Over the span of 68 years since Billboard’s debut of the Hot 100, only a handful of country singles have managed to skyrocket to the top of the chart upon their debut.
For a song to do so, essentially within just the first week of a singles release, it must accumulate more chart points than any other popular track in the United States alone. These points are calculated each week by pulling data from the songs’ sales, radio airplay, and, in more recent years, streaming to combine a “trade-secret formula” to give each single a final score.
Insanely, the first track to even do so wasn’t until September 2, 1995, when Michael Jackson’s “You Are Not Alone” spearheaded the record accomplishment. Since this feat, a whopping 93 songs across all genres have followed in Jackson’s footsteps—with Drake leading the way— and only seven country hits have been included in the lineup.
Check out the full list of country songs that have accomplished the feat in chronological order below:
Carrie Underwood – “Inside Your Heaven”
Back on July 2, 2005, Underwood lived up to America’s highly anticipated vote, crowning her as the next big star on the fourth season of Idol with her debut single “Inside Your Heaven.” Her recorded rendition, released in June 2005, immediately debuted at number one and spent one sole week on the chart.
It also garnered the young singer two Billboard awards for “Top-Selling Country Single of the Year” and “Top-Selling Hot 100 Song of the Year.” She later included the track as a bonus on her debut studio album, Some Hearts, released in November that year.
Oliver Anthony Music – “Rich Men North of Richmond”
Insanely, the next single to follow in Underwood’s footsteps didn’t come for almost another twenty years, and even more unfathomably, it was Oliver Anthony’s viral hit, “Rich Men of Richmond,” on August 26, 2023. After gaining mega-traction online, Anthony’s working-class anthem became the 69th track to debut, and made him the first artist to skyrocket to the top of the list with “no prior chart history in any form.”
Zach Bryan ft. Kacey Musgraves – “I Remember Everything”
This next single comes as a no-brainer given the mass fan appeal that a duet between Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves had at the time. Their internet-sweeping collaboration followed suit directly after Anthony’s accomplishment as the 70th Hot 100 debuter on September 9, 2023.
Post Malone ft. Morgan Wallen – “I Had Some Help”
There wasn’t a place you could go or a radio station you could turn on without hearing Post Malone and Morgan Wallen’s summer anthem, “I Had Some Help,” at least once. The earworm took over the country scene and beyond, as the lead single from Malone’s debut country album and sixth studio album, F-1 Trillion.
Not only did it jump to the top of the chart back on May 25, 2024, but it also became the second-longest running number one song of 2024, holding the lead position for six non-consecutive weeks.
Morgan Wallen – “Love Somebody”
Morgan Wallen took the cake again with his follow-up single, “Love Somebody,” marking his lead track from his forthcoming project, I’m The Problem. The song’s debut on November 2, 2024, should have been all the warning needed that this album was bound to have as much success as it has (and continues to have).
Morgan Wallen ft. Tate McRae – “What I Want”
Wallen’s first collaboration with a female artist? Bound to make history.
The Sneedville native’s duet with Canadian pop-singer Tate McRae certainly did not disappoint, as it led the leaderboards with the first week on May 31, 2025. At the time of its meteoric rise, Wallen also so happened to claim spots number two and three of the chart with his fourth studio album’s “Just In Case” and “I’m The Problem,” making him the first country music artist to monopolize all top three slots.
Taylor Swift – “I Knew It, I Knew You”
Taylor Swift’s “return” to country with her most recent Toy Story 5 single, “I Knew It, I Knew You,” rounds out the list as the most recent track to debut at number one for the week of June 20, 2026. While the song’s country roots are debatable, beyond the fact that it was inspired by the film’s cowgirl lead, Jessie, and continues to dominate country radio, it nonetheless puts her in the lead as the female artist with the most debuts.