Stella Lefty scores first Country Airplay No. 1 with 'Boston'
Stella Lefty has earned her first No. 1 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart with "Boston." The song leads the chart dated 26 September in its 22nd week, according to Billboard.
The Country Airplay chart is organised around plays on country radio stations in the United States. "Boston" drew 34.2 million in audience impressions, the estimate of how many listeners heard it, between 11 and 17 September, up 8% from the previous tracking period, according to Luminate. That is a lot of car radios.
The same song sits at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, the company's all-genre singles chart, on the chart dated 19 September. It sits behind Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas."
The No. 1 also belongs to the label. "Boston" gives Atlantic Outpost its first Country Airplay No. 1. It is the imprint's first single even to appear on the chart.
What makes this stand out is how rare that start is. Lefty is the first solo-billed woman to reach No. 1 with her first Country Airplay entry since Lainey Wilson did it with "Things a Man Oughta Know" in 2021. Her 22-week run is the fastest to the top for a debut single by a woman with no credited collaborators since Gretchen Wilson took "Redneck Woman" to No. 1 in 2004.
The climb has been steady. "Boston" entered the chart at No. 53 with 1.2 million in audience in April, according to Billboard. It reached the top 10 in July when it rose to No. 9 with 19 million in audience, up 12%, according to Billboard. By mid-September it had reached No. 3 before taking the lead.
Her album has moved alongside it. 'Is This Heaven?' debuted in the top 10 of Billboard's Top Country Albums chart in May, when "Boston" was still outside the top 30 on Country Airplay.
Elsewhere on the current Country Airplay chart, Dan + Shay rise three places to No. 9 with "Say So." The song drew 17.3 million in audience, up 18%, and gives the duo their 13th top 10 on the chart. Close behind, Zach John King's "Get to Drinkin'" reaches the top 10 with his first chart entry. It drew 17.1 million in audience, up 8%.
Lefty appears twice on the current list. Her collaboration with Vincent Mason, "Something to Lose," climbed from No. 47 to No. 45 with 1.7 million in audience, up 18%.
