Cole Swindell‘s “She Had Me at Heads Carolina” ascends to No. 1 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart dated (Sept. 17), up 10% to 28.9 million audience impressions, according to Luminate.
Swindell co-wrote the song – which tips its hat to Jo Dee Messina’s No. 2-peaking 1996 debut hit “Heads Carolina, Tails California” – with Jesse Frasure, Ashley Gorley and Thomas Rhett, with additional credit belonging to Tim Nichols and Mark D. Sanders, who penned Messina’s song.
“I knew when we started writing this song, if we got it right, it could do big things,” Swindell tells Billboard. “[I] never could have imagined this, though. Watching the fans react to this one has motivated me even more to keep raising the bar and challenging myself. This is one of the most fun songs I have ever been a part of, hands down.”
Swindell notches his eighth Country Airplay No. 1 and fourth in succession. It follows his duet with Lainey Wilson, “Never Say Never,” which led for two weeks starting April 30. His “Single Saturday Night” reigned for two weeks beginning in July 2021 and “Love You Too Late” led for a week in November 2019.
Swindell previously topped Country Airplay with “Middle of a Memory” (one week, November 2016); “You Should Be Here” (three, April 2016); “Ain’t Worth the Whiskey” (one, April 2015); and “Hope You Get Lonely Tonight” (one, October 2014). The Bronwood, Ga., native notched his first of 12 top 10s with his No. 2-peaking debut hit “Chillin’ It” in 2014.
Plus, as “Carolina” reaches the Country Airplay summit in its 14th week on the chart, Swindell completes fastest flight to No. 1, besting the climb of “You Should Be Here” by a week.
(Names in those tunes: “Carolina” is the first Country Airplay No. 1 to reference a prior hit in its title since Jake Owen’s “I Was Jack [You Were Diane],” which led in August 2018. That song is an ode to John Mellencamp’s 1982 classic “Jack & Diane.”)
‘Saturday Night’ Is Alright
Jon Pardi posts his fourth top five entry on the Top Country Albums chart as Mr. Saturday Night opens at No. 5. Released Sept. 2, the set earned 16,000 equivalent album units in its first frame. Pardi co-produced the set with Bart Butler and Ryan Gore.
The LP’s first single, “Last Night Lonely,” led the Sept. 3-dated Country Airplay chart, becoming Pardi’s fifth No. 1.
Mr. Saturday Night follows Pardi’s Heartache Medication, which began at its No. 2 peak in October 2019. Before that, California Sunrise became his first No. 1 upon its July 2016 launch and his debut LP, Write You a Song, started at its No. 3 best in February 2014.
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