Brett Young Has First No. 1 Album Debut With Ticket to L. A.

Brett Young is no doubt rockin’ around the Christmas tree this week as his newest offering, Ticket to L. A., debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s top country albums chart.

And it’s silver bells for Dan + Shay, as well, as their “Speechless” vaults from No. 5 to No. 1 on the country airplay rankings. It took the song just 19 weeks to reach the summit.

Young’s self-titled first album entered the charts at No. 2 in February 2017. Ticket to L. A. bowed at No. 15 on Billboard’s all-genres albums list.

There are no other new albums to report, but several former contenders have returned. They are Tim McGraw’s 35 Biggest Hits (back at No. 31), Martina McBride’s The Classic Christmas Album (No. 38), Elvis Presley’s Elv1s: 30 #1 Hits (No. 42), Garth Brooks’ The Ultimate Hits (No. 45), Taylor Swift’s Fearless (No. 46), Luke Bryan’s Crash My Party (No. 47) and Old Dominion’s Happy Endings (No. 48).

Four new songs have muscled their way onto the charts — Brantley Gilbert and Lindsay Ell’s “What Happens in a Small Town” (No. 32), Toby Keith’s “Don’t Let the Old Man In” (No. 43, from The Mule soundtrack), Pistol Annie’s “Got My Name Changed Back” (No 59) and Ashley McBryde’s “Girl Going Nowhere” (No. 60).

The No. 2 through No. 5 albums, in that order, are Luke Combs’ This One’s for You (last week’s No. 1), Gene Autry’s Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Other Christmas Classics, Presley’s It’s Christmas Time and Burl Ives’ Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Parading in behind “Speechless” within the Top 5 songs cluster, are Combs’s “She Got the Best of Me,” Jimmie Allen’s “Best Shot” (last week’s No. 1), Kane Brown’s “Lose It” and Thomas Rhett’s “Sixteen.”

Now, where did I leave that wrapping paper?

Edward Morris is a veteran of country music journalism. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a frequent contributor to CMT.com.