Today the Official Charts could confirm that 2024 is the year of a renaissance for country music in the UK, with the genre experiencing a 67% surge year-on-year so far.
New research from the Official Charts Company has revealed that total and streaming equivalent sales of country singles in the UK so far in 2024 have already reached 11.5 million, significantly up on the 6.9 million sold in the same period (21 weeks) in 2023.
Two weeks ago, Post Malone and US country singer Morgan Wallen's collaboration “I Had Some Help” debuted at number two on the Official Singles Chart. The first single from Post Malone's new country-inspired album, “I Had Some Help,” also notably became the first UK top 10 single for bona fide American country superstar Morgan Wallen, whose single “Last Night” became the biggest hit of 2023 on the Billboard Hot 100. “I Had Some Help” is not alone, but is part of a hat-trick of country songs currently in the UK top 10.
With several TikTok-fueled hits like Shaboozey's “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” (peaked at #3) and Dasha's “Austin” (peaked at #7), and of course Beyoncé's chart-topping eighth studio album, COWBOY CARTER, the country genre's streaming numbers are even more impressive and opening the door for new artists to make a name for themselves on a global scale.
“A lot of the people I listen to are giving me flowers,” Shabousi, who calls himself the creator of “music for the modern cowboy” and had his first top 10 hit this year, told Official Charts. “Vincent Neil Emerson, Leon Bridges, all of those guys who've been here a while, from Texas. Sierra Ferrell, too.”
“They've been going for years, but finally the world is taking notice. They're part of the vanguard of a new revival in Western music.”
So far in 2024, country songs have recorded 1.3 billion streams in the UK, which is a 63% increase on the 800.1 million recorded in the same period in 2023.
Zeitgeisty singles aren't the only ones benefiting from country music's newfound popularity in the UK: country albums have also increased by 29% so far this year, with sales forecast to grow from a YTD total of 846,000 in 2023 to 1.1 million in 2024, a figure that is set to grow further in the coming weeks and months.
Beyoncé's turn to country with Cowboy Carter this year proved to be no attention-grabbing fluke. The first country album by a black artist to hit number one in the UK, Beyoncé's country exploration was a thoughtful experiment in questioning country music's relationship to race. It distinguished her from black country musicians whose contributions to the genre have been largely forgotten (including Linda Martel, who appears on several tracks on the album), while also highlighting exciting new black musicians like Shaboozie (whose rise to fame was largely helped by the spotlight brought by her featuring on Beyoncé) and Tanner Adele who are carving out their own space in the genre.
To date, COWBOY CARTER's lead single, “TEXAS HOLD 'EM,” is the biggest country song in the UK and the fourth biggest song overall across all genres in 2024. According to data from the Official Charts Company, “TEXAS HOLD 'EM” has garnered 655,000 UK chart units to date, including 71 million streams.
Earlier this year, “Texas Hold'em” debuted at number one on the Official Singles Chart. It was Beyoncé's sixth UK chart number one and, having stayed at number one for five consecutive weeks, it is also her longest-running number one single.
But the story doesn't end here.
Country music enters UK top 10
According to data from the Official Charts Company, only five country songs have made it into the Top 40 of the Official Singles Chart throughout 2023. Zac Bryan and Kacey Musgraves' moving duet “I Remember Everything” (a No. 1 hit for the duo in the US) was its highest charting hit, reaching No. 19, becoming the first Top 20 single in the UK for both artists.
But since the start of 2024, country music's influence on the official charts has grown exponentially. May isn't even close to over, but the number of country songs that have made it into the Top 40 of the official singles chart has already surpassed the entirety of 2023. A total of seven singles have reached the Top 40, all of which have made the Top 20 or higher. This year, a country song has reached No. 1, and five more have charted in the Top 10.
Beyoncé leads the way with her chart-topper “TEXAS HOLD 'EM,” and two other tracks are added: “JOLENE” (8), a reworking of Dolly Parton's cover from Cowboy Carter, and “II MOST WANTED” (9), a duet with Miley Cyrus.
Hits from Post Malone & Morgan Wallen, Shaboozy and Dasha are still going strong in this week's Top 10, while Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves' hit has risen further this year, with “I Remember Everything” reaching a new high of No. 14.
In addition to Post Malone's anticipated new country-focused album, Lana Del Rey has also been rumored to be releasing a country album in September titled “Lasso.” Zayn, whose solo work to date has fallen into the pop and R&B camp, only recently released his own country album, “Room Under The Stairs.”
For a long time, country music was a relatively difficult genre to break into in the UK. Country music icon Dolly Parton has incredibly never had a number one single in the UK, and one of her biggest hits, “9 to 5”, never made it into the UK Top 40. Similarly, Shania Twain has never reached number one on the Official UK Singles Chart, but her 1998 crossover album Come On Over became the first female country artist to reach number one on the Official UK Albums Chart and became one of the best-selling albums in UK history.
Commenting on this new trend, Martin Talbot, CEO of Official Charts said:
“Country music's explosion in popularity in the UK this year reflects a growing interest in guitar and storytelling music in recent years, across country, Americana, folk and roots. Beyoncé is undoubtedly the queen of country this year (topping the Official Singles and Albums charts with 'Texas Hold 'Em' and 'Cowboy Carter' earlier this year), but she's only the tip of the iceberg, as her latest releases featuring artists including Dasha, Shaboozie, Post Malone, Morgan Wallen and many more show.
“Lana Del Rey is due to release a country album later this year, and more broadly, artists like Noah Kahan, Benson Boone, Teddy Swims and Michael Malkaj have all contributed drums and guitar to recent Top 10 Official Singles Chart hits. After a period dominated by beat-driven pop music in recent years, instrument-driven repertoire may be making a comeback.”
Speaking exclusively to Official Charts, Dasha said that country music will enter a “new era” in 2024, and that the genre's success reflects its state of affairs, “bringing an authenticity to pop music that's been missing for a while.”