Seventeen And Counting: Dierks Bentley Goes No. 1 Country With ‘Living’

Dierks Bentley has scored his 17th No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart with ‘Living.’ The track, which he co-wrote with Ashley Gorley, Jon Nite and Ross Copperman, is the third single from his current, ninth album The Mountain.

‘Living’ climbs 2-1 on the chart, ending Luke Bryan’s two-week stint at the top with ‘Knockin’ Boots.’ It’s also up 8-6 on the Hot Country Songs chart. It’s Bentley’s second No. 1 from the current album, after ‘Woman, Amen’ led the way in June last year; the follow-up ‘Burning Man,’ featuring Brothers Osborne, topped out at No. 2 in February. He first topped the Country Airplay countdown 16 years ago this week with ‘What Was I Thinkin”.

In an interview with Billboard, Bentley says: “The dream is to write and record songs that are authentically personal to me, but also have commercial success; I want both. Usually, you wind up with a little bit of one and a little bit of the other. But with ‘Living,’ I got it both ways.

“I got to write something that has deep meaning for me, a song with the importance of gratitude at its core. And I get to go out there onstage and pound my chest and sing it at the top of my lungs along with all our fans, who know it by heart thanks to country radio. That is the dream, and it came true with this one.”

Earlier this month, Bentley concluded his vast, 55-city Burning Man Tour, which has played to packed arenas and great acclaim. He’s been supported on the shows by guests Jon Pardi, Tenille Townes and his own 1990s cover band Hot Country Knights, with Caylee Hammack closing out the final weekend.

The 14-time Grammy nominee now has total career streams of over 6.4 billion. He’s nominated for three CMA Awards this year, two for ‘Burning Man’ as Song and Video of the Year, the other as Entertainer of the Year. The awards take place on 13 November.

‘Living’ is on The Mountain, which can be bought here.

Format: UK English