Brad Paisley 'Storm's Back to No. 1 on Country Airplay Chart

[RoadWarrior]

The star tallies his 19th No. 1 – and first since 2011.

Brad Paisley scores his first leader in more than three years on Billboard's Country Airplay chart, as "Perfect Storm" rises 2-1. The coronation ends his longest stretch between chart-toppers.

Paisley's new No. 1 is his first since "Remind Me," with Carrie Underwood, crowned the Sept. 10, 2011 chart. Before that, he also led with a guest: "Old Alabama," featuring Alabama, spent the first of two weeks at No. 1 on June 4, 2011. He'd last reached the summit on his own when "Anything Like Me" reached the top of the Dec. 4, 2010, survey.

Since "Remind," Paisley just missed No. 1 with three No. 2-peaking singles: "Southern Comfort Zone" (Feb. 23, 2013), "Beat This Summer" (July 13, 2013) and "River Bank" (Aug. 30, 2014).

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"Storm" is the West Virginia native's 19th Country Airplay No. 1, granting him sole possession of seventh place among artists with the most leaders (dating to the chart's launch 25 years ago this month). McGraw tops the list with 27 No. 1s, followed by Alan Jackson, George Strait (26 each), Kenny Chesney (23), Brooks & Dunn and Toby Keith (20 each). Below Paisley, Garth Brooks, Blake Shelton (18 each) and Keith Urban (17) round out the top 10.

Narrowing the timeframe to start from Paisley's first week at No. 1 (Dec. 11, 1999, with "He Didn't Have to Be"), Paisley trails only Chesney, who's tallied 20 leaders in that span.

As the Country Airplay chart normalizes following the sleighful of holiday songs that infused the chart, all but two titles on Country Airplay bullet with audience increases. "Storm" nabs the list's Most Increased Audience trophy, up 18 percent to 47 million in audience, according to Nielsen Music.

"Storm" is from Paisley's album Moonshine in the Trunk, which became his eighth No. 1 on Top Country Albums upon its debut in September. It's sold 147,000 copies in the U.S. since its release.