Country Programmers Weigh In On The Year’s Top 5 ‘Hot Picks’

Luke Combs tops the list

It’s a testament to the strength of the music in 2021 that when more than 50 Country industry professionals weighed in with their five “Hot Picks” for our annual year-end tabulation, almost 70 different records received votes. Ultimately, LUKE COMBS topped the list with his romantic hit, “Forever After All,” which was picked by nearly half of those casting votes.

It was a tight finish between the #1 and #2 most picked songs of the year, with WALKER HAYES’ “Fancy Like” missing out on the top spot by just a handful of votes. CHRIS YOUNG and KANE BROWN’s “Famous Friends” earned third place on the list followed by another duet, JASON ALDEAN and CARRIE UNDERWOOD’s “If I Didn’t Love You.” Rounding out the top five picks is newcomer LAINEY WILSON with her debut single, “Things A Man Oughta Know.”

Several of the programmers polled said COMBS could have made the list with any of his 2021 singles. MUSIC CHOICE Sr. Mgr./Country Programming JIM MURPHY said, “It's been longer than I can remember when any Country artist had three #1 songs in a single calendar year, plus a featured role in a fourth #1. Makes you wonder why it took so long to name him Entertainer of the Year.” KFDI/WICHITA OM JUSTIN CASE called “Forever After All” a “future forever gold,” while WKHX (NEW COUNTRY 101 FIVE)/ATLANTA PD MIKE MOORE said, “LUKE can do no wrong at this point.” Echoed WESTWOOD ONE PD/Country Formats NICK FOX, “The more tender [COMBS] singles always test well for us. The guy can’t go wrong.”

JVC BROADCASTING Dir./Country Programming PHATHEAD said of COMBS, “Of the dozen #1s, this might be the best of them all.” KILT (THE BULL 100.3)/HOUSTON MD NICK RUSSO said, “The simplicity in the song lyrics, matched with the power of LUKE COMBS and [the] mood he inspires in his music, made this a must play. While fairly common with COMBS, this song planted at the top of our research heap and our listeners could probably handle listening to it on repeat. A total home run in every sense of the word.”

“Fancy Like” generated passionate comments as well, with KUPL (98.7 THE BULL)/PORTLAND APD/MD DANNY DWYER calling it the year’s “clear winner.” MOORE called it “a bonafide hit on every level.” PHATHEAD termed it “undeniable. A song that should've gotten old real quick had staying power and strength and never felt overplayed even when it was overplayed.”

FOX said of the HAYES hit, “Love the story behind this. I know everyone has mixed feelings about this record after having gotten it stuck in your head for a little while, but you can’t deny that this song had a moment.” RUSSO added, “This song resonated in a different way than any other song. For the first time, we didn’t have to take ourselves too seriously. We could do a silly dance to a fun and infectious song and, finally, our kids could dance with our grandparents to a song that everyone agreed on! This was an event, a moment that will live in Country music history forever!”

As for “Famous Friends,” KRTY/SAN JOSE PD JULIE STEVENS noted “how it spread Country music far and wide.” CASE said, “Listeners don’t seem to tire of hearing it.” FOX called it “a banger,” adding, “I think I will be playing that one for years.” WKSJ/MOBILE PD BILL BLACK noted that the song “won’t burn.”

FOX said of the ALDEAN/UNDERWOOD pairing, “I’ve never seen so many programmers be on the same page about a record.” MOORE called it “a massive hit by two of Country music’s biggest stars. What’s not to like?” BLACK said it was a “monster hit, and local sales/streaming [are] crazy.” Added CASE, “superstar power. Quality song.”

See the overall top 5, and the individual picks from the industry, here.

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