Country Album Billboard Top 200 Chart News June 21, 2012

Country Album Billboard Top 200 Chart News June 21, 2012

Pop/R&B star Usher has this weeks No. 1 Album on Billboard Top 200 as LOOKING 4 MYSELF debuts atop the list with 128,000 sold according to Nielsen SoundScan. His last full-length studio album, 2010's "Raymond v Raymond," also launched at No. 1, but with bigger sales. It started with 329,000. "Looking" also registers Usher's smallest first-week sales for a regular studio album since 1997's "My Way" bowed with 67,000.

Also of not British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran takes a bow at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 with his first full-length album, "+." The set starts with 42,000 and also debuts at No. 1 on the Folk Albums chart. Seventy-nine percent of its first-week sales were digital downloads.

Josh Turner
Punching Bag artwork (Amazon)

Josh Turner debuts at No. 4 on the Top 200 with PUNCHING BAG, selling 44,907 copies in its first week. It's his fourth top 10 set on the Billboard 200 and the 11th country album to bow in the top 10 this year. A year ago at this point, only six country sets had started in the top 10. Over on the Top Country Albums chart, PUNCHING BAG is his second No. 1.

His first came with 2006's "Your Man." Turner's last studio album, 2010's HAYWIRE, bowed at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on Country Albums with 85,000. 

The first single from the new album, "Time Is Love," is the fastest moving single of Josh's career. Josh co-wrote eight of the 11 tracks on the album, many penned within the four walls of his newly built cabin located on his property behind his home to serve as a 'songwriter's den' and personal getaway.

Turner steps into his own as a songwriter with eight finely-crafted contributions far from being a punching bag, this album contains enough musical muscle to throw a few punches of its own, wrote Country Weekly.

Dallas Morning News added, That deep, soulful, traditional country voice could transform even the most calculated radio ditties into resonating songs to live by."

Additionally, CBS said, The album is an overall fantastic exposition of Joshs talent and ability to excel in a variety of styles

The UK's MAVERICK magazine says, "It's always tough to bring something new to a musical genre, but Josh Turner has achieved that near-impossible task again and again, yet has never overlooked just where country music has come from. It's [his] skill at taking stock of everyday situations...some of them quite mundane... and turning them into musical classics that makes him possibly the most important artist to have emerged in country music for years and years."  (Full details on EB Media)

*  Find Josh’s album on Amazon.uk CD Format – Amazon.uk MP3 Deluxe Album – Amazon.com

Also to note on the Top 200 is  “You And Tequila” Grace Potter, front woman of the Vermont-born Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, is the favorite cousin of the country world. Their album THE LION THE BEAST THE BEAT, has made its debut at number 17 .  With his longtime co-producer Buddy Cannon, Kenny Chesney produced “Stars” and “Ragged Company” on the deluxe version. Chesney first heard “Stars” in February. “We were hanging out in her kitchen and she grabbed her guitar and played me a verse and chorus of the song which she was still writing,” recalls Chesney. “I love the creative process. I was there when the song was born and we nurtured it through the studio and onto the record. That’s pretty cool.” Chesney and Alison Krauss also provide background vocals on this superb song

Alan Jackson drops 6 places on the Top 200 with last week’s #1 Country album THIRTY MILES WEST, his debut for his label ACR/EMI Nashville. In its second week with sales of 36,739 (weekly sales loss of 50%) it was reached 110K copes sold.

The latest edition of the Now That's What I Call Country Music series (Volume 5) made a debut at #4 this week (25,000 copies sold)

Carrie Underwood over in London this week saw her album BLOWN AWAY make a weekly sales loss of 13% (24K sold) and she rounds out the top five country albums.

Edens Edge debuts at #49 on Top 200 (#9 Country Chart) with their self-titled debut album having sold 9,000 copies. The Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® have released a Deluxe Edition CD. The release includes three additional exclusive tracks and coincides with the hot newcomers’ self-titled, standard edition on Big Machine Records. The talented, Arkansas-bred trio includes lead vocalist Hannah Blaylock; harmony vocals, guitar and dobro player Dean Berner; and harmony singer, mandolin, banjo and guitar player Cherrill Green.

Mary Chapin Carpenter also debuted at number 68 on the Top 200 (#15 Country) with her latest Zoe/Rounder album, titled  ASHES AND ROSES. Her much anticipated 12th studio album will be available in Canada on June 19 and the UK on July 2.

Recorded in Nashville, the new 13-track album was produced by Carpenter and long-time collaborator Matt Rollings (Lyle Lovett, Keith Urban) and recorded and mixed by Chuck Ainlay (Mark Knopfler, Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson). Carpenter was backed by a band that included Rollings (piano, B-3 organ), Russ Kunkel (drums), Duke Levine (electric and acoustic guitar) and Glenn Worf (bass). Of making the record, Carpenter notes, “I was so fortunate to work again with these seminal musicians. Our history of making records together serves us in the most wonderful ways. Getting back into the studio this time felt as exciting as the very first opportunity we had to gather together.”  More album info

More album information including a track listing, credits, lyrics and track-by-track info are available here

Next week we’ll see the debut of WELCOME TO THE FISHBOWL the new release from Kenny Chesney (which will challenge Justin Bieber for #1 overall) and Don Williams with his first album in 8 years. Kenny Chesney is on track for a big debut with his new album, Welcome to the Fishbowl. Billboard projects the new set will sell around 200,000 copies and debut just behind Justin Bieber's new release BELIEVE album.

Billboard Top 200

LW	TW	Artist	Album	TW Sales	LW Sales	Total Sales	Country
NEW	4	Josh Turner	Punching Bag	44,907	-	45K	#1
2	8	Alan Jackson	Thirty Miles West	36,739	72,848	110K	#2
11	13	Luke Bryan	Tailgates & Tanlines	27K	25,364	1,176,000	#3
NEW	15	Various Artists	Now Country 5	25K	-	25K	#4
9	16	Carrie Underwood	Blown Away	24K	27,422	545K	#5
16	18	Lionel Richie	Tuskegee	18K	17,738	862K	#6
20	21	Eric Church	Chief	16K	16,216	856K	#7
23	26	Jason Aldean	My Kinda Party	14K	12,536	2,628,000	#8
NEW	49	Edens Edge	Edens Edge	9K	-	9K	#9
48	50	Rascal Flatts	Changed	9K	8,155	290K	#10
37	52	Kip Moore	Up All Night	9K	9,043	114K	#11
40	60	Lee Brice	Hard 2 Love	9K	8,507	126K	#12
38	61	Lady Antebellum	Own The Night		8,771	126K	#13
19	67	Jana Kramer	Jana Kramer		16,295		#14
NEW	68	Mary Chapin Carpenter	Ashes And Roses	7K	-	7K	#15
65	71	Brantley Gilbert	Halfway To Heaven		6,309		#16
73	76	Willie Nelson	Heroes		5,679		#17
49	77	Johnny Cash	Opus Collection: The 80th Anniversary		8,121		#18
68	84	The Band Perry	The Band Perry		6,216		#19
77	85	Blake Shelton	Red River Blue	6K	5,438	716K	#20

Albums Due To Drop 

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

Little Feat/Rooster Rag/Rounder

BILLBOARD HOT COUNTRY SINGLES NEWS

Eric Church is the boss of Country Songs for a second successive week , with his third single, “Springsteen,” from critically-acclaimed record, CHIEF ".

> >  [LISTEN] to Eric Church  "Springsteen".  The track is available on Amazon.uk &  Amazon.com

June 19, 2012 – Country music trio Gloriana celebrates another career milestone as their latest single “(Kissed You) Good Night” grabs the #9 spot on the Billboard Country Singles Chart, making it their first single to land in the Top 10 and the fastest rising single of their career. The single is from the band’s much-anticipated second studio album A THOUSAND MILES LEFT BEHIND on Emblem Music Group/Warner Bros. Records, which is set for release July 31st. Gloriana is currently out on the road performing headlining dates across the country as well as a few select dates opening for Alan Jackson.

“Between finishing up the new album, performing across the country, and now seeing how much this single has really connected with country music fans, we have really had an amazing year so far,” said band member Tom Gossin. “We are extremely grateful for all of the support and can’t wait for our album release”

Eric Church with “Springsteen” stays at #1 for a second week!

Luke Bryan with ‘Drunk On You’ stays at  #2

Brantley Gilbert with “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do” stays at #3

Eli Young Band with “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” is up one notch, #5 - #4

Tim McGraw with “Better Than I Used To Be” moves up on place to #5

Dierks Bentley with ‘5-1-5-0’ is the greatest gainer moving #10 -#6

Carrie Underwood with former #1  “Good Girl” falls #4 - #7

Toby Keith with ‘Beers Ago’ moves up one place, #9 -#8

Glorianna and “(Kissed You) Good Night” is up two, # 11 - #9

Kenny Chesney with “Come Over” enters the Top 10, #12 -#10

The Band Perry with “Postcard From Paris” is up two, # 13 -#11

Josh Turner with ‘Time Is Love” is up 2 places #14 - #12

Love And Theft with “Angel Eyes” is up 2 places, #15 - #13

Keith Urban with “For You” moves up #16 - #14

Jana Kramer with “Why Ya Wanna” is up 2, #17 - #15

Blake Shelton with “Over” jumps up 3 spots #19 - #16

Dustin Lynch with Cowboys And Angels is up #18 - #17
Thompson Square with “Glass” move up 2 places #20 - #18

Thomas Rhett’s  “Something To Do With My Hands” is up #21 - #19

THE FARM with “Home Sweet Home” make the Top 20, #22 - #20

Singles due to drop

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 (21st June 2012)

Luke Bryan with “Drunk On You” racked up another 100,000 copies this week and has now sold 1.325 million singles.

Eric Church’s “Springsteen” at #2 has now sold 1.2 million singles maintaining his weekly sales.

Little Big Town’s  “Pontoon” drops one place to number 3 as their summer song passes the 200K mark (211K sales)  in three weeks on the digital chart. 

Kenny Chesney with his latest hit and album lead-off track “Come Over” stays at #4.

Hunter Hayes is heading for a Gold single with “Wanted” having reached 468,000 sales and has the #5 position.

Kip Moore has a Platinum single firmly in his sights with sales of 986,000 singles amassed for “Somethin’ ‘Bout A Truck” .

Dierks Bentley’s fast rising Top 10 radio hit “5-1-5-0” sits at #8. He has now sold 250,000 singles.

Jana Kramer has slipped 6 places down the chart but has passed the 300,000 sales mark with her breakthrough single “Why Ya Wanna.”

Keith Urban’s single “For You” from the Act of Valor soundtrack is making a move up the airplay charts and jumps from #27 to #22 on the Digital charts.

Blake Shelton’s fourth single from RED RIVER BLUE, “Over” leaps 15 slots on the chart this week to #24 overall and with sales this week of 20K now has a tally of 100,000 sold.

Top 30 Digital Singles In Country Music (6/22/12)

LW	TW	Artist	Song Title	TW Sales	LW Sales	Total Sales
1	1	Luke Bryan	Drunk On You	100K	109K	1.325.000
3	2	Eric Church	Springsteen	77K	78K	1.207.000
2	3	Little Big Town	Pontoon	70K	81K	211K
4	4	Kenny Chesney	Come Over	69K	74K	285K
7	5	Hunter Hayes	Wanted	52K	50K	468K
5	6	Kip Moore	Somethin' Bout A Truck	49K	56K	986K
6	7	Carrie Underwood	Good Girl	46K	54K	1.082.000
8	8	Dierks Bentley	5-1-5-0	45K	44K	250K
9	9	Eli Young Band	Even If It Breaks Your Heart	43K	43K	571K
10	10	Gloriana	(Kissed You) Good Night	37K	38K	446K
13	11	Love and Theft	Angel Eyes	33K	32K	254K
22	12	Josh Turner	Time Is Love	31K	23K	304K
14	13	Toby Keith	Beers Ago	29K	31K	231K
12	14	Jason Aldean	Fly Over States	27K	34K	730K
19	15	Dustin Lynch	Cowboys & Angels	27K	25K	233K
20	16	Lee Brice	Hard To Love	26K	25K	190K
11	17	Jana Kramer	Why Ya Wanna	26K	38K	305K
15	18	The Band Perry	Postcards From Paris	25K	28K	191K
17	19	Luke Bryan	I Don't Want This Night To End	25K	27K	1.738.000
21	20	Tim McGraw	Better Than I Used To Be	23K	23K	576K
26	21	Brantley Gilbert	You Don't Know Her Like I Do	23K	21K	587K
27	22	Keith Urban	For You	23K	21K	163K
16	23	Taylor Swift	Eyes Open	23K	27K	950K
39	24	Blake Shelton	Over	20K	14K	100K
24	25	Toby Keith	Red Solo Cup	20K	22K	1.920.000
25	26	Kenny Chesney/ Tim McGraw	Feel Like A Rock Star	19K	22K	385K
28	27	Luke Bryan	Country Girl (Shake It For Me)	19K	19K	1.958.000
30	28	Easton Corbin	Lovin' You Is Fun	17K	18K	128K
23	29	Miranda Lambert	Over You	17K	23K	851K
29	30	Jason Aldean	Dirt Road Anthem	17K	18K	3.109.000