Country Album Billboard Top 200 Chart News June 14, 2012

Country Album Billboard Top 200 Chart News June 14, 2012

Back on the Billboard 200, Adele's "21" returns to No. 1 for a 24th week, selling 75,048 copies (up 30%). The set is basking in the glow of the singer's NBC TV special, "Adele Live in London," which aired on June 3. "21" holds the most frames at No. 1 since Prince & the Revolution's "Purple Rain" soundtrack also spent 24 weeks atop the list in 1984 and 1985. Only eight albums including "21" have ruled for at least 24 weeks.

Country king Alan Jackson debuts at No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart with his latest effort, "THIRTY MILES WEST." The set sold 72,848 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The album is his first for EMI Nashville after more than 20 years with his previous (and only) record label, Arista Nashville.



Alan Jackson
Amazon Cover artwork



THIRTY gives Jackson an even dozen top 10 albums on the Billboard 200. He was last in the top 10 with 2010's "Freight Train," which debuted and peaked at No. 7 with 72,000.  Jackson’s Thirty Miles West has debuted at the top of Billboard’s Top Country Albums sales chart, making it his 13th album to debut in the #1 spot on release week.

The album also bows at #2 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums sales chart that includes all genres of music, bested only by chart-blazing Adele’s 21. This is the best first-week sales for Jackson since the release of his platinum-selling GOOD TIME in 2008. Released on June 5, THIRTY MILES WEST is Jackson’s first new release on ACR (Alan’s Country Records)/ EMI Records Nashville; the album was produced by Keith Stegall.

THIRTY MILES WEST is already proving itself as an acclaimed recording. “Jackson handles both real-life drama and sly humor with laid-back grace – making Thirty Miles West another example of how to keep traditional country music relevant in modern times,” says the Associated Press, which also notes, “No other artist of his generation deserves this destiny more, for no other has better represented the traditions of country music than this Georgia native.”

“THIRTY MILES WEST is built on the twin pillars of Jackson’s trademark sound: country-soul ballads and twanging modern honky-tonk,” says the Chicago Tribune, adding, “He may be surrounded on the charts by a sea of Nashville pop and rock artists, but Jackson remains a country traditionalist to the bone.”

The new album resonates with “the straightforward, down-to-earth style that has helped to make him, both artistically and commercially, such an enduring success,” says the Philadelphia Inquirer…People notes, “Thirty Miles West is a journey worth taking”…and the New York Times says, “Jackson does sublimely expressive things with the album’s lead single, ‘So You Don’t Have to Love Me Anymore,’ a fine, old-fashioned tear-jerker that captures a distinctly masculine blend of gallantry, taciturnity and martyrdom.”

Jackson wrote six of the 13 songs included on THIRTY MILES WEST. Writing about the new album, Billboard reported, “Jackson is in an elite group of songwriters, including Paul McCartney and John Lennon, who’ve written more than 20 of their own chart-topping tunes. In the country format, he’s second only to Merle Haggard in terms of writing or co-writing number one hits that he’s also recorded.”

Thirty Miles West is Jackson’s 14th studio album; it’s the latest in an unbroken string of 20 albums that have reached the Top 10 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart – that list also includes three hits collections, two holiday albums, and his acclaimed 2006 gospel album, Precious Memories, which remains one of the Top 3 best-selling Catalog Country Albums this week.

( Source - NASHVILLE, Tenn.  June 13, 2012 www.alanjackson.com/news )

[Listen] to Alan Jackson ‘Long Way To Go’ 

Alan’s album THIRTY MILES WEST is available on:

 Amazon.uk  (CD) / Amazon.uk  (MP3 Download)   and Amazon.com (CD)  / Amazon.com (MP3)

Carrie Underwood's BLOWN AWAY falls from three to No. 9 on the Top 200 (#2 Billboard Country album). The album sold 27,422 copies a week on week sales dip of 13. 

Also of note with debut albums are Neil Young who grabs his second-highest-charting album as AMERICANA debuts at No. 4 with 43,757 copies. His only other set to surpass that ranking was 1972's HARVEST, which spent two weeks at No. 1. AMERICANA, recorded with Crazy Horse, is mostly a collection of folk standards.

Alt Country/ Folk Rock Brandi Carlile's BEAR CREEK is new at No. 10 with debut sales of 27,190 copies . Her previous high-water mark was the No. 26 debut and peak of her last full-length studio set, 2009's Give Up the Ghost, with a 25,000 bow.

64-year-old veteran guitar slinger and part-time Eagle Joe Walsh debuts at number 12 with ANALOG MAN his first solo record in 20 years, probably selling around 24,000 copies sitting behind Luke Bryan’s Tailgates & Tanlines at #11.

This compares to Walsh’s Eagles buddy Glenn Frey who with his 2012 solo album AFTER HOURS made its debut at #116 at the end of May and quickly fell off the Top 200.

Singer-songwriter Shawn Colvin makes her Billboard appearance at #126 with her new album ALL FALL DOWN.  Colvin has been touring again with Mary Chapin Carpenter in the States.

Back strictly to country matters we find Jana Kramer debuts at #5 (#19 overall on Top 200) this week with her self-titled Elektra Nashville debut album selling just over 16,000 copies for the “Why Ya Wanna” singer. Nashville's favorite new singer-songwriter, Jana released her self-titled album released June 5th, 2012.  The album, produced by Scott Hendricks (Blake Shelton, Brooks & Dunn), also ranked as the No. 2 selling digital release, behind none other than Alan Jackson, in the country genre.

Jana Kramer

While she's a beautiful brunette, Jana adds a solid vocal, song-writing skills on top of her model looks. It's a potent package that certainly should find favour with plenty of female and male fans alike.

Her debut single "Why Ya Wanna" finds the Michigan native currently at #17 on the Billboard Country Songs chart and at

#11 on the Digital Singles Chart selling 280,000 singles to date.

Find Jana’s album on:
Amazon.uk CD Format – Amazon.uk MP3 Single – Amazon.com

Kip Moore’s UP ALL NIGHT at #8 on the country chart has now amassed sales of 114,000, giving him the best-selling debut country album of 2012 to date.  

Willie Nelson’s Heroes due a post-CMT Music Awards sales bump. The Pistol Annies also received a big sales bump thanks to a CMT performance and flew up the Top 200 chart doubling last weeks sales figures.

The Rodney Crowell and Mary Karr collaboration titled KIN debuts at #172 on the SoundScan Top 200 and #32 on the Country Album Chart with 3,000 copies sold.

Next week we will see how high the new albums by Josh Turner and Edens Edge will chart.

The Billboard 200

LW	TW	Artist	Album	TW Sales	LW Sales	Total Sales	Country
NEW	2	Alan Jackson	Thirty Miles West	72,848	-	72,848	#1
6	9	Carrie Underwood	Blown Away	27,422	31,530	544,578	#2
9	11	Luke Bryan	Tailgates & Tanlines	25K	24,354		#3
10	16	Lionel Richie	Tuskegee	18K	21,538	862K	#4
NEW	19	Jana Kramer	Jana Kramer	16K	-	16K	#5
14	20	Eric Church	Chief	16K	15,073	856K	#6
21	23	Jason Aldean	My Kinda Party	14K	12,878	2,628,000	#7
38	37	Kip Moore	Up All Night	9K	9,752	114K	#8
45	38	Lady Antebellum	Own The Night	9K	8,399	1,631,000	#9
41	40	Lee Brice	Hard 2 Love	9K	8,963	126K	#10
48	48	Rascal Flatts	Changed		8,098		#11
27	49	Johnny Cash	Opus Collection: The 80th Anniversary		10,813		#12
61	65	Brantley Gilbert	Halfway To Heaven		6,597		#13
74	67	Zac Brown Band	You Get What You Give	6k	5,520	1,296,000	#14
62	68	The Band Perry	The Band Perry		6,620		#15
85	73	Willie Nelson	Heroes	6K	5,315	37K	#16
78	77	Blake Shelton	Red River Blue		5,546		#17
188	81	Pistol Annies	Hell On Heels	5K	2,570	332K	#18
104	94	Hunter Hayes	Hunter Hayes	5K	4,637	135K	#19
96	102	Toby Keith	Clancy's Tavern		4,781		#20
117	103	Miranda Lambert	Four The Record		3,963		#21
92	105	Scotty McCreery	Clear As Day		4,904		#22
119	120	Tim McGraw	Emotional Traffic		3,916		#23
103	121	Dierks Bentley	Home		4,388		#24
138	166	Eli Young Band	Life At Best		3,459		#25
101	171	Ronnie Dunn	Ronnie Dunn Deluxe		4,550		#26
43	176	Wade Bowen	Given		8,747		#27
164	177	Jake Owen	Barefoot Blue Jean Night		2,787		#28
68	182	Kevin Costner & Modern West	Hatfields & McCoys: (Soundtrack) Famous For Killing Each Other		5,677		#29

Albums Due To Drop

June 12
Edens Edge/Edens Edge/Republic Nashville
Josh Turner/Punching Bag/MCA

June 19
Kenny Chesney/Welcome to the Fishbowl/BNA
Marlee Scott/Beautiful Maybe/Big Ride Entertainment

June 26
Mindy Smith/Mindy Smith/Giant Leap/TVX Records
Aaron Lewis/The Road/R&J Records

BILLBOARD HOT COUNTRY SINGLES NEWS

Eric Church
Single Artwork

Eric Church is the boss of Country Songs, as his third single, “Springsteen,” from critically-acclaimed record, CHIEF "Springsteen" rocks 2-1. It's his second leader and second in a row: "Drink in My Hand" topped the Jan. 28 chart.  Both songs were co-writes for Church. In addition, "Springsteen" celebrates over one million in sales this week, officially reaching RIAA Platinum certification as his debut album, Sinners Like Me, reaches Gold status selling over 500,000 copies worldwide. Church penned “Springsteen” with bandmate Jeff Hyde, who also co-wrote his hit "Smoke A Little Smoke," and Nashville songwriter Ryan Tyndell.  The record was produced by Jay Joyce and has earned 2012 ACM and GRAMMY nominations. (EB Media) . The song refers to several allusions to rock icon Bruce Springsteen songs but in the main concerns memories of a relationship past. Eric Church stated in an interview that the song isn't actually about Bruce Springsteen, reportedly choosing Springsteen due to his own reverence and respect for Bruce as an artist.

SPIN Magazine  named CHIEF their No. 1 Country Album of 2011 and "THE BLOOD, SWEAT & BEERS TOUR" a Top 20 tour of 2012: “Church offers that rarest of combos — impeccable songwriting and musicianship, plus genuine ornery attitude, and his anthemic, Boss-inspired can of corn, 'Springsteen,' is the finest addition to the doomed exurban-bandana-romance catalog since Steve Earle's I Feel Alright rebirth.” Rolling Stone said, “Name-checking "Born to Run" and "I'm on Fire," the tough North Carolina country singer pays tribute to the Garden State's greatest rocker – and the memories of teenage romance his songs evoke.” American Songwriter added, “It’s about music in general, and the singular ability a pop song has to anchor us to a place and time, no matter how fleeting or carelessly discarded that moment may have been. Which is the genius of “Springsteen,” really.”  Maxim proclaimed, “If the American flag could sing, it’d probably sound like this” when referring to the hit.  

Eric’s “The Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour,” has sold over 450,000 tickets thus far in 2012.

> >  [LISTEN] to Eric Church  "Springsteen". 

       The track is available on Amazon.uk &  Amazon.com

Eric Church with “Springsteen” moves up 1  spot, #2 - #1 to top the chart!

Luke Bryan with ‘Drunk On You’ moves up 3 places #5 - #3

Brantley Gilbert with “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do” makes a big move, #7 - #3

Carrie Underwood with last weeks #1  “Good Girl” falls #1 - #4

Eli Young Band with “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” is up 3 notches, #8 - #5

Tim McGraw with “Better Than I Used To Be” stays put #6

The Zac Brown Band with “No Hurry” drops down again #3 - #7

Kip Moore with former #1 “Somethin’ ‘Bout A Truck drops to #4 -#8

Toby Keith with ‘Beers Ago’ moves up one place, #10 -#9

Dierks Bentley with ‘5-1-5-0’ enters he Top 10, up one place #11 -#10

Glorianna and “(Kissed You) Good Night” is up one, #12 - #11

Kenny Chesney with “Come Over” moves up one spot, #13-#12

The Band Perry with “Postcard From Paris” is up one spot, #14 -#13

Josh Turner with ‘Time Is Love” is up on place #15 - #14

Love And Theft with “Angel Eyes”  is up 2 places, #17 - #15

Keith Urban with “For You” stays at #16

Jana Kramer with “Why Ya Wanna” is up one, #18 - #17

Greatest Gainer/Hot Shot Debut this week - No. 27 "The Wind" by Zac Brown Band

Singles due to drop

June 18
Gwen Sebastian/Met Him In A Motel Room/Flying Island
Craig Morgan/Corn Star/Black River

Casey James/Crying On A Suitcase/19/BNA
Denae Gardner/Welcome To America/4D Records

June 25
Trace Adkins/Them Lips (On Mine)/Show Dog-Universal
Miranda Lambert/Fastest Girl In Town/RCA
Maggie Rose/I Ain’t Your Mama/RPM
Stephanie Grace/Hey There

 

Top 30 Digital Singles In Country Music (13th June 2012)

Luke Bryan’s “Drunk On You” gained a 8% weekly increase selling 109,000 digital singles this week and retains the #1 position on the Country chart and #11 on the Billboard Hot Digital Songs Chart.

Little Big Town with “Pontoon” made weekly gains of 300% due to a promotional video ( >> YouTube) and their CMT Music Awards performance. They leapt up 11 places to the #2 spot with sales of 81,000 (54,000 sales increase) which represents shifting 101 singles per radio airplay spin!

Eric Church with platinum single “Springsteen” has the #1 position at country radio this week and drops one place on the digital sales chart to #3

Kenny Chesney’s “Come Over” drew a 72% weekly increase (74,000 sales) and moved up to #4 this week. He gained 33,000 sales over last week’s #6 sale of 43,000.

Kip Moore’s former airplay #1 single rounds out the Top 5 with “Somethin’ ‘Bout A Truck” which has now amassed a total of 937,000 singles

At #6 is Carrie Underwood’s “Good Girl” which sold another 54,000, and with a total of 1,036,000 has now officially sold Platinum.

Dierks Bentley’s “5-1-5-0” made some weekly gains and now passes the 200k mark with a current total of 205,000 and he moves up to is up to #8 this week.

Eli Young Band had a weekly increase of 5% (43,000 sales) and with a tally of 528,000 gain the Gold single status with “Even If It Breaks Your Heart”.

Gloriana have now sold 409,000 singles and they too have a gold single in their sights with “(Kissed You) Good Night”.

The Band Perry’s “Postcards From Paris” picked up speed with a 64% sales boost and moved up 14 places to #15.  This is the band’s fifth (and final) single from their 2011 debut .

Zac Brown Band’s “The Wind” which is the lead off single from their new album UNCAGED has debuted at #18 this week with 26,000 fans downloading the song.

Rising fast is Keith Urban with his single “For You” from the ACT OF VALOR soundtrack and moved up from #40 to #27.

LW	TW	Artist	Song Title	TW Sales	LW Sales	Total Sales
1	1	Luke Bryan	Drunk On You	109K	101K	1,225,000
13	2	Little Big Town	Pontoon	81K	27K	140K
2	3	Eric Church	Springsteen	78K	79K	1,130,000
6	4	Kenny Chesney	Come Over	74K	43K	216K
3	5	Kip Moore	Somethin' Bout A Truck	56K	57K	937K
4	6	Carrie Underwood	Good Girl	54K	50K	1,036,000
5	7	Hunter Hayes	Wanted	50K	48K	416K
10	8	Dierks Bentley	5-1-5-0	44K	38K	205K
8	9	Eli Young Band	Even If It Breaks Your Heart	43K	41K	528K
7	10	Gloriana	(Kissed You) Good Night	38K	42K	409K
12	11	Jana Kramer	Why Ya Wanna	38K	26K	280K
9	12	Jason Aldean	Fly Over States	34K	39K	703K
16	13	Love and Theft	Angel Eyes	32K	24K	222K
14	14	Toby Keith	Beers Ago	31K	25K	202K
29	15	The Band Perry	Postcards From Paris	28K	17K	166K
11	16	Taylor Swift	Eyes Open	27K	34K	927K
15	17	Luke Bryan	I Don't Want This Night To End	27K	25K	1,714,000
NEW	18	Zac Brown	Band The Wind	26K	0	26K
18	19	Dustin Lynch	Cowboys & Angels	25K	23K	206K
24	20	Lee Brice	Hard To Love	25K	20K	164K
23	21	Tim McGraw	Better Than I Used To Be	23K	21K	553K
17	22	Josh Turner	Time Is Love	23K	23K	273K
22	23	Miranda Lambert	Over You	23K	22K	834K
25	24	Toby Keith	Red Solo Cup	22K	19K	1,901,000
20	25	Kenny Chesney/ Tim McGraw	Feel Like A Rock Star	22K	22K	366K
21	26	Brantley Gilbert	You Don't Know Her Like I Do	21K	22K	565K
40	27	Keith Urban	For You	21K	13K	140K
26	28	Luke Bryan	Country Girl (Shake It For Me)	19K	17K	1,939,000
28	29	Jason Aldean	Dirt Road Anthem	18K	17K	3,093,000
32	30	Easton Corbin	Lovin' You Is Fun	18K	14K	111K