Nate Smith rolls up his third consecutive career-opening top 10 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart as “Bulletproof” pushes to No. 10 on the survey dated June 8. During the May 24-30 tracking week, the single increased by 7% to 18.6 million audience impressions, according to Luminate.
The song, which Ashley Gorley, Ben Johnson and Hunter Phelps wrote, is the lead single from the 38-year-old Smith’s seven-song set Through the Smoke, which opened at its No. 34 high on Top Country Albums in April.
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Smith, from Paradise, Calif., crowned Country Airplay for 10 weeks starting in December with “World on Fire” – tying Morgan Wallen’s “You Proof” in 2022for the longest reign in the chart’s history, which dates to 1990. His rookie entry “Whiskey on You” led for two weeks in February 2023.
Smith won for best new male vocalist at the 59th Academy of Country Music Awards in Frisco, Texas, on May 16 and performed “Bulletproof” with Avril Lavigne at the festivities.
‘Ends’ Continues
Bailey Zimmerman tops Country Airplay second week with “Where It Ends,” which gained by 1% to 33.6 million in reach.
The 24-year-old from Louisville, Ill., adds his second multi-week dominator among his four consecutive career-opening Country Airplay No. 1s, joining “Rock and a Hard Place,” which led for six frames beginning in April 2023.
Zimmerman’s debut hit “Fall in Love” commanded Country Airplay for a week in December 2022, while his third No. 1, “Religiously,” notched a week on top in September 2023.
Of the 12 songs that have hit No. 1 on Country Airplay in 2024, “Where It Ends” is just the second to rule for multiple weeks, joining Sam Hunt’s three-week leader “Outskirts” beginning in April. In contrast, 12 of the chart’s 19 No. 1s in 2023 each led for more than one frame.
