Riley Green’s ‘Worst Way’ Is His Third Country Airplay No. 1

Riley Green banks his third chart-topper on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart as “Worst Way” (Nashville Harbor) rises 3-1 on the list dated June 21. It increased by 13% to 28.4 million audience impressions in the June 6-12 tracking week, according to Luminate.

Notably, the Jacksonville, Ala., native notches the first Country Airplay leader by an artist who solely wrote and recorded it since Chayce Beckham’s “23” led in April 2024. Before that, no artist had achieved the feat since Taylor Swift’s “Ours” topped the chart in March 2012. Since Country Airplay began in January 1990, “Worst Way” is the 39th leader solely authored by the soloist who recorded it.

“‘Worst Way’ is a song I wrote by myself while I was out on the road,” Green tells Billboard. “I wanted to create something in the spirit of [John Mayer’s 2006 song] “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” or Eric Church’s “Like a Wrecking Ball” [from 2015], and I think with the help of my producer, Dann Huff, we were able to do just that. I set out to blend traditional country instrumentation with a modern edge — something smooth and reflective, but still grounded in that raw, country feel.”