Thursday, 3 October 2013

Country Billboard Chart News October 3, 2013

Country Billboard Chart News October 3, 2013

RIAA Certifications

Platinum = Sales of over 1-million units
Gold =  Sales of over 500,000 units

Blake Shelton - Album: Based On A True Story. . . (Platinum) (1,000,000 units shipped to retail, 907,000 copies actually sold at retail)
Luke Bryan - Album: Crash My Party (Platinum) (1,000,000 units shipped, 983,000 copies actually sold/scanned at retail).
  
In Brief:  Billboard Country Charts

Country Album Chart ** No. 1 (5  weeks) ** CRASH MY PARTY Luke Bryan
Hot Country Songs ** No. 1 (7 weeks) **  “That’s My Kind of Night” Luke Bryan
Country Airplay ** No. 1 (2 weeks) ** “Night Train” Jason Aldean
Country Digital Songs ** No. 1 ** (7 weeks)  “That’s My Kind of Night” Luke Bryan

Billboard Top 200 / Country Album Chart News

Drake's "Nothing Was the Same" has debuted at No.1 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart (BB200) with the second-largest sales week of 2013. The album, the hip-hop star's third full-length release, sold 657,922 copies (his personal best week ever) in its first week (ending Sunday, Sept. 29) according to Nielsen SoundScan. Of that sales tally 387,000 were downloads making it the biggest one-week digital sales ever for a hip-hop album.
The only album to sell more copies overall in a week so far in 2013 was Justin Timberlake's "The 20/20 Experience," when it bowed at No. 1 with 968,000 following its release in March. Since 2010, only seven other albums logged larger weeks than "Nothing Was the Same's" debut one of these being Taylor Swift's RED which bowed with 1,208,290 copies (the 8th highest ranking for biggest sales week during the Soundscan era).

Luke Bryan with CRASH MY PARTY held at No.6 on the BB200 selling 36,000 copies (down 24%) and returned to the top of the Billboard Country album chart. He displaced Justin Moore's OFF THE BEATEN PATH which slips 2-10 on the BB200 in its second week, selling 25,000 (down 74%) and is at No.2 Country.

Alan Jackson’s latest set THE BLUEGRASS ALBUM (released Sept 24th) made its bow at #11 on the BB200 (#3 Country) and opened up at #1 on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart, selling 21,768 copies the best so far for a for a bluegrass album in 2013.
Currently in Australia, Jackson headlined the CMC Rocks North Queensland 2013 Festival at Reid Park, Townsville, on Saturday 28 September.
Jackson wrote eight of 14 tracks and says, "It's not that different from what I normally do." He started thinking about a bluegrass album in the mid-'90s, but with the success of O Brother Where Art Thou? he admits, "I didn't want to seem like I was jumping on the bandwagon." Jackson says releasing the album now, "seemed like the right time in my life, in my head … in everything”. This spring, a group of some of the best players and singers in bluegrass came together, emerging in a matter of days with the completed acoustic album.
This latest project is on Jackson’s ACR label, distributed by EMI Records Nashville. Eight of the tracks are Jackson originals, along with covers of The Dillards’ “There Is A Time”, John Anderson’s “Wild And Blue”, and a slow, 3/4 time version of “Blue Moon Of Kentucky”. It was produced by Keith Stegall and Jackson’s nephew, Adam Wright.
Jackson will perform songs from The Bluegrass Album in concert at New York's Carnegie Hall on October 28; he'll be joined by the musicians from the album at the special show.
Earlier this year, for the chart week April 3, 2013 Jackson made a No. 5 debut on the Top 200 and landed a No.2 Country album with "PRECIOUS MEMORIES: VOLUME II", (his eighteenth studio album), selling 55,422 copies.

Critical reception for Alan Jackson’s The Bluegrass Album:  
14 tracks / Time: 1:01:57 CD - Amazon.com  - US iTunes

GAC  ...simply titled The Bluegrass Album, for release on September 24. Alan is doing what he wants, when he wants, and making incredibly honest music along the way. The Bluegrass Album is no exception to the rich catalog Alan has created since breaking in 1989 with the multi-platinum Here In the Real World. Backed by a group of A-list Nashville pickers, Alan’s first bluegrass album stays faithful to the genre while showcasing mountain high harmonies, fancy fretwork and stories about life, love, loss and pain. And The Bluegrass Album isn’t merely a collection of standards a la “Alan Jackson Sings the Bluegrass Hits”; Alan wrote eight of the project’s 14 songs himself.....Alan includes a handful of covers such as John Anderson’s “Wild and Blue” and Bill Monroe’s “Blue Moon Of Kentucky.” In closing the collection with the latter, Alan thanks his band and the people involved in the project one by one. Even here Alan’s humility and honesty are easily felt, and it’s this approach that has helped steer his legendary career.

LA Times (Rating: 3 STARS) Jackson and album producers Keith Stegall and Adam Wright infuse a back-porch feel in original numbers here and savvy selections from other writers, including Jackson's new spin on John Anderson's 1982 hit "Wild and Blue" and Adam Wright's sharply witty "Ain't Got Trouble Now." Among his own contributions, Jackson's "Blue Ridge Mountain Song" and "Blue Side of Heaven" demonstrate his understanding of themes that are central to bluegrass: the knowledge that life is hard, but the human spirit can rise above...

USA Today - it's the originals that make the set, especially “Blacktop”, Jackson's answer to the current crop of "dirt road" country records.
Billboard (Chuck Dauphin)....Alan Jackson has made no secret about his love of Bluegrass Music over the years. In the 1990s, his version of “Seven Bridges Road” was a highlight of his live show – done in classic Bluegrass style. 
Finally, after all these years, Jackson has decided to release an album in that laid back style. As you might expect, the Georgia native had no trouble attracting some of the genre’s finest musicians to back him on the project, such as Scott Coney (acoustic guitar), Sammy Shelor (banjo), Adam Steffey (mandolin), Tim Crouch (fiddle), Tim Dishman (bass), Rob Ickes (dobro) and Ronnie Bowman and Don Rigsby (vocals). They help to make the record a sonic delight. But, the disc would not work unless the songs weren’t there. And, as usual, Jackson’s pen provides some of the highlights here, with “Blacktop,” “Tie Me Down” and “Mary” all helping to prove this was worth the wait. Adam Wright, Jackson’s nephew, contributed two of the strongest new tracks on the disc, “Ain’t Got Trouble,” and “Knew All Along,” co-written with wife Shannon....He does tip the covers hat on three occasions, with a gorgeous version of John Anderson’s “Wild And Blue,” the Dillards’ “There Is A Time,” and he closes out with a reverential treatment of Bill Monroe’s “Blue Moon Of Kentucky.” As good as this disc is, it already makes me anxious for Volume 2!

Keith Urban with FUSE shifted another 17,000 copies (down 45%; 146K sold in 3-weeks) and moved 8-14 on BB200 but held at #4 Country.
Chris Young’s A.M. fell 15 slots on the BB200 (3-18), #3-#5 Country, selling 16,000 copies (down 70% on the first week).
Billy Currington’s WE ARE TONIGHT sold 9,000 copies (down 65%) in its second week at retail, falling 40 places on the BB200 (10-50) and dropped to #8 Country.

Of note Sammy Hagar with SAMMY HAGAR & FRIENDS (tagged Hard Rock) sold 14,863 copies to make a bow at No.23 on the BB200.
Drinking Buddies: Hagar performed at Toby Keith’s Twister Relief Concert, his work with country artists continues to extend beyond tequila tastings with Keith, Kenny Chesney, Ronnie Dunn and Kid Rock contributing to this collection of 10 tracks of cover songs and original material which includes "Margaritaville” with Toby Keith, Sammy’s "Knockdown Dragout" with Kid and "Bad On Fords And Chevrolets" with Ronnie.
The album, released on September 24, 2013, by Frontiers Records, features Sammy and his mates having musical fun. The former Montrose/Van Halen frontman has found quite the black book of mates to invite over, also including Neil Schon of Journey and Nancy Wilson. The music is quite bluesy in nature and shows off Sammy's vocal range

Vintage Vinyl  This is his Sammy Hagar's first solo album in 5 years and he hasn’t stinted on the friends or on his own powerful and swaggering presentation either. When you can muster buddies like Joe Satriani, Kid Rock and Taj Mahal, the result is hardly likely to fail but when you add in Mr. Hagar’s noted talents as well you are going to have something very listenable.... Hagar has been around forever it seems and he has made some great (and some not-so-great albums) and I would say this ranks up there with his better work. Please excuse me now, I’m cuing Going Down up again.

newsok.com ....A colorful array of guest talents, including Oklahoma country hitmaker Toby Keith, Sooner State-born Journey guitarist Neal Schon and Heart belter Nancy Wilson, brighten up “Sammy Hagar & Friends,” the Red Rocker’s first collaborations album. But former Oklahomans Ronnie Dunn and Ray Wylie Hubbard prove the most adept at souping up the “I Can’t Drive 55” singer’s first solo effort since 2008’s “Cosmic Universal Fashion.” ....“Sammy Hagar & Friends” mixes new originals like that bad-boy ballad with well-known cover tunes, and after more then 40 years in the music business, the former Van Halen frontman has plenty of high-profile pals willing to rock with him, including current and former bandmates Schon (HSAS); Michael Anthony (ex-Van Halen and Chickenfoot); Joe Satriani and Chad Smith (Chickenfoot); Bill Church and Denny Carmassi (Montrose); and Vic
Johnson (Sammy Hagar and The Waboritas)....Hey, Hagar is all about the rock, and for much of his new album, he and his friends do it well.

Neal McCoy landed on the lower regions of the Billboard Country Album chart at #52 with his 11-song set “Pride: A Tribute Album To Charley Pride” (Slate Creek Records). 
Released on September 24th, McCoy brought along pals Darius Rucker, Trace Adkins and Raul Malo to pay homage to the living legend. Neal told Billboard magazine “I’ve been fortunate to have had some hits, met some great people, but it’s all due to Charley Pride getting me into country music back in 1981, he was my cheerleader, telling me, ‘you got what it takes, don’t give up.”
McCoy teamed up with Darius Rucker to record a new version of Charley Pride's 1971 crossover smash "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'" – “Darius and I had met a couple of times," McCoy shared. "I don't know him very well, but we have a mutual admiration club, I guess. I appreciate the success he's had in the pop industry and over in country." McCoy and Pride shot a video for the track, "Kaw-Liga", in Nashville.
The single “Roll on Mississippi” featuring Trace Adkins was released to radio on August 27th.
"Getting ready to make an album, I started thinking, 'What would make sense? What would people believe from Neal McCoy?'" he says. "So what makes more sense than to honor Charley Pride? He's had one of the greatest careers out there, he's the Jackie Robinson of country music, and he's the guy that got me started”... Read more at The Tennessean.com

Critical reception for Neal McCoy: Pride – A Tribute To Charley Pride:
11 Tracks Time: 37:19 CD out (29 Oct 2010) MP3 - UK iTunes  - Amazon.com

Allmusic (Rating: 3.5 Stars)  A moment of reflection will reveal that Charley Pride is a natural idol for Neal McCoy. A trailblazing traditionalist of the '60s and '70s, Pride broke the color barrier for popular country music -- there had been African-American country singers long before him; Ray Charles blurred the boundaries between country and soul a few years before him, and Pride had peers like Stoney Edwards, but Charley was the first black country superstar -- due in part to his easy, friendly way with a song. 
McCoy has a similar amiable way with a tune and, as a singer of Filipino descent, he bucked country tradition even as he adhered to it. Pride: A Tribute to Charley Pride puts all this into relief while also being quite a good listen in its own right.  As a traditionalist paying respect to a traditionalist, McCoy doesn't play around with the arrangements in the slightest -- he even seems indebted to the sound of Pride's recordings, not the early ones of the '60s but the gleaming overproductions of the late '70s and early '80s -- but these are terrific songs performed well, by both McCoy and his guests Raul Malo (who is on "I'm Just Me"), Darius Rucker ("Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'"), and Trace Adkins ("Roll On Mississippi"). There's almost a funhouse mirror quality here, with McCoy looking back on Pride who was looking back on Hank Williams (the presence of "Kaw-Liga" underscores this), but that's part of the appeal of Pride: each bygone era it salutes is worth celebrating.

Billboard (Chuck Dauphin) McCoy went back and picked out eleven of his favorites from the Pride each catalog. Due to his unbridled enthusiasm for the disc, each track is a keeper, but some of the highlights include “I’m Just Me,” “Kaw-Liga,” and “You’re My Jamaica,” which Neal really gets a chance to sink his teeth into. Possibly the most soulful cut on the album is his take on the 1982 number one “You’re So Good When You’re Bad.” .... This is definitely a loving tribute from protégé to mentor, and one that deserves to be heard!

Country Music Year-To-Date Sales

Albums: Physical  19,409,000  ( down 9%  on 2012)
Albums: Digital   8,626,000  ( up 13.9%  on 2012)
Albums: Overall Unit Sales 28,035,000  ( down 0.4% on 2012)
Digital Tracks Overall Unit Sales: 128,135,000  (up 4.4%  on 2012)

Billboard Top 200 / Country Album Placings

(Issue dated Chart week of October 12, 2013)
(Country Album positions #1 - #25)

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

































Billboard History
Billboard Top Ten Albums for week ending October 6, 2007:
1. Reba: Duets (MCA) - Reba Mcentire
2. Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates (BNA) - Kenny Chesney
3. Taylor Swift (Big Machine) -Taylor Swift4. Let It Go (Curb) - Tim McGraw
5. 5th Gear  (Arista) - Brad Paisley-
6. Enjoy The Ride (Mercury) - Sugarland
7. Me And My Gang (Lyric Street)  - Rascal Flatts
8. Some Hearts (Arista) - Carrie Underwood
9. It's Not Big, It's Large (Lost Highway) - Lyle Lovett
10. Greatest Hits (MCA) - Trisha Yearwood


Top 25 Hot Country Songs (week of October 12, 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’sThat’s My Kind of Night” (Capitol Nashville) logged a seventh week at No. 1 on Hot Country Songs. It’s the longest chart-topping run by a solo male since Tim McGraw’s "Live Like You Were Dying” stacked seven weeks on top back in 2004. No male soloist has led for longer than seven frames since the late David Houston (like McGraw, a Louisiana native) reigned for nine with “Almost Persuaded” in 1966.
Tim McGraw, scored his 49th top 10 on Hot Country Songs with “Southern Girl” (Big Machine), which stepped 11-10.

Top 25 Hot Country Songs:

Luke Bryan with “That’s My Kind Of Night” stays Top The Chart! #1
Thomas Rhett with “It Goes Like This” is up two, #4 - #2 p
Jason Aldean with “Night Train” stays at #3
Tyler Farr with “Redneck Crazy” is down two, #2 - #4 q
Billy Currington with “Hey Girl” stays at #5
Florida Georgia Line with former #1 “Cruise” stays at #6
Blake Shelton with “Mine Would Be You” is up one, #8 - #7 p
Florida Georgia Line with “Round Here” is down one slot, #7 - #8 q
Chris Young  with “Aw Naw” stays at #9
Tim McGraw with “Southern Girl” is up one, #11 - #10
Lee Brice with “Parking Lot Party” is up two,  #13 - #11 p
Justin Moore with “Point at You” is down two, #10 - #12 q
Luke Bryan with “Crash My Party” is down one, #12 - #13 q
Joe Nichols with “Sunny And 75” is up three, #17 - #14 p
Taylor Swift with “Red” jumps up six slots, #21 - #15 p
Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert with “We Were Us” stays at #16
Randy Houser with “Runnin’ Outta Moonlight” is down two, #15 - #17 q
Blake Shelton with “Boys ‘Round Here”  is up one, #19 - #18 p
Eli Young Band with “Drunk Last Night” is up five, #24 - #19 p
Darius Rucker  with former No.1 “Wagon Wheel” is down, #18 - #20 q
Cassadee Pope with “Wasting All These Tears” is up four, #25 - #21 p
Keith Urban with “Little Bit Of Everything” falls eight, #14 - #22  q
Hunter Hayes with “I Want Crazy” stays at #23
Parmalee with “Carolina” is up four, #28 - #24 p
Brett Eldredge with “Don’t Ya” falls five, #20 - #25  q

Hot Country Songs
** No.1 (7 weeks) **  “That’s My Kind Of Night” Luke Bryan
** Airplay Gainer ** No.16  “We Were Us” Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert
** Streaming Gainer  ** No.21 “Wasting All These Tears” Cassadee Pope
** Digital Gainer ** No.32  “Whatever She’s Got” David Nail
** Hot Shot Debut ** No.48 “Everbody’s Got Somebody But Me” Hunter Hayes feat. Jason Mraz
Debut No.50 “Wild In Your Smile” (Broken Bow) Dustin Lynch


Billboard Country Airplay Chart Week of October 12, 2013
Jason Aldean’sNight Train” (Broken Bow) holds at No.1 for a second week atop the Nielsen BDS-driven Billboard Country Airplay chart to become the fifth of the artist’s 10 leaders to hold for more than one week, and the biggest one-week audience sum since the chart’s ranking method changed from total plays to total audience impressions in January 2005.
Aldean most recently posted multiple weeks at the summit when “Take a Little Ride” rolled three straight weeks a year ago, his longest chart-topping run was four weeks with “Big Green Tractor” in 2009.
“Night Train” logged 49.066 million audience impressions (+1.356); received 7,094 radio plays (+202) to surpass the 48.3 million that Brett Eldredge’s “Don’t Ya” logged on the Aug. 31 chart, also in its second week at the top.
Top local audience contributors for “Night Train” during the Sept. 23-29 tracking week: KKBQ Houston (1.5 million impressions), KKGO Los Angeles (1.2 million), WKLB Boston (942,000), WNSH New York (938,000) and KPLX Dallas (905,000).















Blake Shelton  moved 11-9 and scored his 18th career top 10 (and his third this year) on Country Airplay with “Mine Would Be You” (Warner Bros./Warner Music Nashville), the third single from Based on a True Story . . .

Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert’sWe Were Us” (Hit Red/Capitol Nashville/RCA Nashville) won the trophy for “Most Increased Audience” with a 16-14 hop in its fourth week on Country Airplay. They logged 21.774 million audience impressions (+5.353 million gain); receiving 3,016 radio plays (+717) helped by 13 new radio station ADDS.  That’s the quickest ascent for Lambert and the second-fastest sprint for Urban. Lambert’s quickest previous start was when “Baggage Claim” ranked at No. 17 in its fourth chart week (Sept. 10, 2011, chart) on its way to a No. 3 peak three months later.
Miranda’s latest solo single “All Kinds of Kinds” (RCA Nashville) reached a new peak at No. 19 in its 15th chart week.

Randy Houser snagged the week’s “Most Added” honours with 21 new airplay commitments (ADDS) for “Goodnight Kiss” (Stoney Creek), which jumps 47-42 in its third chart week.

Country Airplay

*** No. 1 (2 weeks) *** "Night Train”  Jason Aldean  
 ** Most Increased Audience ** No.14 "We Were Us” Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert
** Most Added ** No.42 “Goodnight Kiss” Randy Houser  21 ADDS
 ** Hot Shot Debut ** No.56 “It Ain’t the Whiskey” (MCA Nashville) Gary Allan
Debut No.59 “Drink To That All Night” (Sea Gayle/Arista) Jerrod Niemann
Debut No.60 “Beat Of The Music”(Atlantic/WMN) Brett Eldredge


Billboard Country Digital Singles Chart Week of October 12, 2013

Luke Bryan with “That’s My Kind Of Night” remained at #1 on the chart for a seventh week with sales of 84,000 (down 18%) and has sold nearly 800K.

Thomas Rhett’sIt Goes Like” moved up 3-2  with sales 42,000 downloads (down 11%)
Cassadee Pope moved into the Top 10 ( 12-8) with a sales spike of 17% for “Wasting All These Tears,” her Republic Nashville debut single.
Joining her in the top 10 slots were Eli Young Band at #9 and Chris Young with “Aw Naw” (sales up 8%)
Joe Nichols’, “Sunny And 75” moved up 19-12 with the lead single from his new album CRICKETS due out next week.
David Nail jumped up 26-16 thanks to a sales boost of 44% for “Whatever She’s Got

Top 30 Digital Singles in Country Music (published October 2, 2013)

 (LW) Last Week  (TW) This Week  
*Numbers are rounded to nearest 1000th


































Country Aircheck/ Mediabase chart

Jason Aldean stepped 2-1 to head the Country Aircheck/ Mediabase chart for the tracking week Sept 22 - Sep 28.  “Night Train” logged  7,392 radio plays (+317) with an audience of 56.374 million impressions.














Read the Full report chart – PDF File

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.