Female country artists have highest percentage of No. 1 hits on Country Airplay chart in 14 years

By Cillea Houghton

Women have seen an uptick in airplay on country radio lately.

Published this week, a new study by Billboard shows that five female artists have had No.1 singles on the Billboard Country Airplay chart so far this year, the most in a four-year span.

Additionally, women have accounted for 21% of No.1 songs on the chart in 2020, the highest percentage since 2006, when women made up 23% of the chart-toppers.

Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris and Gabby Barrett are among the artists who have topped the charts this year -- Lambert with "Bluebird," her first solo No.1 since 2014, and Morris and Barrett scoring multi-week hits with "The Bones" and "I Hope," respectively.

Mickey Bernal/WireImage via Getty Images, FILE

Miranda Lambert performs onstage at the 53rd annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 13, 2019, in Nashville.

Gwen Stefani and Carly Pearce also found themselves at the top with duet partners Blake Shelton and Lee Brice. Stefani and her longtime boyfriend Blake Shelton hit No.1 with "Nobody but You" while Pearce and Brice reached the top with "I Hope You're Happy Now" earlier this year.

The last time that five or more female singers had No.1 hits on the Country Airplay chart was in 2016, when Carrie Underwood reigned with "Church Bells" and "Heartbeat," while Kelsea Ballerini scored with "Dibs" and "Peter Pan."

Karen Fairchild, Cassadee Pope and pop star Pink also made it to the top of the country charts alongside their male collaborators in 2016.

The data comes in the wake of multi-year conversations surrounding the lack of airplay for female artists on country radio.

Women saw a record high of airplay in 1998 when they accounted for 52% of number-one singles on the charts. Overall, women have accounted for 17% of all No.1 singles on the Country Airplay chart since it launched in 1990.