I can’t wait to bring you this countdown of the greatest Country music hits as we celebrate the Country to Country festival on Radio 2.
— Scott Mills
In The UK's Official Country Countdown - available now on BBC Sounds and on Radio 2 on Sunday 10 March (Midnight-2am) - Scott Mills counts down the Top 30 most streamed Country songs of all time in a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company – compilers of the UK Official Chart and weekly Official Country Chart using audio and video streaming data from all major streaming services. A BBC Audio production.
The chart was created to celebrate Radio 2’s official broadcast partnership with C2C: Country to Country music festival which is from 8-10 March. For the first time, Radio 2 programming will be broadcast from three venues - The 02 in London with Bob Harris and Alana Springsteen, Glasgow OVO Hydro with Edith Bowman and SSE Arena Belfast with Connor Phillips (from 3-6pm on Saturday 9 March and 8-10pm on Sunday 10 March).
Bebe Rexha’s Meant to Be was a Top 20 hit in the UK in 2018, peaking at Number 11 it spent 12 weeks inside the Official Chart Top 40, and it holds the record of being at the top of the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for 35 weeks. The legendary 9 To 5 is Dolly Parton’s most-streamed song, but it actually didn’t make the Top 40 when it was originally released in 1980 (Jolene was in fact Dolly’s only solo UK Top 40 hit), and it is one of the UK’s best-selling singles of all time to never have charted in the Official Singles Top 40. Kenny Rogers had three Top 3 hits in the UK (Lucille, Coward Of The County, Ruby Don’t Take Your Love To Town) and, like Dolly, his most-streamed track – The Gambler - is one that also missed the UK charts when originally released. It belatedly charted in 2007 after the England rugby team adopted it and it has remained popular with sports fans ever since. Taylor Swift - who was supported by Radio 2 in her early country days by Bob Harris' Country Show and performed for Radio 2 In Concert at Abbey Road Studios in May 2011 - is at Number 4 with her debut UK hit Love Story, which won Song of the Year at the Country Awards in 2009.
Scott Mills says: “I can’t wait to bring you this countdown of the greatest Country music hits as we celebrate the Country to Country festival on Radio 2."
Bob Harris says: “This chart features some of my favourite tracks of all-time – the classics we love so much plus the brilliant collaborations with pop’s biggest stars. This April marks 25 years that I’ll have been presenting The Country Show on Radio 2 and I’m so excited to see the music I love on the crest of a new wave right now with so many major mainstream artists creating songs that celebrate the genre, alongside the Country icons and wonderful new artists whose music continues to inspire and enrich our lives.”
Jeff Smith, Radio 2’s Head of Music, says, “It’s so fantastic to see the most-streamed songs in this chart flying the flag for Country music, representing the biggest names from across the decades and including collaborations with major popstars such as Justin Bieber and P!nk. Country music is really at a tipping point right now with so many mainstream artists such as Beyoncé and Lana Del Rey embracing the genre with their new releases. Looking at this chart it’s easy to see how artists continue to be inspired by the genre - one which is so close to our hearts here at Radio 2 as we head into our coverage of C2C: Country to Country festival this weekend, as the event’s official broadcast partner.”
Martin Talbot of The Official Charts Company says: “Our latest Official Chart of the most streamed country songs of all time is a joyous reminder that country music is alive and well, reflecting as it does hits from contemporary stars such as Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Luke Combs and Bebe Rexha, alongside all-time icons of the genre including Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and John Denver. Of course, the chart is also unveiled just as Beyoncé is ruling over the current Official Singles Chart. We have no doubt that her single Texas Hold ‘Em, which has reaffirmed that *any* artist can record country, will feature on future updates on this all-time chart.”
Top 10 songs from The UK's Official Country Countdown (with year of initial UK release)
Meant to Be - Bebe Rexha ft. Florida Georgia Line (2018)
9 to 5 - Dolly Parton (1981)
Take Me Home, Country Roads - John Denver (1971)
Love Story - Taylor Swift (2009)
Islands in the Stream - Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers (1983)
The Gambler - Kenny Rogers (1978)
Need You Now - Lady A (2010)
Say Something - Justin Timberlake ft. Chris Stapleton (2018)
Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood (2006)
Tennessee Whiskey - Chris Stapleton (2015)
Please note, to compile the chart the Official Charts Company counted the streams of country songs, and artists can only appear once as solo acts in the list, but can feature a second time for a duet/featured artist track such as Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton who both feature individually as solo artists and also as a duo for Islands In The Stream.
