Wednesday 3 December 2014

Country Billboard Chart News November 27, 2014

Country Billboard Chart News November 27, 2014

RIAA Certifications

Platinum = Sales of over 1-million units
Gold = Sales of over 500,000 units

Taylor Swift’s single “Shake It Off” (4X multi-Platinum)
Little Big Town single “DayDrinking” (GOLD) = Their 5th RIAA Gold song

In Brief:  Billboard Country Charts

Country Album Chart ** No. 1 (2 weeks) “Man Against Machine” Garth Brooks
Hot Country Songs ** No.1 (3 weeks) ** “Something In The Water” Carrie Underwood
Country Airplay ** No.1 (1 week) ** "Somewhere In My Car” Keith Urban
Country Digital Songs ** No.1 ** (3 weeks) ** “Something In The Water” Carrie Underwood

In this easy-to-use format discover where your favourite acts songs and album are charting across the four Billboard Country charts. It is prioritized by the first column showing the Hot Country Songs chart frame standings for the week of December 6, 2014.
There are also separate rows highlighting Women of Country music.

Scroll down for further details on each of the individual charts.







































Billboard Top 200 / Country Album Chart News

1D is only group to debut at No. 1 with their first four albums
UK boy band One Direction made history, again, as the act’s new album FOUR made a debut at No.1 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart (BB200) chart selling 387,098 copies. They are the only group in the 58-year history of the chart to see their first four albums debut at No. 1. (A year ago, they became the first group to enter at No. 1 with their first three studio sets, when MIDNIGHT MEMORIES bowed atop the chart.) The new album was released on Nov. 17 through SYCO/Columbia Records.
Here’s a by-the-numbers look at the achievements the British/Irish quintet has made with Four’s chart-topping arrival:
  • They previously topped the list with their debut effort, UP ALL NIGHT (on the list dated March 31, 2012), TAKE ME HOME (Dec. 1, 2012) and MIDNIGHT MEMORIES started with 546,000 on the Dec.14, 2013-dated Billboard 200 chart (reflecting the sales week ending Dec. 1).
  • 1D earned the second-largest sales debut of the year, and the biggest week overall for a group. Only Taylor Swift’s 1989 was larger, with its 1.287 million start.
  • They are the fourth act, overall, to have their first four studio albums debut at No.1. They follow soloists Britney Spears (between 1999 and 2003), DMX (his first five, 1998-2003) and Beyonce (five, 2003-2013).
  • In the history of the Billboard 200 chart, only three groups have reached No. 1 with their first four studio albums: One Direction, The Monkees (between 1966-1967) and The Kingston Trio (with their first five sets, 1958-1960). While all four of One Direction’s albums debuted at No. 1, The Monkees and The Kingston Trio’s releases climbed to No. 1 after entering the chart at a lower rank. (The chart didn’t see its first debut at No.1 until 1975, when Elton John’s Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy started atop the list.)
Taylor Swift's 1989 pop album slipped one rung to No. 2 on the Billboard 200 after three weeks at No.1 selling another 213,744 copies (down 32%). The album has now shifted 2,214,558 in 4-weeks to become the first album to top the 2 million mark in U.S. sales in just four weeks since Susan Boyle's I Dreamed A Dream did it in late 2009. Comparing Taylor’s previous album RED that one sold 144,534 copies in its 4th chart frame.

Christmas At Downtown Abbey (Amazon UK ) made a debut on the BB200 at #44. A Christmas album linked to a diametrically different TV show was a smash last year. The Robertsons'sDuck The Halls: A Robertson Family Christmas, a Duck Dynasty tie-in, reached #3.

Garth Brooks' MAN AGAINST MACHINE fell 4-5 on the BB200 in its second week (62,000 sales; down 52%) and held on to #1 on Top Billboard Country Albums for the second week.
In their second chart Zac Brown Band with “Greatest Hits So Far” (ROAR/Southern Ground/Atlantic) fell 20-37 on the BB200 (#5-#9 Country)

Trisha Yearwood - PrizeFighter: Hit After Hit
Trisha Yearwood made a debut at No.33 on the BB200 (#7 Country) selling 12,898 copies on PrizeFighter: Hit After Hit. She currently has 1.2 million likes on Facebook and Digital full album sales from her Ghosttunes page will not have counted in the retail figure.
Her last album to chart was HEAVEN, HEARTACHE AND THE POWER OF LOVE released back on November 13, 2007 which reached #30 on the Billboard 200 and peaked at #10 on Billboard Top Country Albums from which the title cut peaked at #19 Hot Country Songs.
Yearwood's 12th studio album contains her first new material in seven years, including the single "Prizefighter," (which reached #42 on Country Airplay before being pulled by the label) plus older songs and hits "She's In Love With The Boy," "The Song Remembers When", "Wrong Side Of Memphis" and “XXX’s and OOO’s (An American Girl)” freshened up this compilation.
“They’re re-records, which is a word I hate to use, because when I hear the word re-record all I think is, ‘I want to hear the original,'” she explained. “Because I don’t own my masters, to have a greatest hits album on Sony, I had to re-record my music. I didn’t want it to sound different. I wanted it to sound like a newer version. If you go back and listen to ‘Walkaway Joe’ from 1992, it’s an awesome record but it sounds like was recorded in ’92: it’s got a lot of reverb. If you hear it on the radio, next to what’s getting played today, it sounds different. I called the musicians who played on each cut and said, ‘I want to recreate this down to the science.’ I had to study the vocals, because I sing the songs live now so I don’t really sing them the same way. We
tried to create exactly the sounds we had done originally, but we didn’t mix it the same way again. When Don Henley came in again to sing ‘Walkaway Joe,’ we didn’t try to mix it to sound like 1992. It’s hard to explain but when I hear it, it sounds like a re-mixed, remastered version of the original, but it’s not.”

Trisha Yearwood Gets Help from Sylvester Stallone for New Album
For the album cover photo, Trisha put on boxing gloves (given to her by Sylvester Stallone) and a form-fitting white dress to strike a victorious pose. It's a departure from the normal headshots she usually puts on album covers, but Trisha felt the PrizeFighter title called for a bold photograph.
She says, "Usually I do a photo shoot, and I don't know what the album title's gonna be. I'm just trying to look pretty. This time knowing it, it's like, let's go be fierce and own it. Let's go do something really strong that matches the strength of the song."
Another standout song on PrizeFighter is "I Remember You," which serves as a tribute to her late mother, Gwen. As a surprise for Trisha's 50th birthday, her husband, Garth Brooks, secretly flew her sister, Beth, up to Nashville to record a harmony part on the song. Since Beth only sings in the church choir back home in Georgia, Trisha was stunned when she heard her sister singing on the track.
"When I go into listen to the mix, I'm like, I immediately know it's her, but it can't be her," Trisha said. "Like, how is that possible? And the song's emotional for her, too. The most amazing gift my husband could have ever given me, and it takes the song to yet another level 'cause she has a really angelic voice."

Critical reception for Trisha Yearwood’s “PrizeFighter: Hit After Hit”: 

Trisha Yearwood on PrizeFighter >> YouTube

Allmusic (Rating; 3.5 STARS) ....returning with the collection Prizefighter: Hit After Hit the same month as Brooks mounted his comeback with Man Against Machine. Comparatively, Yearwood's return to action wasn't as splashy: she showcased her six new songs, highlighted by the Kelly Clarkson duet "Prizefighter," next to ten of her standards.... the new songs are solid enough to raise the question of why she didn't go all the way and craft a brand-new album. Nevertheless, Prizefighter: Hit After Hit winds up as an effective reminder of Yearwood's strengths.
Billboard 615: Trisha Yearwood on 'Prizefighter' Album: 'It Feels Like a Long Time Coming'
Rollingstone: Trisha Yearwood on her country comeback

“Can’t Trust the Weatherman” on Soundcloud.com : Blurb: Is country at its best. The upbeat song kicks off with plenty of banjo and fiddle alongside some aggressive electric guitar and Yearwood’s familiar vocals. The song follows a couple who are expecting and plan a shotgun wedding. Of course, as the title suggests, you can’t always trust the weatherman to predict the best weather for a special occasion.

Sara Evans made a debut at No.135 on the BB200 (# 21 Country) with AT CHRISTMAS selling 3,700 copies. The physical copy of the album was released exclusively through Walmart stores.
The holiday classics are all here ("Silent Night," "Winter Wonderland), plus Evans features daughters Audrey and Olivia on "12 Days Of Christmas."
The title track, written by Shane Stevens and Toby Lightman, is the album's only original tune. And the singer said she's "most excited" about "The 12 Days of Christmas," thanks to her duet partners.
"My girls sing it with me," she reports of daughters Olivia, 12, and Audrey, 10. "It is precious; it'll make you cry. They have great voices." The first song I sang was 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,' and I kept getting choked up," Evans told Rolling Stone Country. "I'm always trying to think of something to give me inspiration or put me in a certain mindset. And I kept thinking, a Christmas album is very special because it's timeless. So then I started thinking about when my kids are older and I'm dead, and they're drunk celebrating Christmas… [laughs] listening to these songs, they're going to be so sad. I'm just kidding, they won't be drunk. But they'll cry! So I want this album to be special."

Critical reception for Sara Evans’ “At Christmas”: Amazon.com

For The Country Record........One of the major country Christmas releases this year is Sara Evans’ ‘At Christmas’, a collection of nine holiday standards and one original that happens to be the title track. There are few surprises on offer here; what you get is just quintessential Christmas classics, and quintessential Sara Evans, but there’s more than enough charm and vocal prowess on show to make sure it doesn’t get boring..... So if you’re looking for a great soundtrack these season that reflects Christianity, love, children and family, Sara Evans’ ‘At Christmas’ is what you’re looking for.

Billboard Top 200 / Country Album Placings
(Issue dated Chart week of December 6, 2014)
(Country Album positions #1 - #25)
(TW) This Week, (LW) Last Week, Co (Country Album Chart placing / Movement)

































Billboard Catalog Albums Chart (week of December 6, 2014)


Country Catalog Albums

It’s beginning to look a lot more like Christmas on the Billboard 200 and Billboard Country Catalog Album charts with Blake Shelton who led the notable pack with Christmas release CHEERS, IT’S CHRISTMAS moving 2-1 selling 7,500 copies for a new total of 554,100 in his 25th week on the Catalog chart.

1 2 25 Cheers, It's Christmas - Blake Shelton #4 Top Catalog
2 5 15 Duck The Halls: A Robertson Family Christmas - The Robertsons #7 Top Catalog
3 1 167 The Ultimate Hits - Garth Brooks #9 Top Catalog
4 7 139 Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer - Burl Ives
5 8 5 Merry Christmas... Love, Elvis - Elvis Presley
6 9 22 On This Winter's Night - Lady Antebellum #22 Top Catalog
7 12 3 The Classic Christmas Album - Elvis Presley
8 4 247 The Legend Of Johnny Cash - Johnny Cash
9 10 136 White Christmas - Martina McBride #33 Top Catalog
10 3 109 Red - Taylor Swift  #34 Top Catalog


Top 25 Hot Country Songs (week of December 6, 2014)

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, (tracked by Nielsen BDS from such services as Spotify, Muve, Slacker, Rhapsody, Rdio and Xbox Music, among others) according to BDS it results in:

  • Carrie Underwood with “Something in the Water” (19/Arista Nashville) held onto the No.1 for a third successive week in her 9th chart frame.
Hot County Songs
** No.1 (3 weeks) **  “Something In The Water” Carrie Underwood
** Hot Shot Debut ** No.35 “You Look So Good In Love” Craig Wayne Boyd
Debut No.48 “Lay Low” Josh Turner


Billboard Country Airplay Chart Week of December 6, 2014

Keith Urban scored his 17th Billboard Country Airplay No.1, and first in exactly one year, as “Somewhere in My Car” (Hit Red/Capitol Nashville) moved 2-1 in its 24th chart frame. It logged 47.104 million audience impressions, a gain of +1.476 million and received 7,429 radio plays (+118) during the tracking week.
The song written by J.T. Harding with Keith Urban was first released by Hit Red/Capitol Nashville on 23rd June 2014 as the fourth single from his 2013 album FUSE. 
Urban remains in 10th place among acts with the most No.1s since the chart launched nearly 25 years ago. Alan Jackson, George Strait and Tim McGraw lead with 26 apiece.

Top local audience reach for “Somewhere” during the tracking week ending Nov. 16: WNSH New York (1.2 million impressions), WKLB Boston (1.1 million), KKGO Los Angeles (1.1 million), WUBL Atlanta (1.1 million) and KPLX Dallas (990,000).

In addition to “Everything” and “Us,” Urban peaked at No.8 with “Cop Car” in May. Through the week ending Nov. 16, the album had sold 407,000 copies and 2.8 million digital tracks. The latter figure includes 305,000 downloads sold of “Somewhere,” according to Nielsen SoundScan.












  • Kenny Chesney achieved his 47th Country Airplay top 10 with “Til It’s Gone” (Blue Chair/Columbia Nashville), which advanced 11-9 in its ninth chart week (31 million impressions, up 9 percent).
  • Garth Brooks drew Hot Shot Debut applause on Country Airplay at No. 50 with “Mom” (Pearl/RCA Nashville), the second single from his new release Man Against Machine. Lead track “People Loving People” peaked at No.19 in September.
  • Luke Bryan spilled red ink on the Country Airplay chart page with “I See You” (Capitol Nashville), which bagged Most Increased Audience and Most Added stripes logging 15.533 million audience impressions (up 70%), a gain of +6.395 million and received 2,472 radio plays (+1,032)  thanks to 62 fresh radio commitments (ADDS)
Women of Country 2014 Watch:

There were two solo female artists on the Top 30 Country Airplay songs with Carrie Underwood’s “Something In The Water” (12-11) and RaeLynn’s “God Made Girls” moving 21-20. “Girl In A Country Song” by duo Maddie & Tae climbed 5-3.
Jana Kramer #33, Kelsea Ballerini #43 and Lindsay Ell #51 were the additional three solo females in the remaining 31-60 slots, to make it just 8.3% of the entire Top 60 chart.

Country Airplay
*** No. 1 (1 week) *** "Somewhere In My Car” Keith Urban
** Most Increased Audience/ Most Added ** No. 23 "I See You" Luke Bryan
** Hot Shot Debut ** No.50 "Mom" Garth Brooks
Debut No.55 "Take Your Time" Sam Hunt
Debut No.59 "Eat Sleep Love Love You Repeat” Rodney Atkins


Billboard Country Digital Singles Chart Week of December 6, 2014

  • Carrie Underwood remained at No.1 atop the summit of the Billboard Country Digital Singles for a second week with Tim McGraw with “Shotgun Rider” again in the runner up position. On the allgenre Digital Songs Carrie fell 16-28 in her 8th week and Tim slipped back 28-35 in his fifth chart frame. That chart is headed by Taylor Swift as “Blank Space” remained at No.1 in its fouth chart frame with sales of 302,000 (down 8%; 949,000 4-week total) as her lead off hit “Shake It Off” fell 5-8.
  • Blake Shelton has the overall Digi chart story this week posting three singles in the Top 30 while Shelton’s protege on “The Voice,” Craig Wayne Boyd made a debut at #9 with “You Look So Good In Love” (19,000 sales)
Women Of Country Watch
Carrie Underwood with “Something In The Waterat No.1 and RaeLynn (15-14)

Dropping off the Top 30:
LW; Artist; Track
21 - Lady Antebellum “Bartender” 
22 - Miranda Lambert  Carrie Underwood “Somethin’ Bad” 
23 - Luke Bryan “Roller Coaster” 
26 - Luke Bryan “Play It Again”
27- Craig Wayne Boyd “Some Kind Of Wonderful “  
28 - Scotty McCreery “Feelin’ It” 
29 - Parmalee Close “Your Eyes”   
30 - Sam Hunt Make “You Miss Me” 

Top 30 Digital Singles in Country Music (published November 27, 2014)
 (LW) Last Week (TW) This Week
*Numbers are rounded to nearest 1000th


































Country Aircheck MEDIABASE Chart

Little Big Town moved 3-1 to land No1 on Mediabase with “Day Drinking” (Capitol). The song logged 7,861 radio spins (+493) and 55.599 million audience impressions (+2.324 million) from 149 tracking stations for the tracking week November 16 to November 23, 2014 and published chart November 24th.
Congratulations to UMG Nashville SVP/Promotion Royce Risser, Capitol Nashville VP/Promotion Steve Hodges, Capitol Nashville VP/Promotion Shane Allen, and the entire Capitol Promotion team for scoring this week's #1 single on the MEDIABASE Country singles chart with Little Big Town's "Day Drinking." The single marked LBT's second trip to the #1 position, the first coming in Sept 2012 when "Pontoon" floated to the top of the chart. "Day Drinking" is the first single from LBT's current album, "Pain Killer," available at retailers nationwide.


Congratulations to RCA SVP/Promotion Keith Gale, Dir./National Promotion Josh Easler and the entire RCA Promo team for earning 51 MEDIABASE Country adds with Garth Brooks' "Mom." "Mom" is the second single from Brooks' recently-released MAN AGAINST MACHINE album. Those adds give Shelton the "Most Added" title this week.
Bagels were due to be delivered to RCA’s office (Nov 25th) to congratulate the staff on their success.

For a detailed report check out Country Aircheck Weekly Issue 424 - November 24, 2014 [PDF File]
For the very latest up to the minute Mediabase Chart (Past 7 Days) go here - www.mediabase.com

Billboard Boxscores (Selective Country concerts, published Chart Week of Dec 6, 2014)

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