George Birge notches his first leader on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart as “Cowboy Songs” moseys two spots to No. 1 on the Dec. 21-dated survey. The song increased by 14% to 28.9 million audience impressions Dec. 6-12, according to Luminate.

“Cowboy Songs” is from Birge’s same-named album, released in April. He co-authored the single with Lalo Guzman, Matt McGinn and Michael Tyler. Guzman and McGinn produced the track about a love interest who “only dances to cowboy songs.” (“That steel guitar’ll steal her heart,” Birge sings.)

“Having the No. 1 song on the Billboard Country Airplay chart is an absolute dream come true,” Birge says. “It’s wild to think that the song I wrote about chasing my wife across dusty dive bars in Austin, Texas, is now sitting at the top. I couldn’t think of a better way to end the year.”

Birge’s first Country Airplay leader follows his rookie entry, “Mind on You,” which hit No. 2 in January.

Before launching his solo career, and signing to Records Nashville in 2021, Birge was half of duo Waterloo Revival with Cody Cooper. (The pair made two appearances on the lower reaches of Country Airplay in 2015.)

At Home in the Top 10

Dan + Shay earn their 12th Country Airplay top 10 as “Bigger Houses” rises 11-10 (17.3 million, up 2%).

The song, which the duo’s Dan Smyers co-wrote, is the title cut from the pair’s LP that entered at its No. 9 Top Country Albums high in September 2023, becoming the twosome’s fifth top 10.

The act — Smyers and Shay Mooney — logged its initial Country Airplay top 10, and first of eight No. 1s, with “Nothin’ Like You,” which dominated for one week in December 2015. The tandem most recently reigned with “Glad You Exist” for a week in August 2021.