weekly December 11, 2023, Issue 888
Big Loud,Wallen, Zimmerman Top ’23
To the surprise of exactly no one who listened to any radio at all this year, Morgan Wallen is 2023’s top airplay artist. His six top 15 singles, three No. 1s, six weeks at the chart pinnacle and three of the top 10 songs of the year powered Big Loud to the Label of the Year crown. A deeper look at the airplay totals, however, reveals a less obvious but no less momentous story. The No. 1 song of 2023 – Bailey Zimmerman’s “Rock And A Hard Place” – begins to tell the tale. Only his second single to date, that song joined “Religiously” (No. 35) and “Fall In Love” (No. 47) in putting Zimmerman at No. 4 on the top airplay performers list. Above him at No. Morgan Wallen 3, Lainey Wilson. Her “Heart Like A Truck” (No. 9), “Watermelon Moonshine” (No. 39) and Hardy collab “Wait In The Truck” (No. 23) put her in the top 10 performers for the first time. In fact, Zimmerman and Wilson are joined by Jordan Davis, Tyler Hubbard and Jelly Roll in breaking into the top 10. Beyond the five artists making their top 10 debut, Wallen only cracked the top 10 for the first time in 2020, while Kane Brown (2018) and Luke Combs (2017) are also relatively new airplay stalwarts. Bailey Zimmerman For 2023, it’s only Thomas Rhett and Jason Aldean checking in as long-tenured radio staples. (continued on page 6)
RADIOTHON ROUNDUP Country radio showed its power this past week, as dozens of stations aired their annual radiothons, the vast majority benefitting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Across the 52 stations for which Country Aircheck collected results, more than $14 million was raised. Radiothons are demanding, require long hours and can be emotionally draining, but the list (pg. 5) is proof positive that all the effort is worth it. Country Aircheck salutes all those involved.
Plate In The Truck: Country Aircheck staffers present a cake to the Big Loud team to commemorate their Label of the Year win. Pictured (front, l-r) are the label’s Eliza Charette, Austen Adams, Seth England, Ali Matkosky, Stacy Blythe, Kelley Bradshaw and Aubrey Wilson, and CA’s Phyllis Stark; (back, l-r) CA’s Chuck Aly, the label’s Tyler Waugh, Patch Culbertson, Paul Logan, Kimberly Gleason, Sarah Headley, Jeff Tanner and Sara Knabe and CA’s Lon Helton.
How Brenda Lee Rocked To The Top
All Cindy Mabe wanted for Christmas was for Brenda Lee to beat out Mariah Carey ... and Santa delivered early. Lee’s holiday staple “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” has topped the Billboard Hot 100 for the last two weeks, 65 years after its release – finally exceeding Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” And it was all part of a plan the UMG/Nashville Chair/ CEO set in motion a year ago. [Ed. Note: Today (12/11) is also Cindy Mabe Brenda Lee Lee’s birthday!]
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