Country Billboard Chart News September 18, 2014

Country Billboard Chart News September 18, 2014

RIAA Certifications

Lee Brice's single "I Don't Dance" (PLATINUM)

In Brief:  Billboard Country Charts

Country Album Chart ** No. 1 (1 week) "I Don't Dance" Lee Brice
Hot Country Songs ** No.1 (8 weeks) ** “Burnin’ It Down” Jason Aldean

Country Airplay ** No.1 (1 week) ** "Where It’s At (YEP,YEP) Dustin Lynch  

Country Digital Songs ** No.1 ** (8 weeks) ** “Burnin’ It Down” Jason Aldean

Billboard Top 200 / Country Album Chart News

Rapper Lecrae collected his first No.1 album on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart (BB200) as his new ANOMALY blew in atop selling 88,437 copies in the week ending Sept.14. It's also the first chart-topper for Lecrae's label, Reach Records.

Anomaly's launch is Lecrae's best sales week, trumping the 72,000-unit start of 2012's Gravity, which debuted and peaked at No. 3. (Gravity was also Lecrae's highest-charting album — and only top 10 — until Anomaly's arrival.)

Rocker Ryan Adams snagged his highest-charting album on the Billboard 200 as his new self-titled release (PAX.AM | Blue Note) made a bow on the BB200 at No.4 and No.1 on Top Rock Albums with 44,639 sales. He previously went as high as No.7 with two different albums, 2007's Easy Tiger and 2011's Ashes & Fire.

Singer/songwriter Lee Brice landed at No.5 on the BB200 selling 38,495 copies (Digital sales accounted for 42% of the total) and scored his first No.1 in four attempts on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart with I DON’T DANCE (Curb), his third full-length album.  

Brice’s opening-week sum also marked his second-largest weekly sales figure, outpaced only by previous album HARD 2 LOVE, which debuted and peaked at No.5 on the Billboard 200 and No.2 Country with 46,066 sales on May 12, 2012.

It's the country singer's second album and first top 10, following 2010's release LOVE LIKE CRAZY, which debuted and peaked at No.44 (BB200)  No. 9 (Country) on June 26, 2010 and was preceded four months earlier by an identically titled EP, which spent two weeks on the chart, reaching No.56. The title-track was named Billboard’s 2010 Most Played Country Song and picked up the 2012 ACM for Song of the Year.

The lead single and title track from the new album peaked at No. 5 on the Aug. 2 Hot Country Songs survey, and has sold 983,000 downloads through the week ending Sept. 14. The second single from I Don’t Dance, “Drinking Class,” bullets at No. 44 on Hot Country Songs.

Brice released his new album on September 9 and the project features the hit title track >> I Don’t Dance’, which Lee wrote is a tribute to his beautiful wife, Sara Reeveley, and features scenes from their wedding. Making the album was a real labor of love for Lee.  He says, "I wanted to have control over every drumbeat, every lick. It was a lot of really sitting down and thinking about every little piece that goes into a song." Lee even played every instrument on the song "Girls in Bikinis," and played banjo for the first time on an album on the track, "Sirens."

Critical reception for Lee Brice’s “I Don't Dance”:

13 Tracks/ Time: 48:27 MP3 - UK iTunes - Smart Choice Music - Amazon.com

Allmusic (Rating: 4 STARS) ...There is some volume to the record and a considerable amount of sly electronic textures -- this especially surfaces in the rhythms, which are sometimes looped, although there's some playful Auto-Tune; the three bonus tracks on the deluxe edition emphasize this side -- but the defining characteristic of I Don't Dance is how unhurried Brice seems, lending the same casual authority to the faster or grittier numbers ("No Better Than This," "Drinking Class," or "Girls in Bikinis," which is just plain silly) as he does on the ballads. This relaxed confidence is beguiling and also suits the songs, which Brice largely had a hand in composing (only three of the 13 songs don't bear a songwriting credit from him).... he keeps the focus on his performance, letting the album come on smooth and strong. I Don't Dance may sink its teeth in slightly slowly, but that's Brice's style: he lets the listener come to him and, once they're there, he offers a warm seduction that lasts not just for a night but for a relationship.

Rollingstone (Rating: 3 STARS) ....Somewhere between Georgia pretty boy Luke Bryan's female-friendly hits and Eric Church's testosterone-heavy, metal-influenced country music, you'll find Lee Brice: a rising Nashville star who's mastered the art of appealing to all his fans without alienating anyone. 
Everybody wins on songs like I Don't Dance's title track: Nope, Brice is far too manly to shake his rump, but for you, dear, he'll make an exception. It helps that the songwriting is as urgent as the production is ambitious. Where "Girls in Bikinis" plays with looped vocals and stuttering high-hats, "Drinking Class" might be the best blue-collar bar tune since Church's "Drink in My Hand."

For The Country Record ....The first two singles from his third album ‘I Don’t Dance’, the title track and ‘Drinking Class’, largely followed suit, with a romantic ballad written for his wife and a semi-rowdy, blue collar party anthem, that was less bro and more simple class pride.

Unfortunately, once we get past the title track opener, the second ‘No Better Than This’ hurls us back down to Earth with a bang, a swig of ice cold beer and a hearty helping of current trends....I really expected to enjoy this record, and I was looking forward to playing it for the next two years. But ‘No Better Than This’ kicks in with references to Snoop Dogg, bass bumping and his “baby’s butt”, lashings of auto-tune and more than a little influence from EDM. ....The same pervy-bar-hopper-disguised-as-romantic-guy narrative pervades on ‘Good Man’, some kind of pop/rap number with orchestral strings against hard drums and  speed-rapping from Lee, loaded with rock instrumentation as it progresses and reminding of Linkin Park and Jay Z’s collaboration from some years ago....Closer ‘Panama City’ is probably my favorite, however. It begins with background chatter and is led in with piano, a sparse, stripped-back approach to shine the spotlight on a truly beautiful lyric. A nuanced love story, I have chills throughout every time I listen to it, and Lee delivers it with aplomb and a wonderfully soulful tone.....Lee Brice can sing. He can provide emotional performances. He can communicate with listeners. He can truly pick and write brilliant songs. But for the most part, this album isn’t any of those things, and it’s a crying shame.

Dustin Lynch earned his best sales week, bowing at No.8 on the BB200 and No.2 on Top Country Albums with his sophomore set, WHERE IT’S AT (Broken Bow/Broken Bow Music Group), which entered with 30,866 sales. (Digital sales made up 58% of the sum.) 

His self-titled debut album began at No.13 on the BB200 and No.1 Country with 23,077 copies sold on Sept. 8, 2012 which at the time was the first debut album to enter the country chart at #1 since Scotty McCreery's CLEAR AS DAY in October 2011.The lead single and title track from the new release became Lynch’s first No.1 on Country Airplay chart

Dustin Lynch followed his 2012 self-titled album debut with this sophomore effort produced by Mickey Jack Cones, Brett Beavers, and Luke Wooten, once again released by Broken Bow Records. Lynch wrote or co-wrote five of the 15 tracks here, infusing things with his traditional country vocals but working as well in a stylish pop direction, adding touches here and there like urban beats, occasional thrash guitar, and even Motown overtones, all while remaining very much country.

Critical reception for Dustin Lynch’s “Where It's At”:

15 Tracks/ Time: 50:18 CD - Smart Choice Music - Amazon.com 

Rollingstone Dustin Lynch's 'Where It's At' Album Reflects Years of Personal and Musical Growth.....Country singer talks "mash-up" collection inspired by country idols... and Beyoncé?

For The Country Record .....Dustin falls into the former, with a collection of party tracks ranging from the obnoxiously bro for-the-sake-of-it living it up to tales of sex, infatuation and even one or two that could be interpreted as love. ‘Hell of A Night’, ‘To The Sky’ and ‘Right

Where We Want It’ are three examples of Dustin attempting to join the bro bandwagon that has already crashed, thrown its remains onto another cart and sped on down the road leaving him behind, or something..Of the sex-themed songs, there’s ‘Halo’ (which tries to make a “good” girl go bad… ie have sex with him, because it’s just for his benefit); ‘After Party’ (which invites a girl to have an “after-party” with him…subtle, Dustin. Subtle); ‘Mind Reader’ (which draws attention to a girl’s appearance and how she must be a mind reader because she’s doing everything he likes… because obviously, women are just there for a man’s benefit);...Overall, ‘Where It’s At’ didn’t surprise me or particularly touch me. Most of the songs I found to be so-so and forgettable, finding it easy to never choose to listen again, but most of them didn’t offend me (although as noted above, the sex narratives were quite annoying and skewed somewhat towards subtle cultural sexism). Three of the songs I would listen to if they came on the radio, but even then I wasn’t raving about them as soon as I heard them, desperate to share how good they are. Sometimes, you just fail to get excited about music, and this album is one of them.

Alabama with their new album ANGELS AMONG US: HYMNS AND GOSPEL FAVORITES (Deluxe version sold at Cracker Barrel stores) it sold 8,000 copies at the notable restaurants to land at No.33 on the BB200 and No.6 Country. 

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store announced the Sept. 8th release contained three exclusive bonus tracks not found on the regular edition. The  album  features some classic hymns, such as ‘The Old Rugged Cross’ and ‘I Saw the Light’ and the classic ‘I’ll Fly Away.’

The Brothers Osborne made a debut with their new self titled EP selling just 1,600 copies to make a bow at No.23 on the Country chart.

With the sales discounting period over for last week’s Country Album #1 PLATINUM from Miranda Lambert saw it slide down 13-41 on the BB200 and 1-9 Country (sales down 59%)

Brad Paisley’s MOONSHINE IN THE TRUNK fell back 14-27 on the BB200 and 2-4 Country selling just 9,000 copies (down 44%) in his third chart week.

In his second week at retail Frank Foster with his indie album Rhythm And Whiskey (Lone Chief / Malaco) fell 4-31 on the Country Chart with sales of 1,300 (sales down 86%;  2-week total 10,300)

In his 48th chart frame on the Billboard Country charts Scotty McCreery has now sold almost ¼ million copies of his album SEE YOU TONIGHT (19/Interscope/Mercury | UMGN) selling another 800 copies this week to reach 249,500. At that present rate it will take another 6-years to get to GOLD! Another indication in the decline of album sales and a far cry from the American Idol Winners debut CLEAR AS DAY which opened with 196,739 debut sales; No.1 Billboard Top 200 which was certified Platinum with sales some time back reaching 1.166 million.

Of Note: Justin Townes Earle often link to the Americana movement made a debut at No.56 on the BB200 and No.19 on the Billboard Top Rock Albums selling 5,300 copies with the 22nd Sept 2014 release of SINGLE MOTHERS (Vagrant)

After two and a half years since his last release, Justin Townes Earle returned to announce his fifth studio album (and first ever on Vagrant Records!). Blurb: Single Mothers is comprised of ten tracks that showcase exactly why Justin Townes Earle is considered a forefather of Contemporary Americana. As a recently married, sober man JTE writes from a point of maturity and content we’ve not seen before on past records. “One day I just realized it’s not cool to die young, and it’s even less cool to die after 30,” Justin laughs as he reflects on a life past and his new found clarity. What he’s created is an album that’s raw, honest and personal in a way he hasn’t touched upon since his debut EP, Yuma.

Critical reception for Justin Justin Townes Earle “Single Mothers”:

10 Tracks/ Time: 29:46 CD - UK iTunes - Smart Choice Music - Amazon.com

Rollingstone (Rating: 3 STARS) Justin Townes Earle has kicked some addictions, but to judge from these new tracks, women still grip him in their throes. "Picture in a Drawer" is a girlfriend-gone crying session directed into the lap of the singer's mom; "White Gardenias," with Billie Holiday's trademark flora and references to her hometown, channels one of her aching ex-lovers. Earle's old-timey country and folk sound tilts toward blues and rock here (the pedal-steeled soul of "Worried Bout the Weather"; the Stonesy guitar swagger of "Burning Pictures"). And his phrasing, always nuanced, is more emotive than ever. It suggests a life where songs are the only painkillers that still work.

2014 Country Album sales Year-To Date:

20,715,000 (Physical sales 13,742,000 (down 9%) + Digital sales 6,973,000 (down -15.6%)) which is 22.7% down at the same point in 2013 (26,804,000 sales)

Billboard Top 200 / Country Album Placings

(Issue dated Chart week of September 27, 2014)

(Country Album positions #1 - #25)

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

Billboard Top Catalog Albums

Milestones: Jason Aldean's "Night Train" (#27 Catalog rank) reaches 100 weeks overall on the Billboard 200 moving 136-143, the last three weeks as a Catalog album. It has been on the chart without fail since its release in October 2012. To put that in perspective that’s many weeks more than Taylor Swift’s RED which was released one week later. RED had a 78-week run on the BB200 before moving to Catalog and only recently reappeared on the Billboard 200 after a long absence.

Luke Bryan's "Tailgates & Tanlines" and Blake Shelton's "Loaded: The Best Of Blake Shelton" are two of only four albums to spend all of 2014 so far on the Catalog chart.

Top 25 Hot Country Songs (week of September 27, 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 bagged a eighth straight week atop Hot Country Songs with “Burnin’ It Down” (Broken Bow) which tied for the longest No.1 streak in 2014. Luke Bryan’s “Play It Again” logged eight straight weeks on top (and nine overall) beginning on April 26. The track also leads Country Digital Songs for an eighth straight week (78,000 sold) and tops Country Streaming Songs for a sixth consecutive frame (2.9 million streams, up 9%)

• Aldean also bagged the Hot Shot Debut at No.18 with “Two Night Town” another preview track from his album OLD BOOTS, NEW DIRT, due Oct. 7.
• Dustin Lynch reached a new peak (6-4) following a No.12 peak on the July 12 Country Streaming Songs tally, the track bulleted on the week’s list (dated Sept. 27) at No.14 with 825,000 U.S streams, up 7%.

Top 25 Hot Country Songs:

Jason Aldean with “Burnin’ It Down” stays Top the chart! 

Florida Georgia Line with former #1“Dirt” holds at #2

Kenny Chesney with “American Kids” holds at #3

Dustin Lynch with “Where It’s At” (Yep, Yep) climbs two, #6 - #4 p

Luke Bryan with “Roller Coaster” sticks at #5

Sam Hunt with “Leave The Night On” is up one, #7 - #6 p

Lady Antebellum with “Bartender” falls three #4 - #7 q

Cole Swindell with “Hope You Get Lonely Tonight” a non-mover at #8

Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood’s former #1 “Somethin’ Bad” up, #10 - #9 p

Blake Shelton with “Neon Light” is up three slots, #13 - #10 p

Dierks Bentley with “Drunk On A Plane” falls two, #9 - #11 q

Chase Rice with “Ready Set Roll” holds at #12

Frankie Ballard with “Sunshine & Whiskey” lifts one, #14 - #13 p

Tim McGraw feat Faith Hill with “Meanwhile Back At Mama’s” falls three, #11 - #14 q

Maddie & Tae with “Girl In A Country Song” is up one #16 - #15 p

Little Big Town with “Day Drinking” climbs one, #18 - #17 p

Jason Aldean with “Two Night Town” debuts at #18 NEW

Keith Urban with “Somewhere In My Car” is up one, #20 - #19 p

Big & Rich with “Look At You” climbs four, #24 - #20 p

Eric Church with “Cold One” lifts one, #22 - #21 p

Jason Aldean with “Sweet Little Somethin' falls five, #17 - #22 q

Parmalee with “Close Your Eyes” is up five, #28 - #23 p

Scotty McCreery with “Feelin’ it” moves up three, #27 - #24 p

Brett Eldredge with “Mean To Me” lifts eight, #33 - #25 p

Hot County Songs

** No.1 (8 weeks) ** “Burnin’ It Down” Jason Aldean

** Streaming Gainer ** No.10 “Neon Light” Blake Shelton

** Hot Shot Debut ** No.18 “Two Night Town” Jason Aldean

** Digital Gainer ** No.25 “Mean to Me” Brett Eldredge

Debut No.27 “The Big Revival” Kenny Chesney

Debut No.35 “I Did With You” Lady Antebellum

Debut No.41 “Baby Be My Love Song” Easton Corbin

Debut No.49 “Lonely Eyes” Chris Young

Billboard Country Airplay Chart Week of September 27, 2014

Dustin Lynch collected his first No.1 in four attempts on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, as “Where It’s At (Yep, Yep)” (Broken Bow) logged 48.630 million audience impressions (+2.627 milion; up 6%) and received 7,493 radio plays (+556) and jumped 3-1 in its 26th chart week.

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The song written by Cary Barlowe, Zach Crowell and Matt Jenkins was first released on March 31, 2014 as the first single from his second studio album WHERE IT'S AT, which was released Sept. 9th. “Yep” has sold 794,000 downloads to date and debuted and peaked at No.10 on Billboard’s Country Digital Songs list (May 3).

He’s just the second artist this year to reach No. 1 for the first time as a lead artist, following Frankie Ballard’s “Helluva Life,” which topped the March 29 list.

Previously, Lynch came closest to the summit with “Cowboys and Angels,” his debut single, which peaked at No.2 on the Oct. 13, 2012 chart. He followed with a No.16 peak for “She Cranks My Tractor” (April 6, 2013). In January, he rose to No. 23 with “Wild in Your Smile.”

Top local audience exposure for “Yep” during the Sept. 8-14 tracking week: KKBQ Houston (1.4 million impressions), WNSH New York (1.2 million), WUBL Atlanta (1.1 million), WUSN Chicago (1.1 million) and KKGO Los Angeles (1.1 million).

• Brantley Gilbert claimed his fourth Country Airplay top 10 with “Small Town Throwdown” (featuring Justin Moore and Thomas Rhett) (Valory), which advanced 12-10 (27.5 million audience impressions, up 3%). Gilbert had last reached the upper region with “Bottoms Up,” which became his third No. 1 on the May 10 chart. Both tracks are from Gilbert’s third album, JUST AS I AM.
• Jason Aldean with “Burnin’ It Down” moved 9-7 and snagged Most Increased Audience stripes logging 35.114 million audience impressions, a gain of +3.258 million and received 5,634 radio plays (+556).
• Easton Corbin set a career-high debut with “Baby Be My Love Song” (Mercury), which opened at No. 53 drawing the week’s Hot Shot Debut honours. It surpassed his No. 54 starts with “I Can’t Love You Back” (Nov. 27, 2010) and “Clockwork” (Feb. 15). Corbin’s chart history includes four top 10s and two No.1s. He’d most recently hit the top tier with “All Over the Road,” which peaked at No. 3 (Sept. 14, 2013), and he last reached No. 1 with “Roll With It” (Oct. 30, 2010). The new song is the lead track from his upcoming third album.
• Brad Paisley nabbed the Most Added trophy with “Perfect Storm” (Arista Nashville), which leapt 43-31 in its fourth chart week. The track logged 1,355(+659) radio plays thanks to 48 fresh radio commitments (ADDS)

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” climbed 11-9. “Girl In A Country Song” by Maddie & Tae rose 24-19

RaeLynn #36, Jana Kramer #40, Lindsay Ell #54, Lucy Hale #55 and Kelleigh Bannen #59 were the five solo females in the remaining 31-60 slots, to make it just 8.33% of the entire Top 60 chart.

Country Airplay

*** No. 1 (1 week) *** "Where It’s At (YEP,YEP) Dustin Lynch  

** Most Increased Audience ** No.7 “Burnin’ It Down” Jason Aldean

** Most Added ** No.31 “Perfect Storm” Brad Paisley

** Hot Shot Debut ** No.53 “Baby Be My Love Song” Easton Corbin

Debut No.59 "You Are What You Love” Kelleigh Bannen

Debut No.60 “Lay Low” Josh Turner

Billboard Country Digital Singles Chart Week of September 27, 2014

Jason Aldean Dominates with three tracks inside the Top 10.

• Jason Aldean's "Burnin' It Down" (Broken Bow / BBMG) held at No.1 with 78,000 downloads sold (down less than 1%) and climbed 11-8 on the all genre Digital Songs chart in its eighth chart frame. His new track “Two Night Town” arrived at No.2 shifting 53,000 downloads and replaced his other preview track “Sweet Little Somethin’” which fell 2-6 in its second week (selling 38,000 copies down 38%) from his album OLD BOOTS, NEW DIRT, due Oct. 7.
• Maddie & Tae, the week’s Riser with “Girl In A Country Song” moved into the top 10 with a 15-9 lift in their 9th chart week (sales up 19%)
• New album preview tracks from Kenny Chesney “The Big Revival” (21,000 copies sold), Lady Antebellum’s “I Did With You” (19,000 sales) along with Easton Corbin’s “Baby Be My Love Song” (15,000 copies) made their debuts at Nos 14, 16 &  21

Women Of Country Watch

There were no solo female artists on the Top 30 placings. On the Top 50 the lone female was RaeLynn with “God Made Girls” which climbed 44-39

Dropping off the Top 30:

22 - Off The Top 50  Lee Brice “Good Man”

30-32 Justin Moore “Home Sweet Home”

18-33 Tim McGraw “Overrated”

27-40 Brad Paisley “River Bank”

Top 30 Digital Singles in Country Music (published September 18, 2014)

 (LW) Last Week (TW) This Week

*Numbers are rounded to nearest 1000^th

Country Aircheck/ Mediabase chart

Kenny Chesney moved 2-1 to land the No1 on Mediabase with “American Kids” (Blue Chair/Columbia). The song logged 7,906 radio spins (+297) and 56.407 million audience impressions (+1.413 million) from 149 tracking stations for the tracking week September 7 to September 13, 2014 and published chart September 15th.

Congratulations to to Columbia Nashville’s VP/Promotion Norbert Nix, Dir./National’s David Friedman and RJ Meacham and the entire COLUMBIA promo team for scoring the week’s #1 single on the MEDIABASE Country singles charts with Kenny Chesney’s "American Kids." The single is the first release from Kenny’s "The Big Revival" album, which will hit stores on Tues, Sept 23rd. This marks his 25th time atop the MEDIABASE chart. His last #1 single was "Come Over" in August 2012. Sweet treats were due to be delivered to the Columbia Nashville office (Sept 15) to celebrate the staff's success.

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 33 MEDIABASE Country adds (sept 15th) with Jackie Lee's "She Does." Those adds gave Lee the "Most Added" title for the week. Bagels were due to be delivered to the Broken Bow office (Sept 16) to congratulate the staff on their success. 
Country Trivia: Jackie Lee used to be an American Idol contestant (Season 8) when he was 17 yrs old under the name Jackie Midkiff at this time

>> To hear why the radio programmers added the song to their station playlists checkout the new single “She Does”:

For a detailed report check out Country Aircheck Weekly Issue 414 - September 15, 2014 [PDF File]

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