Jimmie Allen's first-ever No. 1 single, "Best Shot," is significant. The song has landed in the top spot on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, making Allen the first black artist to launch a country career with a No. 1 song.

He also joins Darius Rucker as the only two black country singers to have debut country tracks hit No. 1 on the charts (Rucker was a known star when he entered the country format).

"Best Shot" serves as evidence of the quick rise Allen has experienced in 2018. It's the lead single off his debut album, Mercury Lane, which also charted, reaching the Top 15 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart after its October release. Allen also made his debut at the Grand Ole Opry this year.

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Allen was literally a starving artist when he was chasing his dream, even living in his car for several months. He eventually found his breakthrough, pairing up with experienced songwriters in Nashville for a debut self-titled EP and scoring a record deal on Stoney Creek, which is an imprint of Jason Aldean's label home, Broken Bow Records.

Allen admits that he knew he'd find success in the genre one day, just not at the rate he ultimately achieved it. Jake Owen, Chris Young and tourmate Scotty McCreery were quick to hit Twitter to congratulate Allen on the accomplishment.

"I’m humbled and grateful— it’s such an honor to get my first No. 1 and to know that my song is connecting with people and resonating in a way that hopefully makes us all better people in the end, because that’s really what ‘Best Shot’ is all about," the rising star says in a press release.

This success has earned Allen an opening act on McCreery's Seasons Change Tour that begins on Nov. 29 in Dallas and continues into early 2019. He'll then joins forces with Kane Brown, opening for him on the Live Forever Tour through the beginning of March.

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