Nate Smith has earned his second No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart in 2023 with “World On Fire,” following his No. 1 debut “Whiskey On You.”

Smith shared with Billboard: “If you would’ve told me back in 2018, that December of 2023, I’d be celebrating not my first, but my second number one at country radio, I certainly wouldn’t have believed it. In December of 2018, I was absolutely devastated from the very fact that my hometown of Paradise, California had just been destroyed by a fire. I had nothing left to my name. My friends and family came around me and helped push me forward. I want to say thank you to my passionate fans–it’s all about you, country radio for still giving this random dude from the foothills of California a shot, my world-class management and Sony Music Nashville/RCA Nashville team, my incredible publisher, and Lindsay Rimes, Taylor Phillips and Ashley Gorley for writing it with me! This accomplishment goes to show that anything is truly possible. If you’re out there wishing you could go and chase your dreams, just go! Quit wasting time! Get you a few champions who will carry you all the way, and there won’t be anything stopping you!”

“World On Fire” is one of 26 tracks off Nate Smith (Deluxe), which dropped on April 28. The project marked the largest album debut from a new artist this year as well as the largest full-length album debut from a new artist since 2020, hitting No. 6 on Billboard’s Country Albums chart and No. 30 overall on the Billboard Top 200.

Editorial credit: NOVODIASTOCK / Shutterstock.com