Country Billboard Chart News August 28, 2013

Country Billboard Chart News August 28, 2013

In Brief:  Billboard Country Charts

Country Album Chart ** No. 1 (2  weeks) ** CRASH MY PARTY   Luke Bryan

Hot Country Songs ** No. 1 (2 weeks) **  “That’s My Kind of Night” Luke Bryan

Country Airplay ** No. 1 (1 week) ** "Little Bit Of Everything”  Keith Urban   

Country Digital Songs ** No. 1 ** (2 weeks)  “That’s My Kind of Night” Luke Bryan

Billboard Top 200 / Country Album Chart News

Luke Bryan's CRASH MY PARTY spends a second week at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums (BB200), and the Billboard Country Album chart shifting another 158,991 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan (down 70%) for a 2 week total (including street violations) of 687,360. 

Out of 29 chart-toppers, it's only the sixth album this year to spend multiple weeks at No. 1 with Taylor Swift's 2012 release RED being one. It is also the first country album by a male solo artist to spend multiple weeks atop the list since pop and R&B veteran Lionel Richie with TUSKEGEE racked up two frames at No. 1 in the spring of 2012 or by a male “core” country artist to spend two weeks at #1 since George Strait’s 50 Number Ones did the trick in October 2004.

The second-week sum of “Crash My Party” was enough to fend off a challenge from the set that arrived at No. 2: John Mayer's "Paradise Valley" which sold 143,582 units.

Bryan also headed The Billboard 200 for a week in March with Spring Break…Here To Party. He’s one of only two artists to top the chart for three weeks so far this year. The other is Justin Timberlake, who did it with just one album, The 20/20 Experience, in March and April.

Duo Florida Georgia Line with HERE’S TO THE GOOD TIMES dropped 8-12 on the BB200 and held at No.2 on the country chart. Their album has now pulled ahead of this weeks No.4 country slot Blake Shelton’s BASED ON A TRUE STORY…to become the top-selling country album so far in 2013. “Here’s To The Good Times” which was released December 4, 2012 has sold 845K copies so far this year which is 4,000 more than Based On A True Story… (The duo’s album sold an additional 181K copies in 2012.)

Country rap/Southern rock duo The Lacs (Clay “Uncle Snap” Sharpe and lead vocalist/ guitarist Brian “ Rooster” King) enjoyed a career-best rank and biggest sales week on Billboard’s Top Country Albums with 14,460 copies sold to land at No.3 on the country chart (#23 BB200, #5 on Billboard Rap Charts) with their third album, KEEP IT REDNECK (Backroad/Average Joes).

Their previous best was a No.16 bow (#68 BB200) with 190 PROOF, which debuted in April 2012 with 6,745 units sold and was on country album chart for over 72 consecutive weeks. The duo first appeared on the chart with “Country Boy’s Paradise”, which set an opening-week peak at No. 52 in March 2011. The new album also starts with the duo’s best rank at No.7 on the Independent Albums tally.

The Lacs (short for Loud Ass Crackers) also wrote the theme song for “Mud Lovin’ Rednecks,” a new reality show that premiered Aug. 27 on Animal Planet.

This third studio album released August 20th from the duo was produced by label CEO Shannon "Fat Shan" Houchins. Sixteen tracks include "Field Party (Remix)" featuring newcomer JJ Lawhorn and Colt Ford and the album is a spitting image of how the boys live their life. Y’all call it an accent:

We call it a drawl / Y’all say gimme that / And we say please, miss / Y’all eat oatmeal /

And we eat cheese grits / We do it for the shiners / And them dirt road riders / For them forty hour workers / And the party all nighters

The title track, “Keep It Redneck” is a play-it-loud and proud new song which proclaims the importance of staying true to your roots. "Relacs" introduces Season 12 American Idol contestant, Sarah Ross, on this fun, beach-themed, summertime song. Brian King and Clay Sharpe, continue to challenge the status quo with the duo’s trademark in-your-face musical magic as well as a few new fresh variations. “Our music is not one dimensional,” Clay Sharpe of The LACS says. “We take the good out of

rock, the good out of country and the good out of rap and mix them together and create something different. We build from scratch.”  Brian King says, “That’s what our fans want and that’s exactly what we’re giving them.”

The video for “Keep It Redneck” garnered the fastest rising views in The LACS’ history already reaching over 250,000 views. Touring over 150 dates per year, what began organically on a street corner and continued in Walmart parking lots all across the South, has now spread to fields filled with fans primed to hear The LACS’ latest.

Critical reception The Lacs  “Keep It Redneck”  - 15 Tracks / Time: 54:15

Roughstock  (Rating: 4 STARS) There's a growing movement in Country Music and that has helped artists like The Lacs move hundreds of thousands of albums. The Lacs move from the harder-edged "Keep It Redneck" to the softer, timeless country melodies of "Kick Dust"  and "She's Runnin'" -- both which feature their label's A&R exec Noah Gordon on vocals -- while "Empites" has a jovial, retro surf rock feel to it as well. There are moments where crossover-ready songs like "Make Things Right" and "Get Lost" come across the album but what will surprise many is how strong the songwriting and production is..... It's not for everyone, but neither is any sort of music and that's what's so appealing about Keep It Redneck. The Lacs know who they are and that's exactly what they sing and rap about throughout the album.

Available in the UK from Amazon CD - MP3 and iTunes Spotify

27-year old Mississippi native, Charlie Worsham's debut album, RUBBERBAND (Warner Brothers), which features the Top 20 radio airplay hit "Could It Be" landed at No.12 Country (#64 BB200) selling some 6,000 units. 

He is known for his banjo skills and signature orange chucks. He opened for Taylor Swift on her SPEAK NOW Tour, is due to hit the road with Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley. "Could It Be" is a song about a friendship turning into a romantic relationship but Charlie said those lyrics have no basis in his real life. Speaking of his friend and "Could It Be" co-writer Ryan Tyndell, Charlie says:

 "We were both just in the dumps, man. We didn't have anything going on. We were kind of depressed. 'Could It Be' is such a hopeful song, I think we wrote it out of a desperate need to have something hopeful going on."

Critical reception for “Rubberband” - CD

Roughstock (Rating 3 STARS)

When Charlie Worsham sings about Mississippi in July, in a mid-tempo song of the same name, he knows exactly what he’s talking about. This talented new country singer was born in Jackson, Mississippi. The music Worsham makes is by no means Mississippi Delta sounds, though. He’s Country all the way, with enough pop sheen to attract radio airplay, but not so much that it scares off purists..... Although Rubberband is Worsham’s debut album, he’s also attracted a few A-list performers to help him out with it. Both Vince Gill and Marty Stuart contribute to “Tools of the Trade,” a song about the specialized music business skill set....As solid as Rubberband is, Worsham still sounds like he’s working to develop his own voice in a few places....As a vocalist, Worsham leans closer to the Blake Shelton/Keith Urban model than, say, the low voiced types, such as Trace Adkins. He sings with a high, pure voice that would also sound really great on bluegrass harmonies – if he ever decides to go that route. Rubberband is not an instant classic. Nevertheless, in the places where it’s good, it’s really good...The best thing about Rubberband is that, no matter how much it rocks, it never sounds like rock music in a country boy’s clothing.

Nashvillegab  (Rating: Grade: A) "Rubberband" is a modern retelling of country music. While incorporating a vast collection of characters, it brings traditional storytelling into a contemporary setting. Unlike many of his counterparts, he believes in creating a captivating set, complete with varied tempos and themes. ..With beer-trucks-parties being the central theme to the male-dominated format, it's refreshing for a newcomer to make such bold statements with his music. He goes against the grain, setting a new bar for everyone else around him.

Country Weekly (Rating: A) In a world of thumping cadences, rhythmic recitations and not-another, yes-another party anthems, Charlie Worsham is breathing some incredibly fresh—and talented—air into country music that makes it sound a little like, surprise, country music. Honest acoustic, tinkling mandolin and, lo and behold, some banjo give Rubberband such a pure country sound that many would define it as “rootsy” in a New Grass Revival meets Diamond Rio kind of way.....It seems unfair to isolate any one track over another since all stand on their own. They’re laudable as much for their unique nature as they are for their honest-to-goodness goodness.

Peter Cooper On Music: Charlie Worsham off to a happy beginning

Just outside the top 25 Country albums, with sales of over 3,000 copies at No.26 (#124 BB200), saw the debut of Tracy Lawrence with his new album release HEADLIGHTS, TAILLIGHTS AND RADIOS, a $50,000 Kickstarter fan funded project. He recently performed at the Grand Ole Opry Tuesday, August 20th in Nashville, TN. Lawrence’s 14th studio album is his first on the Lawrence Music Group label, and his first since ‘The Singer’ in 2011. The ‘Time Marches On’ hitmaker says this is an album he’s been wanting to make for years, and he’s glad the current trends allow for a guitar heavy collection of songs.

Critical reception for “Headlights, Taillights and Radios” - 11 Tracks / Time: 39:30

Roughstock (Rating: 4 STARS) There are plenty of veteran country stars still making music, even as their careers have moved away from mainstream radio. One singer who still seems to be able to be relevant to Radio, even if it's only every couple of years at this point -- is Tracy Lawrence. Much like his 90s country brethren Tim McGraw and George Strait, a lot of what makes Lawrence who he is,  is his ear for selecting material that suits his strong, identifiable voice.....The melodies of much of Headlights, Taillights and Radios may suggest a modernized Tracy Lawrence ...it is that voice that ultimately makes Headlights, Taillights and Radios the strong album that it is.

"Footprints On The Moon" (Lyric Video)            

“Headlights, Taillights and Radios” is available on Amazon UK CD - MP3

Of note Jimmy Buffett’s 28th studio effort SONGS FROM ST. SOMEWHERE debuted at No.4 on the Billboard 200 (#1 Independent Albums) selling 55,357 copies.

It’s his 11th top 10 album; his sixth to make the top five. Buffett first charted in March 1974—before most of the acts in this week’s top 10 were born.

Buffett's ranking makes the record tied for the second-highest-charting album of the singer/songwriter's long career.

Two other Buffett albums also reached the fourth slot on the Billboard albums tally -- 1996's Banana Wind and 2006's Take the Weather with You -- while Jimmy topped the chart in 2004 with License to Chill.  Buffett's best-selling album to date is his 1985 hits compilation, Songs You Know by Heart, which has sold more than 7 million copies in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Jimmy has just released a new video for "I Want to Go Back to Cartagena," one of the tunes from Songs from St. Somewhere.  The clip features live and studio footage of Buffett duetting with Colombian singer/actress Fanny Lu in both English and Spanish. (C) ABC News Radio

The two musical icons Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby's reuniting has earned them a debut at #38 on the Country chart and #1 on the Billboard Bluegrass Album Chart with their Live album set CLUCK OL' HEN (Skaggs Family Records) which was released on August 20 - See Press Release

Related article Billboard 615: 

Bruce Hornsby Reunites With Ricky Skaggs for 'Cluck Ol' Hen'

(Issue dated Chart week of September 7, 2013)

(Country Album positions #1 - #25)

(TW) This Week, (LW) Last Week, Co (Country Album Chart placing / Movement)

Top 25 Hot Country Songs (week of September 7, 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, (tracked by Nielsen BDS from such services as Spotify, Muve, Slacker, Rhapsody, Rdio and Xbox Music, among others) according to BDS it results in:

Luke Bryan with “That’s My Kind Of Night” held onto the top slot for a second successive week.

One week after Luke became the second male artist to log two songs simultaneously in the top three on Hot Country Songs (Tim McGraw was the first), Florida Georgia Line became the first duo/group in the Nielsen BDS era (since January 1990) to manage the feat, as “Round Here” rose 8-3, joining its record-shattering, 24-week former chart-topper “Cruise” which holds at No.2 on the chart’s medal podium.

Jason Aldean posted his best Hot Country Songs rank in nearly a year, as “Night Train” (Broken Bow) flew up 11-4 in its 12th week (his 18th top 10), adding Airplay Gainer stripes (up 15% according to Nielsen BDS), his best since “Take a Little Ride” spent two weeks at the summit in October 2012.

Jennifer Nettles’ “That Girl” (Mercury) debuts at No. 37 on Hot Country Songs and No. 23 on Country Digital Songs (19,000 sold), her first solo appearance on the latter chart. She previously appeared as Bon Jovi’s vocal guest on “Who Says You Can’t Go Home,” which reigned for two weeks on Hot Country Songs seven years ago. She showcased her new single with a performance of  “Girl” on Aug. 20 on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

Top 25 Hot Country Songs:

Luke Bryan with “That’s My Kind Of Night” stays Top The Chart! #1

Florida Georgia Line with “Cruise” stays at #2

Florida Georgia Line with “Round Here” is up 5 places, #8 - #3 p

Jason Aldean with “Night Train” jumps up seven slots, #11 - #4 p

Brett Eldredge with “Don’t Ya” stays at #5

Keith Urban with “Little Bit Of Everything” stays at #6

Thomas Rhett with “It Goes Like This” is up three slots, #10 - #7 p

Carrie Underwood with “See You Again” is down one, #7 - #8 q

Luke Bryan with “Crash My Party” falls six,  #3 - #9 q

Hunter Hayes with “I Want Crazy” is down six,  #4 - #10 q

Tyler Farr with “Redneck Crazy” is up one, #12 - #11 p

Randy Houser with “Runnin’ Outta Moonlight” falls #9 - #12 q

Easton Corbin with “All Over The Road” is up two, #15 - #13 p

Billy Currington with “Hey Girl” is up two, #16 - #14 p

Blake Shelton with “Boys ‘Round Here” falls three, #13 - #15 q

Darius Rucker  with former No.1 “Wagon Wheel” is down,  #14 - #16 q

Blake Shelton with “Mine Would Be You”is up four, #21 - #17 p

Justin Moore with “Point at You” is up one place,  #19 - #18  p

Tim McGraw with “Southern Girl” is up one slot, #20 - #19 p

Lee Brice with “Parking Lot Party” is up two slots, #22 - #20 p

Chris Young  with “Aw Naw” is up two slots,  #23 - #21 p

Tim McGraw & Taylor Swift with “Highway Don’t Care” falls, #17 - #22 q

Train feat Ashley Monroe with “Bruises” hops up, #30 - #23 p

Kip Moore with “Hey Pretty Girl” drops six, #18 - #24 q

Lady Antebellum with “Goodbye Town” stays at #25

Hot Country Songs

** No.1 (2 weeks) / Streaming Gainer **  “That’s My Kind Of Night” Luke Bryan

** Airplay Gainer ** No.4 “Night Train” Jason Aldean

** Digital Gainer ** No.23 “Bruises” Train feat. Ashley Monroe

** Streaming Gainer  ** No.3 “Crash My Party” Luke Bryan

** Hot Shot Debut ** No.37 “That Girl” (Mercury) Jennifer Nettles

Billboard Country Airplay Chart Week of September 7, 2013

Keith Urban claimed his 15th No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay  tally as “Little Bit of Everything” (Hit Red/Capitol Nashville) stepped 2-1 with the chart’s fourth-largest overall increase (up 2.9 million audience impressions, according to Nielsen BDS).

Urban most recently topped the chart with “You Gonna Fly,” which reigned for two weeks in March 2012. Between that track and his new leader, Urban peaked at No. 6 with “For You” last September. The 18-month absence at No.1 is the artist’s third-longest. Since his first week at No. 1 in February 2001, his lengthiest stretch between solo leaders was the 35 months that lapsed between “Better Life” in 2005 and “You Look Good in My Shirt” in 2008. That time span however included 2 titles that peaked at No. 2, two others that peaked inside the top five and one other Top 10 title.

"Little Bit of Everything" was released on May 20, 2013 as the first single from his upcoming eighth studio album, FUSE due to drop September 10, 2013. The song written by Brad Warren, Brett Warren and Kevin Rudolf has taken 15 chart weeks to reach the summit. This week it logged 46.087 million audience impressions (+2.861) and received 6,737 radio plays (+472) .

Label sources say that the second radio single will be “When We Were Us,” a duet with Miranda Lambert. The album also features a duet with Eric Church, titled “Raise ’Em Up.”

Billy Currington, returned to the Country Airplay Top 10 for the first time in 16 months with “Hey Girl” (Mercury), advancing 11-10 in its 25th chart week, marking the singer’s 15th song to reach the upper tier. He last competed in that region of the chart with “Let Me Down Easy,” which became his sixth No. 1 in April 2011. Currington’s new song introduces his fifth studio album (his first in three years), WE ARE TONIGHT, due Sept. 17.

Florida Georgia Line with "Round Here” climbed 7-4 taking the “Most Increased Audience” honours with a 4.338 million audience gain (40.724 million total), receiving 5,975 plays (+555).

Brad Paisley with his latest single "I Can’t Change The World” at No.39 won the “Most Added” trophy with 28 new radio commitments (ADDS) .

The only song to debut on the chart at No.59 was Dierks Bentley “I Hold On” (Capitol Nashville) and thus landed the week’s “Hot Shot Debut” cup.

Country Airplay

*** No. 1 (1 week) *** "Little Bit Of Everything”  Keith Urban   

** Most Increased Audience ** No.4 "Round Here” Florida Georgia Line  

** Most Added ** No. 39 "I Can’t Change The World” Brad Paisley

** Hot Shot Debut ** No.59 “I Hold On” (Capitol Nashville) Dierks Bentley

Billboard Country Digital Singles Chart Week of September 7, 2013

Luke Bryan held onto the top of the Country Digital Singles chart with “That’s My Kind of Night” for a second week. Sales of 126,000 were down some 23% on its debut week.

His first album single, the title cut “Crash My Party”, returned to the chart at #5. The song’s sales were held back last week because many fans that had previously purchased the song opted to take advantage of iTunes’ “Complete My Album” feature.

Thomas Rhett held at No.3 with “It Goes Like This”, its sales of 51,000 took it part the GOLD certification 500,000 mark.

Other songs to gain RIAA Gold-eligibility are Billy Currington at #18 (508K total in 17 weeks) with “Hey Girl” and also Easton Corbin’s “All Over The Road,” at #21 (512K total in 22 weeks)

Jason Aldean’s “Night Train” climbed up 4-8 in his 10th chart week.

Blake Shelton moved 15-8 with “Mine Would Be You,” in its 6th chart week.

Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles debuted on the chart with sales of 19,000 for “That Girl,” the lead single from her upcoming solo debut.

Top 30 Digital Singles in Country Music (published August 28, 2013)

 (LW) Last Week  (TW) This Week 

*Numbers are rounded to nearest 1000^th

Billboard Boxscores (Selective Country concerts)

Rank Artist: #14

Event Venue City/State:

Brad Paisley, Chris Young, Lee Brice, The Henningsens San Manuel Amphitheater Devore, Calif.

Dates: Aug. 24, 2013   Gross Sales:  $702,338   Attend: 19,978 /19,978

Capacity Shows: 1 /1   Sellouts Prices:  $79, $25

Promoters: Live Nation

Rank Artist: #33

Event Venue City/State:

Sheryl Crow Durham Performing Arts Center Durham, N.C.

Dates:  Aug. 3, 2013      Gross Sales: $155,510   Attend: 2,003 /2,341          

Capacity Shows:  1 /0   Sellouts Prices: $126, $89, $79, $59   

Promoters: AEG Live/PFM/Nederlander