Gabby Barrett Makes History on the Billboard Hot Country Chart

At the end of a breakthrough year that has brought her first chart-topping hit, multiple awards show mentions and a hit debut album, Gabby Barrett is closing 2020 with another milestone under her belt. Her song, "I Hope," has now spent more weeks atop Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart than any other song by a solo female artist.

Barrett officially hit her new record when "I Hope" returned to the top for the Hot Country Songs chart dated Dec. 19, marking the 20th week overall that the song's been at No. 1. In total, "I Hope" has spent an impressive 85 weeks on the chart.

"Wow, I'm blown away," the singer reflects. "This year has been absolutely crazy for all of us, so to have this kind of year career-wise feels surreal. I'm so grateful for every step that my team, my fans and, most importantly, my family have taken to bring us here."

Prior to Barrett's latest chart achievement, Maren Morris' "The Bones" held the title of longest-running No. 1 by a woman and no accompanying acts on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. That song topped the chart for 19 weeks in total. In May, Morris' song surpassed the then-standing record when it hit 11 weeks on top of the chart; prior to that accomplishment, Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" held the record with its 10-week domination in 2012.

A record that remained unchanged for eight years was broken twice in 2020 — one of several indicators that country's female artists have been having a standout year. Barrett has been at the forefront of several of those milestones and groundbreaking chart achievements. Also in 2020, she and Ingrid Andress made history on the Mediabase/Country Aircheck chart when they had No. 1 hits one after the other, the first time two debuting female artists had ever had back-to-back chart-topping hits on that chart.