Kenny Chesney earns 34th Country Airplay No. 1 with Carry On
Kenny Chesney has another No. 1 at country radio. "Carry On" tops Billboard's Country Airplay chart dated Oct. 10, giving him a record-extending 34th leader on the list, which ranks songs by plays on country stations in the United States.
The single earned 30.4 million audience impressions in the Sept. 25-Oct. 1 tracking week, up 3%, according to Luminate, the data provider behind Billboard's charts. Audience impressions estimate how many people heard a song on radio, based on plays and station listenership. Billboard reported the figure when it confirmed the new chart-topper.
It was a slow climb. "Carry On" reached No. 1 in its 21st chart week. It debuted in May as Chesney's 100th career entry on Country Airplay, opening at No. 20 with 9.9 million impressions. That opening tied his sixth-highest debut on the chart.
In July, the song delivered his 62nd top 10, moving him past Tim McGraw and George Strait for the most top 10s in the chart's history. On the No. 1 tally, Blake Shelton ranks second with 30, four behind Chesney's 34.
"Carry On" is the lead single from Silver Sands Marina, Chesney's 21st studio album, released Sept. 25. It was written by Jessi Alexander, Matt Jenkins and Chase McGill and produced by Chesney with his long-time collaborator Buddy Cannon.
The song is also a business first. It is Chesney's first single on Warner/Hey Now Records, and the first Country Airplay No. 1 for Hey Now Records. Hey Now launched in March with Chesney as its flagship artist.
For context, Strait still leads a separate count. He holds 44 No. 1s on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, which combines radio airplay with streaming and sales, while Country Airplay measures radio alone.
Chesney is already on to the next single. "Remember Me That Way," the second radio single from Silver Sands Marina, went to country radio on Sept. 24 and drew 2.4 million in audience reach in its first full tracking week. It became his 101st Country Airplay entry, giving him the most entries in the chart's history on his own, ahead of Strait, on the Oct. 3 chart. The track was co-written by Zach Abend, HARDY and Shane McAnally and produced by Chesney and Cannon.
What makes this stand out is the timing. A new label, an album-release week and an extended chart record arrived together. For listeners, this means the Silver Sands Marina era begins with radio already in step.
