Luke Combs Scores 19th Career No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay Chart with “Back in the Saddle”
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October has been a month of milestones for Luke Combs — and it ended with another notch on his chart belt. Combs’s single “Back in the Saddle” has climbed to No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, marking the North Carolina native’s 19th career chart-topper since his breakout in 2017.
A banner month for Combs
The new chart peak capped an especially busy stretch for Combs in October. On October 3 he previewed new material with a three-song EP titled The Prequel, which includes the single “My Kinda Saturday Night.” Days later the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) confirmed Combs had passed Garth Brooks to become the top RIAA-certified country artist, with 168 million units moved.
Combs also used the month to reveal an expanded slate of live dates: his stadium-level My Kinda Saturday Night tour will span North America and Europe in 2026, with a stacked roster of special guests across select shows. And offstage, he announced that his Nashville honky-tonk and entertainment venue, Category 10, will open a second location on the Las Vegas Strip in fall 2026 — another sign of how the country star is growing his brand beyond music.
How “Back in the Saddle” rode to No. 1
“Back in the Saddle” was released in late July and reached the top of the Country Airplay chart just three months later. The song moved up from No. 4 to No. 1 on the chart dated Nov. 1, driven by a 23% weekly increase that brought it to roughly 30.8 million audience impressions, according to Billboard’s tracking.
Co-written by Combs with Dan Isbell and Jonathan Singleton, the track signals a return to the rootsy, high-energy sound that helped establish Combs as a radio mainstay. With its gritty guitar licks and big production, the single was presented by Combs as both a reminder of his core strengths and a warm-up for the new album cycle fans are expecting next year.
Mindset and momentum
In interviews leading up to the single’s release, Combs described the record as a product of an intentional mindset — a quiet confidence and a determination to remind listeners of what he does best. On Apple Music’s Kelleigh Bannen Show, he discussed the chip-on-his-shoulder mentality that fuels his work and how that energy informed “Back in the Saddle.”
That mindset appears to be paying off: the new No. 1 continues a string of hits that have made Combs one of country radio’s most reliable acts over the past eight years.
What the milestone means
Landing a 19th Country Airplay No. 1 in fewer than a decade is a remarkable pace. Combs first reached the summit with his debut single “Hurricane” in May 2017, and he’s since built a consistent run of radio successes spanning anthems, ballads and everything in between. “Back in the Saddle” joins a catalogue of fan favorites that includes “She Got the Best of Me,” “Beautiful Crazy,” “Forever After All,” and “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma.”
Beyond the chart statistic itself, the timing of the achievement strengthens the narrative that Combs is transitioning from established star to a defining figure for this era of country music: releasing new music, expanding his live footprint with stadium dates, opening a second Category 10, and now adding another No. 1 to an already impressive ledger.
Looking ahead
“Back in the Saddle” served as the first major signal of Combs’s upcoming sixth studio album — a record fans and industry watchers expect to arrive early next year. For now, the new No. 1 gives Combs momentum heading into a global tour and the launch of his Las Vegas venue, both scheduled for 2026.
Whether it’s a short, three-song EP, a career-defining RIAA milestone, or another radio chart-topper, October’s developments underline one clear point: Luke Combs is not slowing down. And with “Back in the Saddle” atop Country Airplay, the coming year looks positioned to be another major chapter in a career that has shown few signs of stopping.
Combs’ No. 1s on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (to date):
“Hurricane”; “When It Rains It Pours”; “One Number Away”; “She Got the Best of Me”; “Beautiful Crazy”; “Beer Never Broke My Heart”; “Even Though I’m Leaving”; “Does to Me” (feat. Eric Church); “Cold Beer Calling My Name” (Jameson Rodgers); “Lovin’ On You”; “Better Together”; “Forever After All”; “Cold As You”; “Doin’ This”; “Going, Going, Gone”; “Love You Anyway”; “Fast Car”; “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma”; “Back in the Saddle.”
