This week, Brantley Gilbert is once again celebrating having written the No. 1 country song in America. This one is extra sweet, however, as it’s his first chart-topping hit as a songwriter and performer.

‘Country Must Be Country Wide’ locks in the No. 1 slot on both the Billboard and Mediabase/Country Aircheck country singles charts. Gilbert co-wrote the tune with Mike Dekle and fellow Georgia country artist Colt Ford. Gilbert and Ford are the same writing team behind the Jason Aldean smash ‘Dirt Road Anthem.’ Gilbert is also responsible for solely writing another Aldean hit, ‘My Kinda Party.’

“Colt and I were talking about the places we’d been traveling [on tour],” Gilbert told Taste of Country earlier this year of how his new No. 1 song, ‘Country Must Be Country Wide,’ came about. “You know, I always felt the south was country, but we were traveling farther and farther north and northwest, and there were country people up there, too.”

Gilbert and his labelmate Thomas Rhett are in the midst of the 2011 Taste of Country Christmas Tour. Though the December 17th Lawton show is sold out, there are still opportunities to win tickets - including VIP tickets! Details here, or listen to K-LAW 101 for the details. Tickets are still available for the December 9th Wichita Falls show. Click here for to get the info.

Next year, Gilbert will hit the road with Eric Church on his new headlining trek, the Blood, Sweat and Beer Tour, which will also feature the Cadillac Black, Blackberry Smoke, Sonia Leigh, Jon Pardi and Drake White.

Watch the Brantley Gilbert ‘Country Must Be Country Wide’ Video

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