Country Billboard Chart News October 16, 2014

Country Billboard Chart News October 16, 2014

In Brief:  Billboard Country Charts

Country Album Chart ** No. 1 (1 week) “Old Boots, New Dirt” Jason Aldean

Hot Country Songs ** No.1 (12 weeks) ** “Burnin’ It Down” Jason Aldean

Country Airplay ** No.1 (1 week) ** “Dirt” Florida Georgia Line

Country Digital Songs ** No.1 ** (1 week) ** “Sippin’ On Fire” Florida Georgia Line

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 October 25, 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

Jason Aldean netted his second No.1 album on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart (BB200), as his new release, OLD BOOTS, NEW DIRT (Broken Bow/BBMG), kicked in atop the list. It started with 278,096 copies sold in the week ending Oct. 12, the third-largest sales week of 2014 according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Only the arrivals of Coldplay's Ghost Stories (383,000) and fellow country star Eric Church's The Outsiders (287,668) logged bigger frames this year.

“Old Boots”  also notched the largest sales week of 2014 for an independently-distributed album. (It's distributed by RED Distribution, Sony Music's independent distribution arm.)

Aldean replaced fellow country giant out of the No.1 slot as Blake Shelton with BRINGING BACK THE SUNSHINE fell 1-6 on the BB200 (#1-#2 Country) with 34,000 sold (down 66% from last weks 100,544 arrival). It's the first time there has been back-to-back No.1s from country albums in over a year. It last happened on the chart dated May 25, 2013, when Lady Antebellum's GOLDEN spent one week at No.1, following a one-week stint at the top by Kenny Chesney's LIFE ON A ROCK.

Incidently Lady Antebellum fell 2-11 on the BB200 (2-3 Country) selling just 24,000 copies (sales down 68%) in their second week with new album 747

Aldean’s last album, his Oct 16, 2012 release of fifth studio set NIGHT TRAIN steamrolled to a No.1 selling 409,303 copies sold in its first week. That set, however, followed the breakthrough success Aldean found with his Nov 2, 2010 release of MY KINDA PARTY which debuted and peaked at No.2 on Billboard 200 chart dated Nov. 20, 2010 selling 192,998 copies and was kept off the No.1 by Taylor Swift’s SPEAK NOW which shifted 319,701 copies in her 2nd chart week. “My Kinda Party” then sold 80,510 copies (down 58%) followed by 57,609 to net 331,117 copies in its first 3-weeks at retail. It spent its first 87 consecutive weeks in the top 40. (It also lingered for 12 weeks at No.1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.) So far, “Party” has shifted 3.1 million copies. (2.8 million in its first two years.) “Night Train” spent its first 21 frames in the top 40 of the Billboard 200, one week at No. 1 on Top Country Albums, and has sold 1.7 million in its (just over) two years of release.

To date, Jason Aldean has sold over nine million albums and has taken 13 trips to No. one on the Country Radio charts. Each of Aldean’s albums has been certified PLATINUM with his last album NIGHT TRAIN earning PLATINUM certification only four weeks from its release. He is currently headlining his monumental 2014 BURN IT DOWN TOUR, which saw him play five stadium dates in addition to sold-out shows in the country’s biggest amphitheaters and arenas. For more information including a full list of tour dates

OLD BOOTS, NEW DIRT has also broken the record for both first-day and first-week streams by a Country album on Spotify ever. Critics across the country have joined in to praise Aldean’s newest endeavor as “consistent, compelling” (New York Times) and one that “hooks you from the first listen” (Newsday).

“The album is his most ambitious to date” - Associated Press

“…Musically adventurous… Old Boots, New Dirt shows just how far he has come as a vocalist” - Billboard

“There isn’t a track on this disc that couldn’t be a hit on country radio. That’s the sound of a modern megastar who knows what his audience wants” - Milwaukee Journal Sentinal

“Aldean delivers another winner” -Chicago Sun Times

“…Country fans should be ALL OVER the strong 15-song mix” - St. Louis Post Dispatch

Critical reception for Jason Aldean’s “Old Boots, New Dirt“:

CD - Smart Choice Music  - Amazon.com 

Allmusic (Rating: 3.5 STARS) ....Aldean's boots are getting a bit worn; he's no longer an upstart, he's a veteran who could almost be seen as an institution thanks to his long commercial track record. Stars have less reason to take risks -- why upset the apple cart if it's still generating revenue -- but there's some freshness on Old Boots, New Dirt, which means the

second half of the title isn't just talk. Aldean and producer Michael Knox, who has been with him since the beginning, accentuate the singer's arena country with some decidedly modern electronics: splurting synths propel "Sweet Little Somethin'," while the slinky "Burnin' It Down" simmers to a skittering rhythmic loop. Usually, such electronic digressions indicate a bolder, even stylish, change in direction but that's hardly the case here....Old Boots, New Dirt is all ballads, slow burners, and midtempo anthems existing in a land that's a far cry from either "Hicktown" or "Crazy Town." Truth is, beneath that exaggerated swagger -- a macho strut he was always eager to emphasize -- Aldean's strength has been slower songs...Aldean retains a slight nasal edge in his voice and the electronics complement this characteristic well. This delicate balance is the greatest indication that both singer and producer are now old pros, knowing how to slyly underscore his star appeal, knowing that Aldean doesn't need to chase the sunny good times of bro-country. This casual, almost steely, assurance is appealing and even if the record goes on far too long at 15 tracks (18 in editions exclusive), this focus coalesces Old Boots, New Dirt, turning it into one of his best records.

Billboard 615 (Track-by-Track Review) by Chuck Dauphin (Rating: 3.5 STARS) .... is a mixture of the party songs he has become known for -- but also shows a little bit more of an emotional and sensual side than listeners might be accustomed to. As much havoc as he will cause in concert with the uptempo-flavored tracks, on this disc the ballads take center stage..."Just Gettin'

Started" should kick off his 2015 concert dates with an exclamation point, and it's quite the sensual track -- one of many that explore that realm on the album...."Burnin' It Down" - The most musically adventurous track that Aldean has ever recorded, quickly became a favorite of his female fan following...."Tryin’ To Love Me" – After the unbridled heat and passion of the first three tracks, Aldean goes a more emotional route on this very melodious track, where he expresses remorse and regret for not allowing someone in. It's quite possibly his best vocal performance to date...."Tonight Looks Good On You" – One of the more restrained productions on the record, the song is sensual yet also dramatic..."Too Fast" - He has truly mastered the art of the power ballad, as he does on this track.."If My Truck Could Talk" is somewhat of a modern-day version of The Statler Brothers..."Don't Change Gone" – One of the strongest lyrics on the album, the singer waxes a melancholy note about how changing your surroundings and your life doesn't mean the pain over a broken relationship also vanishes....>> "Two Night Town"– The set closes with the most "country" song on the album -- which finds Aldean in very much a Merle Haggard-esque mood with his frustration showing. 

Pop Matters (Rating: 2 out of 10 Stars) by Anthony Easton Old Boots, Same Shit   .......The women in these works are talked about as girl or baby. I am never sure that they are ever named. There is a song about his truck that has more attention to detail, and care about its personality than any of the songs that he sings about women.  There is some attempt to use the first person, so it doesn’t have the isolation of a third person narrative, but most of those first person narratives are about things that the woman can do for Aldean. There is very little

work for her to do. (She apparently enjoys watching him do his thing, which is sing or have him watch her dance, while he “works on his laid back”.)  There is only one song that could possibly be about his new life (“Too Fast”) but it is again about what he wants, what he desires, what is good for Aldean, and not what is good for the woman in question. It also reverts to cliches: ”making a living, not making a life”, “cuts like a knife”.....The desperation of the drinking and the narcissistic banality of the lyrics are matched by songs that have long guitar solos, or places where the bands play loudly against Aldean’s voice—which is often flat, and rarely works enough energy to move past a laconic speech song. It’s almost like he knows the material is crap, and that his previously quite warm voice has become cold due to inertia. Most of the songs start the same, with half a minute of silvery guitar noise, and then this inert voice starts, and the listener becomes as bored as Aldean does. That he often makes us listen to a guitar solo in the middle of the tracks, meaning that he is almost convinced that we care about his metal infused sound, but without the technical skill that ‘80s hair metal requires, suggests a profound arrogance...... I am convinced that the misogyny of this album is toxic.

Saving Country Music (Rating: 2 Guns Down) ....Yeah I know I’ve been rough on ol’ Jason Aldean over the years. But I’m sorry, I think his latest release Old Boots, New Dirt is the best damn R&B/sexytime album I’ve heard all year..... Old Boots, New Dirt is a doubling down of Aldean’s errant behavior. The album is the singer breaking free of the repressive sexual bonds of marriage and country music’s rigid moral regime to reclaim his wild 16-year-old post-adolescent oats at the age of 37. On Old Boots, New

Dirt, Jason Aldean proclaims the world his oyster, and presents such a flaunting of the human id, even Charlie Sheen would cock an eyebrow and give it a nodding approval.....Now what do we get from Jason Aldean? A simple enumeration of his sexual conquests one after another, with very little respite. “I knew the minute that I picked you up, it was gonna be a wild ride,” the very first song “Just Gettin’ Started” starts off. “You kissed me like you couldn’t get enough. Barely made it out of your drive.”

The second song “Show You Off” unfolds just about as you would expect it to. “I just want to show you off. Drive them all crazy, watch all the boys hate me. This ain’t so wrong, come on.” This is what passes for Aldean being “sweet.” This leads into the lead single from the album, the already much maligned and ultra-sexualized “Burnin’ It Down,” …and on and on from there.

For The Country Record......It’s difficult to separate someone’s personal life from their music. The content on ‘Old Boots, New Dirt’ can be split fairly evenly into two categories; songs for his new wife, full of lust, parties, sex, drinking, and contributions from the EDM and R&B side of things, and songs for his old wife, full of regret, honesty, heartbreak and loneliness, his

sound more representative of what we know of him already.... Of the former category, I have little positive to say. Tracks like ‘Tonight Looks Good On You’, ‘Laid Back’, ‘Burnin’ It Down’, ‘Just Getting’ Started’, ‘Show You Off’, ‘Sweet Little Somethin’’, and ‘Gonna Know We Were Here’ encase varying degrees of overblown, swaggery, self-indulgent mush, as much littered with the sonic trash that’s proving increasingly popular on country radio as it is Guns ‘n’ Roses-style excessive hard rock with some twang evident in there somewhere (hardly). It’s a bro-country mess with as much sexual objectification of women as you can shake a stick at, equal airtime given to driving, drinking, clichéd rural settings, partying and the actual explicit act of procreation......So does it work? I’m not sure. For the most part it feels as if there are too many sex songs, and those songs are too explicit and creepy....... Too bad most of the first half of the album is utter garbage, huh.

The Soundtrack to the latest Nicholas Sparks Film, THE BEST OF ME made a debut at No.54 on the BB200 (#12 Country) selling 6,200 copies sold (Various Artists 14 Tracks/ Time: 50:58 CD - Amazon.com - US iTunes )

It features a host of country artists: Lady Antebellum, Hunter Hayes, Colbie Caillat, Thomas Rhett, Thompson Square, Kip Moore,

Kacey Musgraves, Eric Paslay, David Nail, Eli Young Band and Alt outfit Cowboy Junkies.

Lady Antebellum, Thomas Rhett, Sunny Sweeney and other stars were among the crowd of “first nighters” attending the Nashville premiere on Thursday night (Oct. 9), at the Country Music

Hall of Fame and Museum. The movie is based on the popular novel by Nicholas Sparks. Before the screening, several stars with ties to the movie walked the red carpet and chatted with members of the media. Lady Antebellum wrote and recorded two songs for the film’s soundtrack, “I Did With You” and “Falling for You.” Lady A’s Hillary Scott explained, “One song, ‘I Did With You,’ is at the end of the movie during the credits, when everybody in the audience is wiping their eyes and their mascara’s running. The other song we wrote, ‘Falling for You,’ plays during the part of the film where the guy and the girl reconnect after 21 years.” Writing a soundtrack tune was a first for the award-winning trio. “This was a new challenge for us,” said the group’s Charles Kelley. Lady A’s Dave Haywood added, “We had a synopsis of the movie and we were able to find some cool images to pull from. It was a really unique writing experience for us.” Thomas Rhett also appears on the soundtrack, performing a tune he co-wrote titled “The Way Things Go.” Other notables on the soundtrack include pop star Colbie Caillat and sibling quartet SHEL......Read more Watch >> Trailer

See Press Release for Screening photos

Doug Seegers a 62 year old newbie artist made his debut at No.25 Country selling 1,900 copies of GOING DOWN TO THE RIVER (Rounder).

Seegers is a homeless street musician born in New York who lives in Nashville. Swedish music star Jill Johnson and Magnus Carlson discovered him (after a tip from a hot dog salesman) in a Nashville food pantry. The two subsequently recorded a duet that climbed to the top of the music charts in Sweden. They were very taken by his lyrics and flair for singing. So they decided to record the song GOING DOWN TO THE RIVER written by Doug Seegers in the Cash Cabin Studio.

>> watch the recording

Doug Seegers goes from street singer to global superstar ....Maybe you've passed him on a downtown sidewalk.  Maybe thrown a couple bucks his way. Doug Seegers, 62,  is a street singer. He's been in town for 17 years. He's been homeless and addicted. He's been singing on Second Avenue, outside The Old Spaghetti Factory, and on Charlotte Avenue, outside the Goodwill store.... Read More at The Tennessean

Critical reception for Doug Seegers - Going Down To The River“:

12 Tracks/ Time: 41:33 CD - MP3  - US iTunes - Amazon.com 

Allmusic (Rating: 4 STARS) ....Going Down to the River is country singer and songwriter Doug Seegers' debut album. The weathered face quietly smiling off into the distance is no mere pose. His story is as dramatic as it is heartbreaking, almost nearly unbelievable in the 21st century. (His bio tells it in depth.) Seegers was a homeless, addicted street singer in Nashville for nearly two decades before he got his first break thanks to Stacy Downey of the charity the Little Pantry That Could and Swedish country star Jill Johnson, who was in Music City filming a documentary on down-and-out musicians. Cut in three days at Cowboy Jack Clement's Sound Emporium, the album was produced by Will Kimbrough, who also played guitar and led an all-star cast including Barbara Lamb, Al Perkins, and Phil Madeira. Others include Buddy Miller, an old friend during the 1970s (who plays guitar on a cover of Hank Williams' "There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight"), and Emmylou Harris (who reprises her role on Gram Parsons' "She"). All of Seegers' vocals are live scratch takes. As brilliant as the two covers are, they are merely icing on the cake. The ten originals are mostly spectacular, in no small part due to Seegers' deeply expressive voice; its simplicity and raw country soul are delivered in a reedy, utterly musical low tenor.....Going Down to the River displays Seegers as not just the real deal, but an artist who has earned every minute of this record with years of his life. He doesn't just write and sing traditional country music, he embodies the thing itself.

Pop Matters (Rating 8/10) .....Seegers’ choice of the simple, brilliant pun amplifies both his narrator’s state of mind and his means of coping. That’s smart songwriting, and, start to finish, this is one of the best country releases you will hear this year.

Outside the Top 25 Country Albums

Old Dominion with their own self-titled EP landed at No.33. They are composed of Matthew Ramsey, Brad Tursi, Trevor Rosen, Geoff Sprung and Whit Sellers. Ramsey, the group’s lead singer, is responsible for songs recorded by Luke Bryan, the Band Perry, Craig Morgan and Dierks Bentley, among others. Rosen has written for folks including Keith Urban, Jake Owen, Chris Young and Kenny Chesney. Together, the group have been writing and trying to establish their own sound for about 10 years.

Of Note:

Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn with their self titled album (Rounder/ Concord) made a debut at No.8 on the Billboard Folk Albums chart    

Coming Attractions: Look for Florida Georgia Line's Anything Goes to debut at #1 next week with first week sales in the 180K range.

2014 Country Album sales Year-To Date:

23,808,000 (Physical sales 15,485,000 (down 9%) + Digital sales 7,823,000 (down -12.4%)) which is 18.3% down at the same point in 2013 (29,131,000 sales)

Billboard Top 200 / Country Album Placings

(Issue dated Chart week of October 25, 2014)

(Country Album positions #1 - #25)

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

Billboard Catalog Albums Chart (week of October 25, 2014)

[Catalog Chart Legend: This Week, Last Week, 2 Weeks Ago, Title, Artist (Weeks on Catalog)]

35 8 10 Loaded: The Best Of Blake Shelton, Blake Shelton (100)

Milestones: Blake Shelton's "Loaded: The Best Of Blake Shelton" reached the 100-week mark on the Catalog chart, becoming the 142nd album to do so and the first for the country music superstar. "Loaded" dropped sharply 110-181 on the Billboard 200 but remained on the chart for week #100.

Top 25 Hot Country Songs (week of October 25, 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 held for a 12th week on Hot Country Songs with “Burnin’ It Down” (Broken Bow) and posted Streaming Gainer honours. It tops Country Streaming Songs for a 10th week with 2.7 million U.S. streams (up 7%), according to Nielsen BDS, with 42% of those plays from Spotify. According to Spotify, Aldean’s album drew the biggest first-week action (3 million) on the service in the United States for a country album.
• With Florida Georgia Line second full-length, ANYTHING GOES (Republic Nashville/BMLG), poised to debut on next week’s charts (dated Nov. 1), the duo netted a career-high debut on Hot Country Songs and logged its third No.1 bow on Country Digital Songs. The twosome (Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard) snared the Hot Shot Debut at No.10  with “Sippin’ on Fire,” besting the pair’s previous top bow: No.15 with “Bumpin’ the Night” (also from the new album)(Oct. 18). “Fire” starts atop Country Digital Songs (79,000).
• Glen Campbell the Country Music Hall of Fame honoree made his first Hot Country Songs appearance in nearly 22 years with “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” (Big Machine) at No.50. As Campbell faces the final stages of Alzheimer’s disease, the track is his final recording and first chart entry since “Somebody Like That” (No. 66 peak) in 1993. He last charted higher with 1991’s No. 27-peaking “Unconditional Love.” “Miss” is from a soundtrack EP for the documentary Glen Campbell … I’ll Be Me, which includes The Band Perry’s cover of Campbell’s 1967 hit “Gentle on My Mind” (No.47 on Country Airplay). “Miss” starts with 81% of its Hot Country Songs points from streaming (all from 498,000 Vevo on YouTube clicks for its moving promotion clip).
• Carrie Underwood with “Something In The Water” (19/Arista Nashville) fell 2-5 in her 3rd week but heads Hot Christian Songs for a second successive frame.

Top 25 Hot Country Songs:

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

Florida Georgia Line with former #1“Dirt” climbs one, #3 - #2 p

Sam Hunt with “Leave The Night On” is up two, #5 - #3 p

Blake Shelton with “Neon Light” stays at #4

Carrie Underwood with “Something In The Water” falls #2 - #5 q

Luke Bryan with “Roller Coaster” holds at #6

Chase Rice with “Ready Set Roll” climbs one, #8 - #7 p

Kenny Chesney with “American Kids” falls one, #7 - #8 q

Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood’s former #1 “Somethin’ Bad” stays at #9

Florida Georgia Line with “Sippin’ On Fire” debuts at #10 NEW

Maddie & Tae with “Girl In A Country Song” is up one, #12 - #11 p

Frankie Ballard with “Sunshine & Whiskey” lifts one, #13 - #12 p

Keith Urban with “Somewhere In My Car” climbs one, #14 - #13 p

Brantley Gilbert with “Small Town Throwdown” is up three, #17 - #14 p

Little Big Town with “Day Drinking” climbs three, #18 - #15 p

Lady Antebellum with “Bartender” sinks five, #11 - #16 q

Dierks Bentley with “Drunk On A Plane” flies two, #19 - #17 p

Big & Rich with “Look At You” lifts two, #20 - #18 p

Tim McGraw with “Shotgun Rider” shoots up three, #22 - #19 p

Brad Paisley with “Perfect Storm” climbs five, #25 - #20 p

Parmalee with “Close Your Eyes” holds tight at #21

Scotty McCreery with “Feelin’ it” is up one, #23 - #22 p

Lee Brice with “Drinking Class” moves up three, #26 - #23 p

Rascal Flatts with “Payback” jumps up six, #30 - #24 p

David Nail with “Kiss You Tonight” jumps up eight, #33 - #25 p

Hot County Songs

** No.1 (12 weeks) ** “Burnin’ It Down” Jason Aldean

** Airplay Gainer ** No.5 “Something In The Water” Carrie Underwood

** Hot Shot Debut ** No.10 “Sippin’ On Fire” Florida Georgia Line

** Streaming Gainer ** No.4 “Neon Light” Blake Shelton

** Digital Gainer ** No.27 “Talladega” Eric Church

Debut No.50 “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” Glen Campbell

 Billboard Country Airplay Chart Week of October 25, 2014

Florida Georgia Line claimed its fifth No.1, and first since January, on Billboard’s Country Airplay tally as “Dirt” (Republic Nashville) stepped 2-1 in its 14th chart week. The song logged 50.515 million audience impressions (+2.421 million) and received 8,008 radio plays (+590) during the Oct. 6-12 Nielsen BDS tracking week.

The song written by Rodney Clawson and Chris Tompkins was first released on July 8, 2014 by Republic Nashville as the first single from their second studio album ANYTHING GOES, which was released on Oct 14, 2014.

The duo last reached the summit with “Stay,” which became its fourth consecutive leader on the Jan. 4 list and the twosome’s longest-leading No. 1 (four weeks). The pair followed with “This Is How We Roll” (featuring Luke Bryan), which peaked at No. 2 on the May 24 chart.

Top local audience exposure for “Dirt” during the tracking week: WUSN Chicago (1.6 million impressions), WNSH New York (1.3 million), KKBQ Houston (1.2 million), WKLB Boston (1.2 million) and WUBL Atlanta (1 million).

The song had sold 979,000 downloads through the Nielsen SoundScan sales week ending Oct. 5. It debuted atop Billboard’s Country Digital Songs list dated July 26. Meanwhile, “Sun Daze,” a second track from the new album, snagged the Hot Shot Debut honours at No.53 on Country Airplay (1.2 million impressions at 11 of the 146 stations monitored for the chart).

The new No.1 adds the duo to the list of acts with multiple Country Airplay chart-toppers this year. While Bryan is the only artist with three, Lady Antebellum, Blake Shelton and Dierks Bentley have also notched two each since January.

• Blake Shelton with “Neon Light” (Warner Bros./ WMN) moved 7-5 taking home the weeks Most Increased Audience trophy. The song  logged 39.378 million audience impressions, a gain of +3.601 million and received  6,193 radio plays (+590).
• Frankie Ballard celebrated his second top 10 on Country Airplay, as “Sunshine & Whiskey” (Warner Bros./WAR) collects 33.1 million impressions and rises 11-10 in its 28th chart week. That’s one week quicker than the stretch he needed to achieve his first top 10 with previous single “Helluva Life” on the Feb. 15 chart. Six weeks later, “Life” became Ballard’s first Country Airplay No.1. “Sunshine” has sold 429,000 downloads through the week ending Oct. 5; it peaked at No. 11 on the Aug. 16 Country Digital Songs chart.
• Kenny Chesney earned Most Added stripes with “Til It’s Gone” (Blue Chair/Columbia Nashville), which collected at least seven first-time plays (Monday-Sunday) at 46 reporters. The second radio single from Chesney’s The Big Revival garnered 10.764 million audience impressions (+3.377 million; up 46%) and received 1,637 radio plays (+568) thanks to 46 fresh radio commitments (ADDS). Lead track “American Kids” became his 23rd No. 1 on the Sept. 20 chart

Women of Country 2014 Watch:

There was one solo female artist on the Top 30 Country Airplay songs with Carrie Underwood’s “Something In The Water” down one place 17-18. Her duet with Miranda Lamberts’ “Somethin’ Bad” rose 8-7. “Girl In A Country Song” by duo Maddie & Tae climbed one 13-12.

RaeLynn #33, Jana Kramer #38, Trisha Yearwood #43, Lindsay Ell #51, Lucy Hale #57 and Kelsea Ballerini #60 were the additional six solo females in the remaining 31-60 slots, to make it 11.6% of the entire Top 60 chart.

Country Airplay

*** No. 1 (1 week) *** "Dirt" Florida Georgia Line

** Most Increased Audience ** No.5 “Neon Light” Blake Shelton

** Most Added ** No.25 “Til It’s Gone” Kenny Chesney

** Hot Shot Debut **  No. 53 "Sun Daze" Florida Georgia Line

Debut No. 58 "Hangin' Around" Josh Abbott Band

Debut No. 59 "Ain't Worth The Whiskey" Cole Swindell

Billboard Country Digital Singles Chart Week of October 25, 2014

• Florida Georgia Line made a debut at No.1 with “Sippin’ On Fire,” (sales 79,000 downloads) their final pre-release track from ANYTHING GOES. Their lead off single “Dirt” moved 5-3 and has now gone PLATINUM at retail selling another 45,000 copies in their 14th week to pass the 1-million mark and reach 1,038,000 copies sold.
• On the overall all genre Digital Songs chart “Sippin’” arrived at No.7. Taylor Swift’s "Shake It Off" regained the #1 spot on Hot Digital Songs (its fourth week on top) selling 171K copies  which is the lowest tally for a song at #1 since Rihanna's “Diamonds” sold the same tally in its only week at #1 on the digital chart in November 2012.
• Jason Aldean’s sales were discounted from the Bilboard Country Digital Top 50 with the release of his new album as his 6 tracks which sprinkled the top 30 last week disappeared.
• Carrie Underwood slid 1-2 in her second week with “Somethin’ In The Water.” With sales down 58%
• Maddie & Tae’s “Girl In A Country Song” climbed 11-7 (22,000 sales; 13-week total 282K)

Women Of Country Watch

Carrie Underwood was the lone solo female artists on the Top 30 placings with “Something In The Water” at No.2.

On the Top 50 the only other solo female was RaeLynn with “God Made Girls” which rose 38-33

Dropping off the Top 30:

2 - Off the chart Jason Aldean “Just Getting’ Started” 

4 - Off the chart Jason Aldean “Burnin’ It Down” 

9 - Off the chart Jason Aldean “Tonight Looks Good On You” 

15 - Off the chart Jason Aldean “Sweet Little Somethin’” 

18 - Off the chart Jason Aldean “Gonna  Know We Were Here” 

20 - Off the chart Jason Aldean “Two Night Town” 

Top 30 Digital Singles in Country Music (published October 16, 2014)

 (LW) Last Week (TW) This Week

*Numbers are rounded to nearest 1000^th

Country Aircheck MEDIABASE Chart

Florida Georgia Line moved 2-1 to land the No1 on Mediabase with “Dirt” (Republic Nashville). The song logged 8,000 radio spins (+394) and 58.345 million audience impressions (+1.989 million) from 149 tracking stations for the tracking week October 5 to October 11, 2014 and published chart October 13th.

Congratulations to Big Machine Label Group (BMLG) EVP Jimmy Harnen, Republic Nashville VP/Promotion Matthew Hargis, and the entire Republic Nashville promotion team for scoring this week’s #1 single on the MEDIABASE Country singles charts with Florida Georgia Line’s "Dirt." The single is FGL's fifth career #1 MEDIABASE song and the first release from their upcoming ANYTHING GOES album, which hit streets (Oct 14)

Congratulations to UMG Nashville SVP/Promotion Royce Risser, EMI Nashville VP/Promotion Jimmy Rector, and the entire EMI Nashville promo team for earning 48 MEDIABASE Country adds on Eric Paslay's "She Don't Love You." Those adds give Eric the "Most Added" title for this week.

Donuts were due to be delivered to the EMI Nashville office (Oct 14) to congratulate the staff on their success. 

For a detailed report check out Country Aircheck Weekly Issue 418 - October 13, 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, published Chart Week of Oct 25, 2014)