Billy Currington via CMT
Update: Lee Brice is absolutely in the mix for #1 on Mediabase’s published chart. Fueled by a dominant performance on Thursday, Brice’s “I Don’t Dance” now claims more spins than Billy Currington’s “We Are Tonight” for the trailing seven day period.
Despite trailing by four spins, the Currington song claims more “chart points” and is thus still #1 on Mediabase’s rolling country radio chart. But if “Dance” outperforms “Tonight” on both Friday and Saturday, it could jump into the #1 spot by the time the Mediabase chart goes final.
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When it comes to the weekly, published edition of Mediabase’s country radio chart, one thing appears virtually certain: Joe Nichols’ “Yeah” will not repeat at #1.
Focus now turns to identifying which song will claim the top spot on the official chart, which will be rendered Sunday evening based on airplay from July 27 to August 2.
As of press time, the frontrunner is Billy Currington’s “We Are Tonight,” which moved into #1 on Thursday’s rolling chart. Its spin count of 7,439 during the seven days ending July 30 actually trails the 7,464 earned by “Yeah,” but it ultimately scored more Mediabase “points.”
Its audience of 54.83 million impressions was also the country format’s largest.
Because it is gaining airplay at a time when Nichols’ “Yeah” is losing it, it should have no problem keeping that song from reclaiming the number one spot in time for Sunday’s published edition of the chart.
It theoretically could, however, deal with competition from Lee Brice’s “I Don’t Dance.”
That song, which is currently #3 on the rolling chart but poised to quickly leapfrog the Joe Nichols tune, is separated from “We Are Tonight” by less than 100 weekly spins. With a proper push on Friday and Saturday, it would be able to make up that ground.
Trending, however, downplays that possibility.
“We Are Tonight” enjoyed a week-over-week spin gain of 641 during the measured July 24-30 period; “I Don’t Dance” advanced by only 417 spins. Since the Currington song is rising at a faster rate, its advantage is on track to actually increase by the time Mediabase’s weekly chart goes to print.
Other songs currently in the Top 5 include Dierks Bentley’s #4 “Drunk on a Plane,” which appears locked for an ascent to the top spot in the coming weeks, and Brad Paisley’s #5 “River Bank.”