Country Billboard Chart News April 4, 2013
Justin Timberlake's "The 20/20 Experience" remained for a second week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, selling 317,587 copies (down 67% on first week sales) according to Nielsen SoundScan. It's more than 100,000 ahead of the No. 2 album, the debuting "I Am Not a Human Being II" from Lil Wayne (217,000).
When Taylor Swift's "RED" launched with 1.2 million it slipped by 72% in its second week. Her album is No.20 on the Top 200 and the week’s No.5 Billboard Country Album selling 25,327 copies, up 33% and a 23-week total of 3,570,995. In the first quarter of 2013 RED has sold over 438,000 copies.
After two weeks on sale, "The 20/20 Experience" has sold 1,286,677 to become the ONLY album to sell 1 million copies so far in 2013. Behind Justin is
Mumford & Sons' "Babel" with 2013's second-biggest selling album haul, with 693,000 sold.
Blake Shelton logged his best sales week ever, as his brand new set "BASED ON A TRUE STORY" bowed at No. 3 on the Billboard Top 200 with 199,086 copies sold. His previous biggest week came when his last studio set, 2011's "Red River Blue," bowed at No. 1 with 116,000 in July 2011.
"Based On a True Story" also debuted at No. 1, on the Billboard Country Album chart, giving Shelton his second No. 1 after RED RIVER BLUE. His 2010 EP ALL ABOUT TONIGHT which was released on August 10, 2010, via Warner Music Group Nashville, under its Reprise label also made the No.1. It was Shelton's second "Six Pak" (6 track), a concept that he and his record label opted for which started starting with the EP Hillbilly Bone.
Prior to the launch of TV show The Voice in April 2011, on which Shelton has gained popularity as a coach and judge for 4 seasons , he had never sold more than 77K copies of an album in one week.
"Based On a True Story" (Warner Bros.) was released on March 26, 2013. Shelton has not written any of the songs on this outing instead enlisting a top-shelf crew of Nashville’s best song smiths: Rhett Atkins, Dallas Davidson, Craig Wiseman, Rodney Clawson, Chris Tompkins and more — clearly know how to craft songs that are true to Shelton’s character. The track
"Grandaddy's Gun" was previously recorded by Rhett Akins on the 2010 album Michael Waddell's Bone Collector: The Brotherhood Album and by Staind singer Aaron Lewis on his full length debut country album, “The Road”.
Critical reception for BASED ON A TRUE STORY:
NY Times - He Speaks Country in a Dialect of His Own, Blake Shelton Gets Naughty on ‘Based on a True Story’.....There is no parental advisory warning label on the new Blake Shelton album, “Based on a True Story,” no special Walmart clean edition
For most country albums this wouldn’t be a surprise — the genre is nothing if not scrubbed clean, content with winks and allusions over actual grit. “Sure Be Cool If You Did” is vintage in structure but modern in content. “I Still Got a Finger” is Mr. Shelton’s update of “Take This Job and Shove It,” on which he complains about “hillbilly pay” for hard labour....To a purist Mr. Shelton is a savvy student of tradition. To a would-be outlaw he’s forever adding a wink. He’s a star who is only as explicit as you want him to be.
GAC Album Review - CMA Entertainer of the Year Blake Shelton’s eighth studio album comes from a happy place. Based On A True Story…tells the sort of tale you’d expect to hear from an artist clearly on the ascent with a soaring national profile and an ever-growing fan base. Working again with long-time producer Scott Hendricks (Trace Adkins, Jana Kramer), Blake dishes up 12 contemporary-leaning songs on the new record that serve as a light-hearted companion to his 2011 platinum-selling album, Red River Blue....... Based On A True Story… is the next step in Blake’s legacy; one that displays his own happiness with a good-natured and confident set. And that’s something to smile about.
USA Today (3.5 Stars) Blake Shelton's 'Story' is the truth...The country superstar's latest album is a highly entertaining mix of ballads and fist-pumpers.
Country Weekly (C+) - Since becoming a bona fide TV star, Blake Shelton’s time has been stretched to the max. Unfortunately, you can’t help but hear a little of that when listening to his latest album, Based on a True Story. While some of the project’s dozen tracks, like the beautiful ballad “Do You Remember” and the refreshingly ’70s-sounding “Lay Low,” which calls to mind Gary Stewart, are of Blake’s calibre, others feel rushed, as if The Voice coach hurriedly picked songs to record in Nashville before he had to catch his flight back to L.A.
Alan Jackson bows at No. 5 on the Top 200 and lands a No.2 Country album with "PRECIOUS MEMORIES: VOLUME II", his eighteenth studio album, via Alan's Country Records and EMI Nashville, selling 55,422 copies.
The album is a sequel to his 2006 smash Christian collection. The original set debuted and peaked at No. 4 with 107,000 and went on to become that year's biggest-selling Christian/gospel album. That RIAA platinum certification set, now catalog album, PRECIOUS MEMORIES reappears on the Billboard Top 200 at No.126 having sold 4,320 copies, an increase of 139% on the previous weeks' 1,809 haul.
That first hymns project was as an ode to his mother. Seven years later, Precious Memories has sold 1.7 million albums and Jackson returned to the studio recording more hymns that his mother loves so much. Releasing March 19, 2013, Precious Memories Vol. 2 promises to reach beyond Jackson’s country fans base and into the hearts of hymns and Gospel music fans.
In an exclusive Country Weekly interview, Alan talked about this latest project, which features Alan's take on “Amazing Grace,” “Just as I Am” and others. He also revealed that Sunday church wasn’t always on his priority list as a youngster in Georgia. “I didn’t really want to go,” Alan says, “but [my parents] made my sisters and I go every Sunday morning. Like any kid, I was just sitting there squirming, ready to get out.”
Alan is hoping people will enjoy Precious Memories Volume II as much as they did the first collection. "We didn't make the album with the intention of going out selling a bunch," he says. "It was just an honest effort to do something sweet for our mothers and I think that was a part of the feel of it. It was just sweet, honest, simple production and rendition of them. That's what we tried to do again."
"I had so many compliments from fans and even people who aren't really country fans. It just overwhelmed me"
Alan told AOL’s The Boot. "People have told me -- all over this country and even other parts of the world -- how much they loved that album. It's not just people older than me. I've seen young kids at my shows who have on the t-shirt that had the cover of that gospel album on it."
Critical Review
AllMusic 3 STARS - The difference between Alan Jackson's 2006 album Precious Memories and its 2013 sequel Precious Memories, Vol. 2 can be seen in the cover art as well as heard in its grooves. On the cover of the 2006 album is a sepia-tinted photo of Jackson sitting on the steps of an old church; on the cover of Vol. 2 is a crisp, clean color snapshot of the singer in a studio, consciously posing for the camera. Similarly, the first Precious Memories sounded old and dusty, as authentic as a small-town church, but this second volume is stark and bright, sounding as contemporary as the day it was recorded. This transparency doesn't hurt this collection of familiar hymns -- "Amazing Grace," "O How I Love Jesus," "Precious Memories," "When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder" are some of the featured tunes here -- but this does mean that the album doesn't feel quite as warm and cozy as its predecessor. Nevertheless, this is a reverent, resonant spiritual album distinguished by its sweet sincerity.
Alan Jackson performing "Amazing Grace" >> YouTube
and "Precious Memories" >> YouTube
** The album is available at Amazon UK CD - Amazon UK MP3
The third new album to appear on the Top 25 Country chart is Thompson Square’s second album, JUST FEELS GOOD (Stoney Creek Records), debuts at #13 on the Top 200 and at #4 on Billboard Country, selling 35,816 units.
This marks the country couple’s second top 15 album. THOMPSON SQUARE reached #15 in 2011.
Released on March 26, 2013 “Just Feels Good” includes the single "If I Didn't Have You", which has charted on Hot Country Songs to peak at #7 and No.5 on Billboard Country Airplay.
Critical reception for JUST FEELS GOOD
Gotcountryonline.com : From an audience of five just a few years ago, The Wheel former bartenders Keifer and Shawna Thompson have gone from the Lower Broadway bar in Nashville to co-writing five songs on this new album release. The duo has been making music side-by-side for 17 years. The new album, Just Feels Good, is a testament to the strength of their relationship. Everything I Shouldn’t Be Thinking About could be about their initial meeting and the sparks that came with love at first sight. (Interesting that their songs capture you in the first notes.) Keifer described the album as autobiographical, and the collaboration of many of country music’s best. Produced by Jason Aldean’s band, their sophomore release includes songs written by Brett James, Joe Leathers, Hillary Lindsay, Shane McAnally, Luke Laird, Kyle Jacobs, and Vicky McGehee.
USA Today (3 STARS) Husband-and-wife duo's songs play like a rom-com with dual narrators. They've got all the elements — meet-cutes, separation, obstacles and a happy ending — plus a soundtrack that mixes '70s-rock guitar with mandolin and pedal steel.
Country Weekly (B+) Any new artist with a successful debut album will tell you that they fear their follow-up won’t compare. Having your entire life to write your first collection and just months to write the second often yields a weaker sophomore effort.
With their new release, Just Feels Good, Thompson Square is laughing in the face of fear. Whether they felt the pressure of having to deliver an equally compelling follow-up to their successful self-titled debut or they’ve just hit their musical stride is anyone’s guess. One thing is certain: They’ve one-upped themselves. And the energy on Just Feels Good is palpable, whatever inspired it.
Taste Of Country (3 STARS) The best songs on Thompson Square‘s new album ‘Just Feels Good’ sound like a conversation between the two married lovers. Early on, their back-and-forth is light and playful. Later ballads take a more sombre tone, but all that find the ‘If I Didn’t Have You’ singers sharing lead are highlights from the duo’s sophomore project......As a collection of songs, however, Thompson Square simply rely too much on one dimension. A single song about death, dogs, tractors … anything, really, would be a great way to break up the sweet monotony.
** “Just Feels Good” is available at Amazon UK
The fourth new release to debut at No. 38 on the BB 200 and a No.11 Country placing is the Various Artists third annual ACM Awards 'ZinePak’.
This limited-edition fan collectible Walmart exclusive sold 15,305 copies; it includes 35 hit songs on 2 CDs and a 120-page magazine with exclusive interviews from country's biggest hit makers and brightest new stars. It also includes an ACM awards ballot with all the 2013 nominees and an ACM bumper sticker, ahead of the 48th Annual ACM Awards airing Sunday, April 7 on CBS. This is only at Walmart and available while supplies last.
Further down the Billboard Country chart at No.36 is perhaps a disappointing start for CUT TO IMPRESS (RPM Entertainment) from Maggie Rose with her debut studio album produced by James Stroud, Blake Chancey and Stephony Smith. It sold 1,743 copies and includes the singles "I Ain't Your Mama" and "Better". She previously released a handful of singles and an EP under the name Margaret Durante (Rose is her middle name).
Critical reviews for CUT TO IMPRESS
GAC Album Review: Offering up a wonderful lesson in showmanship, Cut To Impress more than lives up to its name with a wholly-unique blend of bluesy, R&B flavored country that is as sexy as it is fierce…..There’s a sense of urgency to Cut To Impress, which runs fast and clocks in at just about 35 minutes. The rockabilly-influenced closer, “Goodbye Monday,” even waits impatiently for the weekend when it’s still only Monday night. However, the immediacy only adds to Maggie’s freewheeling independence, as it’s quickly understood she’s going to do whatever it is she pleases. And on Cut To Impress, she does just that with a fresh and exciting debut.
Allmusic 4 STARS - Maggie Rose has everything it takes to be a country star in the 21st century. She has a powerful and slightly blues-infused voice, blonde good looks, and the kind of sassy, playful, take-no-bullshit attitude that makes her performances stand out in a crowd, a kind of good girl next door who isn't a stranger to turning up the bad girl alter ego when the song demands it. .. As debut albums go, this one arrives fully formed and ready to go, and if Maggie Rose doesn't end up being a major contemporary country star, well, then the whole thing is rigged.
** “Cut To Impress” (Time: 35:02) is available at Amazon UK CD - Amazon UK MP3
Making their bow at No.43 are The Black Lillies with RUNAWAY FREEWAY BLUES (Attack Monkey Productions/ North Knox Records) , it sold 1,170 copies.
Website Blurb / Track samples: Black Lillies front man Cruz Contreras knows a thing or two about the road. After co-founding Robinella and the CCstringband with his wife, he spent nearly a decade travelling the road and making music from coast to coast. When his marriage – and the band – dissolved in 2007, he returned to the road … this time, as the driver of a truck for a stone company. It was here, over a year spent rolling down the highways of East Tennessee, that the songs and sounds that would form the nexus of The Black Lillies were conceived.
And “Runaway Freeway Blues,” the band’s third studio album, was realized exactly there … on the road. When the Lillies weren’t playing their 200-odd gigs during 2012, they were in Wild Chorus Studio in their hometown of Knoxville, Tenn., working with Scott Minor of Sparklehorse to craft a beautiful ode to restless spirits and rambling hearts. Rooted in the mud-rutted switchbacks of Appalachia, “Runaway Freeway Blues” is the sound of a band that’s becoming something of a phenomenon across the country.
Contreras and his bandmates – harmony vocalist Trisha Gene Brady, multi-instrumentalist Tom Pryor, bass player Robert Richards and drummer Jamie Cook – have grown from a few friends sitting around campfires and living rooms to a band that shows up in far-flung cities where folks to whom they’ve never played before already know the words to the songs.
''With one foot planted firmly in Appalachian music culture and the other always expanding and evolving, the Black Lillies have created a unique sound embraced by fans old and young.'' - Vanity Fair
See Amazon UK for details.
The Redneck Social Club with We've Got Friends, We've Got Ammo, We've Got Plans [Explicit Lyrics] posted a new release at No. 55 on the country chart selling 781 copies - Amazon UK
What must have been due to Easter gifts most of the Top 25 received single and double digit sales increase. Last year Lady Antebellum released a Chocolate CD but it didn’t chart!
The biggest Easter 2013 winners were Luke Bryan’s TAILGATES & TANLINES with a 90% gain (17,462 sales), Eric Church’s CHIEF 15,679 sales, up 63%, Hunter Hayes self titled album, 15,784 sales up 65% and Brantley Gilbert’s HALFWAY TO HEAVEN, up 50% (6,380 sales).
Last weeks No.1 Country album SAME TRAILER DIFFERENT PARK by Kasey Musgraves fell to No.7 (No.31 BB Top 200) with sales of 17,586, down 60%, for a 2-week tally of 61,135.
After 52 weeks on the chart Rascal Flatts with CHANGED (BGMA) sold another 3,661 copies to finally pass the Gold ½-million scanned figure at retail having reached 502,207. All of their albums have made Gold, Platinum or multi-platinum.
After 4 weeks Ashley Monroe’s LIKE A ROSE has fallen off the Top 200 and has the No.26 Country place selling 2,818 copies (-18%; 21,301 sold in 4 weeks)
Kyle Park who made his debut at no.24 last week with BEGGIN' FOR MORE fell down to No.66 with sales of 642, down 76%.
Next week should see The Band Perry storm the charts with the release of PIONEER, their second album. RIGHT ON TIME from Gretchen Wilson should figure and then Brad Paisley’s WHEELHOUSE which drops April 9, will chart a week later.
Billboard Top 200 (Issue dated Chart week of April 13, 2013)
(Country Album positions #1 - #25)
(TW) This Week, (LW) Last Week, Co (Country Album Chart placing / Movement)
Billboard Chart History
Billboard Top Ten Country Albums for Week ending April 5, 1986:
1. Greatest Hits (RCA) Alabama
2. A Memory Like You (MCA) John Schneider
3. Live In London (Epic) Ricky Skaggs
4. Shakin' (Capitol) Sawyer Brown
5. Greatest Hits (RCA) Earl Thomas Conley
6. Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes (Epic) George Jones
7. Five-O (Warner Bros) Hank Williams, Jr.
8. Something To Talk About (Capitol) Anne Murray
9. Highwayman (Columbia) Johnny Cash, W Jennings, W. Nelson, K. Kristofferson
10. Rockin' With The Rhythm (RCA) The Judds
Top 25 Hot Country Songs (week of April 13, 2013)
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:
Darius Rucker ends a two-year absence atop Hot Country Songs with “Wagon Wheel,” which steps 2-1 in its 12th chart week to become his sixth leader on that list.
He most recently reigned with “This,” which crowned the April 30, 2011, chart.
“Wagon” is the second single from the South Carolina native’s third country album, TRUE BELIEVERS, which is due May 21. The lead single and title track from that set peaked at No. 24 in October. “Wagon” has rolled on in recent weeks with the single selling like hot cross buns to the top with both HCS Digital Sales and Streaming Gainer honours. Its sales this week of over 93,000 were up a further 25%.
It picked up streaming points with the music video plays, with a March 22 premiere, that helped it improve 68% in overall stream ratings. The clip for the song features Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum and the cast of the A&E reality series “Duck Dynasty.” On Billboard Country Airplay, “Wagon” sits at No. 12
Blake Shelton’s new album release spawned four debuts on Hot Country Songs Top 50, including the Hot Shot Debut at No. 37 with “Mine Would Be You.” Current radio track “Boys ’Round Here” rockets 44-15 in its second chart week and opens at No. 7 on Country Digital Songs.
Darius Rucker with “Wagon Wheel” moves up one to Top The Chart! #2 - #1
Blake Shelton with former No.1 “Sure Be Cool If You Did” drops one slot, #1 - #2
Lady Antebellum with “Downtown” stays at #3
Miranda Lambert with “Mama’s Broken Heart” stays at #4
Florida Georgia Line with “Get Your Shine On” stays at #5
Lee Brice with “I Drive Your Truck” stays at #6
Thompson Square with “If I Didn’t Have You” is up three, #10 - #7
Florida Georgia Line with former #1 “Cruise” is up, #11 - #8
Kenny Chesney with “Pirate Flag” stays at #9
Hunter Hayes with “Somebody’s Heartbreak” is down three, #7 - #10
Tim McGraw & Taylor Swift with “Highway Don’t Care” is up one, #12 - #11
Carrie Underwood with “Two Black Cadillacs” is down four places, #8 - #12
Jason Aldean with “1994” moves up seven , #20 - #13
George Strait with “Give It All We Got Tonight” stays at #14
Blake Shelton with “Boys ‘Round Here” rockets up from #44 - #15
Chris Young with “I Can Take It From Here” stays at #16
The Band Perry with former #1 “Better Dig Two” is down, #13 - #17
Eric Church with “Like Jesus Does” is down one, #17 - #18
Tim McGraw with “One Of Those Nights” is down, #15 - #19
Taylor Swift with former #1 ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” is up, #21 - #20
Gary Allan with former #1, “Every Storm” (Runs Out Of Rain) moves, #22 - #21
Kip Moore with “Hey Pretty Girl” is up five, #27- #22
Brantley Gilbert with “More Than Miles” stays #23
Brad Paisley with “Beat This Summer” is up four, #28 - #24
The Band Perry with “Done” is done one, #24 - #25
Hot Country Songs
*** No. 1 (1 weeks) /Greatest Gainer Digital & Streaming / *** “Wagon Wheel” Darius Rucker
** Greatest Gainer Airplay ** No.11 “Highway Don’t Care” Tim McGraw with Taylor Swift
** Greatest Gainer/Streaming ** No.18 “Merry Go ‘Round” Kasey Musgraves
** Hot Shot Debut ** No. 37 “Mine Would Be You” Blake Shelton
Debut No.42 “Do You Remember” Blake Shelton
Debut No.44 “Hush Hush” Pistol Annies
Debut No.47 “Doin’ What She Likes” Blake Shelton
Debut No.49 “Country On The Radio” Blake Shelton
Billboard Country Airplay Chart Week of April 13, 2013
Hunter Hayes achieves his second and fastest No. 1 with “Somebody’s Heartbreak” (Atlantic/WMN), which steps 2-1 in its 25th week on Billboard’s Country Airplay tally.
The song was written by Andrew Dorff, Luke Laird and Hunter Hayes and was produced by Dann Huff. It was released by the Atlantic label as a country/pop single back on October 22, 2012.
The song reached the summit five weeks faster than “Wanted,” which crowned the Nielsen BDS-fuelled chart on Sept. 29, 2012. The latter track was subsequently promoted to top 40 stations, culminating with two straight weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs in February.
In this chart week it drew a 39.525 million audience (+2.526) with 6,248 plays (+427).
Top local audience contributors for “Heartbreak” during the March 25-31 tracking week are led by WUSN Chicago and KKGO Los Angeles (1.3 million impressions apiece). Other top audience stations include KKBQ Houston (1.2 million), KSD St. Louis (722,000) and KUPL Portland, Ore. (707,000).
Hunter is set to premiere “I Want Crazy,” the lead single from second set Hunter Hayes (Encore) (June 18), during CBS’ April 7 telecast of the Academy of Country Music Awards, where he’s nominated for six trophies.
>> [LISTEN] to "Somebody's Heartbreak”
Driven mostly by coordinated hourly play at Clear Channel-owned stations on March 26, Blake Shelton registers his highest start on Country Airplay with “Boys ’Round Here” (Warner Bros./WMN), which drew Hot Shot Debut applause at No. 19.
It drew a 13.675 audience (in millions) with 1,705 plays and 66 Radio Station Adds monitored by BDS.
He set his previous best mark when “Honey Bee” popped on at No. 31 two years ago. The heaviest play for “Boys” during the tracking week is 81 spins at Clear Channel’s KAJA San Antonio, while the second-largest weekly total (51 plays) is noted at CBS-owned KMLE Phoenix. The track is the second radio single from his seventh studio album, and now No.1 Based on a True Story.
Shelton is the reigning ACM male vocalist of the year, and will be honoured with the organization’s Gene Weed Special Achievement Award for his work on NBC’s “The Voice.”
Strangely and lower on Country Airplay, Taylor Swift opens at No. 55 with “I Knew You Were Trouble” (Big Machine), which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January. The Country Airplay debut is based solely on 33 unsolicited plays and 658,000 audience impressions during the tracking week.
Taylor’s current country single is “Highway Don’t Care,” on which she shares billing with Tim McGraw and moved 18-17 in its eighth week. Her label hasn’t announced a subsequent single for country radio from her RED album.
Country Airplay
*** No. 1 (1 week)*** "Somebody's Heartbreak" Hunter Hayes
** Hot Shot Debut/Most Increased Audience/Most Added ** No. 19 Blake Shelton feat. Pistol Annies & Friends
Debut No.55 "I Knew You Were Trouble" Taylor Swift
Debut No.56 "Blowin' Smoke" Kacey Musgraves
Debut No.59 "Complete 360" Kix Brooks
Debut No.60 "See You Again" Carrie Underwood
Darius Rucker’s “Wagon Wheel” remained at No.1 on The Billboard Country Digital Chart selling 93,445 copies, up 25% and thus passed the GOLD 500K scanned figure at retail with a new 12-week tally of 521,936.
Blake Shelton sold 63,655 copies, down 6%, to reach 846,670 in 12 weeks with “Sure Be Cool If You Did” and remained at No.2.
Blake’s new radio hit “Boys ‘Round Here” debuted at No.7 with first week sales of 54,466. It features “Pistol Annies and Friends”.
Thompson Square with the release of their album saw their single “If I Didn’t Have You” move 15-10 with sales of 36,976, up 39% and 441, 809 sold in 20 chart weeks.
Jason Aldean’s “1994 ” moved up from 20-11, its sales of 36,118 were up by 58% to sell 140,560 in 5 weeks.
Of note Taylor Swift’s “non country”singles “22” sold 75,444 (up 56%; 635,570 total) and “I Knew You Were Trouble” sold 67,533, up 3%, to pass 4-million sales in America with a 4,064,752 total. Neither qualify for The Billboard Country Chart.
Top 30 Digital Singles In Country Music (April 4, 2013)
(LW) Last Week (TW) This Week
*Numbers are rounded to nearest 1000th
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