Country Billboard Chart News December 13, 2012

Country Billboard Chart News December 13, 2012

Taylor Swift celebrated her 23^rd birthday by watching her album RED return to the top spot on the Billboard Top 200 as the best selling disc in the U.S.

It’s sales of 166,999 units were up 22% and she replaced Alicia Keys' "GIRL ON FIRE," which fell 1-7,  with 76,686 sales (down 52%)

Swift has held the number one spot on the Top 200 for four weeks and has recorded the Billboard Country Album number one for seven straight weeks selling 2,382,541 copies in that time. That figure is more than any other album has sold in such a short time span since Susan Boyle's I DREAMED A DREAM sold 3,196,000 copies in its first seven weeks in 2009 and early 2010.

No other country artist is able to sell albums in such numbers in these modern times. It took Carrie Underwood some 30 retail weeks including recent heavy Thanks Giving discounting to pass 1-million sales during 2012.

Swift has sold 20,487,000 albums, which is more than any other artist who has come on the scene in the past 10 years. Her closest rivals are 50 Cent (16,535,000) and Michael Buble (16,137,000).

Comparing RED’s sales to Taylor’s previous album sales stats:

RED first 7 weeks sales

1 Week :: 1,208,290

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

3 Week :: 196,225 (-43%)

4 Week :: 144,534  (-26%)

5 Week :: 185,391 (+28%)

6 Week :: 136,545 (-26%) 

7 Week :: 166,999 (+22%) ----- Total 2,382,541

SPEAK NOW first 7 weeks sales

1 Week :: 1,044,477
2 Week :: 327,493 (-69%)
3 Week :: 209,512 (-36%)
4 Week :: 149,537 (-29%)
5 Week :: 255,991 (+71%)  

6 Week :: 177,011 (-31%) 

7 Week :: 201,318 (+14%) ------  Total 2,365,339

Florida Georgia Line's HERE'S TO THE GOOD TIMES debuted at #10 (62,758 units sold). It's the group's first top 10 album. It landed at #3 on The Country Album placings.

Florida Georgia Line released a five-song EP, It'z Just What We Do, produced by Joey Moi, behind "Cruise," and HERE'S TO THE GOOD TIMES, the group's first official full-length album, contains all five of those songs, plus six more, which were also produced by Moi. It's an aptly named album, because good times are at the heart of everything here, with songs like "Cruise," "Tip It Back," and "Party People" pretty much summing up Florida Georgia Line's philosophy.

GAC Review (Extract) Here’s To the Good Times follows the anthem-oriented groove of the summer tune “Cruise” with 11 songs that double down on the album’s title. Working with Producer Joey Moi (Jake Owen, Nickelback), FGL specializes in big choruses and bigger parties – all with a slick rock polish. On tracks like the blue collar “Round Here,” which rhymes hammer and nail with raise some hell, and the cleverly nostalgic “Hell Raisin’ Heat of Summer,” the guys come through with a smooth delivery sounding something like Montgomery Gentry covering Luke Bryan. Joey Moi’s recent work with Nickelback comes to mind on the club thumping, “Tell Me How You Like It,” where hand claps and slick electric leads support Tyler’s confident drawl in the verse before a strong chorus shows off the duo’s chemistry. Over an infectious wall of sound, Brian draws out a melody underneath Tyler’s quick punch to offer some truly dynamic passages.

Brian and Tyler met while studying at Nashville’s Belmont University and immediately began writing songs together. The duo co-wrote six of the 11 songs on Here’s To the Good Times, and their long history working together shows up often. On the hard rockin’ party song, “Tip It Back,” which celebrates everything from tipping back bottles to tipping out bartenders, the two move from bright harmonies in the chorus to a sequence giving an actual voice to the party. While Tyler sings, If you like pineapple coconut rum, baby, tip it back, Brian brings it alive in the background, offering, Come on, pretty girl. It’s a subtle trick easier for a duo to pull off, but it has the effect of making the story more vibrant.

Here’s To The Good Times is available on:

Amazon UK CD Format - Amazon.com CD Format - Amazon.com MP3 Downloads

The 3 big selling seasonal albums showed sales increases with Blake Shelton’s CHEERS, IT'S CHRISTMAS moving to #2 on the country Chart (#8 Top 200) selling 68,264 ( up 29% /270,630 total).

Lady Antebellum with ON THIS WINTER'S NIGHT sold 61,919 ( up 6% /278,865 total) and held the #4 country slot while Scotty McCreery’s SCOTTY CHRISTMAS WITH SCOTTY  (#5 Country) showed a small weekly rise of 1% selling 40,891 copies (244,579 total)

Lady A received an early Christmas gift when the RIAA issued GOLD certification for ON THIS WINTER’S NIGHT, their first full length holiday album. NOTE - This is based on units shipped to retail (not sold).

Jason Aldean's new album NIGHT TRAIN has been certified platinum by the RIAA for shipments of 1 million units. In eight retail weeks it has sold 865,704 copies. With sales of 39,845 (up 65) he held the #6 Country album slot.

Sara Evans' Greatest Hits from 2007 has finally reached gold status to signify shipments of 500,000 units.

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 results in:

Scoring the first proprietarily country leader since the ranking methods changed from core country radio audience to a digital, streaming and expanded radio panel hybrid, Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise” (Republic Nashville) in their 20th chart week, steps 2-1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, interrupting a nine-week stand by Taylor Swift’s crossover hit “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” (Big Machine). Although it never rose higher than its No. 13 debut position during an eight-week run on the Nielsen BDS-based Billboard Country Airplay tally, the three-pronged Hot Country Songs methodology helped Swift gain a record-setting number of weeks at the summit for a woman, surpassing Connie Smith’s eight weeks with “Once a Day” in 1964.

As Florida Georgia Line’s album arrived, “Cruise” added Greatest Gainer honours for the biggest overall streaming spike on Hot Country Songs, while four other tracks from Here’s to the Good Times, appear on the chart’s lower half. The title track takes the Hot Shot Debut at No. 33, followed by “Round Here” at No. 36, “Get Your Shine On” at No. 37 and “Stay” at No. 47.

Kip Moore celebrated his second top 10 with “Beer Money” (MCA Nashville), which jumps 11-9 in its 25th chart week. He crowned the chart for two weeks in June with “Somethin’’Bout a Truck,” the second single from his debut album, Up All Night, which entered at No. 3 on Top Country Albums in May.

Top 25 Hot Country Songs

Florida Georgia Line with “Cruise” is up one to Top the chart!

Taylor Swift with former #1 ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” drops #1-#2

Hunter Hayes with former number one “Wanted” stays at #3

The Band Perry with “Better Dig Two” stays at #4

Zac Brown Band with “Goodbye In Her Eyes” is up two slots, #7 - #5

Gary Allan with “Every Storm” (Runs Out Of Rain) jumps up, #10 - #6

Justin Moore with “Til My Last Day”is up one, #8 - #7

Carrie Underwood with “Blown Away” falls #5 - #8

Justin Moore with “Til My Last Day”is up one, #9 -#8

Kip Moore with “Beer Money” is up 2 slots, #11 - #9

Luke Bryan with “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” is down four, #6 - #10

Eric Church with “Creepin” is up one place, #12 - #11

Randy Houser with “How Country Feels” is up, #14 - #12

Jason Aldean (w Luke Bryan & Eric Church) and “The Only Way I Know” is up #15 -#13

Greg Bates with “Did It For The Girl” is up three, #17 - #14

Jake Owen with “The One That Got Away” falls, #9 - #15

Lee Brice with “Hard To Love” stays at #16

Kenny Chesney with “El Cerrito Place” is up two, #19 - #17

Brad Paisley with “Southern Comfort Zone” stays at #18

Little Big Town with “Tornado” is up 2 notches, #21 - #19

Taylor Swift with “Begin Again” stays at #20

Hunter Hayes with “Somebody’s Heartbreak” is up three, #24 - #21

Dierks Bentley with “Tip It On Back” is up 3 slots, #25 - #22

Tim McGraw with “One Of Those Nights” is up three, #26 - #23

Jason Aldean with former #1 “Take A Little Ride” is down, #23 - #24

Rascal Flatts with “Come Wake Me Up” falls, #13 - #25

Country Songs

*** No. 1 *** (1 week) "Cruise” Florida Georgia Line

** Greatest Gainer/Digital ** No.4  “Better Dig Two” The Band Perry

** Greatest Gainer/ Airplay **  “No.11 “Creepin’ ” Eric Church

** Hot Shot Debut ** No.33 “Here’s To The Good Times” Florida Georgia Line

New No.35 “When The Right One Comes Along” Sam Palladio

New No.36 “Round Here” Florida Georgia Line

New No.42 “I Drive Your Truck” Lee Brice

New No.46 “For Your Glory” Hayden Panettiere

New No.47 “Stay” Florida Georgia Line

New No.49 “She Cranks My Tractor” Dustin Lynch

Billboard Country Airplay Charts

Florida Georgia Line with “Cruise” (Republic Nashville) logs a fourth straight week at No. 1 on the Country Indicator chart and bullets for a second week atop the Country Airplay tally. The rookie duo dips 108 plays on the national formats/secondary-market chart, but finishes 76 spins ahead (3,321 Country Indicator plays) of Zac Brown Band’s “Goodbye in Her Eyes” (Atlantic/Southern Ground), which moves 4-2 (up 239 plays with a total of 3,245 Country Indicator plays).

Meanwhile, a second track from Florida Georgia Line’s album arrives with Hot Shot Debut honors at No. 52 on Country Airplay, noted as “Get Your Shine On” bows with 835,000 audience impressions at 12 of the 124 stations monitored for this week’s chart.

Also noteworthy on Country Airplay, singer/songwriter Lee Brice reaches his highest perch in the shortest amount of time, as “I Drive Your Truck” (Curb) takes a 53-36 leap in its second chart week, up 1.4 million impressions

Country Airplay

*** No. 1  (2 weeks) *** "Cruise" Florida Georgia Line

**  Most Increased Audience/ ** No.3 “Goodbye In Her Eyes” Zac Brown Band (+3.47 Million gain)

** Most Added **  No.36 “I Drive Your Truck” Lee Brice (28 Adds / +386 plays)

** Hot Shot Debut ** No.52 “Get Your Shine On” Florida Georgia Line

Debut No.57 “Home” Blake Shelton featuring Michael Buble

Debut No.58 “Starshine” Sweetwater Rain

Debut No. 59 “Party Like Cowboyz” Big & Rich

Debut No. 60 “Bruises” Train featuring Ashley Monroe

TOP DIGITAL SINGLES in Country Music (12 December 2012)

Florida Georgia Line dominated the singles sales Chart with tracks from “HERE’S TO THE GOOD TIMES,” their debut album for Republic Records Nashville.

With sales of their album leading HERE’S TO THE GOOD TIME onto the Album chart, Florida Georgia Line falls-in-line with major country stars, a remarkable achievement given they started the year without a record deal, and scored three singles in this Top 30 rundown from the record. “Cruise” held at #1 again selling 71,415 copies ( up 6% on the previous week) to take their tally to 1,072,333. title cut “Here’s To The Good Times” also inside the Top 10 at #9 sold 21,889 copies and “Round Here” at No.18 shifted 16,749 downloads

The Band Perry’s “Better Dig Two” sold 58,304 (up 11%), to reach a 6 week retail total of 339,502

and stayed at #2.

Gary Allan’s “Every Storm Runs Out Of Rain”, moved 6-3, with the song from the upcoming SETS YOU FREE album, selling 42,771 copies (+13%) to amass sales of 362,975 over 15 chart weeks.

Thanks to the seasonal special on NBC Blake Shelton’s “Home” (featuring Michael Buble) made its debut at No.17

US The Voice contestant Cassadee Pope’s take of her mentor Shelton’s “Over You” fell 5-20 but with sales this week of 26,223, down 58% it easily passed the 200K mark in 3 weeks to reach 207,242

New singles on the chart came from the Nashville TV show. Sam Palladio and Clare Bowen logged sales of 20,822 to land at #12.

Brenda Lee’s seminal yuletide favorite “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” sold 12,943 copies, up 15% to hit a total of 687,819 sales.

Billboard Country Digital Singles Chart Top 30  (12/12/2012)

(LW) Last Week  (TW) This Week 

*Numbers are rounded to nearest 1000th