
Each week we take a look the Billboard Country Airplay chart and grade the top 30 songs. The grading format I use each week is every song will receive one of the following scores: +5, +4, +3, +2, +1, 0, -1, -2, -3, -4, -5. These will then be tallied up for an overall score, or pulse of the current top thirty country songs, with the highest possible score being a +150 and the lowest possible score being a -150. How do I determine the score for the song? The review grade it received on the site or myself will determine this. If it hasn’t been reviewed yet, then I will make the call. The grade it has received or I would give it determines its Pulse score. The grading key: 10 [+5], 9 [+4], 8 [+3], 7 [+2], 6 [+1], 5 [0], 4 [-1], 3 [-2], 2 [-3], 1 [-4], 0 [-5].
The goal of this exercise is to evaluate the current state of mainstream country music and determine if it’s improving or getting worse. Let’s take a look at this week’s top thirty…
- Dustin Lynch – “Seein’ Red” -5 (Up 2)
- Little Big Town – “Better Man” +2 (Up 2)
- Chris Young (feat. Vince Gill) – “Sober Saturday Night” +1 (Up 2)
- Thomas Rhett – “Star of the Show” -3 (Down 3)
- Blake Shelton – “A Guy With A Girl” -1 (Down 3)
- Brad Paisley – “Today” +2 (Up 1)
- Michael Ray – “Douchey Pickup Song” -5 (Up 1)
- Jon Pardi – “Dirt on My Boots” +1 (Up 1)
- Eric Church (feat. Rhiannon Giddens) – “Kill A Word” +4 (Up 1) [Best Song]
- Luke Bryan – “Fast” -1 (Up 1)
- Lauren Alaina – “Road Less Traveled” -2 (Up 2)
- Jason Aldean – “Any Ol’ Barstool” 0 (Up 2)
- Brantley Gilbert – “The Weekend” -5 (Up 2)
- Kelsea Ballerini – “Yeah Boy” -5 (Up 2)
- Garth Brooks – “Baby, Let’s Lay Down and Dance” 0 (Up 2)
- Josh Turner – “Hometown Girl” 0 (Up 2)
- Kenny Chesney – “Bar at the End of the World” -3 (Up 2)
- High Valley – “Make You Mine” -2 (Up 2)
- Dierks Bentley – “Black” -2 (Up 4)
- Trent Harmon – “There’s A Girl” +1 (Up 4)
- Sam Hunt – “Body Like a Back Road” -5 [Worst Song]
- Chris Janson – “Holdin’ Her” +4
- Dan + Shay – “How Not To” +1 (Up 6)
- Luke Combs – “Hurricane” -1 (New to Top 30)
- Darius Rucker – “If I Told You” 0
- Craig Campbell – “Outskirts of Heaven” +3 (Up 1)
- Rascal Flatts – “Yours If You Want It” -2 (Up 3)
- Miranda Lambert – “We Should Be Friends” +2
- Lady Antebellum – “You Look Good” -4 (Re-Enters Top 30)
- Runaway June – “Lipstick” +3 (Re-Enters Top 30)
The Current Pulse of Mainstream Country Radio: -26
The pulse drops one spot this week.
Songs That Dropped Out of the Top 30 This Week:
- Granger Dibbles Jr. – “If The Boot Fits” -4 (Finally!)
- Maren Morris – “80s Mercedes” -1
- Zac Brown Band – “My Old Man” +4
Songs That Entered The Top 30 This Week:
- Luke Combs – “Hurricane”
- In case you didn’t know this is the newest On The Verge song. Not a bad pick considering this was selling well and doing good YouTube numbers before even being picked. With On The Verge, I won’t be surprised if this goes all the way to #1.
- Lady Antebellum – “You Look Good”
- Runaway June – “Lipstick”
- Their label appears to be sticking behind this song, which is good to see. However it’s at 37 weeks and I think the best the label can do at this point is try to get this into the top 25 because I don’t see it going beyond this. It’s not selling well and radio isn’t keen on it.
Biggest Gainers This Week:
- Luke Combs – “Hurricane” – Up 8 from #32 to #26
- Dan + Shay – “How Not To” – Up 6 from #29 to #23 (Huh. Thought this one was being dropped?)
- Dierks Bentley – “Black” – Up 4 from #23 to #19
- Trent Harmon – “There’s A Girl” – Up 4 from #24 to #20
Biggest Losers This Week:
- Granger Dibbles Jr. – “If The Boot Fits” – Out of the Top 30 & Done
- Maren Morris – “80s Mercedes” – Out of the Top 30 & Done
- Zac Brown Band – “My Old Man” – Out of the Top 30 (#35)
Songs I See Going Recurrent & Leaving The Top 30 Soon:
- Chris Janson – “Holdin’ Her” (I think the label is going to try for top 20 and drop support. But this is Warner and well see below…)
- High Valley – “Make You Mine” (51 weeks! Let it gooooo)
- Craig Campbell – “Outskirts of Heaven” (44 weeks)
On The Hot Seat:
- Darius Rucker – “If I Told You” (Sales aren’t bad, but this single is already 30 weeks old. With lots of new singles on the rise, this one needs to show more signs of life if it hopes to stick around)
Next Four Songs I See Entering Top 30:
- Brett Young – “In Case You Didn’t Know”
- Cole Swindell – “Flatliner”
- Keith Urban (feat. Carrie Underwood) – “The Fighter”
- Zac Brown Band – “My Old Man”
As always be sure to weigh-in with your thoughts in the comments below.