Wednesday 7 June 2017

Country Billboard Chart News May 22, 2017

Country Billboard Chart News May 22, 2017

In Brief: Billboard Country Charts (Chart issue week of June 3, 2017)

Country Album Chart ** No.1 (1 week) WELCOME HOME Zac Brown Band  
Hot Country Songs ** No.1 (15 weeks) ** “Body Like A Back Road” Sam Hunt
Country Airplay ** No.1 (2 weeks) ** "Hurricane” Luke Combs
Country Digital Songs ** No.1 (16 weeks) ** “Body Like A Back Road” Sam Hunt

Billboard Top 200 / Country Album Chart News (Chart issue week of June 3, 2017)

The Billboard 200 chart measures multi-metric album consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).

Harry Styles bowed at No.1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart (BB200) with his self-titled debut effort, launching with 230,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending May 18, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 193,364 were in traditional album sales.
With Styles’ start of 193,000 he earns the biggest debut sales week for a U.K. male artist’s first full-length album since Nielsen Music began tracking sales in 1991. He surpassed the previous record holder, Sam Smith, who saw his In the Lonely Hour album launch with 166,000 copies sold at No. 2 back in 2014.
In addition, Styles is just the second U.K. male artist to bow at No.1 with a debut album in the 61-year history of the Billboard 200. He follows his former One Direction bandmate, Zayn, who entered at No.1 with Mind of Mine on the chart dated April 16, 2016 (with 157,000 units and 112,000 in traditional album sales).

At No.2, Zac Brown Band debuted with its latest effort, WELCOME HOME
It entered with 146,000 units, of which 138,780 were in traditional album sales. The group’s last studio effort, 2015’s Jekyll + Hyde, bowed at No. 1 with 228,000 units and 214,000 copies sold. In total, Zac Brown Band has achieved five top 10 albums: Welcome Home, JEKYLL + HYDE, UNCAGED (No. 1 in 2012), YOU GET WHAT YOU GIVE (No. 1 in 2010) and THE FOUNDATION (No. 9, 2010).
Chris Stapleton with From A Room: Volume 1 dipped from No.2 to No. 4 in its second week with 75,000 units (down 66%).

Billboard Top Country Albums (Chart issue week of June 3, 2017)
Top Country Albums now ranks the most popular country albums of the week, as compiled by Nielsen Music, based on multi-metric consumption (blending traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA), and streaming equivalent albums (SEA)).
10 digital track sales from an album = 1 track equivalent album (TEA) “sale”
1,500 on demand song streams from an album to one streaming equivalent album (SEA) “sale”.
Nielsen Music compiles the sales and streaming data. Billboard continues to publish pure album sales charts (subscription to billboard biz ), exclusively comprising Nielsen’s sales data.

Zac Brown Band 'Welcome Home' Is #1 Country Album: Fourth Consecutive #1 Country Album     
Zac Brown Band with WELCOME HOME (Southern Ground/Elektra/Atlantic Group), their fifth full-length album, made a bow at No.1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart (dated June 3), marking the group’s fourth leader on the list. 
It started with 146,000 equivalent album units, with 138,780 in pure sales, in its opening week (ending May 18), according to Nielsen Music, down 35% on their last release.

CHART HISTORY: All four of ZBB’s Top Country Albums No.1s have launched at the summit. The group’s last studio effort, JEKYLL + HYDE, bowed at No. 1 with 228,000 units (214,224 in pure sales) on the chart dated May 16, 2015.
UNCAGED arrived atop the July 28, 2012-dated list with 234,289 sold, and YOU GET WHAT YOU GIVE opened at No.1 on Oct. 9, 2010, with 153,706 sold.
The group’s breakthrough album, THE FOUNDATION, started at No.3 on the Top Country Albums chart dated Dec. 6, 2008, with 43,531 sold. It rose to its No.2 peak on the March 28, 2009-dated survey.

The 10-song Welcome Home, produced by Dave Cobb, marked a sonic return to the band’s more organic, acoustic-based sound established on The Foundation. The new set’s lead single, “My Old Man” (written by Brown, Niko Moon and Ben Simonetti), rose 22-17 on Hot Country Songs, marking its first week in the top 20 since it ranked at its No.10 high on Feb. 25 following its first week of activity. The song bulleted at its No.18 peak on Country Airplay, up 2% to 15.8 million in audience.
On May 12, ZBB kicked off its 2017 Welcome Home Tour in Atlanta, where the band is based.
Three-time GRAMMY Award–winning multiplatinum artists Zac Brown Band return with new album WELCOME HOME, on
“We decided to write the most personal record we’d ever written, about the things that matter the most to us, the struggles and the celebrations of life and our relationships with our families. That’s where this began,” Zac Brown told USA Today.

Promoting the album ZBB visited NBC-TV's "TODAY" show (May 16) as part of the show's CITI Concert Series. ZBB performed their current single, "My Old Man," after Brown briefly chatted with show hosts Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie, and HODA KOTB, the last of whom was decked out in her ZBB merch shirt.
Additionally, ZBB performed their previous hit, "Homegrown," as well as "Roots" from their recently-released "Welcome Home" album. See the "Homegrown" and "Roots" performances here and here respectively.

Critical reception for Zac Brown Band’s Welcome Home:
Pop Matters (Rating: 7/10) Welcome Home is a beautiful record, full of imagery and experiences, and a worthy return to the style that made Zac Brown Band’s debut as successful as it was. It’s also a strong step forward to continuing the band’s success and ability to make personal connections to listeners.

Allmusic (Rating: 3 STARS) It's a statement of comfort from the ZBB, letting fans who found the genre-bending experiments of the 2015 set Jekyll + Hyde disquieting know that the group has gotten back to basics..... While the constant parade of country homilies gets a bit
weary, the sound of Welcome Home is a warm, comfortable bath. Brown still has a way with a honeyed melody and his band is just as supple, meaning this album is the very definition of music as comfort food. Coziness certainly has its appeal -- it works as a balm and a tonic -- but it's hard to shake the feeling that the Zac Brown Band overplay their hand somewhat by insisting they've reconnected with their roots. All those lyrics feel calculated and defensive, undercutting the grace of the music.

Rolling Stone (Rating: 2.1/2 STARS)  ....At this point, ZBB is best at flexing their muscular country-rock fusion, and the most affecting songs on Welcome Home follow in the tradition of the band's 2015 hit "Homegrown," a song that walked the line between down-home humility and delightful radio-pop fodder. High points "Roots" and "Your Majesty," likewise, are some of the most highly produced, least rootsy moments on the album.... Zac Brown is laboring strenuously to ensure everyone that he still drinks cold beer on a Friday night, apologizing for a musical adventurousness that he'd be better off simply embracing.

Uncut (Rating: 50/100) Unfortunately, this conservative album wastes his eight-member backing band, who have much more range and power than these songs would indicate.

Slant Magazine (Raing: 2.1/2 STARS) …Coming from a multi-platinum star whose fans criticized his band’s last album, Jekyll + Hyde, for straying too far into crossover pop territory, Zac Brown’s constant reassurances throughout Welcome Home that he’s still just a regular dude, set to 40 minutes of aggressively bland Americana, give off the stench of overcompensation. And to lend street cred to this stylistic regression to their original stripped-down country-pop style....If the album's greatest sin was simply sonic banality, it would be a lot more palatable. Far worse is the cynical nature of the album's roosty overtures.

Chris Stapleton with From A Room: Volume 1 (Mercury/Universal Music Group Nashville) fell 1-2 (2-4 BB200) selling 65,869 copies (down 67%; 2-week total 268,023) while Stapleton’s TRAVELLER (MERCURY/ UMGN) fell 2-3 (#22-28 BB200) selling 12,770 copies (down 15%; 107 week total 1,943,300).
Keith Urban with RIPCORD (Hit Red/Capitol Nashville) fell 3-4 (40-39 BB200) selling 7,716 copies (up 4%; 54-week total 577,700).
Brett Young with self-titled debut (BMLG) slipped 4-5 (#48 BB200) selling 4,584 copies (up 4%; 14-week total 73,000).

Florida Georgia Line with DIG YOUR ROOTS (BMLG) fell 5-6 (#55-51 BB200) selling 2,537 copies (up 2%; 38-week total 389,400).
Thomas Rhett with TANGLED UP (Valory) rose 10-9 (#87-83 BB200) selling 1,777 copies (up 12%; 85-week total 573,400).
Miranda Lambert with THE WEIGHT OF THESE WINGS (Vanner/ RCA Nashville/Sony Music Nashville) fell 9-10 (83-84 BB200) selling 3,970 copies (26-week total 350,600).

Outside the Top 10

Willie Nelson with GOD’S PROBLEM CHILD (Legacy) fell 6-11 (#61-86 BB200) selling 7,517 copies (down 23%; 3-week total 51,800).
Kane Brown with self-titled KANE BROWN (Zone 4/RCA Nashville) climbed 23-12 (#161-97 BB200) selling 3,347 copies (24-week total 149,600)
Jason Aldean with THEY DON'T KNOW (Macon/Broken Bow) rose 14-13 (#112-105 BB200) selling 2,647 copies (36-week total 378,700).
Jon Pardi with CALIFORNIA SUNRISE fell 12-14 (#103-106 BB200) selling 1,900 copies (48-week 148,100).
Brantley Gilbert with The Devil Dont Sleep (Valory | BMLG) fell 13-15 selling 2,667 copies (16-week total 168,400).
Blake Shelton with IF I'M HONEST (Warner Bros. Nashville | WMN) fell 16-18 (#124-129 BB200) selling 1,900 copies (52-week total 598,600).
Maren Morris with HERO (Columbia Nashville | SMN) retreated 11-20 (88-140 BB200) selling 1,900 copies (down 40%; 50-week total 223,500).
Kelsea Ballerini with THE FIRST TIME (Black River) held at #21 (149-153 BB200) selling 1,920 copies (105-week total 282,000)

Outside the Top 25
Brad Paisley with LOVE AND WAR (Arista Nashville/Sony Music Nashville) fell 17-26 (#136-176 BB200) selling 3,561 copies (down 22%, 4-week total 43,800).

Colter Wall with his self-titled COLTER WALL (Young Mary's Record Co.) made a debut at #50 on Top Country Albums selling 2,600 copies. It was the 14th best selling country set and ranked #91 in the US best sellers this chart frame.

Critical reception for Colter Wall’s Colter Wall:
11 Tracks/ Time: 40:20 Folk Amazon UK - UK iTunes - Amazon.com

Colter’s singing is so thick with originality, yet hauntingly familiar. But music is not a skills competition, or solely a display of natural virtue, despite this prevalent misnomer spreading throughout popular culture and reality television. Without something to say, without that morsel of emotion and connectivity to the human experience, Colter’s notation is just a noise, inescapably interesting as it may be...This is music that could be flattered by old cow bones clanging together, and the 60 cycle hum of amps on the verge if going on the fritz—a more dirty, gritty approach, with more space and wetness in the signals to enhance the vibe and imbibe the imagination.... But with Colter Wall, with that voice, with the wisdom that is hard not to recognize behind his eyes, it’s an imperative one. Saving Country Music 1 3/4 Guns Up (8/10)

Year-To-Date Albums
7,846,000 (Physical sales 4,908,000 (down -17.5%) + Digital sales 2,396,000 (down -22.7%) which is 13.3% down at the same point in 2016 (9,047,000 sales) 

Year-To-Date Digital Tracks

27,856,000 down 23.5% at the same point in 2016 (36,427,000)

Billboard Hot Country Songs (Chart issue week of June 3, 2017)
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:

Sam Hunt, who performed his latest single, “Body Like a Back Road” (MCA Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville), on the live ABC broadcast of the Billboard Music Awards on May 21, extended the track’s domination on the Hot Country Songs chart to a 15th week.
The song, from Hunt’s upcoming sophomore full-length album (whose release date has not yet been announced), increased 9% to 16.7 million U.S. streams and likewise tops Country Streaming Songs for a 15th week. It ruled Country Digital Song Sales for a 16th frame, declining 2% to 47,000 downloads sold. (It ranked at No.3 on Country Airplay, down 3% to 42.4 million in audience, after three weeks at No.1.)
“Back Road” is now the sixth-longest-reigning No.1 in the Hot Country Songs chart’s 58-year history. Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise” set the record with 24 weeks on top in 2012 and 2013. Hunt’s hit passed three 14-week No.1s: Jim Reeves’ “He’ll Have to Go” (1960), Hank Locklin’s “Please Help Me, I’m Falling” (1960) and Jason Aldean’s “Burnin’ It Down” (2014).

Hot County Songs
** No.1 (16 weeks) ** “Body Like A Back Road” Sam Hunt
** Airplay Gainer ** No.4 “If I Told You” Darius Rucker
** Hot Shot Debut ** No.19 “Ghost In This House” Lauren Duski
** Digital & Streaming Gainer ** No.28 “It Ain't My Fault” Brothers Osborne
Debut No.26 “Losing Sleep” Chris Young
Debut No.41 “The Long Way” Brett Eldredge
Debut No.45 “They Don't Know” Jason Aldean
Debut No.49 “Heart Break” Lady Antebellum

Billboard Country Airplay (Chart issue week of June 3, 2017)

Luke Combs with “Hurricane” (River House/Columbia Nashville) topped Country Airplay for a second week, decreasing 4% to 45.8 million in audience. He is the first rookie release to reign for multiple weeks since Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise” (three weeks, beginning on the chart dated Dec. 15, 2012).
The last solo male to lead the list for more than one week with a first entry? Darius Rucker, whose “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It” dominated for two weeks starting Oct. 4, 2008. On Hot Country Songs, “Hurricane” ranks at its No. 3 peak for a fifth consecutive week.

Rascal Flatts rolled up its 31st Country Airplay top 10, as “Yours If You Want It” (Big Machine) increased 8% to 24 million audience impressions and pushed 12-10. Out of groups that contain three members or more, the trio pads its lead for the most top 10s since the chart began in 1990; Alabama follows with 24. Among all acts, George Strait leads with 61 Country Airplay top 10s.

Country Airplay
*** No. 1 (2 weeks) *** "Hurricane” Luke Combs 45.845 million audience (-1.777 million) / 8,212 radio plays (-217)
** Most Increased Audience/ Most Added ** No.25 “Every Little Thing” Carly Pearce 6.341 million audience gain thanks to 27 fresh radio commitments (ADDS)
** Hot Shot Debut ** No.52 “Fix A Drink” Chris Janson
Debut No.59 “11:59 (central Standard Time)” The Railers

Billboard Country Digital Singles Chart
(Chart issue week of June 3, 2017)

Sam Hunt with Body Like a Back Road” (MCA Nashville) held at No.1 on the Billboard Country Song Sales Chart for a 16th week selling 47,000 downloads (down 2%; 16-week total 952,000).
On the overall Digital Song Sales chart, it remained at No.8, seven places behind the No.1 “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber (115,000 downloads sold, up 10%, in the week ending May 18, according to Nielsen Music).

The NBC’s Voice season 12 contestant Lauren Duski for her semi-finals performance (May 15), the Michigan native chose the 1990 No.5 Hot Country Songs hit “Ghost In This House” by Shenandoah (later covered by Alison Krauss). Duski’s version launched at No.2 on Country Digital Song Sales (#12 Digital Songs; 37,000 sold) and No.19 on Hot Country Songs.

Brett Young with “In Case You Didn’t Know” fell 2-3 (#20-17 Digital Songs; 30,000 sales; 33-week total 559,000)
Luke Combs with “Hurricane” held at #4 (#25-24 Digital Songs; 23,000 sales; up 4%; 25-week total 414,000).
Keith Urban with “The Fighter,” featuring Carrie Underwood (Hit Red/Capitol Nashville), held at #5 (#28-29 Digital Songs; 21,000 sales; 20-week total 536,000).

Darius Rucker with “If I Told You” climbed 7-6 (40-33 Digital Songs; 20,000 sales; up 5%; 21-week total 290,000).
Chris Young with “Losing Sleep” made a debut at #7 (#31 Digital Songs; 19,000 sales)
Thomas Rhett feat. Maren Morris with “Craving You” held at #8 (#45-50 Digital Songs; 15,000 sales; 7-week total 132,000).
Florida Georgia Line feat. Backstreet Boys with “God, Your Mama, And Me” was a non-mover at #9 (13,000 sales; 15-week total 292,000).
Lady Antebellum with “You Look Good” rose 16-10 (11,000 sales; 17-week total 220,000).

Outside the Top 10
Kane Brown feat Lauren Alaina with “What If’s” made a chart debut at #11 (11,000 sales; Total 85,000)
Brett Eldredge with “Long Way” arrived at #14 selling 11,000 downloads.
Chris Stapleton with “Either Way” fell 3-18 (11,000 sales; down 52%; total 34,000)

Country Aircheck MEDIABASE Chart

22 May 2017

Luke Combs Is #1 For Second Consecutive Week With 'Hurricane'
Congratulations to Columbia Nashville/River House artist Luke Combs for scoring the #1 spot on the MEDIABASE Country singles chart for the second consecutive week with "Hurricane." Combs first hit #1 last week (May 15) with the song, which is his debut single at Country radio. The last time an artist held their debut at the chart pinnacle for more than a week was December 2012. That song was Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise.”


















Hurricane logged 8,931 radio spins (-20) and 59.202 million audience impressions (-0.761 million) with 26717 Total Points from 159 tracking stations for the tracking week May 14 to May 20, 2017 and published chart May 22nd 2017.

Warner Bros staff celebrate Chris Janson's Most Added single Fix A Drink
























Chris Janson Is Most-Added With 'Fix A Drink'
Kudos to Warner Bros./WAR artist Chris Janson for earning 55 MEDIABASE adds with his single, "Fix A Drink". The song topped the "Most Added" board this chart week.

For a detailed report check out Country Aircheck Weekly Issue 551 - May 22, 2017  [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)

Rank Artist: #14
Event Venue City/State: Eric Church Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, N.C.
Dates: May 20, 2017 Gross Sales: $1,162,223 Attend: 20,313/ 20,313     
Shows/ Sellouts: 1/1 ** SOLD OUT ** Prices: $85, $20
Promoters: Messina Touring Group/AEG Presents

Rank Artist: #42
Event Venue City/State: Chris Stapleton, Maren Morris KeyArena Seattle, Wash.
Dates: March 28, 2017 Gross Sales: $631,985 Attend: 12,499/ 16,348
Shows/ Sellouts: 1/0 (3849 unsold tickets) Prices: $65, $30
Promoters: Live Nation
                       
Rank Artist: #66
Event Venue City/State: Thomas Rhett, Kelsea Ballerini, Russell Dickerson, Ryan Hurd Ervin J. Nutter Center Dayton, Ohio
Dates: March 11, 2017 Gross Sales: $443,396 Attend: 10,535/10,908
Shows/ Sellouts: 1/0 (373 unsold tickets) Prices: $54.75, $25
Promoters: Live Nation
Latest Billboard Boxscore Chart 

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