Matt Stell Notches First No.1 Single with ‘Prayed For You’

It’s a special day for rising singer/songwriter Matt Stell as his debut single, “Prayed For You,” tops Billboard’s Country Airplay…

Lauren Jo Black

| Posted on

October 7, 2019

Matt Stell; Photo by Matthew Berinato

It’s a special day for rising singer/songwriter Matt Stell as his debut single, “Prayed For You,” tops Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.

The track is the only debut single to reach No.1 on Country Airplay in 2019 and Stell is the first artist to earn a debut No.1 since Jimmie Allen’s “Best Shot” reached the top of the charts on November 24, 2018.

“Prayed For You” is a certified hit, raking in an impressive 99 Million streams to date. It was also recently certified Gold by the RIAA.

“It’s hard to believe that ‘Prayed for You’ is Billboard’s No. 1 country song in the U.S. this week,” exclaimed Stell after hearing the news. “I won’t be able to ever thank my fellow writers, Ash Bowers and Allison Veltz, and my RECORDS/Arista Nashville/Wide Open/GCE team enough.”

Stell recently sat down with Country Now to talk about the song and its vast impact on listeners.

“Even if you don’t deserve something, or you feel like you don’t — like, the guy in the song doesn’t, you know? He [feels like he doesn’t deserve] to be as lucky as he is in this relationship — it’s the same thing with anything in life,” Stell explained. “Whether it’s a relationship, a job, school, having kids, adopting kids, any of those things where it’s a long process and nothing’s guaranteed. But that reward could be great, you know, if you just hang in there long enough and give something cool the opportunity to happen. I like to think that’s what people respond to in the song.”

“Prayed For You” is featured on Stell’s debut EP, Everywhere But On, which is available now.

Written by

Lauren Jo Black

Lauren Jo Black, a University of Central Florida graduate, has immersed herself in the world of country music for over 15 years. In 2008, she co-founded CountryMusicIsLove, eventually selling it to a major record label in 2015. Following the rebranding of the website to Sounds Like Nashville, Black served as Editor-in-Chief for two and a half years. Currently, she assumes the role of Editor-in-Chief at Country Now and oversees Country Now’s content and digital footprint. Her extensive experience also encompasses her previous role as a Country Music Expert Writer for Answers.com and her work being featured on Forbes.com. She’s been spotlighted among Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. Black also spent time in front of the camera as host of Country Now Live, which brought live music directly to fans in 2021 when the majority of concerts were halted due to the pandemic. During this time, she hosted 24 weeks of live concerts via Country Now Live on Twitch with special guests such as Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Jordan Davis, Brett Young, and Jon Pardi. Over the course of her career, she has had the privilege of conducting interviews with some of the industry’s most prominent stars, including Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, and many others. Lauren Jo Black is a longtime member of the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.