List of Hot Country Singles & Tracks number ones of 2003

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A fair-haired man wearing a white cowboy hat, singing into a microphone and playing a guitar
Alan Jackson collaborated with Jimmy Buffett on the song "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere", which spent eight weeks at number one.

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 2003, 19 different songs topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles & Tracks, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on weekly airplay data from country music radio stations compiled by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems.[1]

Singer George Strait's song "She'll Leave You with a Smile" was at number one at the start of the year, having been at the top since the issue dated December 28, 2002.[2] It remained at number one for one further week in 2003 before being replaced by "19 Somethin'" by Mark Wills. The highest total number of weeks spent at number one by a song in 2003 was the eight achieved by "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere", a collaboration between Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett. The success of "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" gave Buffett his first ever country number one, more than thirty years after he began his singing career.[3] The duet spent an initial seven weeks at the top, was replaced for a week, and then returned for a final week at number one. The song's first spell at number one tied for the longest unbroken run at the top with "Have You Forgotten?" by Darryl Worley. In addition, the song's eight-week run at number one tied with Lonestar's "Amazed" for the longest-running number one based on country radio airplay since Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems was initiated in 1990, a record which would stand until 2022.[4] Another collaboration between a younger star and a music veteran to top the charts in 2003 was "Beer for My Horses" by Toby Keith and Willie Nelson, which spent six weeks at number one and made Nelson, at age 70, the oldest singer to top the chart.[5][6] The number one position was dominated by male artists; no solo female singers topped the chart in 2003,[7] although the all-female band Dixie Chicks spent a single week at number one.

Three singers achieved their first number one hits in 2003, Gary Allan with "Man to Man",[8] Joe Nichols with "Brokenheartsville",[9] and Dierks Bentley with "What Was I Thinkin'".[10] "Brokenheartsville"'s rise to the top benefited from a backlash against previous chart-toppers Dixie Chicks, after the group's lead singer Natalie Maines made controversial comments about then-United States President George W. Bush. This led to a number of radio stations dropping their song "Travelin' Soldier" and thus impacting its chart performance.[11][12] Allan followed up "Man to Man" with a second number one later in the year with "Tough Little Boys" and was one of only two artists to place multiple songs at the top of the chart in 2003, the other being Keith, whose six weeks at number one with "Beer for My Horses" and five with "I Love This Bar" gave him a total of eleven weeks at number one, the most by any act in 2003. The final number one of the year was "There Goes My Life" by Kenny Chesney.

Chart history[edit]

A man with long white hair and a beard playing a guitar
When Willie Nelson reached number one with his collaboration with Toby Keith, "Beer for My Horses", he became the oldest artist to top the chart, at age 70.
A balding man singing into a microphone and playing a guitar
"It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" was Jimmy Buffett's first appearance at number one in a career which had spanned more than thirty years.
A fair-haired man singing into a microphone and playing a guitar
Dierks Bentley achieved his first number one with "What Was I Thinkin'".
Issue date Title Artist(s) Ref.
January 4 "She'll Leave You with a Smile" George Strait [13]
January 11 "19 Somethin'" Mark Wills [14]
January 18 [15]
January 25 [16]
February 1 [17]
February 8 [18]
February 15 [19]
February 22 "The Baby" Blake Shelton [20]
March 1 [21]
March 8 [22]
March 15 "Man to Man" Gary Allan [23]
March 22 "Travelin' Soldier" Dixie Chicks [24]
March 29 "Brokenheartsville" Joe Nichols [25]
April 5 "Have You Forgotten?" Darryl Worley [26]
April 12 [27]
April 19 [28]
April 26 [29]
May 3 [30]
May 10 [31]
May 17 [32]
May 24 "Three Wooden Crosses" Randy Travis [33]
May 31 "I Believe" Diamond Rio [34]
June 7 [35]
June 14 "Beer for My Horses" Toby Keith duet with Willie Nelson [36]
June 21 [37]
June 28 [38]
July 5 [39]
July 12 [40]
July 19 [41]
July 26 "My Front Porch Looking In" Lonestar [42]
August 2 "Red Dirt Road" Brooks & Dunn [43]
August 9 "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett [44]
August 16 [45]
August 23 [46]
August 30 [47]
September 6 [48]
September 13 [49]
September 20 [50]
September 27 "What Was I Thinkin'" Dierks Bentley [51]
October 4 "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett [52]
October 11 "Real Good Man" Tim McGraw [53]
October 18 [54]
October 25 "Tough Little Boys" Gary Allan [55]
November 1 [56]
November 8 "Who Wouldn't Wanna Be Me" Keith Urban [57]
November 15 "I Love This Bar" Toby Keith [58]
November 22 [59]
November 29 [60]
December 6 [61]
December 13 [62]
December 20 "There Goes My Life" Kenny Chesney [63]
December 27 [64]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ McKinley, Jr., James C. (October 26, 2012). "Changes to Charts by Billboard Draw Fire". The New York Times. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
  2. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for December 28, 2002". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
  3. ^ Scaggs, Austin (September 18, 2003). "Q & A: Jimmy Buffett". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
  4. ^ Asker, Jim (December 23, 2022). "Morgan Wallen's 'You Proof' Breaks Record as Longest-Leading No. 1 in Country Airplay Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  5. ^ Dauphin, Chuck (April 30, 2013). "Willie Nelson's 10 Biggest Billboard Hits". Billboard. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  6. ^ Wolley, John (June 16, 2003). "Toby Keith More Than OK in Oklahoma". CMT. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  7. ^ "Wilson ends female drought atop country chart". Billboard. May 29, 2004. p. 72. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  8. ^ Loftus, Johnny. "Gary Allan : Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  9. ^ Huey, Steve. "Joe Nichols : Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  10. ^ Gilbert, Calvin (September 19, 2003). "Dierks Bentley Lands First No. 1". CMT. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  11. ^ Mansfield, Brian (March 18, 2003). "Dixie Chicks' chart wings get clipped". USA Today. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  12. ^ "Dixie Chicks pulled from air after bashing Bush". CNN. Reuters. March 13, 2003. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
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  64. ^ "Hot Country Songs chart for December 27, 2003". Billboard. Retrieved September 2, 2010.