Morgan Wallen’s “Just in Case” dominates Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated Aug. 2) for a fourth week. It drew 30.4 million impressions (down 8%) July 18-24, according to Luminate.
The song, which marks the seventh of Wallen’s 18 career No. 1s to lead for four weeks or longer, continues his dominant 2025: 31 weeks into the year, he has ruled for 15 of those frames. Previously, his “I’m the Problem” logged eight weeks on top and “Love Somebody” led for three.
All three hits are from Wallen’s blockbuster LP, I’m the Problem, which has led Top Country Albums for nine weeks dating to its debut atop the May 31 chart.
How is Wallen forging such a stronghold at country radio? Three top programming executives weigh in.
Tim Roberts, Audacy format captain, programming: “Morgan has been writing great music that speaks directly to the core audience. It’s real and vulnerable and he admits in song that he has flaws like everyone, so it’s authentic. He also has a great sense of who to write with, co-writing often with HARDY, ERNEST and other contemporaries who also are real.
“Morgan has naturally combined everything he grew up on musically and melded it into something unique that’s easily understandable and catchy, and resonates emotionally. It connects mass-appeal. Lyrics are always the core of country music and he delivers, which is why the audience is loving him. Radio is giving the fans exactly what they want.”
Travis Daily, Cumulus Media, vice president, country: “If we are simplifying what my job really is, it’s to deliver the content our audience wants. Sometimes that is a really involved process to figure out, but with Morgan Wallen it couldn’t be simpler. Morgan is what our listeners loudly and passionately want.”
Joel Raab, country radio programming consultant: “It’s Morgan’s world — we’re just living in it. He’s getting so much airplay because more than half his songs test in the power or super-power range. The only problem is that it’s challenging to schedule his older titles. We’ve had to reduce our artist separation to sometimes as little as 20 minutes for Morgan to get his music on. But when you consider that the average listener is listening for 10 minutes at a time, then a Morgan song or two every hour is not too much for, arguably, the hottest artist in the format.
“Is he burning at all? Not yet, although the passion for some of the more recent titles isn’t quite as strong as it was a year or two ago. Radio is playing so much Morgan Wallen because his music is the best-testing consistently of anyone; plus, streaming and sales. When he has crossover hits, country radio appears to do even better, as pop listeners seemingly want to sample more country when that happens.”