For the first time since the Billboard Hot 100 launched in 1958, the top five is entirely country songs.
On the chart dated Aug. 8, Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” holds No. 1 for a record-breaking 16th week. Morgan Wallen’s “Been by Now” debuts at No. 2, Taylor Swift’s “I Knew It, I Knew You” sits at No. 3, Langley and Wallen’s duet “I Can’t Love You Anymore” is No. 4, and newcomer Stella Lefty’s “Boston” rounds out the top 5.
The Hot 100 combines U.S. streaming (official audio and video), radio airplay, and sales of physical singles and digital tracks. This milestone reflects country music’s strongest popular period since the early 1990s, when artists such as Garth Brooks, Clint Black, and Alan Jackson dominated. Unlike then, today’s hits benefit from streaming and often bridge pop and country audiences.
Country came close before.
On the Sept. 9, 2023 chart, the genre held the top four: Zach Bryan featuring Kacey Musgraves’ “I Remember Everything” at No. 1, Luke Combs’ “Fast Car” at No. 2, Wallen’s “Last Night” at No. 3, and Oliver Anthony Music’s “Rich Men North of Richmond” at No. 4.
Several factors drove the current dominance. Country streaming has surged among younger, streaming-savvy listeners. Luminate’s 2026 half-year report shows Wallen’s I’m the Problem and Langley’s Dandelion leading all genres in streaming album equivalent units.
“Choosin’ Texas” was the most-streamed song across genres in the first half of 2026 with 570.9 million streams (including user-generated content); Langley’s “Be Her” ranked fourth with 289.1 million. Ella Langley has risen rapidly. She had not yet appeared on the Hot 100 a little over two years ago. In the past 25 months she has placed six songs in the top 30, including three in the top 5. “Choosin’ Texas” rules the chart, “Be Her” reached No. 2, and “I Can’t Love You Anymore” peaked at No. 4.
Morgan Wallen has been the most consistent force across pop and country charts. More than 18 months after I’m the Problem’s release, “Been by Now” enters the Hot 100 at No. 2 while “Don’t We” tops the Country Airplay chart—his 21st No. 1 there and the album’s seventh without a deluxe edition, a first for any Billboard airplay chart. His earlier collaboration with Post Malone, “I Had Some Help,” spent six weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 2024.Taylor Swift’s “I Knew It, I Knew You,” written with Jack Antonoff, is positioned as a return to her country roots 20 years after her debut. The largely acoustic track features banjo, mandolin, and harmonica and is sung from the perspective of the cowgirl character Jessie in Toy Story 5. MCA promoted it to country radio, where it peaked at No. 7 on Country Airplay.
Women are also gaining ground after years of limited country radio airplay. Alongside Lainey Wilson, Langley, and Megan Moroney (whose Cloud 9 debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 earlier this year), Stella Lefty has broken through with “Boston”—her first Hot 100 entry and a top-five hit—and “Something to Lose,” featuring her boyfriend Vincent Mason.