Country Billboard Chart
News April 4, 2014
RIAA Certifications
MCA Nashville’s George Strait
celebrated the newly-minted Platinum status of his recent single,
“Give It All We Got Tonight,” at his The Cowboy Rides Away Tour rehearsal in
Nashville on Friday (March 21).
In Brief: Billboard Country Charts
Country Album Chart ** No. 1
(1weeks) “Out Among The Stars” Johnny Cash
Hot Country Songs ** No.1 (3 weeks) ** “This Is How Me Roll” Florida
Georgia Line feat Luke Bryan
Country Airplay ** No. 1 (1 week) ** "Doin' What She Likes" Blake
Shelton
Country Digital Songs **
No.1 (3 weeks) ** “This Is How Me Roll” Florida Georgia Line feat Luke Bryan
Billboard Top
200 / Country Album Chart News
The soundtrack
to Disney's "Frozen" scored
an eighth week at No.1 on the Billboard
Top 200 Album Chart (BB200). "Frozen"
sold another 161,377 copies in the
week ending March 30, according to Nielsen SoundScan (down 20%; 18 weeks total
1,794,623). It's by far the biggest-selling album of 2014.
Since SoundScan began
powering the BB200 in 1991, "Frozen" is just the 20th album to
spend at least eight weeks at No.1. In that span of time, "21"
has ruled the longest, followed by Whitney Houston's "The Bodyguard"
soundtrack (with 20 weeks at No. 1) and Garth Brooks' "Ropin' the Wind" (with 18).
It became only the fourth album in the last 10 years to spend at least
eight weeks at No.1. (Adele's 10.9+ million selling "21" spent 24
weeks at No. 1 in 2011 and 2012, Taylor Swift's "Fearless" racked up 11
chart-topping weeks in 2008 and 2009, and Usher's "Confessions" ruled
for nine frames in 2004.)
Johnny Cash made a bow at No. 3 on the BB200 with OUT AMONG THE STARS (Legacy).The album
which consists of newly unearthed material recorded in the early 1980s made its début with 53,804 copies sold,
marking his sixth top 10 album. "Out Among the Stars" also
entered at No.1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, his
first leader since 2006's "American V: A Hundred Highways" also
opened at No. 1 (his first posthumous release, Cash died in 2003)
The icon’s pre Nielsen
SoundScan early chart history, includes eight No.1s on Top Country Albums
between 1964-1971.
"Out Among
the Stars", produced by famed Nashville studio man Billy Sherrill for
Columbia (which dropped Cash in 1986), is the highest-debuting posthumous
release (Cash died in 2003) since Jimi Hendrix's "People, Hell and
Angels" debuted at No.2 on the chart dated March 23, 2013 (72,000 first
week sales). This brand new set which includes "She Used to Love Me A
Lot" twice - the album/single version and the "JC/EC" version
remixed by Elvis Costello, hit stores March 25th featuring unreleased songs
from 1981-1984. This 2014 release was produced for by Steve Berkowitz and
Johnny Cash's son John Carter Cash who has revealed there are “four or five” unheard Cash albums left in his
archive, as well enough material for another multi-CD boxset of outtakes from
Cash’s American Recordings sessions with producer Rick Rubin.
Critical
reception for “Out Among the Stars”:
AllMusic (Rating: 3.5 STARS) ..If Out Among the Stars had come out when its
sessions were completed, it would've appeared sometime in 1984, arriving
between 1983's flinty Johnny 99 and 1985's slippery, sentimental Rainbow.
Allegedly, this album -- discovered by Legacy and John Carter Cash during some
archival work in 2012 -- was shelved because its Billy Sherrill production was
just a little bit too pop for Johnny Cash's taste.....Comprised of sessions
from 1981 and 1984, Out Among the Stars is generally chipper and bright,
containing a couple of spare, reflective moments ... Every one of these seem
like they could have some kind of potential on the charts, so the fact they were
shelved is a bit of a mystery because, when taken together -- despite misguided
novelties like "If I Told You Who It Was" -- it adds up to one of
Cash's stronger '80s albums.
Now Magazine (Rating: 4 STARS) ...But
this posthumous album is wonderful. Shelved in the 80s after Columbia dropped
Cash, it’s marvellously quaint in spite of the involvement of countrypolitan
producer Bill Sherrill. Arrangements are unfussy – at least by today’s
standards – and Cash’s rich, familiar baritone is in fine shape.
Mojo (Rating: 6/10): Sometimes it works but
often it just feels odd. [Apr 2014, p.105]
EW (Rating:
C)..The suits might have been right the
first time. It's mostly Sherrill's fault; the slide-heavy arrangements and
hokey production flourishes would have sounded remarkably cornpone even 30
years ago.
USA Today: New Johnny Cash album shines light on 'lost' era...The country giant's voice rings true, 11
years after his death, on 'Out Among the Stars.' Download: She Used To Love
Me A Lot, Don’t You Think It’s Come Our Time
Roughstock (Rating: 4.5 STARS) When
news leaked late last year that Sony had unearthed a
The Telegraph UK Neil McCormick (Rating:
4 STARS) Most 'lost albums' get lost for
a reason, but this one is strong, assured and full of Cash's trademark
emotional integrity.... here, in his early fifties, he is
brightly, brashly alive, his voice strong enough to cut right through any
doubts about the quality of the songs. These abandoned sessions probably would
have been ignored had they been released when first recorded. But to ears and
sensibilities realigned to Cash’s brilliance, this really is a lost treasure.
It is just great to hear the old man sing again.
Tennessean.com: (Peter Cooper)....The result is not
Cash's best album, but it is invaluable and important because it is a Johnny
Cash album, and because it holds fine songs from the pens of Braddock, Putman,
Gentry, Sandy Mason, Paul Kennerley, Tommy Collins, Rhonda Fleming, Richard
Dobson and more. By the end of these sessions, Cash had worked through a pain
pill addiction and was in tremendous voice.
- Read more
Jerrod Niemann arrived at No.18 BB200 (#3 Country) with
HIGH NOON (Sea Gayle/Arista
Nashville/Sony Music Nashville) selling 14,261
copies. He previously scored a No.62 BB200 (#9 Country) opening-week peak with FREE
THE MUSIC two years ago (7,766 sales) following a No.1 Country launch for JUDGE
JERROD & THE HUNG JURY, which debuted at #1 on July 13, 2010 (33,818 debut
sales; 51,581 in first 2 weeks) an album which contained the hot single “Lover
Lover”
The lead single
from the new album, “Drink to That All
Night,” spends a second week at its No.4 peak to date on Hot Country Songs
and has sold 503,000 downloads.
Niemann wrote eight of the
13 tracks on HIGH NOON (produced by Jimmie Lee Sloas and Niemann), Lee Brice
shares writing credits on "Buzz Back Girl" and "We Know How To
Rock", and Colt Ford co-wrote and sings on "She's Fine." Niemann
says the album's title reflects the need to take chances, "walk ten steps
and pull the trigger" when facing the future. In Case You Missed It: Jerrod Niemann celebrated the release of High
Noon with performances of >> "Drink
To That All Night" on ABC-TV's Jimmy Kimmel Live Tuesday
(3/25).
Critical
reception for “High Noon”:
13 Tracks/ Time: 44:34 CD - MP3 - UK iTunes - Smart Choice Music - Amazon.com
Roughstock
(Rating: 4.5 STARS): In fact, it may be
the most ‘mainstream’ single Jerrod’s ever released and ended up being the
perfect showcase for High Noon, a record which should solidify Niemann as a
radio star with consistent songs which all have strong lyrics and interesting,
unique melodies..... The fact that there are ‘traditional’ songs on the record
doesn’t mean Jerrod isn’t innovating like he has on his first two records, it’s
just that the innovation is based on some EDM in the production but outside of
“Drink To That All Night,” and the ridiculously fun and catch “Donkey,” there’s
not much of that to be found here....There are plenty of hits to be found on
High Noon and they’re the kind of songs that should be accepted by radio
programmers and fans alike...the songs never feel like they are dressed up pop
or rock songs.
Country Weekly (Rating: A) Jerrod Niemann is not
content to sound like all of his country contemporaries. He’s proven that over
his first two albums, Judge Jerrod & the Hung Jury
Allmusic (Rating: 2 STARS) ..Here, the hints of hip-hop are streamlined -- they're present in the
embarrassing, stiff novelty "Donkey" and a cameo by professional
buffoon Colt Ford on the closing "She's Fine"-- and when Niemann
sings "in the country/we know how to rock," he's not conjuring the
ghost of Waylon Jennings or attempting to run with renowned outsider Eric
Church, he's as happy and sunny as the laid-back dudes of Florida Georgia
Line...... on High Noon: it's all slick, smooth and rather slow; so mellow that
even the odes to "Day Drinkin'" and "Beach Baby" barely
quicken the pulse....this conservatism is certainly a disappointment but the
crushing thing is, High Noon isn't merely cautious, it's boring.
Sarah Davidson the singer appearing on TBS series
“Private Lives of Nashville Wives” made a country bow at #30 with sales of 1,900 sales for her Self-titled EP. She co-stars along with Erika Page White (a former
soap star and wife of country singer Bryan White) and Cassie Chapman (wife of
gospel singer Gary Chapman), among several others.
The EP held the
#6 position on the iTunes Country Chart on release day and debuted at #9 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Chart. In addition to the
digital success, the EP is physically distributed at Walmart, which includes
the special bonus track, “Bright Lights, Big City,” the title track Davidson
penned and recorded for TNT’s Private Lives of Nashville Wives.
Her single “Drink You Up” was sent to radio on
March 6, 2014 was described as a “quality crafted song, performance and melody
that should fit right in with today’s best outings”. She has been on the road the last several weeks visiting various
major-market radio stations throughout the country in support of it for
in-studio interviews, from San Diego to Pittsburgh.
The singer/songwrtier from
Valdosta, GA wrote her first song at age 11 which started her course to Nashville.
Sarah is the second oldest of six children and began singing as a means to get
noticed. She eventually traveled to Nashville only to realize that, "I was
only one of about 50,000 female blonde singers" she shared!
She signed with Suretone for
label and management representation. In her Private Lives of Nashville Wives it
role chronicles the process of a singer/songwriter trying to make it in the
country music industry. She had some initial reservations about doing the show
but felt it was important for her to show the tough road that awaits aspiring
artists. She told them, "If ya’ll want to tell the story of hard work and
me being out on the road in a van, playing two sets until 1:00 am, then let’s
do this. Sarah wrote and recorded the theme song for the TNT series and a song
of Sarah’s will be featured in each episode.
Davidson heads
to Las Vegas for Sunday (April 6) ACM Awards where she will participate in
radio rounds, industry events and the red carpet. She has also been tapped as In Touch Weekly’s correspondent and blogger throughout weekend. Adding to the
excitement, Davidson has been announced as Halftime entertainer at the NCAA
Women’s Final Four Championship Game on Tuesday, April 8, performing live from
Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena
Critical
reception for “Sarah Davidson”:
Roughstock (Rating: 3 STARS) … The
singer’s brand of Country Music should sound and feel familiar to anyone who likes
solid, down the middle accessible, mainstream country music. The
In second week
at retail the 2 disc Walmart-exclusive
Zinepak fell 28-36 on the BB200 (5-7 Country) selling another 10K copies. Jo
Dee Messina with her $121,743 Kickstarter campaign album ME (Dreambound/
Entertainment One), sold less than 1,000 units and has fallen off the Top 50
Country albums after a #19 debut!
2014 Country Album sales Year-To
Date:
7,441,000 (Physical sales 4,885,000 (down 9%) + Digital
sales 2,556,000 (down 11.6%)) which is 18.5% down at the same point in 2013 (9,132,000
sales)
Billboard Top 200 / Country Album
Placings
(Issue dated Chart week of April 12, 2014)
(Country Album positions #1 - #25)
(TW) This Week, (LW) Last
Week, Co (Country Album Chart placing / Movement)
Top 25 Hot Country Songs (week of April
12, 2014)
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:
- Florida Georgia Line with “This Is How We Roll” (featuring
Luke Bryan) (Republic Nashville) capped Hot Country Songs for a third
straight week. It also leads Country Digital Songs for a fourth cumulative
week, selling 77,000 downloads.
- Luke Bryan earned Digital Gainer
(63,000, up 30%) and Airplay Gainer stripes with “Play It Again” (Capitol Nashville), which flew 9-5. The March
22 video premiere on CMT for Bryan’s “She
Get Me High” (36-33) bagged it Streaming Gainer nod (335,000 U.S.
streams, up 81%, according to BDS).
Top 25 Hot Country Songs:
Florida Georgia Line
feat Luke Bryan with “This Is How Me
Roll” stays TOP the Chart #1
Brantley Gilbert with former No1 “Bottoms Up” stays at #2
Blake Shelton with “Doin’ What She Likes” stays at #3
Jerrod Niemann with “Drink To That All Night” stays at #4
Luke Bryan with “Play It Again” jumps
up four, #9 - #5 p
Keith Urban with “Cop Car” drops one, #5 - #6 q
Eric Church with “Give
Me Back My Hometown” holds at #7
Thomas Rhett with “Get Me
Some Of That” stays at #8
Randy Houser with “Goodnight Kiss” is up one, #10 -
#9 p
Dierks Bentley with “Hold On” falls four, #6 - #10 q
Dan + Shay with “19 You + Me” climbs one, #12 - #11
p
Rascal Flatts with “Rewind” slips one, #11 - #12 q
Miranda Lambert with “Automatic” jumps up four, #17 - #13 p
Brett Eldredge with “Beat Of The Music” is up two, #16 - #14 p
Jason Aldean with “When She Says Baby” falls two, #13 - #15 q
Luke Bryan with former No.1 “Drink A Beer” falls two, #14 - #16 q
Justin Moore with “Lettin’ The Night Roll” is up three slots, #20
- #17 p
Thompson Square with “Everything I Shouldn’t Be Thinking About” falls,
#15 - #18 q
Lady Antebellum with “Compass” points south, #18 - #19 q
Tim McGraw with “Lookin’ For That Girl” is up one,
#21 - #20 p
Jake Owen with “Beachin’”
is up two, #23 - #21 p
Hunter Hayes with “Invisible” falls three, #19 - #22 p
Tyler Farr with “Whiskey In My Water” is up 1 place, #24 - #23 p
Sara Evans with “Slow Me Down” drops two places, #22 - #24 q
Craig Morgan with “Wake Up Lovin’ You” stays at #25
Hot County
Songs
** No.1 (3 weeks)
** “This Is
How We Roll” Florida Georgia Line feat Luke Bryan
** Digital & Airplay Gainer **
No.5 Play It Again” Luke Bryan
** Streaming Airplay ** No.33 “She Get Me High” Luke Bryan
Billboard
Country Airplay Chart Week of April 12, 2014
Blake Shelton rewrote the mark for the most
consecutive No.1 singles in the history of Billboard’s Nielsen BDS-based
Country Airplay chart (which launched the week of Jan.20, 1990). Shelton landed
his 11th straight leader and 15th
overall, as “Doin’ What She Likes” (Warner
Bros./Warner Music Nashville) stepped 2-1 in its 15th chart week.
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| Click to ENLARGE Graphic |
Shelton breaks
out of a tie with Brad Paisley, who logged 10 consecutive No.1s between 2005
and 2009. Shelton’s streak opened with “Hillbilly Bone” (featuring Trace Adkins), and tied Paisley’s
run of 10 when “Mine Would Be You” spent
three weeks atop the chart last fall. Next up with the most consecutive No.1s after
Shelton and Paisley are Zac Brown Band (7), Carrie Underwood (6) and Toby Keith
(6).
“Doin’ What She
Likes” logged 45.689 million
audience impressions (+2.987 million) receiving 7,216 radio spins (+639). The
Top contributors
during the March 24-30 tracking week were KKBQ
Houston (1.4 million impressions), KKGO
Los Angeles (1.4 million) and WUSN Chicago (1.3 million)
Shelton is
featured on fellow Voice judge Shakira’s “Medicine” (RCA/Sony Music Latin), which debuts at
No.57 on Country Airplay with spins at nine of the 145 stations monitored for
the chart! They are set to duet on “Medicine” during the 49th annual Academy of
Country Music Awards, which air live on CBS on April 6.
- Thomas Rhett landed
his second straight Country Airplay top 10 with “Get Me Some of That” (Valory), which climbed 12-9. Rhett’s
prior single, “It Goes Like This,” spent three weeks at No.1
- Brett Eldredge also
landed his second top with a 11-10
hop with “Beat of the Music” (Atlantic/Warner
Music Nashville) in his 27th chart week. Eldredge’s new top 10 follows
“Don’t Ya,” which dominated the chart for two weeks last summer.
- Luke Bryan bagged
the week’s “Most Increased Audience” and “Most Added” trophies with “Play It Again” (Capitol Nashville), which lifted 18-16 in its
fifth week. It logged 21.667 million audience impressions, a gain of 6.041 million and received 3,407
radio plays (+1,019) thanks to 36 fresh radio commitments (ADDS).
- The Brothers Osborne
(EMI Nashville) snagged the weeks “Hot Shot Debut” cup with a No.55 bow for “RUM”
- Sara Evans with “Slow Me Down” (RCA Nashville) made
a 22-19 jump, her first return to the top 20 in three years.
Women of
Country 2014 Watch:
Miranda Lambert at No.14 ("Automatic"), Sara
Evans at No.19 (“Slow Me
Down”) along with Sheryl Crow No.28 (“Callin’ Me When I’m Lonely”) were
the only 3 solo female artists in the Top 30 Country Airplay songs.
Cassadee Pope #43, Lucy Hale #47, Maggie Rose #49, Kacey Musgraves #51, Kelleigh
Bannen #53, Shakira #57, Jamie Lynn Spears #59 and Kellie Pickler #60 were an
additional eight females in the remaining 31-60 slots, to make it 18.3% of the
top 60 chart.
Country
Airplay
*** No. 1 (1
week) *** "Doin' What She Likes" Blake Shelton
** Most
Increased Audience/ Most added ** No.16 "Play It Again" Luke Bryan
** Hot Shot Debut
** No. 55 "Rum" Brothers Osborne
Debut No.57
"Medicine" Shakira featuring Blake Shelton
Debut No.58
"Raise 'Em Up" Austin Webb
Debut No.60
"Closer To Nowhere" Kellie Pickler
Billboard
Country Digital Singles Chart Week of April 12, 2014
- Florida Georgia Line with “This Is How We
Roll” (featuring Luke Bryan) led the Country Digital Songs for a
third week. Sales of 77,000 were 1% down on the previous week.
- Top 5 Country Digital
tracks remained unchanged. Jerrod Niemann who rounded out the top 5
with “Drink To That All Night” has
now gone past the 1/2-million mark to earn RIAA GOLD eligiblity. After 22
chart weeks sales have now reached 503,000.
- Dierks Bentley’s “I Hold On” (12-13) sold another 25,000 copies in its 30th week
to reach 511K to go GOLD.
- Tyler Farr, moved 27-17, with one of the
chart risers of the week, with sales up 29% this week for “Whiskey In My Water,” his hit
follow-up to “Redneck Crazy”.
Women Of Country Watch
Only 2 solo female artists is on
the Top 30 placings:
Miranda Lambert with her new single "Automatic" in its seventh week at
retail sold 26K (sales up 62%) and climbed 22-11
Sara Evans with “Slow Me Down” moved 28-26 in its fifth chart week
Dropping
off the Top 30:
18-40 Thomas Rhett
“It Goes Like This”
30 – Off The Chart
Dan + Shay “Show You Off”
Top 30 Digital Singles in Country Music
(published April 3, 2014)
(LW) Last Week
(TW) This Week
*Numbers are
rounded to nearest 1000th
Country
Aircheck/ Mediabase chart
Blake Shelton with “Doin’ What She Likes” (Warner
Music Nashville) moved 2-1 to top the Country
Aircheck/ Mediabase chart for the tracking
week March 23 - March 29, 2014. The song logged 7,378 radio spins (+600) and 60.142
million audience impressions (+3.481 million gain) reported by 148
stations.
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| Click to ENLARGE |
Congratulations
to Kevin Herring, Kristen Williams and the entire Warner Music Nashville
promotion crew for scoring this week’s #1 spot on the MEDIABASE. This is
Shelton’s 16th career #1 and fourth
consecutive chart-topping single from his CMA Album of the Year, BASED ON A
TRUE STORY. It follows previous #1s, “Sure Be Cool If You Did.” “Boys ‘Round
Here” and “Mine Would Be You,” the latter of which spent two weeks atop the
singles chart in November.
Congratulations
also to BBR Music Group EVP Jon Loba, SVP Carson James, Broken Bow VP/Promotion
Lee Adams and the entire Broken Bow promotion staff for earning 60 MEDIABASE adds on Dustin Lynch's
"Where It's At." Those adds give Dustin the "Most Added"
title for this week.
Bagels were due
to be delivered to Broken Bow's office Aprl 1st to congratulate the staff on
their success.
Billboard Boxscores (Selective Country concerts)
Rank Artist: #7
Event Venue
City/State: Taylor Swift, The Vamps O2 Arena London, U.K.
Dates: Feb. 1-2,
4, 10-11, 2014 Gross Sales: $5,829,240 Attend: 74,740 /74,740
Capacity Shows: 5/5 Sellouts Prices: $139.98, $41.17
Promoters: Marshall
Arts/ SJM Concerts
Rank Artist: #19
Event Venue
City/State: C2C Country To Country: Zac Brown Band, Brad Paisley, Dixie
Chicks, Rascal Flatts, Dierks Bentley, The Band Perry, Martina McBride, Chris
Young O2 Arena London,
U.K.
Dates: March
15-16, 2014 Gross Sales: $2,565,780 Attend: 27,797/ 30,349 **
Capacity Shows: 2/0 Sellouts Prices: $116.32, $62.32 Promoters: SJM Concerts
** = 2,552
tickets UNSOLD.
** Note: On March
17th The Mirror wrote:.
Dierks Bentley's set on Saturday night when, overwhelmed by waves of enthusiasm
at the sold-out O2 Arena
.... But it seems to be working. This years C2C was a sell-out when last year's didn't
quite make it.
In 2013 some in
the UK media and Pop Up artists spinning things would have you believe that it
was sold out and played to over 20,000 fans. The FACTS were for the C2C2013
weekend March 16-17, 2013 it grossed $1,447,650 selling 17,152 tickets from a 26,840 allocation
with prices at $98.22/ $52.89. For the Billboard chart week April 6, 2013
the C2C event was ranked at #10
Rank Artist: #23
Event Venue
City/State: Eagles Verizon Center Washington,
D.C.
Dates: March 1,
2014 Gross Sales: $2,007,189 Attend:
13,758 /13,758
Capacity Shows:
1/ 1 Sellouts Prices: $188, $53
Promoters: Live
Nation
Rank Artist: #31
Event Venue
City/State: CMC Rocks The Hunter: Toby
Keith, Eli Young Band, Kellie Pickler, Jim Lauderdale, The Greencards, Paul
Thorn & others Hope Estate Winery, Hunter Valley,
Australia
Dates: March
14-16, 2014 Gross Sales: $1,683,270
Attend: 7,694 / 10,000
Capacity
Shows: 3/0 Sellouts Prices: $253.34,
$243.39, $198.15, $143.86
Promoters: Chugg
Entertainment/Rob Potts Entertainment Edge
Rank Artist: #44
Event Venue
City/State: Toby Keith, Eli Young Band, Kellie Pickler Allphones Arena, Sydney, Australia
Dates: March 18,
2014 Gross Sales: $1,003,480 Attend:
7,358/8,236
Capacity Shows:
1/0 Sellouts Prices: $180.31, $89.70
Promoters: Chugg
Entertainment/Rob Potts Entertainment Edge
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