Country
Billboard Chart News August 1, 2016
In
Brief: Billboard Country Charts (Chart issue week of August 13, 2016)
Country Album
Chart ** No.1 (23 non-consecutive weeks) TRAVELLER Chris Stapleton
Hot Country
Songs ** No.1 (12 weeks) ** H.O.L.Y. Florida
Georgia Line
Country Airplay
** No.1 (1 week) "Record Year” Eric Church
Country Digital
Songs ** No.1 (12 weeks) ** H.O.L.Y. 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 August 13,
2016.
There are also
separate rows highlighting Women of
Country music.
Scroll down for
further details on each of the individual charts.
The
Billboard 200 chart measures multi-metric album consumption, which includes
traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent
albums (SEA).
Drake's
'Views' Spends 12th Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200, Gucci Mane Bows at No. 2
Drake’s VIEWS stayed put at No.1 on
the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart
(BB200) for a 12th non-consecutive week, earning another 85,000 equivalent
album units (down 5%) in the week ending July 28, according to Nielsen Music.
As
Views surpassed the 11 weeks at No. 1 racked up by Taylor Swift’s 1989 in late 2014 and early
2015, the rapper's album now has the most weeks at No.1 since 2014, when the
Frozen soundtrack collected 13 frames at No.1.
Billboard Top Country
Albums (Chart issue week of
August 13, 2016)
Chris Stapleton with TRAVELLER moved 2-1 Country
(#17-14 Billboard 200) in his 65th frame selling another 13,012 copies (65-week total 1,487,000) to top the chart for 23
non-consecutive weeks and also leads the Americana Chart.
Blake
Shelton with IF I’M HONEST (Warner Bros./Warner Music
Nashville) climbed 4-2 (28-24 Billboard 200) selling 9,974 (up 6%) (10-week
total 334,500).
In
their second weeks at retail Steven Tyler with his first solo and previous week’s
No.1 WE’RE ALL
SOMEBODY FROM SOMEWHERE (Dot/Big Machine
Label Group), fell 1-3 Country (#19-112
Billboard 200; 5,628 sales; down 67%, 2-week total 22,400). David Nail with FIGHTER (MCA Nashville/ Wrasse Records) plummeted 3-19 Country (#26-177 Billboard 200)
selling 2,233 copies (down 82%, 2-week total 14,400)
Sam Hunt with MONTEVALLO lifted 9-4 Country (#31-27 BB200; 5,521 sales; 92-week total 1,187,800)
Keith
Urban with RIPCORD (Hit Red/Capitol Nashville/ Universal Music Group
Nashville) held at #5 Country (#50-54 BB200; 5,514 sales; 12-week total 220,400)
Cole
Swindell with YOU SHOULD BE HERE (Warner Bros.)
climbed 11-6 Country (66-56 BB200; 5,139 sales; 12-week total 160,300)
Dierks
Bentley with BLACK (Capitol Nashville/Universal Music
Group [UMG] Nashville), held at #7 Country (39-41 BB200; 4,703 sales;
9-week total 158,900)
Various
Artists: NOW That’s
What I Call Country, Volume 9 (Sony Music/Universal/UMe) slipped 6-8 Country
selling 4,619 copies (7-week total 61,900)
Joey + Rory with HYMNS (Farmhouse/Gaither | Capitol CMG) climbed 14-9 Country (162 Re-Entry BB200; 4,264
sales; 24-week total 430,900)
Luke Bryan with KILL THE LIGHTS (Capitol Nashville | UMGN) held at #10 Country
(52-49 BB200; 4,159 sales; 51-week total 1,016,800)
Maren Morris with HERO (Columbia Nashville/Sony Music Nashville) held at #12 Country (77-92 BB200; 3,446 sales; 8-week
total 78,100)
Big Smo with
his new album, WE THE PEOPLE
(Elektra Nashville) made a debut at No.13
on Top Country Albums, #67 Top Albums selling 3,408 copies.
It was
produced by by Dan Nelson, and features 11 tracks all co-written by Smo
including “Say My Name,” the “catchy as all hell” tune “Movin’ On
Up” and the patriotic title cut.
Watch
Smo’s “We The People” feat. Casey Beathard (Official Video)
With his
last release Big Smo, a master‘ hick hop, made a debut at No.31 on the
Billboard B200 and #9 on Billboard Top Country Albums with KUNTRY LIVIN (Warner
Music Nashville | CD
- Amazon.com)
selling 8,724 copies (chart dated June 21,
2014). It peaked at #6 Country maintaining first week sales aided by his TV
debut of “The Big Smo Show”. Big Smo, a.k.a. Hick Ross and Boss of the Stix
starred in his own original A&E Network series produced by Brownstone
Entertainment. The Reality TV show Kuntry Livin' aired every Wednesday on Smomotiontv
Related Post: NRA
Country names Smo as featured artist
Critical
reception for Big Smo’s We The People
Released
21 July 2016 Label: Elektra Nashville 11 Tracks/ Time: 36:10 Amazon UK
- UK iTunes - Amazon.com
Hickhopmusic.com (Rating: Positive)The album also has some serious moments when
songs like “Rollin’ (feat. Michael Ray)” and “Thing For You (feat. William
Michael Morgan)” come on. The latter is the most sincere performance from Smo on the album. I
can’t see anyone else singing Morgan’s part, as the song is clearly mad for him
and his voice…
Overall, the album is diverse in sound and topic and shows Smo
gets better at what he does with each album. The guests all do excellent at
singing their parts. Smo is definitely not slowing down any time soon.
Mega Country Never one to
be genre-lized, Big Smo's We the People is filled with tracks that cross the
musical lines of rap, country, funk, rock, and pop to create a current and
fresh American album. “Struttin in the Stix," the first song written for
the project, was inspired by the James Brown biopic Get On Up, and the funky
horns and thumping bass lines only add to Hayden Carpenter's groovy chorus.
This track definitely sets the tone for the rest of the album, which includes
collaborations with label-mate Michael Ray on the cruising-anthem “Rollin',"
Josie Dunn on the family tribute “Never Get Old," and Todd Nielson on the
party jam “Retox."
We the People also features
a softer side of Smo on the romantic ballad, “Thing for You" – with
country newcomer William Michael Morgan adding a smooth vocal touch to the
mix.
Outside
Top 25 Country Albums
Mitch Rossell with RAISED BY THE RADIO (Just Nice Entertainment) made a debut at #34 Country with sales probably around
1,500 copies.
Critical
reception for Mitch Rossell’s Raised By The Radio: (Just Nice Entertainment)
8
tracks/ Time: 29:39 Country/ Indie & Alternative Amazon UK - UK iTunes - Amazon.com
The Daily Country (Rating: Positive) In 2014,
singer-songwriter Mitch Rossell released I Got Dressed Up For This, a
collection of twelve songs that introduced many to his strong song writing and
earned him a spot on Huffington Post’s “Top 20 Country Artists To Watch” list for
2016....Co-produced with his friend and mentor, Garth Brooks, Raised By The Radio, opens with the pulsating
electric guitar riffs and instantly infectious melody of “All About Me” (which
will immediately call to mind Keith Urban), a song that describes a man who was
admittedly selfish and prideful with high emotional walls - until he met
someone special. .....Also included on the album are two tracks co-written
alongside Ben Stennis that tap into a more melancholy side, “Not Enough” and
“Why I Drink.” The former is a banjo-accented song that finds him recalling a
relationship, now over, where her love for him, and his ability to move on, are
both inadequate.....Raised by The Radio is rounded out by the radio-ready title
track that is brimming with musical references and lyrics that tie together and
demonstrate the impact music has had on his life and “The Rain” an uplifting,
earnest ballad that expresses gratitude and hope, ending with the sound of a
storm that feels more refreshing than ominous. ..Currently supporting Brooks on
select dates, Rossell is winning over crowds nightly with his passionate
performances and ability to capture the listener’s ear with his relatable
songwriting. And with that sort of momentum, it’s only a matter of time before
Rossell captures the attention of, and makes his mark on, country radio.
Year-To-Date
Albums
13,633,000 (Physical sales 8,940,000
(down 9%) + Digital sales 4,694,000 (down -18.3%)) which is 12.5% down at the same point in 2016 (15,574,000
sales)
Year-To-Date
Digital Tracks
54,160,000 down 23.7% at the same point in 2015 (71,008,000)
BILLBOARD
ALL-TIME BIGGEST ARTISTS, ALBUMS AND SONGS
This week Billboard
took a look at the genre’s all-time
biggest artists, albums and songs — as ranked for the first time by
performance on Billboard’s charts during the past six decades.
Leading the
all-time artists list is George Strait, while Shania Twain’s “Come On Over” and Florida Georgia
Line’s “Cruise” crowned the all-time albums and songs lists, respectively.
In Strait’s
four-decade-long career, he has logged 44 No.1s and 86 top 10s on Hot Country
Songs, dating back to his first top 10, 1981’s “Unwound.” On Top Country
Albums, King George has achieved 26 No.1s and 39 top 10s.
Florida Georgia
Line’s 2012 single, “Cruise,” which ruled the Hot Country
Songs chart for a record-breaking 24 weeks, unsurprisingly leads the all-time
songs tally.
The top 10 also
houses a smash by recent newcomer Sam Hunt, along with iconic tracks like C.W. McCall’s “Convoy” and Johnny Cash’s “Daddy Sang Bass.”
Shania’s 1997
effort COME ON OVER rules the all-time Country Albums roundup. It
spent 50 weeks at No.1 on the weekly Top Country Albums chart, and its sales of
15.7 million copies are the largest for any country album since Nielsen Music
began tracking sales in 1991. The oldest album inside the all-time
chart’s top 10, Charlie
Rich’s BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, from 1973, was the artist’s first No.1. It led
the list for 21 weeks.
#1 George Strait, #2 Merle Haggard, #3 Willie
Nelson, #7 Reba, #17 Loretta, #18 Dolly,
#25 Tammy
Wynette, #37 Taylor Swift , #38 Carrie Underwood, #41 Tanya Tucker, #44 Shania
 |
| Click to Enlarge |
#1 Cruise
Florida Georgia Line
#2 Walk
On By Leroy Van Dyke
#3 Wanted
Hunter Hayes
#4 Take
Your Time Sam Hunt
#5 There
Goes My Everything Jack Greene
#8 Somebody
Like You Keith Urban
 |
| Click to Enlarge |
1 COME ON OVER Shania Twain
2 NO FENCES Garth Brooks
3 TAYLOR SWIFT Taylor Swift
4 GARTH BROOKS Garth Brooks
5 ALWAYS & FOREVER Randy Travis
6 BEHIND CLOSED DOORS Charlie Rich
7 SOME HEARTS Carrie Underwood
8 GREATEST HITS Waylon Jennings
9 THE WOMAN IN ME Shania Twain
10 O Brother, Where Art Thou? Various
Artists
 |
| Click to Enlarge |
Related BLOG Post
METHODOLOGY:
The Greatest of
All-Time Top Country Artists, Songs and Albums rankings are based on weekly
performance on Hot Country Songs (from its Oct. 20, 1958 inception through June
4, 2016) and Top Country Albums (from its Jan. 11, 1964 inception through June
4, 2016). Titles are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks
at No.1 earning the greatest value and weeks at lower spots earning the least.
Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted
differently to account for chart turnover rates over various periods.
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 “H.O.L.Y”
(Republic Nashville) led for its 13th week, despite a 9% decline in total chart
points.
It also topped Country Digital Songs (53,000 downloads,
down 13%), as well as Country Streaming Songs (6.6 million U.S. streams, down 4
percent). FGL have now moved into eighth place on the list for most weeks at
No.1. “H.O.L.Y.” is tied with Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” and Ray Price’s
“City Lights,” both of which also led for 13 weeks.
Co-written by Sam Hunt, the soulful “Make You Miss Me” jumped into the Hot Country Songs top five,
increasing 8% and hopping 9-5. On
Country Airplay, it lifted 9-7 (35.7 million, up 14%).
“Different for
Girls” by Dierks
Bentley, featuring Elle King (Capitol
Nashville), entered the Hot Country Songs’ top 10,
ascended 11-8 (up 10% in points).
The rise was aided by its performance on Country Streaming Songs, where it
jumped 12-7. Following the release of the song’s official video on July 21,
“Girls” increased 16% to 2.6 million U.S. streams. On Country Airplay it held
13-13, gaining 17% to 23.6 million in audience. “Different for Girls” marked
Bentley’s 20th Hot Country Songs top 10, following the No.1 “Somewhere on a
Beach,” which topped the chart dated April 30, 2016.
Hot County
Songs
** No.1 (13
weeks) ** H.O.L.Y. Florida Georgia Line
** Streaming
Gainer ** No.9 “Different For Girls” Dierks
Bentley feat. Elle King
** Digital
Gainer ** No.27 “I Met A Girl” William
Michael Morgan
** Airplay Gainer ** No.36 “Move” Luke Bryan
** Hot Shot Debut ** No.23 “The Weekend” Brantley Gilbert
Debut
No.43 “Setting The World On Fire” Kenny
Chesney feat. P!nk
‘RECORD’ HIT Eric Church earned his seventh No.1 on the new Country Airplay
chart (dated Aug. 13), as “Record Year”
(EMI Nashville) rose 3-1, increasing 7%, to 46.1 million audience
impressions in the week ending July 31, according to Nielsen Music.
The track also climbed 5-2 (up 6%) on Hot Country Songs. “Record Year” is
the second single from Church’s fifth studio album, Mr. Misunderstood,
following the title track, which peaked at No. 15 on both Hot Country Songs and
Country Airplay.
Written by Church and Jeff Hyde, “Record Year” is about dealing with a
breakup and heartbreak by listening to classic vinyl albums. In doing so,
Church delivers shout-outs to acts ranging from James Brown to Hank Williams
Sr. to New Grass Revival. “As a fan of vinyl and being that we released this
album on vinyl before any other avenue, it’s very appropriate that the first
No. 1 off of
Mr. Misunderstood is ‘Record Year,’ ” Church told Billboard. “I’m very proud and grateful.”
His next single, “Kill a Word,” will arrive at country radio on Aug. 15.
ERIC
CHURCH CEMENTS SEVENTH NO. 1, “RECORD YEAR”
Church’s
second single reached the summit on Billboard
and MediaBase as he prepared for
back-to-back solo shows at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre Aug. 9 and 10
“Record Year” was co-written by Church
and his guitarist/banjo player, Jeff Hyde (who also penned “Cold One” (with
Luke Hutton), “Springsteen” (with Ryan Tyndell), and “Smoke A Little Smoke”
(with Driver Williams) all alongside the man the Los Angeles Times called
“Nashville's foremost rabble-rouser”), and outlines a story of a heartbroken
music-lover finding consolation in the records of some of music’s greatest
masterminds.
 |
| Eric Church Graphic CLICK to ENLARGE |
Church
drove home the homage-paying theme of “Record Year” when he performed it at the
2016 ACM Awards in April, which was interfolded with clips of David Bowie,
Glenn Frey, Lemmy and Scott Weiland, before releasing the music video for the
ode later that month, featuring a 3D audio waveform Church and video
producer/longtime manager, John Peets, built by hand with vinyl.
The
No.1 follows his Top 15 title track off of Mr. Misunderstood, the album New
York Times says offers “shades of the Allman Brothers and the scraped-up
Southern rock that has always been essential to Church’s country antagonism
here, but also bluesy country gospel.”
Since
its release in February, the hit has caught the attention of critics; Los
Angeles Times calls the single a, “deeply felt heartbreak song,” Rolling Stone
dubbed it “the most moving moment” on the album, while Stereogum called it a,
“pun-happy lament” that “does quiet to loud in an efficient gears-changing way
that screams professionalism rather than catharsis.”
Whether
it’s the direct mentions and subtle allusions to his variety of musical muses
such as George Jones, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Waylon Jennings, Willie
Nelson and more, or the undeniable responsibility anyone freshly jaded out of a
relationship puts on their favorite artists to cope, Church “has always been
excellent at balancing whiskey-charged toughness with open-hearted musical
subtlety” (Rolling Stone).
Country
Airplay
***
No.1 (1 week) *** "Record Year” Eric
Church 46.138 million audience (+3.184 million) / 7,843 radio plays (+449)
** Hot
Shot Debut/ Most Increased Audience/ Most Added ** No.22 “Setting The World On
Fire” Kenny Chesney feat. P!nk 13.653 million audience gain thanks to 87 fresh radio commitments (ADDS)
Women
of Country 2016 Watch:
Carrie Underwood at No.6 ("Church
Bells"), Kelsea Ballerni at
No.10 (“Peter Pan”), Miranda Lambert
at #25 (“Vice”), Jennifer Nettles at
#28 (“Unlove You”) and Maren Morris
at #30 (“80s Mercedes) were the only 5 solo female artists in the Top 30
Country Airplay songs.
Cassadee Pope re-entry at #59 (“Summer”) was the only additional solo female in the
remaining 31-60 slots, to make it 10% of the entire Top 60 chart who were lone
females. Runway Jane at #50
“(“Lipstick”) and Maddie & Tae
at #60 (“Sierra”) were the other all-female group and duo to be represented.
Florida
Georgia Line (Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley) with “H.O.L.Y.”
(Republic Nashville) returned to #1 on the Billboard Country Digital Chart (#7-8 Digital Songs; 53,000
sales; 13-week total 973,000) as FGL’s new single with Tim McGraw, "May We All" fell #6-28 (8,000
sales; down 72%)
Miranda
Lambert with “Vice”
(RCA Nashville), the previous weeks No.1 slipped 1-2 (6-15 Digital Songs Chart; 39,000 sales; down 39%; 2-week total
103,000)
Brantley
Gilbert with “The Weekend”
(Valory/ BMLG) made a debut at #3
(#25 Digital Songs Chart; 30,000 sales)
Dan+Shay with “From The Ground Up” held at #4
(#24-32 Digital Songs; 26,000 sales; 25-week total 421,000)
Dierks Bentley feat. Elle
King with “Different For Girls” held at #5
(#35-37 Digital Songs; 23,000 sales; 9-week total 192,000).
Kelsea Ballerini with “Peter Pan” (Black River) lifted 7-6 (#45-46 Digital Songs; 19,000 sales; 17-week total 330,000).
Jon Pardi with “Head Over Boots” rose 9-7
(#50-47 Digital Songs; 19,000 sales; 39-week total 548,000)
Eric Church with “Record Year” rose 12-8
(#48 Re-entry Digital Songs; 19,000 sales; 22-week total 335,000)
Thomas Rhett with “Vacation” fell 8-9 (18,000
sales; 12-week total 174,000).
Blake Shelton with “She's Got A Way With Words” was up 13-10 (17,000 sales; 10-week total 165,000)
Jason
Aldean with "A
Little More Summertime" (Broken Bow) in his second frame fell 3-17 (12,000 sales; down 66%; 2-week
total 47,000 sales)
Country Aircheck MEDIABASE
Chart
1
August 2016
Congrats to Eric Church,
Royce Risser, Jimmy Rector, David Friedman and the EMI Nashville promotion staff on scoring the week’s No.1 with “Record Year.”
"Record
Year" marked Church's sixth time at the top of the charts, including his
collaboration with Keith Urban on "Raise 'Em Up" last Year (May 11,
2015) and solo efforts "Talladega"
(Jan 26, 2015), "Give Me Back My
Hometown" in 2014 (May 5, 2014), "Springsteen" in 2012 (June 11, 2012), and "Drink In My Hand" in 2012 (Jan 16,
2012)
The
song logged 8,700 radio spins (+501)
and 58.977 million audience
impressions (+3.22) with 29820 Total
Points from 159 tracking stations for the tracking week July 17 to July 23, 2016
and published chart July 25th 2016.
Kudos to Shane Allen and the Columbia crew on notching 115 adds for Kenny Chesney’s “Setting The World On Fire” featuring P!nk. The song topped the week’s "Most Added" board.
 |
| Blue Chair/Columbia
Nashville artist Kenny Chesney was most-added in Country radio (8/1) Columbia Nashville staff celebrate |
Billboard Boxscores (Selective Country
concerts)
Rank
Artist: #2
Event
Venue City/State: Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Sam Hunt, Old Dominion CenturyLink Field Seattle,
Wash.
Dates:
July 23, 2016 Gross Sales: $3,739,539 Attend: 48,195/ 50,533 (2,338 unsold tickets)
Shows/
Sellouts: 1/0 Prices: $250, $175, $89.50, $21
Promoters:
Messina Touring
Group/AEG Live
Rank
Artist: #7
Event
Venue City/State: Dixie Chicks, Augustana, Smooth Hound Smith Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre
Irvine, Calif.
Dates:
July 20, 2016 Gross Sales: $992,657 Attend: 12,402/ 13,844 (1,442 unsold
tickets)
Shows/
Sellouts: 1/0 Prices: $137, $107, $77, $43
Promoters:
Live Nation
Rank
Artist: #10
Event
Venue City/State: Keith Urban, Brett Eldredge, Maren Morris Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre
Englewood, Colo
Dates:
July 22, 2016 Gross Sales: $788,017 Attend: 16,444/ 17,168 (724 unsold tickets)
Shows/
Sellouts: 1/0 Prices: $99.50, $25 Promoters: AEG Live
