With Luke Combs’ ‘Fast Car’ Cruising Up Behind Morgan Wallen, Country Owns Nos. 1-2 Spots on Hot 100 for First Time Since 1981
In case anyone is tempted to think of country music as a one-man phenomenon at present with Morgan Wallen’s seemingly indomitable runs atop multiple charts, Luke Combs has come along to remind everyone that this town is big enough for the both of ’em. They’re now forming a two-man roadblock at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, as, between them, country owns the top two spots on that all-genre charts for the first time in 42 years.
Wallen’s smash “Last Night” remains on top of the Hot 100 — no news there, since this is the song’s 14th week at No. 1. But it is a fresh development to have Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” cruising close up behind it, moving up one spot to No. 2. It’s the first time the genre has claimed Nos. 1-2 on Billboard’s primary chart since March 1981, when Eddie Rabbitt’s “I Love a Rainy Night” and Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” managed the same crossover-success feat.
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There is a wholly fresh record accomplishment to be found in these songs’ mutual success, even if there was an early ’80s precedent for the Hot 100 one-two punch. Wallen and Combs are also at Nos. 1-2, respectively, on Billboard’s streaming songs chart. Since there was obviously no streaming chart back in 1981, it may not come as a surprise that this week marks the first time ever that country has had a lock on those particular top two positions.
Radio is helping drive (if you will) the ascension of “Fast Car.” Billboard reports that airplay for Combs’ cover was up 21% for the week, versus more modest gains in streaming and downloads, where the tune was already close to as big as it could be. Radio impressions for the track moved up to 51.3 million for the week; it accumulated 21.2 million streams.
Could Combs overtake Wallen to land at No. 1? Possibly, although that could take a while, since it wasn’t close to a photo finish this week. “Last Night” still has its foot on the accelerator, too, and landed 72.2 million radio impressions and 29.8 million streams.
Over on the Billboard 200 album chart, Wallen is also fending off all challengers, as “One Thing at a Time” is at No. 1 for a 14th non-consecutive week. No album has stood on top of that chart for more weeks since Adele spent 24 weeks on top more than a decade ago, in 2011-12.
Three albums debuted in the top 10 this week: Ateez at No. 2 with “The World EP.2: Outlaw,” Gunna at No. 3 with “A Gift & A Curse” and Queens of the Stone Age at No. 9 with “In Times New Roman…”
As is typical with K-pop artists, the strong Ateez results were based in fans’ enthusiasm to buy the album in different collectible CD editions, rather that stream it. In fact, of the 101,000 copies sold, 97.5% of those were in the CD format, with the small remainder coming as digital downloads.
Rounding out the top 10 albums are Taylor Swift’s “Midnights,” SZA, Wallen’s previous album, Metro Boomin’s “Spider-Verse” album, Lil Durk and Swift’s 2019 “Lover.”
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