Nate Smith Sets the ‘World on Fire’ With Second-Longest Reign Atop Country Airplay

Nate Smith’s “World on Fire” tops Billboard’s Country Airplay chart for an eighth total and consecutive week. It leads the list dated Feb. 10 with 32.1 million audience impressions Jan. 26-Feb. 1, according to Luminate.

The song — released on Arista Nashville/RCA Nashville, and which Smith co-wrote with Ashley Gorley, Taylor Phillips and Lindsay Rimes, the lattermost of whom solely produced it — ties three titles for the second-longest rule since Country Airplay began in January 1990: Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” (beginning in May 2023), Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett’s “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” (August 2003) and Lonestar’s “Amazed” (July 1999).

Wallen’s “You Proof” dominated Country Airplay for a record 10 weeks, starting in October 2022.

“Eight weeks at No 1 … the crazy thing about this song is that it wasn’t even supposed to come out,” Smith tells Billboard. “It was starting to gain a lot of traction on social media and the demand was high. I’m so lucky to have a team that knew how to strategically release it alongside my debut album by releasing the deluxe version the same day [April 28, 2023] that the debut dropped. This song completely anchored the album.

“My mind is absolutely blown hearing the news that ‘World on Fire’ has gone No. 1 for an eighth straight week,” Smith marvels. “Thank you to the fans and thank you, country radio.”

“Fire” is the second straight career-opening Country Airplay leader for Smith. The Paradise, Calif., native first led with “Whiskey on You” for two weeks last February. Both are on the deluxe edition of his debut self-titled LP. The set arrived at its No. 6 high on Top Country Albums last May.

What has kept “Fire” aflame on the radio? Says Tom Oakes, program director at Summit Media-owned KTTS Springfield, Mo., the hit is “a rare song – for KTTS, it has been testing at a power level since last summer and continues to. Like Luke Combs’ ‘Fast Car,’ it’s a song that listeners love and haven’t gotten tired of.”

Oakes added that “While it’s a record company’s mission to achieve No. 1s, my mission is finding the true hits which will become future gold library songs. This song, like ‘Fast Car,’ fits the criteria.”

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Written by Mr. Nimbus