Shinedown Scores First Billboard Country Airplay Chart Entry with "Searchlight"

*Shinedown’s Brent Smith performs on ‘American Idol.’ (Disney/Eric McCandless)*

Shinedown has officially entered the country music charts.

The band's acoustic-driven song "Searchlight" has debuted at No. 54 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, becoming the first Shinedown song to appear on a Billboard country ranking.

"Searchlight," which the band premiered live at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, features slide guitar and banjo while showcasing a country-inspired sound.

"It was a bit more of a power ballad, and then the guys let me come back in the studio, and I re-sang it with kind of a different intention built around more of that authentic country, really old-school country vibe," frontman Brent Smith told Billboard. "But at the end of the day, we always say that Shinedown is everyone's band, and it's been incredible to see the country format, and just the audiences embrace the song. Everything we did with it was built on authenticity."

Before reaching the country chart, "Searchlight" topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. Shinedown holds the record for the most No. 1 songs in the 45-year history of the Mainstream Rock Airplay chart with 23.

"Searchlight" appears on Shinedown's new album, EI8HT, alongside the singles "Dance, Kid, Dance," "Three Six Five," "Killing Fields," and "Safe and Sound." The band's U.S. tour in support of EI8HT continues in July.

Content for this summary was derived from original reporting by ABC Audio, as featured on 105.7 The Point