Forever ‘Young’: Kimberly Perry’s Solo Debut Hits Country Airplay Chart

Kimberly Perry’s first single as a solo artist, “If I Die Young Pt. 2,” bounds onto Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, dated May 20, at No. 31.

The song, on RECORDS/Columbia/RECORDS Nashville, drew 4 million in audience from May 5, its release day, through May 11, according to Luminate. While it did not receive a standard premiere from any of the large radio chains, RECORDS Nashville executive vice president of promotion and commercial strategy Josh Easler notes that select focus stations played the single multiple times its first day.

“Pt. 2” is the sequel to “If I Die Young,” The Band Perry’s first of four Country Airplay No. 1s, which led for a week in 2010. The original also crossed over, spending three weeks at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

The trio consisted of Perry siblings Kimberly, Neil and Reid. In March, the act announced its separation, with the members set to concentrate on individual projects.

“Pt. 2” is the first single from Perry’s five-song EP BLOOM, due June 9. She co-penned it – updating the original’s lyrics with the benefit of more than a decade’s hindsight – with Nicolle Galyon and Jimmy Robbins. Perry also co-wrote the other four tracks on BLOOM. She recently signed with RECORDS Nashville.

“The moment I heard ‘If I Die Young Pt. 2,’ I knew we wanted to be part of Kimberly’s solo project,” Easler tells Billboard. “She’s a true artist, a phenomenal songwriter, and her voice has been missing from country music. It’s been amazing to see the excitement from our partners at radio, DSPs and others. This is just the beginning.”

‘Last’ Still First

Meanwhile, Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” tops Country Airplay for a second week, up 13% to 33.4 million in audience. The song is the fifth of his nine No. 1s to reign for multiple weeks.

As previously reported, the track became the first to top Country Airplay and the multi-metric all-genre Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously.