Country Billboard Chart News November 15, 2012

Country Billboard Chart News November 15, 2012

Taylor Swift's RED holds onto the No. 1 for a third successive week on both the Billboard Top 200 and Billboard Country Albums charts. In its 3^rd retail week it sold 196,225 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan (down 43%). Of that tally RED sold 44K digital copies, which puts it at #1 on Top Digital Albums for the third straight week.

Taylor easily beat the No. 2 title by nearly 100,000 with the "Now 44" collection, debuting on the Top 200 selling 99,000 copies.

"RED is Swift's first album to spend its first three weeks at No. 1. The total sales for "Red" now stand at 1,749,072 just short of the 1.3/4-million mark

Her 2010 album SPEAK NOW had frames atop the list from the start and then dropped out of the No. 1 slot for five weeks. It eventually returned for four more weeks at No. 1.

Taylor’s one other No. 1, 2008's FEARLESS debuted at the top, then slipped to No. 4 in its second frame. It returned to rule for another 10 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1.

RED is the first country crossover album to spend its first three weeks at #1 since Rascal Flatts' ME AND MY GANG in April 2006. Since then, five country crossover albums have spent their first two weeks on top: Dixie Chicks' TAKING THE LONG WAY, Lady Antebellum's NEED YOU NOW, Swift's previous album, SPEAK NOW, Lionel Richie's TUSKEGEE and Carrie Underwood's BLOWN AWAY

 

Comparing RED’s first 3 weeks sales with Taylor’s 2010 SPEAK NOW release reveals:

RED first 3 weeks sales

1 Week :: 1,208,290

2 Week :: 344,249 (-72%)

3 Week :: 196,225 (-43%) ------- Total 1,749,072

SPEAK NOW first 3 weeks sales

1 Week :: 1,044,477

2 Week :: 327,493 (-69%)

3 Week :: 209,512 (-36%) ------- Total 1,581,482

Industry sources are forecasting UK Boy bands One Direction's TAKE ME HOME is heading for No. 1 on next week's Billboard 200 chart. The SYCO/Columbia set could sell more than 500,000 copies in the United States by week's end on Nov. 18. If this debut start prediction holds then "Take Me Home" could be the third-largest sales week of 2012, after Taylor Swift's 1.2 million bow with "Red" and Mumford & Sons' 600,000-unit launch with "Babel."

The new Billboard 200 chart's top 10 will be revealed on the morning of Nov. 21.

On its fourth retail week sees Jason Aldean's NIGHT TRAIN slips 4-6 this week on the Top 200 with sales of 47,815 (down 33%). He holds onto the #2 Country Album slot with a 4-week tally now standing at 644,175.

With Christmas on the country horizon we witness this week the Christmas-themed albums moving up the charts. Incidentally Rod Stewart’s Merry Christmas Baby at #3 on the Top 200 sold 73,543 and has a 2 week total of 162,479.

Lady Antebellum’s ON THIS WINTER’S NIGHT sold 27,809 copies, up 31% on last week and jumps up from #8 on the Country chart to #3 (#11 on the Billboard Top 200) .

Blake Shelton’s CHEERS, IT’S CHRISTMAS moved up 6 places to #5 on the Country Chart and a rise of 14 places, #28 to #14 on the Top 200. His yuletide fan base took home some 24,000 copies, up 78% on last weeks 13,474 figure.

Scotty McCreery also gained a sales boost this week as CHRISTMAS WITH SCOTTY moved up 3 places to No.6. In its 4th retail week it sold 20,801 copies (+28%)

The RCA/Legacy, release of Elvis Presley’s THE CLASSIC CHRISTMAS ALBUM sold some 3,000 copies (up 179%) and leapt up 56-26 on the Country Chart.

There was a #54 Hot Shot Debut on the Country chart with THE CLASSIC CHRISTMAS ALBUM by John Denver.

Released on Sept 25, and making its #64 country bow is the Capitol Records compilation Country Christmas: 10 Great Songs (Various Artists). For some there's nothing quite like a country Christmas, and this 33:19 minute ten-song offering features contemporary country artists doing versions of traditional and not-so-traditional holiday tunes. Highlights include the opener with Trace Adkins' version of "The Christmas Song," John Berry's take on the classic hymn "Silent Night," Suzy Bogguss' "Two-Step 'Round the Christmas Tree," and Deana Carter's bouncing "Boogie Woogie Santa.

Little Big Town stays at #4 with TORNADO with sales of 24,337 (down 13% on last week)

Carrie Underwood with BLOWN AWAY sold 16,978 copies this week (down 27%) and dropped to No.10. It needs to sell another 80K sales in the remainder of 2012 to scan Platinum which may be accomplished with Black Friday sales and discounting.

Kenny Chesney’s 6K sales this week for WELCOME TO THE FISHBOWL means he has officially scanned Gold with total sales now at 503K.

THE VALORY MUSIC CO. artist Justin Moore has just received Gold certification for his sophomore album, “Outlaws Like Me,” which has sold over 500,000 copies (470K+ currently scanned at retail) and produced his fastest rising single, “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away”. The album stands at #20 on the country chart.

There were Country chart re-entries at #73 for Joey+Rory with HIS And HERS and at #74 for Lyle Lovett’s RELEASE ME.

On The Top 200 The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection (EP), re-entered the chart at #167.

Amy Grant ("Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas") at #199, for the first time has appeared on the Billboard 200. The album was released in 2011.

Next week should see the chart appearance of Aaron Lewis’ full-length debut THE ROAD (about 18K sales predicted).

Billboard Top 200 (Country Album positions #1 - #25)

(TW) This Week, (LW) Last Week, Co (Country Album Chart placing / Movement)

 Top 25 Billboard Hot Country Songs

On Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart - which blends:

a) All-format airplay, as monitored by BDS  b) Sales, as tracked by Nielsen SoundScan and c) Streaming, according to BDS it see’s Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" holding onto number one for a sixth week on its 13th retail week.

On the overall Hot 100 "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" drops from #5 to #7. As it holds at #1 on Hot Country Songs this ties "Our Song" from 2007-2008 as Swift's longest-running #1 country hit to date. With the revamping of the Billboard charts Country and R&B charts now merely reflect how songs from those genres are faring on the Hot 100.

Greatest Gainer double honours on Hot Country Songs goes to the Republic Nashville Band Perry’s “Better Dig Two”, which posts the biggest overall spikes in airplay and streaming, and stands at No. 13. The song dips in rank from its No. 9 debut due to market adjustment in digital sales from the previous week, which reflected inflated volume driven by the Nov. 1 Country Music Assn. Awards (ABC), where the threesome premiered the song.  It also made a healthy jumps 30-24 in its second week on the Billboard Country Airplay scorecard

Gary Allan’s “Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain)” (MCA Nashville) draws Greatest Gainer applause on Hot Country Songs with the chart’s biggest overall digital increase and his best rank in four years.

Taylor Swift with ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” stays at #1!

Florida Georgia Line with “Cruise” stays at #2

Carrie Underwood with “Blown Away” stays at #3

Luke Bryan with “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” is up two, #6 - #4

Hunter Hayes with former number one “Wanted” is down, #4 - #5

Lee Brice with “Hard To Love” is down, #5 - #6

Jake Owen with “The One That Got Away” moves up, #8 - #7

Miranda Lambert with “Fastest Girl In Town” is down one spot,  #7 - #8

Rascal Flatts with “Come Wake Me Up” is up, #11 - #9

Justin Moore with “Til My Last Day” jumps up, #15 - #10

Zac Brown Band with “Goodbye In Her Eyes” is up , #13 - #11

Kip Moore with “Beer Money” is up two places, #14 - #12

The Band Perry with “Better Dig Two” drops 4 slots, #9 – #13

Gary Allan with “Every Storm” (Runs Out Of Rain) is up, #19 - #14

Jason Aldean with former #1 “Take A Little Ride” falls, #10 - #15

Eric Church with “Creepin” is up two slots, #18 - #16

Brad Paisley with “Southern Comfort Zone” stays at  #17

Easton Corbin with “Lovin’ You Is Fun” drops six, #12 - #18

Taylor Swift with “Begin Again” drops 3 places, #16 - #19

Randy Houser with “How Country Feels” is up two, #22 - #20

Greg Bates with “Did It For The Girl” is down one, #20 - 21

Kenny Chesney with “El Cerrito Place” is up one place, #23 - #22

Kelly Clarkson with “Don’t Rush” is up 2 spots,  #25 - #23

Dustin Lynch with “Cowboys And Angels” falls from #21 - #24

Jason Aldean (w Luke Bryan & Eric Church) and “The Only Way I Know” is up #28 -#25

Country Songs

*** No. 1 *** (6 weeks) "We Are Never....” Taylor Swift

** Greatest Gainer/Airplay & Streaming ** No.13  “Better Dig Two” The Band Perry

** Greatest Gainer/Digital ** “Every Storm (Runs Out Of Rain) Gary Allan

Billboard Country Airplay Charts

After 18 weeks on the Chart its No. 1 on Country Airplay for singer/songwriter Luke Bryan’s “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” (Capitol Nashville), which bullets at the summit with 38.9 million audience impressions/ 5839 plays. The song is his third No. 1 from his CMA Awards-nominated TAILGATES & TANLINES album.

Luke co-wrote the song with his producer Jeff Stevens and songwriter Shane McAnally. “We got out on the road and had a great time and wrote a couple songs, and the last day, Jeff had this title, and we wrote it,” Luke said. “I mean, it’s a great idea and a great thought. We wrote it right then. I think the chorus of that thing is some of the best writing that I’ve ever been a part of and I love the simplicity of the verses.”

Luke Bryan scores his fifth overall and third consecutive leader on Billboard’s Country Airplay tally, as the song steps 2-1, interrupting a two-week run at the summit for Lee Brice’ s “Hard to Love” (Curb), which

slides this week to No. 4. Bryan’s current streak of chart-toppers began when “I Don’t Want This Night to End” led the Feb. 1 Country Airplay list, followed by two weeks at No. 1 in July with “Drunk on You.” All three songs are from the artist’s platinum-plus TAILGATES & TANLINES album. Lead single “Country Girl (Shake It for Me)” stopped at No. 4 on the Aug. 20, 2011, audience chart. He first reached No. 1 with “Rain Is a Good Thing,” which dominated by one week atop the chart with “Someone Else Calling You Baby” last winter.

Nielsen BDS-monitored Country Airplay chart panellists with the greatest audience penetration for “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” during the Nov.5-11 tracking week are: KKGO Los Angeles(1.7 million impressions),

WUSN Chicago (1.2 million), WYCD Detroit(850,000), KEEY Minneapolis (772,000) and WIL St. Louis ( 761, 000).

This week’s charts are the final ones for the 2012 Billboard chart year, which includes weekly charts dated Dec. 3, 2011, through Nov. 24, 2012 (which correspond with Billboard’s issue dates)

Country Airplay

*** No. 1  *** "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" Luke Bryan

** Most Added” No. 24 “Better Dig two” The Band Perry  (+804 spins gain)

Hot Shot Debut No. 50 "Hope On The Rocks” Toby Keith

Debut No. 53 "Only God Could Love You More” Jerrod Niemann

Debut No. 55 "Two Black Cadillacs” Carrie Underwood

Debut No. 57 “She Cranks My Tractor” Dustin Lynch

Debut No. 58 “I’ll Keep The Kids” Montgomery Gentry

Debut No. 60  “Runnin’ out Of Air” Love And Theft

TOP DIGITAL SINGLES in Country Music (14 November 2012)

Florida Georgia Line can add “chart-topping single” to its growing list of credits, as “Cruise” (Republic Nashville) jumped up 3-1 in its 22nd week on Billboard’s Country Digital Songs. Nielsen SoundScan reports 82,000 downloads during the Nov. 5-11 tracking week, with total sales approaching the 1 million mark (983,000) in its 22nd chart week.

The track also stands for a second week at its No. 2 peak on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs. It was released August 6, 2012 by Republic Nashville as the first single from their extended play It'z Just What We Do EP. 

It will be included on their first album for Republic Nashville, HERE'S TO THE GOOD TIMES, slated to be released December 4th. The song was written by group members Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard with Joey Moi, Chase Rice and Jesse Rice.

Taylor Swift’s  “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” drops from 1-2 selling another 73,000 copies (-16%) to go past 2.5 million sales. Her title track “Red” dropped 7-12 and with its total tally now 527K it goes past Gold status

 “Better Dig Two,” the lead single from Republic Nashville’s The Band Perry dropped from #2 to #5 with sales of 52K (down 37% on last weeks debut).

Kelly Clarkson’s new country single “Don’t Rush” with Vince Gill sold 44,000 copies to reach 85,000 in two weeks and is still getting some CMA Awards legs after their performance

Steady as you go sales for Randy Houser’s “How Country Feels” and Justin Moore’s “Til My Last Day” gave them the best positive upwards chart movement.

Hunter Hayes new single “Somebody's Heartbreak” sold an extra 4,000 copies and jumps into the Top 30, 52-29.

Kacey Musgrave’s terrific track > “Merry Go ‘Round”, is beginning to close in on a Top 30 slot, the song has now sold 77,000 singles.

New singles predicted for chart debuts next week include: Tracks from “Nashville” TV drama (Rose Falcon - “You Stole My Heart” / Charlie Worsham - “Could It Be”) and tracks from Aaron Lewis’ new album “The Road”

Billboard Country Digital Singles Chart Top 30

(LW) Last Week  (TW) This Week

*Numbers are rounded to nearest 1000th