Corey Kent Claims His First Country Airplay No. 1 With ‘This Heart’: ‘What a Ride!’

Corey Kent’s “This Heart” becomes his first No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. The single by the 31-year-old from Bixby, Okla., ascends two spots to the top of the survey dated July 5 with 27.9 million audience impressions, up 16%, June 20-26, according to Luminate.

“This Heart” was co-authored by Thomas Archer, Blake Bollinger, Jacob Hackworth and Michael Tyler, and Chris Farren produced it. The song is from Kent’s album Black Bandana, released last September.

Kent’s first of three Country Airplay entries, “Wild as Her,” hit No. 3 in May in 2023. “Something’s Gonna Kill Me” reached No. 40 in January 2024.

“What a ride!” Kent tells Billboard. “I couldn’t be more proud of ‘This Heart.’ It is everything that I love about country music. It’s got soul, depth and makes you feel something. It’s meant so much to our fans since it came out — it’s helped people through heartbreak and the ups and downs of life, and I give all the credit to my friends who wrote this and trusted me to be the voice of it, as well as the radio team who put this in front of the fans and carried it all the way to the top.”

As “This Heart” reaches the Country Airplay pinnacle in its 53rd week, dating to its No. 60 arrival last June, it completes the second-longest trip to No. 1 this year. Dylan Scott’s “This Town’s Been Too Good to Us” ruled the April 5 ranking in its 55th frame.

Kent, who was already fronting a Western-swing band by age 11, moved to Nashville when he was 17. Billed as Corey Kent White (his full name), he competed on NBC’s The Voice in 2015, on coach Blake Shelton’s team, and charted three covers on Hot Country Songs over his run on the competition, reaching the top 40 with his take on Bad English’s Diane Warren-penned “When I See You Smile.”