‘Time’s Ticking,’ Indeed: Every Song That’s Taken More Than a Year to Reach No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay Chart

When Justin Moore’s current single “Time’s Ticking” first debuted on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart 67 weeks ago, Joe Biden was still president, people were leaving for the 2024 Christmas holidays, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was the No. 1 film at the domestic box office. The song debuted at No. 59 on the 60-position chart dated Dec. 28, 2024 (which published on Dec. 20, 2024).

“Time’s Ticking” finally reached the No. 1 spot on the Country Airplay chart dated April 11, 2026 (published on April 3), setting the record for the longest ascent in the chart’s 36-year history. It’s Moore’s 11th chart-topper and his first since he took “With a Woman You Love” to the summit in September 2022. That song took a comparatively speedy route, reaching the pinnacle in 45 weeks.

While Moore’s “Time’s Ticking” set the record for the longest climb, it is hardly the only song that had taken months and months to reach No. 1. In fact, of the more than 900 songs that have reached No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart since its inception, 15 other songs have taken at least a year to hit No. 1. Interestingly, that have all been since 2020. Two artists have two songs in the list.

On the other end of the spectrum? Only two songs have debuted at No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart and the first one technically doesn’t count. Clint Black’s “Nobody’s Home” was No. 1 the chart dated Jan. 20, 1990, the week the chart originated. The only song to hit No. 1 the first week it was released belongs to Garth Brooks with “More Than a Memory,” which debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated Sept. 15, 2007.

Below, in descending order, are all the songs that have taken more than a full year to reach No. 1.