 55 MILLIONAIRE Chris Stapleton D.COBB,C.STAPLETON (K.WELCH) MERCURY 7 12

l13 14 15 26 DOWN TO THE HONKYTONK Jake Owen J.MOI (R.CLAWSON,L.LAIRD,S.MCANALLY) BIG LOUD

12 13

l14 15 18 23 LOVE WINS Carrie Underwood D.GARCIA,C.UNDERWOOD (C.UNDERWOOD,D.A.GARCIA,BRETT JAMES) CAPITOL NASHVILLE 13 14

l15 16 17 18 MAKE IT SWEET Old Dominion S.MCANALLY (M.RAMSEY,T. ROSEN,W.SELLERS,G.SPRUNG,B.TURSI,S.MCANALLY) RCA NASHVILLE 11 15

l16 18 21 21 HERE TONIGHT Brett Young D.HUFF (B.YOUNG,B.CAVER,J.EBACH,C.KELLEY) BMLG

14 16

l17 17 20 34 BURN OUT Midland D.HUFF,S.MCANALLY,J.OSBORNE (J.CARSON,C.DUDDY,M.WYSTRACH,S.MCANALLY,J.OSBORNE) BIG MACHINE 8 17

l18 21 22 15 MISS ME MORE Kelsea Ballerini F.G.WHITEHEAD,J.MASSEY (K.BALLERINI,D.H.HODGES,B.MCLAUGHLIN) BLACK RIVER

18 18

l19 19 23 25 NIGHT SHIFT Jon Pardi B.BUTLER,J.PARDI (T.BROWN,P.LARUE,B.MONTANA) CAPITOL NASHVILLE

15 19

l20 20 16 26 ON MY WAY TO YOU Cody Johnson T.W.WILLMON (BRETT JAMES,T.LANE) COJO/WMN 16 16

l21 23 24 24 THERE WAS THIS GIRL Riley Green D.HUFF (R.GREEN,ERIK DYLAN) BMLG

9 21

l22 22 26 22 RUMOR Lee Brice L.BRICE,J.STONE,K.JACOBS,D.FRIZSELL (L.BRICE,K.JACOBS,A.GORLEY) CURB 25 22

l23 24 25 20 ONE THAT GOT AWAY Michael Ray S.HENDRICKS (J.FRASURE,T. ROSEN,M.RAMSEY,J.OSBORNE) ATLANTIC/WEA 10 23

l24 27 28 25 EYES ON YOU Chase Rice C. DESTEFANO (C.RICE,C. DESTEFANO,A.GORLEY) DACK JANIELS/BROKEN BOW 17 24

l25 26 27 17 WHISKEY GLASSES Morgan Wallen J.MOI (B.BURGESS,K.KADISH) BIG LOUD

24 25

This year’s Country Radio Seminar, which is set for Feb. 13-15 at the Omni Hotel in Nashville, marks the 50th anniversary of the annual conference.

The inaugural CRS in 1970 was billed as a DJ convention that was held at a hotel near the Nashville airport. In those days, most action was on AM radio, and, in most cases, on-air personalities selected the music.

Fast-forward to 2019, and corporate ownership has changed the landscape immensely, research rules, and radio is fighting countless other platforms for consumer attention. But amid all the transformation, CRS has been a constant. While similar seminars have come and gone, CRS has evolved and thrived. About 3,000 attendees will converge for educational panels and music, and while plenty of radio programmers will be in attendance, they’ll share space with songwriters, publishers and other representatives of the format today, such as those in streaming.

Billboard sat down with industry veteran RJ Curtis, the new executive director of Country Radio Broadcasters. He replaced Bill Mayne, who is retiring after helming the event for 10 years. (CRB stages CRS, with the CRS agenda committee curating the panels.) Curtis’ lengthy career includes programming stints at major-market radio stations, such as the former KZLA Los Angeles; record-label stops; and writing for industry publications. He also has been a CRB board member for two decades.

You became CRB executive director on Nov. 12, 2018. Why did you decide to make the move? After a deep involvement with the CRB, it just felt like a natural progression and a tremendous opportunity for me. I have a profound passion for CRS.

Define CRS for people who aren’t part of our community and have never been to the seminar. It’s a really unique experience. It’s the only format-exclusive event for the country music industry. We connect radio and the associated industry in one place to see where we’ve been as a format and, more importantly, where we’re headed.

There has been so much change. Is CRS still a radio seminar? Yes, 100 percent.

It seems that if I compare it with just 10 years ago, there are so many folks who attend from the publishing world and various other fields that previously did not. It has transitioned to embrace other aspects of the industry, right? I think your instincts are on target. Bill Mayne recognized this particular challenge years ago. We needed to pivot and broaden our scope while still embracing radio as our main partner, and we’ve incorporated the digital space because that’s the real world. We’ve created three spots on our board that are held by streaming service executives. It’s crucial to welcome that end of the business into our world. Obviously, they’re competing for usage, but we’re all trying to raise the water level for the country format.

Primarily though, is radio still front and center at CRS? Definitely. If you look at the registration, of about 3,000, the majority still comes from radio.

It has to be a challenge to get radio folks here since consolidation means that many stations don’t pay for their people to attend like they used to. In some cases, programmers even use vacation time. That’s true, but our attendees recognize the value of being at CRS. It’s still the place to network, make valuable connections and even land a job. It’s unfortunate that some companies won’t pay the freight for their people to come, but many still do.

Will you be courting broadcast companies to send more people? As a matter of fact, Mike McVay of Cumulus, Rod Phillips of iHeartMedia and Entercom’s Tim Roberts are board members. I’ll certainly be making the case to each of them to bring more of their respective staffers in for CRS.

Let’s talk about the meat and potatoes of the event: live music and learning. There’s a ton of great music for people to experience, along with so many panel discussions. Firstly, the music opportunities are incredible. For instance, Amazon is presenting a Garth Brooks concert at Bridgestone Arena. It’s explicitly for CRS badge-holders. Universal Music Group is presenting a show at the Ryman Auditorium, again for any attendee that wants to come. So, yes, some amazing music will be offered. And there will be 18 full panels, plus numerous roundtables, workshops and guest speakers.

What about more sensitive topics? For instance, I recently wrote a column about a week on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart where, for the first time,

not one woman ranked in the top 20. Those aren’t good optics. This is probably the hottest topic out there. It’s not on the agenda as a specific item. We’ve discussed this since the agenda was being formed last summer. I promise you that our head isn’t in the sand on it, and we’re not tone-deaf. In reality, it’s not a new problem. I think that story you wrote was a smack in the face and brought it to mainstream media. Honestly, I scratch my head on this one and wonder why we just can’t break more female artists.

A panel discussion on this topic sure would pack the house. This will be part of many of the discussions at CRS, but you and I know that it’s not something that we can solve in a 50-minute panel discussion. There will be a town hall [on Feb. 14]. It’ll be a great opportunity to discuss anything that attendees want.

Not to push back, but we’ll be talking about this again next year. In my opinion, there should be a direct panel to discuss why there are not more women on the charts. Ask away. You know, I just didn’t want to check off the box and present some sort of panel that would come off as obligatory or even patronizing. You can bet that next year I want to stage a panel that will accomplish something.

As a former radio programmer, I believe that good programmers don’t decide what songs to play based on gender. I agree, and radio will tell you that the record labels are not sending enough female artists to choose from. I need time to think about presenting the issue in a thoughtful way. It’s not a simple black-and-white concern.

Meanwhile, it seems so difficult for radio to cut through the noise of the onslaught of platforms now available to consumers. Looking at the agenda from a 30,000-foot level, this is the major question for all of us. Radio has to figure out where it fits in. It’s already great at curating playlists, [although] it doesn’t have an infinite number of playlists like streaming services do.

So radio can still win, even with a million other choices out there? Hey, it might not be the only place for music discovery, but when several hundred programmers put their stations behind an artist like they did with Luke Combs and others, they build critical-mass and create stars. I think radio does that more efficiently than anyone. I think that’s the subtext of the entire CRS.

CRS At 50, With RJ Curtis: Amid So Many Media Choices, ‘Radio Builds Critical Mass And

Creates Stars More Efficiently Than Anyone’

CURTIS

BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE FEBRUARY 11, 2019 | PAGE 14 OF 25

For week ending February 7, 2019. Figures are rounded. Compiled from a national sample of retail store and rack sales reports collected and provided by Nielsen Music.

For inquiries about any Nielsen Music data, please contact Josh Bennett at 615-807-1338 or josh.bennett@nielsen.com

The week’s most popular country songs, ranked by radio airplay audience impressions as measured by Nielsen Music, sales data as compiled by Nielsen Music and streaming activity data from online music sources tracked by Nielsen Music. Descending titles below No. 25 are moved to recurrent after 20 weeks.

COUNTRY MARKET WATCHA Weekly National Music Sales Report

Hot Country Songs

ALBUMSDIGITAL

ALBUMS*DIGITAL TRACKS

This Week 205,000 61,000 655,000

Last Week 180,000 56,000 646,000

Change 13.9% 8.9% 1.4%

This Week Last Year 298,000 85,000 900,000

Change -31.2% -28.2% -27.2%

*Digital album sales are also counted within album sales.

Weekly Unit SalesYear-Over-Year Album Sales2018 2019 CHANGE

Albums 1,374,000 996,000 -27.5%

Digital Tracks 4,878,000 3,387,000 -30.6%

YEAR-TO-DATE

Overall Unit Sales

2018 2019 CHANGE

Physical 961,000 669,000 -30.4%

Digital 413,000 326,000 -21.1%

Sales by Album Format

SALES, AIRPLAY & STREAMING DATA COMPILED BY

BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE FEBRUARY 11, 2019 | PAGE 15 OF 25

ALBUM SALES

’19

’18

DIGITAL TRACKS SALES

’19

’18

1.37million

996 thousand

000.0 million

’15

’14

3.39 million

4.88 million

THIS WEEK

LAST WEEK

TWO WEEKS

AGOWKS ON CHART

TITLE Artist PRODUCER (SONGWRITER) IMPRINT / PROMOTION LABEL

COUNTRY AIRPLAY

RANKPEAK

POSITION

l26 29 29 16 GOOD AS YOU Kane Brown D.HUFF (K.BROWN,B.BERRYHILL,S.CARTER,T.PHILLIPS,W.WEATHERLY) ZONE 4/RCA NASHVILLE 23 17

l27 28 30 22 TALK YOU OUT OF IT Florida Georgia Line J.MOI (M.HARDY,H.PHELPS,J.ROGERS,A.VANDERHEYM) BMLG

28 19

28 25 19 4 GIRL Maren Morris G.KURSTIN,M.MORRIS (M.MORRIS,S.AARONS,G.KURSTIN) COLUMBIA NASHVILLE 27 19

l29 NEW 1 WOMEN HH Hot Shot Debut HH Florida Georgia Line Featuring Jason Derulo J.MOI,FLORIDA GEORIGA LINE,D.GARCIA (T.HUBBARD,B.KELLEY,J.DESROULEAUX,D.A.GARCIA,J.MILLER) BMLG

- 29

l30 31 33 20 LOVE AIN’T Eli Young Band D.HUFF (R.COPPERMAN,A.GORLEY,S.MCANALLY) VALORY

20 30

l31 30 31 18 NEVER COMIN DOWN Keith Urban J.KERR,K.URBAN (K.URBAN,J.KEAR,J.ABRAHART,SHY CARTER) HIT RED/CAPITOL NASHVILLE 19 30

l32 33 35 15 LOVE SOMEONE Brett Eldredge R. COPPERMAN,B.ELDREDGE (B.ELDREDGE,R.COPPERMAN,H.MORGAN) ATLANTIC/WMN 21 32

l33 32 36 29 CAUGHT UP IN THE COUNTRY Rodney Atkins Featuring The Fisk Jubilee Singers R.ATKINS,T.HEWITT,B.BOLLINGER (C.HARRINGTON,J.M.SCHMIDT,M.WALKER) CURB 26 32

l34 34 32 30 THE DIFFERENCE Tyler Rich J.RAYMOND,L.RIMES (R.AKINS,B.BURGESS,D.DAWSON,J.DURRETT) VALORY 22 32

l35 35 34 18 I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU Chris Lane J.MOI (A.GORLEY,M.HARDY,H.PHELPS,J.RODGERS) BIG LOUD

44 33

l36 NEW 1 GOD AND COUNTRY MUSIC George Strait NOT LISTED (NOT LISTED) MCA NASHVILLE

- 36

37 36 38 7 PRAYED FOR YOU Matt Stell A.BOWERS,M.STELL (M.STELL,A.BOWERS,A.VELTZ) WIDE OPEN/RECORDS/GOOD COMPANY - 36

l38 38 39 9 STRONGER THAN ME Garth Brooks G.BROOKS (R.W.TERRY,M.A.ROSSI) PEARL

42 38

39 37 40 8 WHAT HAPPENS IN A SMALL TOWN Brantley Gilbert + Lindsay Ell D.HUFF (B.GILBERT,R.AKINS,B.BERRYHILL,J.DUNNE) VALORY

32 31

l40 43 — 2 SOME OF IT Eric Church J.JOYCE (E.CHURCH,J.HYDE,C.DANIELS,B.PINSON) EMI NASHVILLE 35 40

l41 39 50 3 CLOSER TO YOU Carly Pearce BUSBEE (H.LINDSEY,G.SAMPSON,T.VERGES) BIG MACHINE

39 39

l42 40 45 7 FRIENDS DON’T Maddie & Tae J.ROBBINS,D.WELLS (M.MARLOW,T.DYE,J.M.NITE,J.EBACH) MERCURY 33 40

l43 44 49 10 BACK TO LIFE Rascal Flatts J.DEE,G.LEVOX,J.D.ROONEY (C.R.BARLOWE,N.MOON,S.MOONEY,F.WILHELM) BIG MACHINE

36 31

44 41 46 3 REALLY SHOULDN’T DRINK AROUND YOU Teddy Robb S.MCANALLY,B.FOWLER,M.MCGINN (S.MCANALLY,J.OSBORNE,T. ROSEN) MONUMENT - 41

45 42 44 4 NOTHING TO DO TOWN Dylan Scott M.ALDERMAN,C.GIBBS,J.E.NORMAN (D.SCOTT,M.ALDERMAN,C.TAYLOR) CURB 46 42

l46 NEW 1 THOUGHT ABOUT YOU Tim McGraw B.GALLIMORE,T.MCGRAW (L.T.MILLER,B.WARREN,B.D.WARREN) MCGRAW/COLUMBIA NASHVILLE - 46

l47 48 — 4 FEELS LIKE A PARTY LOCASH C.CROWDER,T.HUBBARD (P.BRUST,C.LUCAS,T.HUBBARD,C.CROWDER) WHEELHOUSE 29 47

l48 46 — 8 BRING IT ON OVER Billy Currington D.HUFF,J.FRASURE (D.DAVIDSON,R.AKINS,B.HAYSLIP,J.FRASURE) MERCURY 47 44

l49 NEW 1 REDNECKER HARDY J.MOI,D.COHEN (A.ALBERT,M.HARDY,J.M.SCHMIDT) TREE VIBEZ/BIG LOUD 50 49

l50 RE-ENTRY 2 RAISED ON COUNTRY Chris Young C.CROWDER,C.YOUNG (C.YOUNG,C.R.BARLOWE,C.CROWDER) RCA NASHVILLE

30 42

The week’s top-streamed and top-selling paid download country songs, respectively, from sales reports collected and provided by Nielsen Music. Charts update weekly on Tuesdays at www.Billboard.Biz/charts. Copyright 2019, Prometheus Global Media, LLC and Nielsen Music, Inc. All rights reserved.

TOP COUNTRY ALBUMS COUNTRY DIGITAL SONG SALES

Top Country Albums ranks the most popular country albums of the week, as compiled by Nielsen Music, based on multi-metric consumption (blending traditional album sales, track equivalent albums, and streaming equivalent albums). Copyright 2019, Prometheus Global Media, LLC and Nielsen Music, Inc. All rights reserved.

Americana/Folk Albums ranks the most popular Americana/folk albums of the week, as compiled by Nielsen Music, based on multi-metric consumption (blending traditional album sales, track equivalent albums, and streaming equivalent albums). Copyright 2019, Prometheus Global Media, LLC and Nielsen Music, Inc. All rights reserved.

AMERICANA/ FOLK ALBUMS

SALES, DATA COMPILED BY

COUNTRY STREAMING SONGS

STREAMING & SALES DATA COMPILED BY

SALES DATA COMPILED BY

Stages enters Top Country Albums at No. 39 (4,000 equivalent album units). The set from the winner of the third season of

NBC’s The Voice is her first LP since 2013’s No. 1 Frame by Frame.

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BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE FEBRUARY 11, 2019 | PAGE 17 OF 25TH

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l1 1 2 88 LUKE COMBS THIS ONE’S FOR YOURIVER HOUSE/COLUMBIA NASHVILLE 538883*/SMN 1 1

2 2 3 33 DAN + SHAY DAN + SHAYWARNER BROS. 570796/WMN 1

3 3 4 197 CHRIS STAPLETON TRAVELLERMERCURY 019405*/UMGN 3 1

4 4 5 13 KANE BROWN EXPERIMENTZONE 4/RCA NASHVILLE /SMN 1

l5 8 8 43 JASON ALDEAN REARVIEW TOWNMACON/BROKEN BOW/BMG 538375642*/BBMG (538375730) 0 1

l6 7 7 114 KANE BROWN KANE BROWNZONE 4/RCA NASHVILLE 530947*/SMN 1 1

7 6 6 74 THOMAS RHETT LIFE CHANGESVALORY TR0300A/BMLG 1 1

8 5 1 3 CODY JOHNSON AIN’T NOTHIN’ TO ITCOJO 574233*/WMN 1

l9 10 11 162 GEORGE STRAIT 50 NUMBER ONESMCA NASHVILLE 000459/UMGN (25.98) 7 1

l10 9 10 104 BRETT YOUNG BRETT YOUNGBMLG BY0100A* 1 2

l11 12 9 21 CARRIE UNDERWOOD CRY PRETTYCAPITOL NASHVILLE 028557*/UMGN 0 1

l12 11 14 138 JON PARDI CALIFORNIA SUNRISECAPITOL NASHVILLE 024744*/UMGN 1 1

l13 NEW 1 MANDOLIN ORANGE TIDES OF A TEARDROPYEP ROC 2638* 13

l14 RE-ENTRY 56 TIM MCGRAW 35 BIGGEST HITSCURB 79413 8

l15 15 16 185 ZAC BROWN BAND GREATEST HITS SO FAR...ROAR/SOUTHERN GROUND/ATLANTIC 546369/AG 3

l16 14 15 92 CHRIS STAPLETON FROM A ROOM: VOLUME 1MERCURY 026379*/UMGN 1 1

17 13 12 8 MITCHELL TENPENNY TELLING ALL MY SECRETSRISER HOUSE/COLUMBIA NASHVILLE 587662*/SMN 5

l18 17 18 36 MORGAN WALLEN IF I KNOW MEBIG LOUD DIGITAL EX 11

l19 19 19 40 KACEY MUSGRAVES GOLDEN HOURMCA NASHVILLE 027921*/UMGN 1

l20 25 22 22 SCOTTY MCCREERY SEASONS CHANGETRIPLE TIGERS 581804*/RED 1

l21 18 17 172 BLAKE SHELTON RELOADED: 20 #1 HITSWARNER BROS. 551788/WMN 2

l22 20 25 62 CHRIS STAPLETON FROM A ROOM: VOLUME 2MERCURY 027408*/UMGN 0 1

l23 26 27 32 DIERKS BENTLEY THE MOUNTAINCAPITOL NASHVILLE 028286*/UMGN 1

l24 23 20 128 FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE DIG YOUR ROOTSBMLG 0300* 1 1

25 21 13 9 BRETT YOUNG TICKET TO L.A.BMLG BMBY200A* 1

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l2 NEW WOMEN FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE FEAT. JASON DERULO

3 2 33 SPEECHLESS DAN + SHAY

l4 NEW GOD AND COUNTRY MUSIC GEORGE STRAIT

5 3 24 DOWN TO THE HONKYTONK JAKE OWEN

l6 7 14 MISS ME MORE KELSEA BALLERINI

l7 4 8 RUMOR LEE BRICE

l8 6 55 TEQUILA DAN + SHAY

l9 9 19 MILLIONAIRE CHRIS STAPLETON

10 10 27 SHE GOT THE BEST OF ME LUKE COMBS

11 8 161 TENNESSEE WHISKEY CHRIS STAPLETON

l12 15 17 GIRL LIKE YOU JASON ALDEAN

l13 14 8 THIS IS IT SCOTTY MCCREERY

l14 16 11 WHISKEY GLASSES MORGAN WALLEN

l15 20 4 TALK YOU OUT OF IT FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE

l16 RE-ENTRY THOUGHT ABOUT YOU TIM MCGRAW

17 11 8 MAKE IT SWEET OLD DOMINION

18 5 3 GIRL MAREN MORRIS

l19 17 63 MEANT TO BE BEBE REXHA & FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE

20 13 26 BURNING MAN DIERKS BENTLEY FEAT. BROTHERS OSBORNE

21 12 6 ON MY WAY TO YOU CODY JOHNSON

22 19 5 WHAT MAKES YOU COUNTRY LUKE BRYAN

l23 21 2 NIGHT SHIFT JON PARDI

l24 25 3 GOOD AS YOU KANE BROWN

25 18 10 SIXTEEN THOMAS RHETT

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l1 1 63 MEANT TO BE BEBE REXHA & FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE

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3 3 50 TEQUILA DAN + SHAY

l4 4 40 BEAUTIFUL CRAZY LUKE COMBS

l5 5 96 TENNESSEE WHISKEY CHRIS STAPLETON

l6 6 66 HEAVEN KANE BROWN

l7 7 26 SHE GOT THE BEST OF ME LUKE COMBS

l8 15 3 THIS IS IT SCOTTY MCCREERY

9 8 26 DRUNK ME MITCHELL TENPENNY

l10 12 5 BURNING MAN DIERKS BENTLEY FEAT. BROTHERS OSBORNE

l11 9 35 LOSE IT KANE BROWN

l12 10 119 IN CASE YOU DIDN’T KNOW BRETT YOUNG

13 14 54 YOU MAKE IT EASY JASON ALDEAN

l14 18 3 GIRL LIKE YOU JASON ALDEAN

15 16 105 BODY LIKE A BACK ROAD SAM HUNT

16 11 20 BEST SHOT JIMMIE ALLEN

l17 19 92 WHAT IFS KANE BROWN FEAT. LAUREN ALAINA

l18 17 120 HURRICANE LUKE COMBS

19 13 4 SIXTEEN THOMAS RHETT

20 21 46 MERCY BRETT YOUNG

l21 RE-ENTRY SMALL TOWN BOY DUSTIN LYNCH

l22 NEW RUMOR LEE BRICE

23 22 93 DIE A HAPPY MAN THOMAS RHETT

l24 24 43 ONE NUMBER AWAY LUKE COMBS

l25 25 59 MARRY ME THOMAS RHETT

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1 1 1 143 CHRIS STAPLETON TRAVELLERMERCURY NASHVILLE 019405*/UMGN 3 1

l2 NEW 1 MANDOLIN ORANGE TIDES OF A TEARDROPYEP ROC 2638* 2

l3 4 4 92 CHRIS STAPLETON FROM A ROOM: VOLUME 1MERCURY NASHVILLE 026379*/UMGN 1 1

l4 5 6 45 KACEY MUSGRAVES GOLDEN HOURMCA NASHVILLE 027921*/UMGN 1

5 3 3 12 MUMFORD & SONS DELTAGENTLEMEN OF THE ROAD 0240*/GLASSNOTE 1

l6 6 9 62 CHRIS STAPLETON FROM A ROOM: VOLUME 2MERCURY NASHVILLE 027408*/UMGN 0 1

l7 8 8 106 SIMON & GARFUNKEL SIMON AND GARFUNKEL’S GREATEST HITSCOLUMBIA 31350/LEGACY 3

8 7 5 189 HOZIER HOZIERRUBYWORKS 309996*/COLUMBIA 2 1

9 9 7 148 THE LUMINEERS CLEOPATRADUALTONE 1738* 1 1

10 10 10 100 JACK JOHNSON IN BETWEEN DREAMSJACK JOHNSON/BRUSHFIRE /REPUBLIC (13.98) 2 8

When Mercury Nashville introduced Travis Denning to the country universe, the label launched him with “David Ashley Parker From Powder Springs,” a clever twist on a real-life charade in which he got a lot of social mileage out of a fake I.D.

The single made its way to No. 32 on Countr y A irplay in 2018 as Denning managed to wring additional benefit out of that old card and the owner’s name.

With his new single — “A fter a Few,” released to country radio via PlayMPE on Jan. 7 — Denning takes another step toward building his own identity. A boiling midtempo number about a romantic relapse, “After a Few” wraps his grainy voice in an ’80s-rock jacket and tosses in a compact, burning guitar solo that Denning aced himself.

“It’s more indicative of who I am as an artist than ‘David Ashley Parker’ is,” notes Denning. “That’s not to discount ‘David Ashley Parker’ — that’s one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written — but I am a guy who loves to get onstage and play a loud Les Paul. I love singing about these kinds of things, I love four on the f loor, I love the rocking, high-energy show, and that’s who I want to be.”

Getting there a step at a time is intentional, says producer Jeremy Stover (Justin Moore, Drake White), as Denning’s artistic assets are unveiled through a progression rather than a big blast.

“He’s a phenomenal guitar player, and people are just now really starting to see some of that,” says Stover. “It’s not something that we just want to lead with, like, ‘Hey, he’s a great guitar player, and he sings songs,’ you know. We really wanted him to f ind the songs first and then start exposing some of these talents. That gives him a high ceiling creatively to grow musically.”

“After a Few” helped Denning’s relationship with Mercury parent Universal Music Group Nashville (UMGN) grow. The label was already flirting with him, waiting for him to reach the next creative level. “After a Few” and “Ashley David Parker” came along within just a few weeks of each other in the summer of 2016, raising the temperature on the artist/label discussions.

“I was definitely on the edge of my seat, just working and hustling and trying to make sure that was going to happen,” says Denning.

Not that he was pressuring himself when he visited the office of songwriter Justin Weaver (“Bottoms Up,” “Got My Country On”) in Brett James’ Cornman Music building on Music Row. Denning was simply focused on getting a good song when he told Weaver and co-writer Kelly Archer (“Sleep With You,” “Somebody Else Will”) of his musical infatuations at the time. Denning had been listening to the simmering “Dance Around It,” a blue-eyed soul track on Charles Kelley’s The Driver, and its spare, haunting back beat overlapped with a little more Saturday Night Fever-era Bee Gees f lavor. He wanted a song that traded on that sort of groove, and Archer tossed up a title, “After a Few,” that simply came to her in the moment.

Everything fit together from there. Denning uncorked a descending guitar riff for the intro and broke into a pulsing foundation.

“We kept going back to The Wallflowers — they kind of did that thing, too, with ‘One Headlight,’ ” says Weaver. “It’s just a straight beat: straight ahead, in your face, driving. Everything else is kind of pocketed around it.”

The “After a Few” verses opened over that throbbing baseline with halting

phrases — “We always take it … way too far…” — leaving plenty of space for the weight in the song’s temptation to sink in.

“There’s a tendency in country music sometimes to start really low and really quiet, and then you build into this chorus,” observes Archer. “I loved Travis coming out of the box really powerful with the melody. We didn’t start low. We started right out of the box with him kind of almost yelling at

you a little bit.”“A fter a Few” developed in just a few

hours, the Wallf lowers/Tom Petty pulse accompanying a familiar story that finds two exes running into each other at a bar, unable to resist the attraction and heading back to his place. To tie it all up, they used the end of the first verse to build a bridge, closing that section with an acknowledgement of their inability to stop: “Girl, it happens every time.”

“It’s not a song that has a ton of tricks to it,” says Archer. “It just kind of goes along and feels good.”

Weaver laid down a keyboard-based track as they wrote, and he wore his producer hat along the way, encouraging Denning to really sell the vocal, even if it was only for the demo.

“When I write with an artist, I’m like ‘Nope, you’re not going anywhere. Sing it. We are in this moment right now,’ ” says Weaver. “And Travis sang his ass off that day. It’s almost like distorting because he was singing so hard. It was just magical.”

Weaver cut a more formal demo later, converting the keyboard foundation to guitars and using Denning’s vocal as the centerpiece. And while it still doesn’t use any real tricks, the writing itself has a delayed bonus. Stover, who is also Denning’s publisher, had lived with the song for a while before the song’s lyrical key unveiled itself: The couple’s resistance wears down one drink at a time, and it’s mirrored as their romantic resistance grows weaker one kiss at a time. And he’s not the only listener who has experienced those parallels as an extra surprise to a song they already had grown to love.

“After a Few” and “Ashley David Parker” helped Denning nail that UMGN recording deal, and Stover produced both songs in August 2017 at Starstruck Studios in Nashville. In the process, the musicians amped the track up one more notch, creating a bigger contrast between the verses and chorus.

“That’s a difference between work tapes, demos and the record, separating the sections a little more,” says Stover. “Just adding those cymbal crashes in the choruses, you know, those are accents that we use to accomplish those situations.”

Denning tweaked his vocals a bit, but the bulk of what ended up in the final mix was the version he sang the day they wrote it in 2016, capturing the weariness that accompanies the morning after an unexpected late-night romp.

“It’s kind of that nasty, maybe 1 o’clock-in-the-afternoon voice,” says Denning. “It isn’t totally awake yet.”

“After a Few” was a strong contender for Denning’s debut single, though “Ashley David Parker” won out, leaving him with room to grow artistically. “After a Few” topped the New & Active chart dated Feb. 9, a reliable indicator of good things ahead as Denning takes that next step in revealing his full artistic identity.

“It’s relatable,” he says, “it’s rocking, and I think that’s what people can expect from me.”

Newcomer Travis Denning Takes Next Creative Step With ‘After A Few’

MAKIN’ TRACKS TOM ROLAND tom.roland@billboard.com

DENNING

BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE FEBRUARY 11, 2019 | PAGE 18 OF 25

MB 24*

BDS 25*

484, 530 Total Consumption

MB 26*

BDS 26*

415,068 Total Consumption

MB 47*

BDS 46*BREAKER

Already 99 Stations On

AND INTRODUCING

Almost GOLD!

Country IndicatorBILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE FEBRUARY 11, 2019 | PAGE 20 OF 25

BILLBOARD COUNTRY INDICATOR PANEL — 109 STATIONS

Abilene, Texas KEANAlexandria, La. KRRVAmarillo, Texas KGNCAsheville, N.C. WKSFAtlantic City, N.J. WPURBeaumont, Texas KYKRBeckley, W. Va. WJLSBiloxi, Miss. WZKXBloomington, Ill. WIBLBluefield, W. Va. WHKXBurlington, Vt. WOKOCape Girardeau, Mo. KEZSCharleston, W. Va WKWS WQBECollege Station, Texas KAGGColorado Springs. KCCYColumbia, Mo. KCLRColumbus, Ga. WKCN WSTH Cookeville, Tenn. WGSQDothan, Ala. WTVYDuluth, Minn. KKCBEau Claire, Wis. WAXXElizabeth City, N.C. WRSFErie, Pa. WTWFEugene, Ore. KKNUEvansville, Ind. WKDQ

Fargo, N.D. KBVB WSTH Fayetteville, N.C. WKMLFlagstaff, Ariz. KAFFFlint, Mich. WFBEFlorence, Ala. WXFLFlorence, S.C. WEGXFt. Collins, Colo. KUADFt. Smith, Ark. KTCSFrederick, Md. WFREFredericksburg, Va. WFLSGreen Bay, Wis. WNCYHagerstown, Md. WAYZHot Springs, Ark. KQUSHuntington, Ky. WDGGHuntington, W. Va. WTCRIdaho Falls, Idaho KTHKJackson, Miss. WMSI WUSJJanesville, Wis. WJVL Jonesboro, Ark. KDXYJoplin, Mo. KIXQKalamazoo, Mich. WNWNKalispell, Mont. KDBRKingmah, Ariz. KFLGLafayette, Ind. WKOALaredo, Texas KRRGLansing, Mich. WITL

Laurel, Miss. WBBNLebanon, N.H. WXXKLincoln, Neb KFGELongview, Texas KYKXLubbock, Texas KLLLLufkin, Texas KYKSMarshalltown, Iowa KXIAMason City, Iowa KIAIMedford, Ore. KRWQMeridian, Miss. WOKKMilwaukee, WI. WKTIMontgomery, Ala. WLWIMorgantown, W. Va. WKKWMuskegon, Mich. WMUSNew London, Conn. WCTYOdessa, Texas KHKXPalm Springs, Calif. KPLMPensacola, Fla. WXBMPeoria, Ill. WXCL Poughkeepsie, N.Y. WRWDRapid City, S.D. KOUTRockford, Ill. WXXQRocky Mount, N.C. WDWGSaginaw, Mich. WCENSt. Cloud, Minn. KZPKSalina, Kan. KYEZSalisbury, Md. WKTTSan Angelo, Texas KGKL

San Luis Obispo, Calif. KKJGSanta Barbara, Calif. KRAZSanta Maria, Calif. KSNISheboygan, Wis. WBFMSavannah, Ga. WJCL WUBBShreveport, La. KXKSSioux Cty, Iowa KSUXSouth Bend, Ind. WBYTSpringfield, Ill. WFMBSpringfield, Mo. KTTSTerre Haute, Ind. WTHITopeka, Kan. WIBWTraverse City, Mich. WTCMTupelo, Miss. WWZDUtica, N.Y. WFRGVictor Valley, CA. KATJWaco, Texas WACOWausau, Wis. WDEZWheeling, W. Va. WOVKWilliamsport, Pa. WILQYakima, Wash. KXDDYoungstown, Ohio WQXK WWGYWestwood One HOT COUNTRY MAINSTREAM COUNTRYMusic Choice TODAY’S COUNTRYSirius XM THE HIGHWAY

THIS WEEK

LAST WEEK

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CHART TITLE Imprint/Label ArtistPLAYS

AUDIENCE (IN MILLIONS)

THIS WEEK +/– THIS WEEK

l1 1 30 THIS IS IT Triple Tigers HH No. 1 (2 weeks) HH Scotty McCreery 5246 +34 8.164

l2 2 17 WHAT MAKES YOU COUNTRY Capitol Nashville Luke Bryan 5174 +105 7.994

l3 4 38 TAKE IT FROM ME MCA Nashville Jordan Davis 4776 +247 7.267

4 3 22 GIRL LIKE YOU Macon/Broken Bow Jason Aldean 4377 -388 7.228

l5 7 11 BEAUTIFUL CRAZY River House/Columbia Nashville Luke Combs 4334 +309 6.524

l6 6 42 MILLIONAIRE Mercury Chris Stapleton 4181 +137 6.313

l7 8 27 THERE WAS THIS GIRL BMLG Riley Green 4160 +184 6.159

l8 9 42 BURN OUT Big Machine Midland 4009 +141 5.973

l9 10 27 DOWN TO THE HONKYTONK Big Loud Jake Owen 3968 +164 6.015

10 5 21 SIXTEEN Valory Thomas Rhett 3651 -416 5.683

l11 11 22 LOVE WINS Capitol Nashville Carrie Underwood 3494 +86 5.061

l12 12 28 NIGHT SHIFT Capitol Nashville Jon Pardi 3401 +169 4.986

l13 13 17 MAKE IT SWEET RCA Nashville Old Dominion 3339 +117 5.211

l14 15 20 HERE TONIGHT BMLG Brett Young 3321 +299 4.702

l15 14 25 ONE THAT GOT AWAY Atlantic/WEA Michael Ray 3139 +117 4.664

l16 17 24 ON MY WAY TO YOU CoJo/WMN Cody Johnson 3040 +110 4.384

l17 16 25 NEVER COMIN DOWN Hit Red/Capitol Nashville Keith Urban 2988 +27 4.219

l18 18 17 MISS ME MORE Black River Kelsea Ballerini 2654 +247 3.465

l19 19 27 LOVE AIN’T Valory Eli Young Band 2093 +149 2.738

l20 21 5 GOOD AS YOU Zone 4/RCA Nashville HH Most Increased Plays HH Kane Brown 2033 +317 2.901

l21 20 34 THE DIFFERENCE Valory Tyler Rich 1885 +30 2.444

l22 23 17 EYES ON YOU Dack Janiels/Broken Bow Chase Rice 1808 +266 2.325

l23 22 29 LOVE SOMEONE Atlantic/WMN Brett Eldredge 1719 +105 2.157

l24 24 15 TALK YOU OUT OF IT BMLG Florida Georgia Line 1596 +71 1.767

l25 26 22 WHISKEY GLASSES Big Loud Morgan Wallen 1447 +131 1.709

l26 25 41 CAUGHT UP IN THE COUNTRY Curb Rodney Atkins Feat. The Fisk Jubilee Singers 1415 +55 1.923

l27 27 11 RUMOR Curb Lee Brice 1291 +147 1.538

l28 28 5 SOME OF IT EMI Nashville Eric Church 1231 +123 1.574

l29 29 21 FEELS LIKE A PARTY Wheelhouse LOCASH 1040 +92 1.326

l30 31 6 WHAT HAPPENS IN A SMALL TOWN Valory Brantley Gilbert & Lindsay Ell 974 +61 1.340

Country IndicatorBILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE FEBRUARY 11, 2019 | PAGE 21 OF 25

THIS WEEK

LAST WEEK

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AUDIENCE (IN MILLIONS)

THIS WEEK +/– THIS WEEK

l31 30 36 FRIENDS DON’T Mercury Maddie & Tae 959 +40 1.036

l32 35 4 GIRL Columbia Nashville Maren Morris 893 +118 1.174

33 33 21 BRING IT ON OVER Mercury Billy Currington 844 -9 0.941

34 32 20 BACK TO LIFE Big Machine Rascal Flatts 840 -49 0.754

35 34 28 WHAT WHISKEY DOES Stoney Creek Randy Houser Feat. Hillary Lindsey 774 -11 1.093

l36 38 10 CLOSER TO YOU Big Machine Carly Pearce 720 +60 0.793

37 36 13 BUCKED OFF Arista Nashville Brad Paisley 685 -29 0.812

l38 37 31 YADA YADA YADA EMI Nashville Brandon Lay 679 +9 0.591

l39 39 11 BUY MY OWN DRINKS Wheelhouse Runaway June 672 +69 0.862

l40 41 5 KISS THAT GIRL GOODBYE BIG Label Aaron Watson 619 +78 0.874

l41 42 3 RAISED ON COUNTRY RCA Nashville Chris Young 605 +110 0.760

l42 40 14 LADIES IN THE ‘90S 19/Mercury Lauren Alaina 585 +12 0.522

l43 45 16 I THINK TOO MUCH Southern Halo Southern Halo 510 +56 0.526

l44 43 15 I DON’T REMEMBER ME (BEFORE YOU) EMI Nashville Brothers Osborne 500 +12 0.491

l45 NEW THOUGHT ABOUT YOU McGraw/Columbia Nashville HH Hot Shot Debut/Most Added HH Tim McGraw 492 +290 0.878

46 44 20 THE IN BETWEEN Captain & Bear Cash Campbell 461 -5 0.457

l47 47 9 AIN’T IT BABY Josh Ward Josh Ward 444 +30 0.547

l48 46 6 DON’T LET THE OLD MAN IN Show Dog Nashville Toby Keith 443 +22 0.463

l49 48 12 NOW WE’RE GETTIN’ SOMEWHERE Bison Creek James Robert Webb 406 +23 0.419

l50 49 10 ROCKIN’ ALL NIGHT LONG Buena Vista/Capitol Nashville Adam Hambrick 370 +5 0.306

l51 50 11 WONDER WOMAN Show Dog Nashville Waterloo Revival 343 +1 0.394

l52 54 5 LOVE YOU TOO LATE Warner Bros./WMN Cole Swindell 339 +38 0.443

l53 51 12 WHEN IT COMES TO LOVING YOU 32 Bridge/EMI Nashville Jon Langston 336 +7 0.365

l54 55 2 GIRL GOIN’ NOWHERE Atlantic/WAR Ashley McBryde 329 +47 0.409

l55 53 6 A LITTLE ON THE REDNECK SIDE Dream Walkin’ Smith & Wesley 325 +16 0.352

56 52 9 STRONGER THAN ME Pearl Garth Brooks 319 -6 0.448

l57 56 3 EVERY LITTLE THING Triple Tigers Russell Dickerson 280 +8 0.402

l58 58 9 THE ONES THAT DIDN’T MAKE IT BACK HOME Valory Justin Moore 269 +16 0.252

l59 59 4 I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU Big Loud Chris Lane 256 +22 0.268

60 57 3 MR. MOON SSM Nashville AC Jones 254 -1 0.312

THE SONG RADIO IS BUZZING ABOUT!

TEMPO. TEMPO. TEMPO.

JOIN THE FUN TODAY- ADD NOW!

Country Airplay IndexBILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE FEBRUARY 11, 2019 | PAGE 23 OF 25

90’S COUNTRY Songs Of Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc., BMI/Spark In Your Pocket, BMI/Songs Of Smack, BMI/Smack Hits, GMR/Smack Songs LLC, GMR/Kobalt Music Group Ltd., GMR/LYRX Publishing, LLC, BMI (W.Hayes, S.McAnally, LYRX) 53

B

BACK TO LIFE W.B.M. Music Corp., SESAC/Bennett’s Dad’s Songs, SESAC/Songs Of Rhythm House Black, SESAC/Niko Moon Publishing, SESAC/Roc Nation US Music, SESAC/Shay Mooney Music, BMI/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Farm Thang Music, BMI/Me Gusta Music, BMI (C.R.Barlowe, N.Moon, S.Mooney, F.Wilhelm) 36

BEAUTIFUL CRAZY Big Machine Music, BMI/Egg Music, BMI/Straight Dimes Publishing, BMI/Works Of RHA Music, BMI/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Rowdy Rob Music, BMI (L.Combs, W.B.Durrette, R.Williford) 3

BRAND NEW MAN Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/Sony/ATV Cross Keys Publishing, ASCAP (D.Cook, R.Dunn, K.Brooks) 49

BRING IT ON OVER Round Hill Compositions, BMI/Natalia’s Music Money, BMI/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Ritten by Rhettro, BMI/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Thankful For This Music, ASCAP/Pinetucky Road Publishing, ASCAP/Telemitry Rhythm House Music, BMI/Songs Of Roc Nation Music, BMI (D.Davidson, R.Akins, B.Hayslip, J.Frasure) 47

BUCKED OFF New House Of Sea Gayle Music, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Own My Own Music Publishing, ASCAP (B.Paisley, C.DuBois, K.Lovelace) 51

BURN OUT WB Music Corp., ASCAP/TipTop Music, ASCAP/Tropical Cowboy Publishing, ASCAP/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Kitt Cass Publishing Corporation, BMI/Smack Hits, GMR/Smack Songs LLC, GMR/Kobalt Music Group Ltd., GMR/Songs Of Black River, ASCAP/One Little Indian Creek Music, ASCAP (J.Carson, C.Duddy, M.Wystrach, S.McAnally, J.Osborne) 8

BUY MY OWN DRINKS BMG Platinum Songs, BMI/BMG Silver Songs, SESAC/BMG Gold Songs, ASCAP/Rezonate Music, ASCAP/BIRB Music, ASCAP/Champagne Whiskey Publishing, ASCAP/Downtown DLJ Songs, ASCAP/Legends Of Magic Mustang Music, SESAC/Music Of Platinum Pen, SESAC/Wild Wild West Songs, SESAC/Thunder Cookie, SESAC/Magic Mustang Music Inc., BMI/Songwriters of Platinum Pen Publishing, BMI/Hannah Mulholland Music, BMI (H.Mulholland, J.Wayne, N.Cooke, H.Lindsey, J.Kear) 31

C

CAUGHT UP IN THE COUNTRY WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Freshy Music, ASCAP/We-Volve Music, ASCAP/Goes Something Like THIS Music, BMI/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Make It Matter Music, BMI/Sixteen Stars Music, BMI (C.Harrington, J.M.Schmidt, M.Walker) 26

CLOSER TO YOU BIRB Music, ASCAP/BMG Gold Songs, ASCAP/1217 Songs, ASCAP/Still Working For The Woman, ASCAP/Kobalt Songs Music Publishing LLC, ASCAP/Songs Of Universal, Inc., BMI/Low Z Music, BMI (H.Lindsey, G.Sampson, T.Verges) 39

D

DAY DRUNK Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/SongsbyME, BMI/EMI April Music, Inc., ASCAP/CDS Words And Music, ASCAP/Hey Kiddo Music, ASCAP/Kobalt Songs Music Publishing LLC, ASCAP (M.Evans, C. DeStefano, L.Robbins) 38

THE DIFFERENCE Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Ritten by Rhettro, BMI/Mr. Buck Lucky, BMI/Bump Into Genius Music, BMI/Neon Cross Music, BMI/Magic Mustang Music Inc., BMI (R.Akins, B.Burgess, D.Dawson, J.Durrett) 22

DOWN TO THE HONKYTONK Round Hill Works, BMI/Big Loud Proud Crowd, BMI/Round Hill Compositions, BMI/Shirt At Work, BMI/Sony/ATV Story Music Publishing, GMR/We Are Creative Nation, GMR/Smack Hits, GMR/Smack Songs LLC, GMR/Kobalt Music Group Ltd., GMR (R.Clawson, L.Laird, S.McAnally) 12

E

EVERY LITTLE THING BMG Platinum Songs, BMI/Kailey’s Dream, BMI/So Essential Tunes, SESAC/Not Just Another Song Publishing, SESAC/Hillbilly Science And Research Publishing, SESAC/Trailerlily Music, SESAC (R.Dickerson, P.Welling, C.Brown) 41

TITLE Publishing-Licensing Org. (Songwriter) Chart Position

EYES ON YOU Sony/ATV Countryside, BMI/Dack Janiel’s Publishing, BMI/EMI April Music, Inc., ASCAP/CDS Words And Music, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Combustion Engine Music, ASCAP/Sadie’s Favorite Songs, ASCAP (C.Rice, C. DeStefano, A.Gorley) 17

F

FEELS LIKE A PARTY ole Purple Cape Music, BMI/Mars Marley Music, BMI/Big Loud Mountain, BMI/Round Hill Works, BMI/T Hubb Publishing, BMI/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Georgia Song Vibez, ASCAP/Big Crowd Publishing, ASCAP (P.Brust, C.Lucas, T.Hubbard, C.Crowder) 29

FRIENDS DON’T Super Big Music, ASCAP/Seven Red Brids Publishing, ASCAP/Jehovah Nissi, BMI/Big Machine Music, BMI/EMI April Music, Inc., ASCAP/Memory Days, SESAC/Wordspring Music, LLC, SESAC/W.B.M. Music Corp., SESAC (M.Marlow, T.Dye, J.M.Nite, J.Ebach) 33

G

GIRL International Dog Music, BMI/Downtown DMP Songs, BMI/Sony/ATV Songs LLC, BMI/Sony/ATV Music Publishing (Australia) Pty Ltd., APRA/EMI April Music, Inc., ASCAP/Kurstin Music, ASCAP (M.Morris, S.Aarons, G.Kurstin) 27

GIRL GOIN’ NOWHERE Songs Of Song Factory, BMI/Universal Tunes, SESAC (A.McBryde, J.Bussey) 56

GIRL LIKE YOU Peertunes, Ltd., SESAC/MTNoize, SESAC/Jaron Boyer Music, SESAC/Music Of The Corn, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP (M.Tyler, J.Boyer, J.Mirenda) 2

GOOD AS YOU Songs Of Universal, Inc., BMI/Kane Brown Music, BMI/Don’t Be A Gypsy, BMI/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd., PRS/You Want How Much Of What Publishing, PRS/TDP Publishing, BMI/Track House Worldwide Entertainment, BMI/Mandy’s Favorite Songs, BMI (K.Brown, B.Berryhill, S.Carter, T.Phillips, W.Weatherly) 23

H

HERE TONIGHT Super Big Music, ASCAP/Caliville Publishing, ASCAP/Songs Of Black River, ASCAP/Wordspring Music, LLC, SESAC/Memory Days, SESAC/W.B.M. Music Corp., SESAC/The Best I Could Do Publishing, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP (B.Young, B.Caver, J.Ebach, C.Kelley) 14

HOW DOES IT SOUND Two Black Dogs, ASCAP/Sony/ATV Cross Keys Publishing, ASCAP/Songs For Buddy.ASCAP/Songs From The Rose Hotel, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP (D.Schneider, J.Johnston, C.Crowder) 45

I

I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU Round Hill Songs II, ASCAP/Caleb’s College Fund, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Who Wants To Buy My Publishing, ASCAP/Relative Music Group, BMI/One77 Songs, ASCAP/Highly Combustible Music, ASCAP/Kobalt Songs Music Publishing LLC, ASCAP (A.Gorley, M.Hardy, H.Phelps, J.Rodgers) 44

I DON’T REMEMBER ME (BEFORE YOU) Trampy McCauley, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Songstein Publishing, ASCAP/All The Kings Pens, ASCAP/Round Hill Songs BLS JV, ASCAP/Big Loud Proud Songs, ASCAP/Matt Drag Music, ASCAP/Smack Hits, GMR/Smack Songs LLC, GMR/Kobalt Music Group Ltd., GMR (J. Osborne, T.J. Osborne, M.Dragstrem, S.McAnally) 52

L

LADIES IN THE ‘90S Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Lylas Music, BMI/Songs Of Roc Nation Music, BMI/Telemitry Rhythm House Music, BMI/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Cookie Jar Music LLP, PRS (Lauren Alaina, J.Frasure, A.Wadge) 48

LOVE AIN’T EMI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Plain Jane Songs, BMI/Rezolant Music, BMI/Combustion Engine Music, ASCAP/Sadie’s Favorite Songs, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Smack Hits, GMR/Smack Songs LLC, GMR/Kobalt Music Group Ltd., GMR (R.Copperman, A.Gorley, S.McAnally) 20

LOVE SOMEONE Sony/ATV Countryside, BMI/Paris Not France Music, BMI/EMI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Rezolant Music, BMI/Plain Jane Songs, BMI/Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/Heather Feather Songs, BMI (B.Eldredge, R.Copperman, H.Morgan) 21

LOVE WINS Carrie-Okie Music, BMI/Universal Music - Brentwood Benson Publishing, ASCAP/D Soul Music, ASCAP/Capitol CMG Genesis, ASCAP/Songs Of Brett, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP (C.Underwood, D.A.Garcia, Brett James) 13

LOVE YOU TOO LATE Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/Colden Rainey Music, BMI/Sony/ATV Cross Keys Publishing, ASCAP/243 Music, ASCAP/Peermusic III, Ltd., BMI/Whiskey Tub Music, BMI (C.Swindell, Michael Ray, B.Kinney) 37

M

MAKE IT SWEET Carrot Seed Songs, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Smackville Music, ASCAP/Smack Songs LLC, ASCAP/Kobalt Songs Music Publishing LLC, ASCAP/Rezsongs, ASCAP/ReHits Music, Inc., ASCAP/Smacktown Music, ASCAP/Smack Blue, LLC, ASCAP/Unfair Entertainment, ASCAP/MeGusta Music, ASCAP/Tiny Handstand, ASCAP/Sharkules Music, ASCAP/We’re Really Doin’ It Publishing, ASCAP/Smack Hits, GMR/Kobalt Music Group Ltd., GMR (M.Ramsey, T. Rosen, W.Sellers, G.Sprung, B.Tursi, S.McAnally) 11

MAKE ME WANT TO Red Lining Music, SESAC/Sony/ATV Lakeview, SESAC/Amplified Hour Songs, SESAC/Pedal Down Music, ASCAP/Sounds Of Soperman Music Publishing, ASCAP/Curb Songs, ASCAP/Dreamark Publishing, ASCAP (J.Allen, P.Sikes, J.Denmark) 54

MILLIONAIRE Universal Tunes, SESAC/Spur 66 Music, SESAC (K.Welch) 7

MISS ME MORE Songs Of Black River, ASCAP/KNB Music, ASCAP/3 Weddings Music, BMI/Songs Of Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc., BMI/EMI April Music, Inc., ASCAP/Bob Ochoa’s Homemade Salsa, ASCAP (K.Ballerini, D.H.Hodges, B.McLaughlin) 18

N

NEVER COMIN DOWN Songs Of Universal, Inc., BMI/MAROMA Music, BMI/Songs Of Black River, ASCAP/Whistlepig Winners, ASCAP/James Abrahart Publishing Designee, SESAC/Artist 101 Publishing Group, BMI/Songs Of Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc., BMI/BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd., PRS/You Want How Much Of What Publishing, PRS/BMG Platinum Songs, BMI/Lets Get Brunch Publishing, BMI (K.Urban, J.Kear, J.Abrahart, Shy Carter) 19

NIGHT SHIFT Maxx Music, BMI/Let The Road Pave Itself, BMI/Razor And Tie Music Publishing, BMI/Mike Curb Music, BMI/Rain Town Music, BMI (T.Brown, P.LaRue, B.Montana) 15

NOTHING TO DO TOWN Curb Songs, ASCAP/Curb Congregation Songs, SESAC/Good Vibes Publishing, BMI/Good Times Music, SESAC/Universal Music Corp., ASCAP/No Bridge Publishing, ASCAP (D.Scott, M.Alderman, C.Taylor) 46

O

THE ONES THAT DIDN’T MAKE IT BACK HOME Big Music Machine, BMI/Double Barrel Ace Music, BMI/Universal Music Corp., ASCAP/Paulywood Music, ASCAP/Songs Of Universal, Inc., BMI/Plum Nelly, BMI/Ole Red Cape Songs, ASCAP/Real Big Red Tunes, ASCAP (J.Moore, P.DiGiovanni, C.McGill, J.S.Stover) 40

ONE THAT GOT AWAY Downtown DMP Songs, BMI/Telemitry Productions, BMI/ReHits Music, Inc., ASCAP/Smacktown Music, ASCAP/Carrot Seed Songs, ASCAP/Smack Songs LLC, ASCAP/Kobalt Songs Music Publishing LLC, ASCAP/Anderson Fork In The Road Music, ASCAP/Smackville Music, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP (J.Frasure, T. Rosen, M.Ramsey, J.Osborne) 10

ON MY WAY TO YOU WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Songs Of Brett, ASCAP/Atlas Music Publishing, ASCAP/External Combustion Music, ASCAP/BMG Gold Songs, ASCAP/Heytone Music, ASCAP (Brett James, T.Lane) 16

P

PRAYED FOR YOU Pedal Down Music, ASCAP/Big Spaces Music, BMI/Tunes Of Big Deal Music, SESAC/Songs Of Porterfied Music, SESAC (M.Stell, A.Bowers, A.Veltz) 57

R

RAINBOW HappyGoWrucke, BMI/Creative Pulse Music, BMI/These Are Pulse Songs, BMI/Smack Hits, GMR/Smack Songs LLC, GMR/Kobalt Music Group Ltd., GMR/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/351 Music, BMI (N.Hemby, S.McAnally, K.Musgraves) 58

RAISED ON COUNTRY Songs Of Universal, Inc., BMI/They’ve Gone To Plaid Publishing, BMI/W.B.M. Music Corp., SESAC/Roc Nation US Music, SESAC/Songs Of Rhythm House Black, SESAC/Bennett’s Dad’s Songs, SESAC/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Georgia Song Vibez, ASCAP/Big Crowd Publishing, ASCAP (C.Young, C.R.Barlowe, C.Crowder) 30

REDNECKER Buzz Light Beer Music, ASCAP/Downtown DLJ Songs, ASCAP/Relative Music Group, BMI/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Freshy Music, ASCAP/We-Volve Music, ASCAP (A.Albert, M.Hardy, J.M.Schmidt) 50

ROCKIN’ ALL NIGHT LONG Ole Red Cape Songs, ASCAP/Red Like The Sunset Music, ASCAP/Stars And Stripes And Maple Leaf Music, BMI/Crack The Glass Songs, BMI/Downtown DMP Songs, BMI/Garda Songs, SESAC/King Pen Songs, SESAC/Songs Of Downtown, SESAC (A.Hambrick, K.Archer, P.Good) 60

RUMOR Mike Curb Music, BMI/Curb Songs, ASCAP/Jacobsong, ASCAP/Sadie’s Favorite Songs, ASCAP/Combustion Engine Music, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP (L.Brice, K.Jacobs, A.Gorley) 25

S

SIXTEEN EMI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Cricket On The Line, BMI/Sony/ATV Ballad, BMI/Eastman Pond Publishing, BMI/Big Deal Beats, BMI/Brodsky Spensive Publishing, BMI/Nice Life, BMI (Thomas Rhett, S.M.Douglas, Joe London) 6

SOME OF IT Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/Longer And Louder Music, BMI/Mammaw’s Fried Okra Music, BMI/Little Louder Songs, BMI/Songs Of Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc., BMI/New Writers Of Sea Gayle Music, BMI/Not A Track Guy Music, BMI (E.Church, J.Hyde, C.Daniels, B.Pinson) 35

STRONGER THAN ME Terry And Tom Music, ASCAP/Bedroll Music, ASCAP/Major Bob Music, Inc., ASCAP (R.W.Terry, M.A.Rossi) 42

T

TAKE IT FROM ME Ole Red Cape Songs, ASCAP/Jordan Davis Music, ASCAP/ReHits Music, Inc., ASCAP/MeGusta Music, ASCAP/Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/Songs Of Red Bandana, BMI (J.Davis, J.Davis, J.Gantt) 5

TALK YOU OUT OF IT Relative Music Group, BMI/Songs Of Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc., BMI/Who Wants To Buy My Publishing, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Highly Combustible Music, ASCAP/One77 Songs, ASCAP/Castle Bound Music, Inc., SESAC (M.Hardy, H.Phelps, J.Rogers, A.Vanderheym) 28

THERE WAS THIS GIRL Riley Green Publishing Designee, BMI/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Peermusic III, Ltd., BMI/Tawnes Van Hawke Publishing, BMI (R.Green, Erik Dylan) 9

THIS IS IT Dagum Music, BMI/Austintatious Tunes, BMI/Spirit Two Nashville, ASCAP/Fluid Tunes, ASCAP/Smackville Music, ASCAP/Smack Songs LLC, ASCAP/Ice House Tunes, ASCAP/Kobalt Songs Music Publishing LLC, ASCAP (S.McCreery, F.Rogers, A.Eshuis) 1

THOUGHT ABOUT YOU Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/The Country And Western Music, BMI/Round Hill Works, BMI/Big Loud Proud Crowd, BMI/Big Loud Brad Music, BMI/Big Loud Brett Songs, BMI (L.T.Miller, B.Warren, B.D.Warren) 55

W

WHAT HAPPENS IN A SMALL TOWN Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Indiana Angel Music, BMI/Ritten by Rhettro, BMI/Don’t Be A Gypsy, BMI/Revelry Music, BMI/Badlandsmgmt, BMI/Songs Of Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc., BMI (B.Gilbert, R.Akins, B.Berryhill, J.Dunne) 32

WHAT MAKES YOU COUNTRY Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/Peanut Mill Songs, BMI/Round Hill Compositions, BMI/Natalia’s Music Money, BMI/Combustion Engine Music, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Sadie’s Favorite Songs, ASCAP (L.Bryan, D.Davidson, A.Gorley) 4

WHAT WHISKEY DOES EMI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Little Britches Music, BMI/Gattis Music, BMI/Rezonate Music, ASCAP/BMG Gold Songs, ASCAP/BIRB Music, ASCAP (R.Houser, K.Gattis, H.Lindsey) 34

WHEN IT COMES TO LOVING YOU Sony/ATV Countryside, BMI (J.Langston, D.Isbell) 59

WHISKEY GLASSES Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Mr. Buck Lucky, BMI/Bump Into Genius Music, BMI/Sony/ATV Allegro, ASCAP/Over-Thought Under-Appreciated Songs, ASCAP/Rezven Music, ASCAP/Moving Targest In The Dark, ASCAP (B.Burgess, K.Kadish) 24

Y

YADA YADA YADA Mid South Mood Maker Music, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/Heather Feather Songs, BMI/Songs Of Universal, Inc., BMI (B.Lay, H.Morgan, M.Reeves) 43

Hot Country Songs IndexBILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE FEBRUARY 11, 2019 | PAGE 24 OF 25

B

BACK TO LIFE W.B.M. Music Corp., SESAC/Bennett’s Dad’s Songs, SESAC/Songs Of Rhythm House Black, SESAC/Niko Moon Publishing, SESAC/Roc Nation US Music, SESAC/Shay Mooney Music, BMI/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Farm Thang Music, BMI/Me Gusta Music, BMI (C.R.Barlowe, N.Moon, S.Mooney, F.Wilhelm) 43

BEAUTIFUL CRAZY Big Machine Music, BMI/Egg Music, BMI/Straight Dimes Publishing, BMI/Works Of RHA Music, BMI/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Rowdy Rob Music, BMI (L.Combs, W.B.Durrette, R.Williford) 2

BRING IT ON OVER Round Hill Compositions, BMI/Natalia’s Music Money, BMI/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Ritten by Rhettro, BMI/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Thankful For This Music, ASCAP/Pinetucky Road Publishing, ASCAP/Telemitry Rhythm House Music, BMI/Songs Of Roc Nation Music, BMI (D.Davidson, R.Akins, B.Hayslip, J.Frasure) 48

BURNING MAN Emileon Songs, BMI/Little Louder Songs, BMI/Songs Of Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc., BMI/New Writers Of Sea Gayle Music, BMI/Not A Track Guy Music, BMI (L.Dick, B.Pinson) 10

BURN OUT WB Music Corp., ASCAP/TipTop Music, ASCAP/Tropical Cowboy Publishing, ASCAP/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Kitt Cass Publishing Corporation, BMI/Smack Hits, GMR/Smack Songs LLC, GMR/Kobalt Music Group Ltd., GMR/Songs Of Black River, ASCAP/One Little Indian Creek Music, ASCAP (J.Carson, C.Duddy, M.Wystrach, S.McAnally, J.Osborne) 17

C

CAUGHT UP IN THE COUNTRY WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Freshy Music, ASCAP/We-Volve Music, ASCAP/Goes Something Like THIS Music, BMI/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Make It Matter Music, BMI/Sixteen Stars Music, BMI (C.Harrington, J.M.Schmidt, M.Walker) 33

CLOSER TO YOU BIRB Music, ASCAP/BMG Gold Songs, ASCAP/1217 Songs, ASCAP/Still Working For The Woman, ASCAP/Kobalt Songs Music Publishing LLC, ASCAP/Songs Of Universal, Inc., BMI/Low Z Music, BMI (H.Lindsey, G.Sampson, T.Verges) 41

D

THE DIFFERENCE Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Ritten by Rhettro, BMI/Mr. Buck Lucky, BMI/Bump Into Genius Music, BMI/Neon Cross Music, BMI/Magic Mustang Music Inc., BMI (R.Akins, B.Burgess, D.Dawson, J.Durrett) 34

DOWN TO THE HONKYTONK Round Hill Works, BMI/Big Loud Proud Crowd, BMI/Round Hill Compositions, BMI/Shirt At Work, BMI/Sony/ATV Story Music Publishing, GMR/We Are Creative Nation, GMR/Smack Hits, GMR/Smack Songs LLC, GMR/Kobalt Music Group Ltd., GMR (R.Clawson, L.Laird, S.McAnally) 13

E

EYES ON YOU Sony/ATV Countryside, BMI/Dack Janiel’s Publishing, BMI/EMI April Music, Inc., ASCAP/CDS Words And Music, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Combustion Engine Music, ASCAP/Sadie’s Favorite Songs, ASCAP (C.Rice, C. DeStefano, A.Gorley) 24

F

FEELS LIKE A PARTY ole Purple Cape Music, BMI/Mars Marley Music, BMI/Big Loud Mountain, BMI/Round Hill Works, BMI/T Hubb Publishing, BMI/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Georgia Song Vibez, ASCAP/Big Crowd Publishing, ASCAP (P.Brust, C.Lucas, T.Hubbard, C.Crowder) 47

FRIENDS DON’T Super Big Music, ASCAP/Seven Red Brids Publishing, ASCAP/Jehovah Nissi, BMI/Big Machine Music, BMI/EMI April Music, Inc., ASCAP/Memory Days, SESAC/Wordspring Music, LLC, SESAC/W.B.M. Music Corp., SESAC (M.Marlow, T.Dye, J.M.Nite, J.Ebach) 42

TITLE Publishing-Licensing Org. (Songwriter) Chart Position

G

GIRL International Dog Music, BMI/Downtown DMP Songs, BMI/Sony/ATV Songs LLC, BMI/Sony/ATV Music Publishing (Australia) Pty Ltd., APRA/EMI April Music, Inc., ASCAP/Kurstin Music, ASCAP (M.Morris, S.Aarons, G.Kurstin) 28

GIRL LIKE YOU Peertunes, Ltd., SESAC/MTNoize, SESAC/Jaron Boyer Music, SESAC/Music Of The Corn, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP (M.Tyler, J.Boyer, J.Mirenda) 6

GOD AND COUNTRY MUSIC Not Listed (Not Listed) 36

GOOD AS YOU Songs Of Universal, Inc., BMI/Kane Brown Music, BMI/Don’t Be A Gypsy, BMI/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd., PRS/You Want How Much Of What Publishing, PRS/TDP Publishing, BMI/Track House Worldwide Entertainment, BMI/Mandy’s Favorite Songs, BMI (K.Brown, B.Berryhill, S.Carter, T.Phillips, W.Weatherly) 26

H

HERE TONIGHT Super Big Music, ASCAP/Caliville Publishing, ASCAP/Songs Of Black River, ASCAP/Wordspring Music, LLC, SESAC/Memory Days, SESAC/W.B.M. Music Corp., SESAC/The Best I Could Do Publishing, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP (B.Young, B.Caver, J.Ebach, C.Kelley) 16

I

I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU Round Hill Songs II, ASCAP/Caleb’s College Fund, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Who Wants To Buy My Publishing, ASCAP/Relative Music Group, BMI/One77 Songs, ASCAP/Highly Combustible Music, ASCAP/Kobalt Songs Music Publishing LLC, ASCAP (A.Gorley, M.Hardy, H.Phelps, J.Rodgers) 35

L

LOVE AIN’T EMI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Plain Jane Songs, BMI/Rezolant Music, BMI/Combustion Engine Music, ASCAP/Sadie’s Favorite Songs, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Smack Hits, GMR/Smack Songs LLC, GMR/Kobalt Music Group Ltd., GMR (R.Copperman, A.Gorley, S.McAnally) 30

LOVE SOMEONE Sony/ATV Countryside, BMI/Paris Not France Music, BMI/EMI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Rezolant Music, BMI/Plain Jane Songs, BMI/Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/Heather Feather Songs, BMI (B.Eldredge, R.Copperman, H.Morgan) 32

LOVE WINS Carrie-Okie Music, BMI/Universal Music - Brentwood Benson Publishing, ASCAP/D Soul Music, ASCAP/Capitol CMG Genesis, ASCAP/Songs Of Brett, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP (C.Underwood, D.A.Garcia, Brett James) 14

M

MAKE IT SWEET Carrot Seed Songs, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Smackville Music, ASCAP/Smack Songs LLC, ASCAP/Kobalt Songs Music Publishing LLC, ASCAP/Rezsongs, ASCAP/ReHits Music, Inc., ASCAP/Smacktown Music, ASCAP/Smack Blue, LLC, ASCAP/Unfair Entertainment, ASCAP/MeGusta Music, ASCAP/Tiny Handstand, ASCAP/Sharkules Music, ASCAP/We’re Really Doin’ It Publishing, ASCAP/Smack Hits, GMR/Kobalt Music Group Ltd., GMR (M.Ramsey, T. Rosen, W.Sellers, G.Sprung, B.Tursi, S.McAnally) 15

MEANT TO BE BMG Platinum Songs, BMI/Big Loud Mountain, BMI/Kiss Me If You Can Music, BMI/T Hubb Publishing, BMI/Round Hill Works, BMI/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Songs Of The Corn, BMI/Jack 10 Publishing, BMI/Universal Music - Brentwood Benson Publishing, ASCAP/D Soul Music, ASCAP/Capitol CMG Genesis, ASCAP (B.Rexha, T.Hubbard, J.Miller, D.A.Garcia) 3

MILLIONAIRE Universal Tunes, SESAC/Spur 66 Music, SESAC (K.Welch) 12

MISS ME MORE Songs Of Black River, ASCAP/KNB Music, ASCAP/3 Weddings Music, BMI/Songs Of Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc., BMI/EMI April Music, Inc., ASCAP/Bob Ochoa’s Homemade Salsa, ASCAP (K.Ballerini, D.H.Hodges, B.McLaughlin) 18

N

NEVER COMIN DOWN Songs Of Universal, Inc., BMI/MAROMA Music, BMI/Songs Of Black River, ASCAP/Whistlepig Winners, ASCAP/James Abrahart Publishing Designee, SESAC/Artist 101 Publishing Group, BMI/Songs Of Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc., BMI/BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd., PRS/You Want How Much Of What Publishing, PRS/BMG Platinum Songs, BMI/Lets Get Brunch Publishing, BMI (K.Urban, J.Kear, J.Abrahart, Shy Carter) 31

NIGHT SHIFT Maxx Music, BMI/Let The Road Pave Itself, BMI/Razor And Tie Music Publishing, BMI/Mike Curb Music, BMI/Rain Town Music, BMI (T.Brown, P.LaRue, B.Montana) 19

NOTHING TO DO TOWN Curb Songs, ASCAP/Curb Congregation Songs, SESAC/Good Vibes Publishing, BMI/Good Times Music, SESAC/Universal Music Corp., ASCAP/No Bridge Publishing, ASCAP (D.Scott, M.Alderman, C.Taylor) 45

O

ONE THAT GOT AWAY Downtown DMP Songs, BMI/Telemitry Productions, BMI/ReHits Music, Inc., ASCAP/Smacktown Music, ASCAP/Carrot Seed Songs, ASCAP/Smack Songs LLC, ASCAP/Kobalt Songs Music Publishing LLC, ASCAP/Anderson Fork In The Road Music, ASCAP/Smackville Music, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP (J.Frasure, T. Rosen, M.Ramsey, J.Osborne) 23

ON MY WAY TO YOU WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Songs Of Brett, ASCAP/Atlas Music Publishing, ASCAP/External Combustion Music, ASCAP/BMG Gold Songs, ASCAP/Heytone Music, ASCAP (Brett James, T.Lane) 20

P

PRAYED FOR YOU Pedal Down Music, ASCAP/Big Spaces Music, BMI/Tunes Of Big Deal Music, SESAC/Songs Of Porterfied Music, SESAC (M.Stell, A.Bowers, A.Veltz) 37

R

RAISED ON COUNTRY Songs Of Universal, Inc., BMI/They’ve Gone To Plaid Publishing, BMI/W.B.M. Music Corp., SESAC/Roc Nation US Music, SESAC/Songs Of Rhythm House Black, SESAC/Bennett’s Dad’s Songs, SESAC/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Georgia Song Vibez, ASCAP/Big Crowd Publishing, ASCAP (C.Young, C.R.Barlowe, C.Crowder) 50

REALLY SHOULDN’T DRINK AROUND YOU Smack Hits, GMR/Smack Songs LLC, GMR/Spirit Cataloge Holdings, S.A.R.L./Songs Of Black River, ASCAP/Rezsongs, ASCAP/ReHits Music, Inc., ASCAP/Smacktown Music, ASCAP/Smack Blue, LLC, ASCAP (S.McAnally, J.Osborne, T. Rosen) 44

REDNECKER Buzz Light Beer Music, ASCAP/Downtown DLJ Songs, ASCAP/Relative Music Group, BMI/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Freshy Music, ASCAP/We-Volve Music, ASCAP (A.Albert, M.Hardy, J.M.Schmidt) 49

RUMOR Mike Curb Music, BMI/Curb Songs, ASCAP/Jacobsong, ASCAP/Sadie’s Favorite Songs, ASCAP/Combustion Engine Music, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP (L.Brice, K.Jacobs, A.Gorley) 22

S

SHE GOT THE BEST OF ME Big Music Machine, BMI/50 Egg Music, BMI/Straight Dimes Publishing, BMI/Little Extra Songs, ASCAP/Kobalt Songs Music Publishing LLC, ASCAP/No Cats Round Here Music, ASCAP/Heart Scarred Songs, BMI/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Super LCS Publishing, BMI (L.Combs, R.Snyder, C.Wilson) 7

SIXTEEN EMI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Cricket On The Line, BMI/Sony/ATV Ballad, BMI/Eastman Pond Publishing, BMI/Big Deal Beats, BMI/Brodsky Spensive Publishing, BMI/Nice Life, BMI (Thomas Rhett, S.M.Douglas, Joe London) 8

SOME OF IT Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/Longer And Louder Music, BMI/Mammaw’s Fried Okra Music, BMI/Little Louder Songs, BMI/Songs Of Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc., BMI/New Writers Of Sea Gayle Music, BMI/Not A Track Guy Music, BMI (E.Church, J.Hyde, C.Daniels, B.Pinson) 40

SPEECHLESS Beats And Banjos, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Shay Mooney Music, BMI/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Buckeye26, ASCAP/Jreynmusic, ASCAP/Big Music Machine, BMI/Never Veltz So Good Publishing, BMI (D.Smyers, S.Mooney, J.Reynolds, L.Veltz) 5

STRONGER THAN ME Terry And Tom Music, ASCAP/Bedroll Music, ASCAP/Major Bob Music, Inc., ASCAP (R.W.Terry, M.A.Rossi) 38

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TAKE IT FROM ME Ole Red Cape Songs, ASCAP/Jordan Davis Music, ASCAP/ReHits Music, Inc., ASCAP/MeGusta Music, ASCAP/Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/Songs Of Red Bandana, BMI (J.Davis, J.Davis, J.Gantt) 9

TALK YOU OUT OF IT Relative Music Group, BMI/Songs Of Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc., BMI/Who Wants To Buy My Publishing, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Highly Combustible Music, ASCAP/One77 Songs, ASCAP/Castle Bound Music, Inc., SESAC (M.Hardy, H.Phelps, J.Rogers, A.Vanderheym) 27

TEQUILA WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Beats And Banjos, ASCAP/Buckeye26, ASCAP/Jreynmusic, ASCAP/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/A Girl Named Charlie, BMI (D.Smyers, J.Reynolds, N.Galyon) 1

THERE WAS THIS GIRL Riley Green Publishing Designee, BMI/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Peermusic III, Ltd., BMI/Tawnes Van Hawke Publishing, BMI (R.Green, Erik Dylan) 21

THIS IS IT Dagum Music, BMI/Austintatious Tunes, BMI/Spirit Two Nashville, ASCAP/Fluid Tunes, ASCAP/Smackville Music, ASCAP/Smack Songs LLC, ASCAP/Ice House Tunes, ASCAP/Kobalt Songs Music Publishing LLC, ASCAP (S.McCreery, F.Rogers, A.Eshuis) 4

THOUGHT ABOUT YOU Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/The Country And Western Music, BMI/Round Hill Works, BMI/Big Loud Proud Crowd, BMI/Big Loud Brad Music, BMI/Big Loud Brett Songs, BMI (L.T.Miller, B.Warren, B.D.Warren) 46

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WHAT HAPPENS IN A SMALL TOWN Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Indiana Angel Music, BMI/Ritten by Rhettro, BMI/Don’t Be A Gypsy, BMI/Revelry Music, BMI/Badlandsmgmt, BMI/Songs Of Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc., BMI (B.Gilbert, R.Akins, B.Berryhill, J.Dunne) 39

WHAT MAKES YOU COUNTRY Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/Peanut Mill Songs, BMI/Round Hill Compositions, BMI/Natalia’s Music Money, BMI/Combustion Engine Music, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Sadie’s Favorite Songs, ASCAP (L.Bryan, D.Davidson, A.Gorley) 11

WHISKEY GLASSES Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Mr. Buck Lucky, BMI/Bump Into Genius Music, BMI/Sony/ATV Allegro, ASCAP/Over-Thought Under-Appreciated Songs, ASCAP/Rezven Music, ASCAP/Moving Targest In The Dark, ASCAP (B.Burgess, K.Kadish) 25

WOMEN Big Loud Mountain, BMI/T Hubb Publishing, BMI/Pranch Ringle Music, BMI/Round Hill Works, BMI/Irving Music, Inc., BMI/Jason Derulo Publishing, BMI/Universal Music - Brentwood-Benson Songs, BMI/D Soul Music, ASCAP/Capitol CMG Genesis, ASCAP/Songs Of The Corn, BMI/Jack 10 Publishing, BMI/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI (T.Hubbard, B.Kelley, J.Desrouleaux, D.A.Garcia, J.Miller) 29

On Feb. 13, 2010, Lady Antebellum’s second album, Need You Now, arrived at No. 1 on Top Country Albums and the all-genre Billboard 200. Its opening-week sales sum of 481,000 (according to Nielsen Music) remains the band’s biggest frame.

Need You Now ruled Top Country A lbu ms for 31 weeks, t he second-longest-leading No. 1 by a group after Dixie Chicks’ Fly (36). Shania Twain’s

Come On Over is the overall leader (50 weeks).

Need You Now’s title track, Lady A’s tale of an alcohol-induced call to an ex at “a quarter after one,” topped Hot Countr y Songs for f ive weeks, followed by a pair of two-week leaders:

“A merican Honey” and “Ou r K ind of Love.”

So far, the trio — Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood

— has banked 13 Hot Country Songs top 10s (including six No. 1s), most recently 2017’s No. 8-peaking “You Look So Good.”

On Feb. 8, Lady Antebellum launched its f irst Las Vegas residency, at the Palms Casino Resort. After spending its entire career with Capitol Records, the group signed with BMLG Records in September 2018, with new music expected this spring. —JIM ASKER

9 Years AgoLady Antebellum Drunk-Dialed Up A No. 1In 2010, the group’s longest-leading set debuted on Top Country Albums

From left: Lady Antebellum’s Haywood, Scott and Kelley at the Academy of Country Music Awards in April 2010.

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BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE JANUARY 7, 2019 | PAGE 25 OF 25