Country Music Memories: ‘Cruise’ Sets Chart Record
Eight years ago, Florida Georgia Line made country music history. During the week of Aug. 24, 2013, the then-new duo’s single ”Cruise” notched its record-setting 24th — and final — week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.
Florida Georgia Line’s unprecedented streak at No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart broke the chart’s previous record of 21 weeks at the top. That record was held by a trio of songs: Eddy Arnold’s “I’ll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms),” Hank Snow’s “I’m Moving On” and Webb Pierce’s “In the Jailhouse Now.”
Billboard chalked up Florida Georgia Line’s massive No. 1 streak to a 2012 change in how the Hot Country Songs chart was determined. “It switched from ranking Nielsen BDS-based audience airplay impressions from a core set of terrestrial country radio stations to a hybrid survey,” the outlet explains. “The chart now encompasses paid digital downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and streaming data and an expanded radio panel, according to BDS.”
Co-written by group members Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard — as well as Joey Moi, Chase Rice and Jesse Rice — “Cruise” is a breezy song that exudes the carefree vibe of a summer fling, with references to a gorgeous crush and aimless drives full of mischief. The song came to embody the “bro-country” movement that was dominating country music around that time.
“We were just writing a slow song, actually, and “Cruise” just kind of fell out,” Chase Rice tells Taste of Country. “We wrote “Cruise” in 45 minutes — and the rest is history. Brian was a huge believer in it. He was like ‘Dude, this is huge, this is monstrous.’
“I didn’t really see it at the time but I’m glad he did,” Rice adds. “I wanted Luke Bryan or somebody big to cut it. Luckily, they took it and made it what it was.”
“Cruise” was also a massive crossover hit: A remix of the song featuring rapper Nelly peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song remains the best-selling digital country single of all time; in fact, it was certified diamond (or 10 million times platinum) in early 2016.
In 2017, Sam Hunt‘s “Body Like a Back Road” spent 34 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart, breaking the record set by “Cruise.” In a nice bit of synergy, however, Florida Georgia Line reclaimed their crown in 2018-2019, by spending 50 weeks at the No. 1 position on the chart with their Bebe Rexha collaboration “Meant to Be.”
LOOK: Florida Georgia Line’s Best Live Shots
WATCH: Florida Georgia Line Are Dreaming of a Rihanna Collaboration
