Since 1981, two country songs occupied both of the top two spots on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart – Eddie Rabbitt’s “I Love a Rainy Night” and Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” respectively by Eddie Rabbitt and Dolly Parton respectively.
Today, that changed. Billboard, one of the world’s premier music chart publishers, introduced new rules for its genre rankings.
The history of the billboard
Billboard has for years provided country music fans with genre charts. These charts coordinate commercial activity among musicians, radio programmers, streaming services, record labels and record labels by processing, archiving and transmitting data – ultimately shaping the cultural memory of popular music. Drawing upon theories of social remembering this article examines how genre-defining charts have contributed to subcultural memory of country music by charting practices influencing it.
Long runs at number one were once common among country songs in the first half of the 20th century. However, with SoundScan and growing influence from European pop, heavy metal, and hip-hop music–this power eroded dramatically and long-running country hits became less frequent over time.
Even amid these shifts, several country artists have made history on the charts. Chris Stapleton and Luke Combs each spent record-setting weeks at No. 1. Additionally, country stars of color such as Darius Rucker from Hootie & the Blowfish scored eight No. 1 country hits as former members; Bebe Rexha topped Billboard’s Country Airplay chart for 50 weeks during 2017-18 with her single “Meant to Be”, featuring Florida Georgia Line.
Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart has become the subject of considerable discussion since 2012. Billboard decided to modify its methodology in 2012 to take into account digital sales and streams for calculation; previously it relied solely on radio plays for calculation. This move caused controversy among some Nashville-centric gatekeepers who claimed it would lessen its credibility.
At its core, Billboard’s decision to remove “Old Town Road” from the Hot Country Songs chart was an attempt at protecting its integrity in an age of streaming music consumption – an error-ridden and misguided action taken without proper consideration of changing consumption habits. Moving forward, Billboard must adapt their charts accordingly.
The first billboard
Jared Bell invented the first billboard in the 1830s to advertise his circus. It consisted of a large poster that displayed vivid pictures to draw people’s attention as they traveled by foot, horseback or carriage. P.T Barnum soon recognized the effectiveness of this advertising medium and adopted it himself to promote his show. By the 1860s, people could rent outdoor space for advertising their ads resulting in numerous forms and creatives being displayed on billboards.
Johannes Gutenberg pioneered moveable type printing in 1450, making mass production possible of printed materials. Advertising started off as simple flyers but quickly evolved into illustrated posters and eventually billboards as we know them today. Billboards proved particularly effective because they could be seen by anyone passing by while being easily removed and reused after the campaign had concluded.
Billboards were initially painted onto buildings or set on wooden posts at street level for easy viewing and reading, making it highly effective form of advertising.
Today, billboards remain an integral component of advertising industry. Billboards allow companies to reach people they might otherwise miss with their advertisements, while simultaneously increasing brand recognition. On average, an individual might see three to five billboards every day!
Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs of country music fame have joined forces this week to dominate the charts with “Last Night” by Wallen and “Fast Car” by Combs respectively, marking a historic achievement on the Hot 100 chart – marking first time country artists have held both top two positions since more than four decades! Country genre has seen an immense popularity surge among both millennial and Gen Z listeners; as evidenced by this double-header.
Billboard recently made the controversial decision to change their criteria for judging country singles, potentially diminishing the autonomy enjoyed by country music since Billboard started tracking charts. Instead of being judged based on sales and radio play, country songs will now only be judged by airplay on country radio stations, altering results on charts but likely disappointing fans of genre.
The second billboard
Country acts now hold two of the three top spots on Billboard charts, signaling its mainstream acceptance. This was evident by the success of songs like Garth Brooks’s “More Than A Memory” and Willie Nelson’s “Uptown Funk”, both landing at No.1 on Hot 100 charts since 1981.
The Hot Country Songs chart has been renamed the Hot Country Airplay chart and now incorporates data collected through radio impressions only, rather than sales and downloads. It now serves as the main flagship chart for country music, replacing Hot C&W Sides and Juke Box charts as the main indicator. Each chart now displays song names and artists alongside weekly number ones and total chart detections.
In the early 1990s, several artists started dominating the charts, led by Reba McEntire who would enjoy four consecutive decades with number-one hits – making her one of the highest charting female country artists of all time at this point. Their success contributed to the birth of bro-country, a subgenre of country music which incorporates elements of hip hop while focusing on partying and drinking lyrics; its growing popularity soon led to it being known as Nashville Sound on charts across America.
By the late 2000s, the chart had become compromised with over-saturation and inaccurate data. Billboard magazine began questioning whether it was possible to judge R&B or country songs based solely on overall popularity or radio airplay rather than genre-specific attributes; for instance, popular soul song “Uptown Funk” made it onto their Hot 100 chart despite lacking R&B/country characteristics.
By this time, country music had reached its pinnacle of popularity. It provided entertainment and was an avenue through which women could express their emotions – especially during times when life seemed daunting or painful for many women. Many found comfort listening to this genre which provided hope in difficult circumstances.
The third billboard
Music charts no longer rely on traditional sales and radio airplay data alone to rank songs; Billboard offers several genre-specific charts which combine multiple metrics. For instance, Billboard’s Top Country Songs chart incorporates mainstream top 40 radio audience impressions with single sales data while Hot Country Airplay compiles multi-metric consumption (traditional album sales, track equivalent albums and streaming equivalent albums) of popular country releases into one chart.
Genre terms have been dropped from chart titles, leaving simply Hot Country Songs, Top Country Albums and Hot Country Digital Songs as possible titles for each chart. George Strait surpasses Conway Twitty with 41 country number one singles; Waylon Jennings became an early pioneer of outlaw country subgenre. Hank Snow spent 21 weeks at number one of juke box chart with “In the Jailhouse Now”, setting an all-time record.
Country music is enjoying its best year since 2006 on the Hot 100 chart, propelled by young talent backed by streaming giants. Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs are two artists to have two songs reach the top five since 1981; furthermore, digital consumption among millennials is driving an unprecedented surge of digital country music consumption.
Lil Nas X’s song Old Town Road caused much discussion when it was removed from a country music chart without explanation, sparking debate on what defines country music and who gets to decide whether a particular tune qualifies as such.
The Country Airplay chart has been rebranded the Hot Country Songs chart to reflect its move away from radio airplay to include metrics like streaming, album sales and single sales. Florida Georgia Line set a new record for longest country number one with Cruise, helped in no small part by bro-country’s rising popularity – an emerging subgenre which incorporates elements from hip hop music with lyrics about partying and drinking.