Alvin M. Keeling 
Special report
If 2020 was the year for country artists to hunker down and try to avoid the pandemic, 2021 has been the year of recovery. After enjoying time off the road to create new songs and develop ambitious projects, they hit the bricks last year with renewed vigour.
Some artists have tapped into social media to grow new fanbases and produced unlikely hits. The genre that made the twangy guitar famous has continued to expand across the musical spectrum to create new collaborations and generated more music than ever.
To determine the top country songs of the past year, 24/7 Tempo looked at data from Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Year-End Chart for 2021. Billboard rankings are based on broadcast audience impressions, sales data and streaming activity compiled by Nielsen Music. Data on the lifetime Spotify stream count of each song was collected on January 18, 2022.
It’s been a big year for the controversial Morgan Wallen, which placed five songs on the list. He also released a 30-track album called “Dangerous: The Double Album” which became only the fourth country album to top the Billboard 200 for a year.
Luke Combs and Florida Georgia Line each landed three songs on the list as solo performers and in collaboration with other artists. The latter continued the country music crossover success by teaming up with rapper Nelly on the song “Lil Bit.” Country stalwarts Thomas Rhett and Chris Stapleton (five Grammy wins), meanwhile, each placed two songs on the list. (These are the 50 most popular country stars right now.)
Some artists have skillfully used social media to promote their music. Walker Hayes’ The song “Fancy Like” went viral on TikTok and topped Billboard’s Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts. It became a crossover hit when it reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Click here to see all the best country songs of 2021
Lainey Wilson had a breakthrough year, with the No. 1 single “Things A Man Oughta Know” from his debut album “Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin'”. Gabby Barrett leveraged her appearance on “American Idolin 2018 to build his career. His 2020 debut album “Goldmine” featured the catchy and ubiquitous hit “The Good Ones.” Artists like Niko Moon, himself a successful songwriter, released the hip-hop influenced album”Good time”, containing the hit single of the same name. (Can you answer those real “Jeopardy!” country music clues?)
