NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Koe Wetzel continues his meteoric rise into 2025 as “High Road” featuring Jessie Murph, both artists’ first single at Country radio, remains atop the Billboard Country Airplay chart for a fifth consecutive week. “High Road” is only the sixth debut single to achieve this feat since the chart’s inception in 1990 and marks the first song by two acts each charting for the first time to ever earn that distinction.
“The way ‘High Road’ has connected has been unreal, and to wrap my head around the fact that it’s stayed at No. 1 for over a month now is honestly hard to do,” marvels Wetzel. “It’s a hell of a way to start 2025.”
“Getting to No. 1 is difficult; staying there for five weeks is very difficult and only happens if the song is a true bonafide smash hit record,” RECORDS Nashville EVP Josh Easler shared with Billboard as he earned Executive of the Week honors in recognition of the milestone achievement.
“High Road” is the lead single off Wetzel’s fifth studio album and fourth Billboard Top 10,9 Lives(Columbia), which has proven to be a defining album for the Texan renegade, earning recognition on multiple year-end best-of lists, including Rolling Stone, Billboard, the Tennessean, Holler and more, with the Los Angeles Times naming “High Road” specifically as the No. 8 best song of 2024 across all genres.
Written by Wetzel alongside Murph, Amy Allen, Carrie Karpinen, Laura Veltz, Josh Serrato and producer Gabe Simon, the single has amassed more than 330 million global streams en route to becoming Wetzel’s fastest RIAA Platinum certification to date.
As Wetzel dominates the airwaves, he’s also gearing up for another high-throttle year on the road, with upcoming headlining shows at the San Antonio Rodeo, Windy City Smokeout, Tailgates N’ Tallboys and more, plus prominent sets at Stagecoach and CMC Rocks (Australia) and more exciting tour news coming soon.
For more information, visit KoeWetzelMusic.com and follow on Instagram and Facebook @KoeWetzelMusic, TikTok @Koe_Wetzel and Twitter/X @KoeWetzel.
9 LivesTrack List:
(Songwriters in parentheses)
- “Continued” Skit
- “9 Lives (Black Cat)” (Ropyr Wetzel, Amy Allen, Gabe Simon)
- “Casamigos” (Ropyr Wetzel, Amy Allen, Sam Nelson Harris, Ben Burgess, Gabe Simon)
- “Damn Near Normal” (Ropyr Wetzel, Amy Allen, Gabe Simon, Carrie Karpinen, Sam Harris)
- “Leigh” (Ropyr Wetzel, Amy Allen, Gabe Simon)
- “Twister” (Ropyr Wetzel, Steve Rusch, Ben Burgess, Josh Serrato)
- “High Road” feat. Jessie Murph (Ropyr Wetzel, Amy Allen, Gabe Simon, Carrie Karpinen, Jessie Murph, Laura Veltz, Josh Serrato)
- “Reconsider” (Keith Gattis cover: Charles John Brocco, Keith Quenton Gattis)
- “Hatchet” (Gabe Simon, Mike Coogan)
- “Sweet Dreams” (Ropyr Wetzel, Amy Allen, Josh Serrato, Gabe Simon, Sam Harris)
- “Runnin’ Low” (Ropyr Wetzel, Amy Allen, Sam Harris, Gabe Simon, Ben Burgess)
- “Bar Song” (Blake “Shy” Carter, Breyan Isaac, Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II, Dave Gibson)
- “Last Outlaw Alive” (Josh Serrato, Ben Burgess, Sam Harris)
- “Depression & Obsession” (XXXTentacion cover: Jahseh Onfroy)
- “Good Times (Bonus Track)” (Ropyr Wetzel, Steph Jones, Gabe Simon, Charlie Handsome, Josh Serrato)
ABOUT KOE WETZEL
Koe Wetzel never met a genre wall he couldn’t tear down. The Texas singer-songwriter has earned a rabid audience for his songs that mix country, rock, hip-hop, and even Nineties grunge. With his defining fifth studio album, 9 Lives, released in 2025 via Columbia Records, Wetzel earned recognition on several major year-end best-of lists, including Rolling Stone, Billboard, the Tennessean and more, with the Los AngelesTimes naming lead single “High Road” (feat. Jessie Murph) as the No. 8 best song of 2024 across all genres. The single not only marked Wetzel’s debut at Country radio, it also held the No. 1 spot for five weeks and became his fastest song to reach the RIAA Platinum milestone to date. Previously, his 2016 album Noise Complaint endeared him to fans with its no-holds-barred lyrics about drunken nights, broken hearts and stints in jail, and included the Gold-certified hits “Love” (feat. Parker McCollum), “Something to Talk About” plus the infamous “February 28, 2016.” Wetzel’s 2020 major label debut, Sellout, only furthered his legend with the Platinum-certified “Drunk Driving” and “Good Die Young” plus the Gold-certified “Kuntry & Wistern.” The 2022 follow-up, Hell Paso, hit No. 3 on Billboard’s Country Albums and spawned hits on both the country and rock charts, including the Gold-certified “Creeps” and “Cabo.” To date, Wetzel has amassed 3.7 billion total streams and has created a genuine experience with his live concerts, which he describes as “total chaos.” In 2023 alone, he sold more than 275,000 tickets, appearing for a third time on POLLSTAR’s Top Worldwide Tours. Wetzel again performed for well over 200,000 fans across the U.S. in Europe in 2024, with over 96% of all headline tickets sold, in addition to playing prominent festival sets and opening for Morgan Wallen on the superstar’s One Night at a Time Stadium Tour.
