Chayce Beckham scored his first-ever No. 1 hit at Country radio with his debut single, “23.” The tune sits in the top spot on both the Mediabase Country charts and the Billboard Country Airplay chart.
The Season 19 American Idol winner’s song jumped from No. 6 to No. 1, gaining 28.2 million audience impressions during the March 22-28 tracking week, according to Luminate, marking the biggest jump to the top spot on Billboard’s Country Airplay since Thomas Rhett’s “Angels (Don’t Always Have Wings),” which earned the same feat in September of 2023.
Beckham Reacts To Chart-Topping Success
After hearing the news, Chayce Beckham was left speechless and in a state of shock.
“I still can’t believe or process ’23’ is No. 1 at Country radio,” Beckham shared in a statement. “I wrote this song when I had nothing to my name. Fast forwarding to now, to living out my dream, I just feel so blessed. I want to shake every single person’s hand that made this possible – thank you.”
“23” Makes History As It Reaches No. 1 Spot
Chayce Beckham’s “23” made history as it reached the top of the Billboard Country Airplay chart. The tune becomes the first Country Airplay No. 1 written by a single person since Luke Combs‘ cover of Tracy Chapman’s self-penned “Fast Car” went No. 1 in July of 2023. However, prior to Beckham’s “23,” the Country Airplay No. 1 solely written by the soloist who also recorded it, and that happened in 2012 with Taylor Swift’s “Ours.”
Only a handful of other songs achieved this feat in the last 10 years, including Garth Brooks’ “Ask Me How I Know” (solely written by Mitch Rossell), LANCO’s “Greatest Love Story” (solely written by LANCO frontman Brandon Lancaster), Little Big Town’s “Better Man” (solely written by Taylor Swift) and Tim McGraw’s “Humble And Kind” (solely written by Lori McKenna),” according to a Billboard report.
The outlet also reported that with this achievement, Beckham becomes the fourth American Idol winner to top the Country Airplay chart, following behind Carrie Underwood (16 chart-toppers), Scotty McCreery (5 No. 1 hits) and Kelly Clarkson (one chart-topping hit).
A Self-Penned Autobiographical Song
Originally released during Beckham’s winning American Idol season, the autobiographical tune shot straight to the top of the iTunes country and all-genre charts, as well as debuted atop the Billboard Country Digital Song Sales chart and in the top 25 of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The self-penned, platinum-selling track went on to earn the singer/songwriter the title of the first-ever contestant to win Idol with an original song.
Produced by Ross Copperman at SoundFactory Recording Studio in Hollywood, California, the track is a very personal song to Beckham as he authentically sings about his life story and his past struggles with alcohol. Throughout the song, he references real life experiences from his past that are true stories.
“Now I’m 23 / and there ain’t nobody who can drink like me / Soon I’ll be 24 / And the Lord knows that I can’t drink no more / I know I should’ve taken it slow / It’s not the way that my life goes / Now I know / When your pass out on the floor,” Beckham sings in the chorus of the track.
Chayce Beckham Previously Opened Up About The Song
During an interview with Music Mayhem in May of 2021, Beckham opened up about the track and how it came to be.
“I wrote that song about a year ago, right around this time, or last May, and I think that I never thought that that song would take me where it’s taking me now, that it would be a Number One song,” Beckham explained at the time. “A lot of people told me when I played that song, that song should be on the radio, it should be on the radio. I was always like, you know, this little old song? Nah (laughing), I don’t think so, man.”
He continued, “But sure enough, that song was saved for my debut single, and it did really well, so it’s a full circle experience from where I was when I just got out of a 7-year relationship. I was sitting in my house by myself, you know, drunk, writing that song. All the things I went through after that, leading up to Idol and getting into Idol, and then getting to release that song, and for it to do what it’s doing right now is just more than my wildest dreams could ever have imagined, man. You know. It’s crazy, it’s f**king crazy, man. (laughing).”
Set To Release Debut Album, Currently On Tour
Additionally, Chayce Beckham is gearing up to release his debut album, Bad For Me, on Friday, April 5. The project, with songs produced by Bart Butler and Ross Copperman, will feature 13 tracks, including his chart-topping hit “23” in addition to the previously released “Waylon In ’75” and more.
The country hitmaker is currently embarking on his headlining Bad For Me Tour and will join Luke Bryan on his Mind Of A Country Boy Tour later this summer.
For tickets and all things Chayce Beckham, visit www.ChayceBeckham.com.
