Country Billboard Chart News July 31, 2014

Country Billboard Chart News July 31, 2014

In Brief:  Billboard Country Charts

Country Album Chart ** No.1 (3 weeks; non consecutive) ** “Just As I Am” Brantley Gilbert

Hot Country Songs ** No.1 (1 week) ** “Burnin’ It Down” Jason Aldean

Country Airplay ** No.1 (3 weeks) ** Yeah’“ Joe Nichols

Country Digital Songs ** No.1 ** (1 week) ** “Burnin’ It Down” Jason Aldean

In this easy-to-use format discover where your favourite acts songs and album are charting across the four Billboard Country charts. It is prioritized by the first column showing the Hot Country Songs chart frame standings for the week of August 9, 2014.

There are also separate rows highlighting Women of Country music.

Scroll down for further details on each of the individual charts.

Billboard Top 200 / Country Album Chart News

Pop band 5 Seconds of Summer crashed in at No.1 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart (BB200) as the Australian group's self-titled full-length debut album arrived atop the list. The set sold 258,643 copies in the week ending July 27, according to Nielsen SoundScan, following the album's release on July 22.

• It's the third-largest debut of 2014, and the fourth-largest sales week. Coldplay's Ghost Stories debuted with the year's largest week, 383,000 and Eric Church's THE OUTSIDERS is second with 287,668 sales (This weeks No.55  BB200; #7 Country; copies sold in 24 weeks)
• 5 Seconds of Summer's opening also marked the biggest debut for an act's first full-length album this year, and the largest for a group in nearly eight years.
• The last group to debut with a bigger bow was Daughtry, when its self-titled debut album started with 304,000 in the week ending Nov. 19, 2006. 5 Seconds of Summer's new album follows the group's four-song introductory EP, "She Looks So Perfect" (>> Title cut ; 59 million YouTube hits), which debuted and peaked at No.2 earlier this year (selling 143,000 in its first week).
• 5SOS is the first Australian act ever to enter The Billboard 200 at #1 with its first full-length album.
• 5S0S is the first Australian group to debut at #1 since AC/DC landed in the top spot in October 2008 with Black Ice. Both groups hail from Sydney.
• This is the largest one-week tally for an album by a pop group since UK boy band “Midnight Memories” set from One Direction (with whom they have toured) sold 546K copies in its first week in December.

Brantley Gilbert moved 15-14 on the BB200 in his 10th chart frame and returned to No.1 on the Billboard Country Album Chart as JUST AS I AM (Valory/Big Machine Label Group)

roughly maintained its sales helped by some discounting. It leads for a third cumulative week having topped the summit on June 7th and 14th, debuting with 211,288 copies sold. The album has been certified Gold by the RIAA (for units shipped to retail) and has sold 481,000 copies to date. 

Gilbert replaced last weeks No.1 Blake Shelton with BASED ON A TRUE STORY which was in an iTunes sale and this week plummets 10-64 on the BB200 and (1-9 Country) in its 70th chart week. 

Miranda Lambert with PLATINUM held at #2 Country (sales down 18%; 8-week total 381,000)

The highest new entry came from American legend Tennessee Ernie Ford with Amazing Grace: 14 Treasured Hymns which arrived at No.159 on the BB200 (#19 Country).

It was released by the Gaither Music Group on July 22nd and is a brand new collection of 14 hymns out of Ford's extensive canon. His chart-topping recording successes are captured on this timeless collection containing such classic songs as "Peace in the Valley," "How Great Thou Art," "Rock of Ages," "Precious Memories," "Blessed Assurance" and many more. Ford is known for his unmistakable, booming voice and contagious personality as an artist, radio personality, actor and TV host. He is best known for his 1955 cover of Merle Travis' grim coal-mining song "Sixteen Tons". 

Though Ford started off in country music, he eventually established himself as an excellent singer of gospel music with the release of Hymns in 1956. It became one of the top-selling albums of all time, spending 277 weeks in the Billboard 200 chart and achieving platinum status; Ford continued with further gospel recordings over the following years and 1964's Great Gospel Songs won him a Grammy.

Roger Creager the Corpus Christi, Texas native made a Billboard 200 bow at No.172 (#20 Country) with his 7 track EP, ROAD SHOW. Deemed to be “fun summertime songs” with his live show in mind with these “don’t-miss-live-in-concert-songs”.

The first release off Road Show, is a song designed for summer in Texas. >> “River Song”, hit the top 5 on the Texas charts after only 10 weeks out to radio.  Read More: radiotexaslive.com

Roger stampeded onto the Texas scene with his 1998 album, Having Fun All Wrong, featuring signature tracks “The Everclear Song” and “Fun All Wrong.” Over the next 14 years, he released four more studio albums and one live collection that souped-up his catalog with crowd favorites like “Long Way to Mexico,” “Things Look Good Around Here” and “I’m From the Beer Joint.”

Creager is an adventurist; climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, jumping off his boat to snorkel with wild dolphins, snow skiing in the Rockies, catching tuna 100 miles from shore, piloting his airplane to far-off concerts, spear-fishing around oil rigs, scuba diving coral reefs and with sharks, surfing in Costa Rica, or playing music through the Italian countryside!

On the July 26th he was preparing to break the record for the world's largest river float trip on the Guadalupe River - Image

Read his interview with Rolling Stone

“Road Show” Country/ Indie & Alternative 7 Tracks/ Time: 25:54 is available Amazon UK - UK iTunes - Amazon.com

Outside the Billboard Top 25 Country albums:

Sammy Kershaw made a debut at No.37 with DO YOU KNOW ME: A TRIBUTE TO GEORGE JONES (Big Hit Records) which honours his late friend, a release dedicated entirely to the "Possum" which landed Kershaw his first Billboard Top 40 album in more than a decade.

It contains some of George's biggest hits, including “White Lightning”, “Why Baby Why”, and his signature number “He Stopped Loving Her Today”. The album also includes a song written for George by Sammy himself, “The Route That I Took”, and a duet “Near You” with Jones' daughter, Georgette. "I'm so glad the media and fans are enjoying this new album, dedicated to my friend and hero, George Jones," said Kershaw.  "If it wasn't for Jones, I wouldn't be where I am today.  I am forever grateful to my friend. 

 The Top 40 Billboard chart debut and the kind words from reviewers are all truly humbling to me."

Critics Reviews:

"Georgette Jones knows her dad's music, so when she writes in the liner notes that Mr. Kershaw 'has the closest voice I know to my dad's,' believe her." - Nancy Dunham, The Washington Times

"'The Grand Tour,' 'She Thinks I Still Care' and 'He Stopped Loving Her Today' are so close to George's renditions that you'll be searching for Sammy's signature Louisiana drawl." - Tammy Ragusa, Country Weekly

"There’s one new track on the compilation, 'The Route That I Took' which showcases Kershaw’s natural vocal ability that certainly is as close to George Jones as we’ll ever get." - Matt Bjorke, Roughstock

"The arrangements of the songs are about as close to hearing George Jones, without hearing George Jones." - Chuck Schultz, No Depression. 

Read the Full Press Release for more reviews

 “Do You Know” 14 Tracks/ Time: 39:15 CD - MP3 - UK iTunes - Amazon.com

2014 Country Album sales Year-To Date:

17,301,000 (Physical sales 11,431,000 (down 9%) + Digital sales 5,871,000 (down -12.5%)) which is 21.0% down at the same point in 2013 (21,905,000 sales)

Billboard Top 200 / Country Album Placings

(Issue dated Chart week of August 9, 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 August 9, 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:

• Jason Aldean’s “Burnin’ It Down” (Broken Bow) soared 42-1 following its debut last week which was based solely on two days of airplay. He claimed the biggest leap to the summit in the Hot Country Songs chart list’s history. The massive jump is result of the arrival of the track on Billboard’s Country Digital Songs chart with 184,000 downloads sold in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Also contributing to its rocket rise is the ballad’s No.13 start on Country Streaming Songs with 980,000 streams (72% of them came from Spotify plays, according to Nielsen BDS) and its No.19 launch on Country Airplay (19 million audience impressions). “Burnin’ ” marked the second time in three weeks that a track has entered Country Digital Songs with more than 180,000 sold, following Florida Georgia Line’s bow (182,000) with “Dirt” (Republic Nashville) on the July 26 ranking. FGL’s total prompted the song’s now-broken Hot Country Songs record 40-1 leap; but the hot duo can take consolation as they have a stake in Aldean’s new mark as co-writers of “Burnin’.” Although “Dirt” dropped 1-2 after two weeks atop Hot Country Songs, it added Streaming Gainer honours (2.1 million, up 18%)
• Chart rookie Sam Hunt claimed his first Hot Country Songs top 10, as “Leave the Night On” (MCA Nashville) made a 12-10 hop. “Night” reached a new high (8-5) on Country Streaming Songs (1.5 million, up 12%).
• Canaan Smith landed the Hot Shot Debut at No.32 with “Love You Like That” (Mercury)

Top 25 Hot Country Songs:

Jason Aldean with “Burnin’ It Down” rocketed #42 - #1 to Top the chart! p

Florida Georgia Line with former #1 “Dirt” slipped one, #1 - #2 q

Kenny Chesney with “American Kids” is down one, #2 - #3 q

Dierks Bentley with “Drunk On A Plane” slips one, #3 - #4 q

Lee Brice with “I Don’t Dance” holds at #5

Lady Antebellum with “Bartender” sinks two, #4 - #6 q

Joe Nichols with “Yeah” stays at #7

Florida Georgia Line feat Luke Bryan with former #1 “This Is How Me Roll” stays at #8

Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood with former #1 “Somethin’ Bad” moves #10 - #9

Sam Hunt with “Leave The Night On” climbs two, #12 - #10 p

Tim McGraw feat Faith Hill with “Meanwhile Back At Mama’s” holds at #11

Billy Currington with “We Are Tonight” is up two, #14 - #12 p

Brad Paisley with “River Bank” levels at #13

Dustin Lynch with “Where It’s At” (Yep, Yep) climbs one, #15 - #14 p

Luke Bryan with “Roller Coaster” rises up four, #19 - #15 p

Chase Rice with “Ready Set Roll” is up one, #17 - #16 p

Cole Swindell with “Hope You Get Lonely Tonight” is up one, #18 - #17 p

Frankie Ballard with “Sunshine & Whiskey” lifts four, #22 - #18 p

Blake Shelton featuring Gwen Sebastion with “My Eyes” slips three, #16 - #19 q

Eric Paslay with “Song About A Girl” holds at #20

Brantley Gilbert with “Small Town Throwdown” sticks at #21

Eli Young Band with “Dust” is up one, #23 - #22 p

Little Big Town with “Day Drinking” is up one, #24 - #23 p

Eric Church with “Cold One”, is up one, #25 - #24 p

The Swon Brothers with “Later On” is up one, #26 - #25 p

Hot County Songs

** No.1 (1 week) ** “Burnin’ It Down” Jason Aldean

** Streaming Gainer ** No.2 “Dirt” Florida Georgia Line

** Airplay Gainer ** No.5 “I Don’t Dance” Lee Brice

** Digital Gainer ** No.18 “Sunshine & Whiskey” Frankie Ballard

** Hot Shot Debut ** No.32 “Love You Like That” Canaan Smith

Debut No.34 “Gonna Wanna Tonight” Chase Rice

Debut No.49 “Raised On It” Sam Hunt

 Billboard Country Airplay Chart Week of August 9, 2014

Joe Nichols scored his longest reign atop Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, as “Yeah” (Red Bow) logged a third straight week at the summit. Previously, he logged his longest stay at No. 1 — two weeks — with “Gimmie That Girl” (May 8 and 15, 2010).

“Yeah” has posted significant audience gains each week on chart frame dated Aug. 9th it logged 48.784 million audience impressions (+1.091 million; up 2%) receiving 7,545 radio plays (+230)

Top local audience contributors during the July 21-27 tracking week: KKBQ Houston (1.8 million impressions), WUSN Chicago (1.6 million), WKLB Boston (1 million) and WNSH New York (1 million).

Joe's new video, >> "Yeah," (1.4 million YouTube views) uses animation to place a young couple on the pages of a comic book as their love story plays out over the course of a night.  It's easily one of country's most compelling videos so far this year, but that comic book effect was actually an afterthought. Joe and his team originally wanted the video to look cheap and cheesy with the couple acting out the song around a fake campfire and fake trees set up in a studio. That idea didn't quite pan out, though. Joe told ABC News Radio, "It came off looking incredibly cheap and cheesy. That was the only problem. It was supposed to be funny, and it kind of missed."

• Jason Aldean drew Hot Shot Debut applause at No.19 with “Burnin’ It Down” (Broken Bow). The launch matched his best start, first set when “Take a Little Ride” entered in the same position on Aug. 4, 2012. That track eventually spent three weeks at No. 1, peaking on the chart dated Oct. 6, 2012. “Burnin’” also nabbed the Most Increased Audience and Most Added trophies as the song logged 18.785 million audience impressions, a gain of +18.785 million, receiving 2,302 radio plays (+2,302) thanks to 98 fresh radio commitments (ADDS). Aldean’s new track — the lead single from his upcoming sixth studio album — debuted with “assistance” from coordinated hourly play on July 22 on Clear Channel Media and Entertainment-owned stations. The digital track released the same day is expected to bring Aldean his third leader on Billboard’s Country Digital Songs tally and first since “Ride” peaked atop the Aug. 4, 2012 chart. His biggest weekly Nielsen SoundScan sum is shared (when rounded off) by two titles: “Dirt Road Anthem” and “Ride,” each of which sold 189,000 downloads the week of July 2, 2011 and Aug. 4, 2012, respectively.
• Kenny Chesney collected his 46th top 10 on Country Airplay, as “American Kids” (Blue Chair/Columbia Nashville) kicked up 11-9 in its sixth chart week. Since his first week in the region (June 24, 1995), Chesney shares the mark for the most top 10s with Tim McGraw. George Strait follows with 42 in that stretch. Dating to the chart’s January 1990 launch, Chesney ranks fourth among all artists on a list led by Strait (61). Next up: Alan Jackson and McGraw (both with 51) and Toby Keith (42).
• Dustin Lynch reached the Country Airplay top 10 for the second time in four tries, as “Where It’s At (Yep, Yep)” (Broken Bow) jumped 12-10 in its 19th week. He first cracked the upper tier with “Cowboys and Angels,” which peaked at No.2 (Oct. 13, 2012). He subsequently rose as high as No. 6 with “She Cranks My Tractor” (April 6, 2013) and posted a No. 23 peak with “Wild in Your Smile” (Jan. 25). “Where” is the lead single and title track from his second album, due Sept. 9.

Women of Country 2014 Watch:

There were no solo female artists on the Top 30 Country Airplay songs Miranda Lamberts’ duet with Carrie Underwood Somethin’ Bad” moved 19-17 in its 10th chart week.

Cassadee Pope #33, RaeLynn #37, Kacey Musgraves #39, Jana Kramer #41 and Danielle Bradbery #51 were the five solo females in the remaining 31-60 slots, to make it just 8.3% of the entire Top 60 chart.

Country Airplay

*** No. 1 (3 weeks) *** "Yeah" Joe Nichols

** Hot Shot Debut/ Most Increased Audience/ Most Added ** No. 19 "Burnin' It Down" Jason Aldean

Debut No. 53 "Live A Little" Dean Alexander

Debut No. 59 "Love You Like That" Canaan Smith

Debut No. 60 "What We Ain't Got" Jake Owen

Billboard Country Digital Singles Chart Week of August 9, 2014

• Jason Aldean's "Burnin' It Down" fired up at No.1 at it made a bow with 184,000 downloads sold. It's Aldean's first No.1 on the all genre Digital Songs chart (bumping
  
  Magic's "Rude" from the No.1 slot) and his third-largest sales week (following the 189,000 debut of "Take a Little Ride" in 2012 and a 189,000 frame for "Dirt Road Anthem" in 2011). Since the Country Digital Songs chart premiered in January 2010, Aldean has posted the two largest opening weeks by a male act; his “Take a Little Ride” began with 189,000 (Aug. 4, 2012). The only other acts to debut on Country Digital Songs with more than 180,000 sold are Taylor Swift (with seven titles) and Lady Antebellum (with one).

• Sam Hunt  with “Leave the Night On” (MCA Nashville) set a new peak with an 8-7 lift and scored its biggest sales week (46,000, up 7%).
• Canaan Smith “Love You Like That” (Mercury / UMGN) at No.21 and Chase Rice’s iTunes-only track “Gonna Wanna Tonight” (Columbia Nashville/ SMN) at No.24 made their debuts in the Top 30.
• Maddie & Tae with their buzzworthy “Girl In A Country Song” (Dot Records/ BMLG) moved into the Top 30 in their second week (sales up 70%)
• Earning GOLD RIAA certification eligibility passing the ½ million sales mark are Joe Nichols 3 week Billboard Airplay No.1 “Yeah” (522,000 sales in 21 weeks) Chris Young’s “Who I Am With You” (505,000 sales in 22 weeks) and Blake Shelton & Gwen Sebastian’s former Billboard & Mediabase Airplay #1 hit “My Eyes” (514,000 sales in 17 weeks)

Women Of Country Watch

There were no solo female artists on the Top 30 placings.

Miranda Lambert’s “Automatic” moved 40-48 as the ONLY solo female song on the Top 50!

Female duet include Miranda Lambert with Carrie Underwood with “Somethin’ Bad” (7-8) and newbie duo Maddie & Tae moved 32-28 with “Girl In A Country Song”  

Dropping off the Top 30:

23-31 Florida Georgia Line “Cruise” 

21-32 Tyler Farr “Whiskey In My Water” 

28-33 George Strait “I Got A Car” 

29-34 Eric Paslay “Song About A Girl” 

Top 30 Digital Singles in Country Music (published July 31, 2014)

 (LW) Last Week (TW) This Week

*Numbers are rounded to nearest 1000^th

Country Aircheck/ Mediabase chart

Joe Nichols landed the No1 on Mediabase with “Yeah’” (Red Bow) which moved 2-1. The song logged 7,821 radio spins (+274) and 56.465 million audience impressions (+1.485 million) from 149 tracking stations for the tracking week July 20 to July 26, 2014 and published chart July 28th.

Congratulations to Broken Bow Records (BBR) Music Group SVP/ Promotion Carson James, Red Bow VP/Promotion Renee Leymon, Dir./National Promotion Shelley Hargis and the entire Red Bow Promo team for scoring the week’s #1 spot on the MEDIABASE Country singles chart with Joe Nichols’ "Yeah." This is the second #1 single from Nichols' CRICKETS album following "Sunny And 75" in December 2013. Sweets were to be delivered to BBR in celebration of the milestone.

Congratulations 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 113 MEDIABASE Country adds with Jason Aldean's "Burnin' It Down." Those adds gave Aldean the “Most Added” title this chart week.

Bagels were due to be delivered to the Broken Bow office (July 29th) to congratulate the staff on their achievement.

For a detailed report check out Country Aircheck Weekly Issue 407 - July 28, 2014 [PDF File]

For the very latest up to the minute Mediabase Chart (Past 7 Days) go here - www.mediabase.com

Billboard Boxscores (Selective Country concerts)

Chart Week of August 9, 2014

Source: www.billboard.com/biz/current-boxscore