Country
Billboard Chart News October 24, 2013
In Brief: Billboard Country Charts
Country
Album Chart ** No. 1 (1 week) ** SEE YOU
TONIGHT Scott McCreery
Hot
Country Songs ** No. 1 (10 weeks) **
“That’s My Kind of Night” Luke Bryan
Country
Airplay ** No. 1 (2 weeks) ** “It
Goes Like This” Thomas Rhett
Country
Digital Songs ** No. 1 ** (10 weeks)
“That’s My Kind of Night” Luke Bryan
Billboard Top 200 / Country Album Chart
News
Pearl Jam captured its fifth No.1 album
on the Billboard 200 (BB200) as
"Lightning Bolt" landed atop the chart, selling 165,879 copies in its
first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Last week's No. 1, Miley Cyrus' "Bangerz," slipped
to No. 2 with 72,145 sales (down 73%). Paul McCartney entered at No. 3 with
his new studio album, "New." It sold 67,196 copies in its first week.
It's the 19th top 10 set for the Beatle, counting his solo work and releases
with Wings (but not his Beatles material).
Inde Folk Rock/Americana band The Avett Brothers arrived at No. 5 with "Magpie
and the Dandelion," scoring their second-largest sales week, as the
album enters with sales of 57,520 copies.
2011 "American Idol" winner Scott McCreery returned with his second studio album, SEE YOU TONIGHT, and made a debut at No. 6 on the BB200 with 52,240
copies sold.
It also made a bow at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, his second chart-topper on that
list. It represents a 74% drop from McCreery's debut album, CLEAR AS DAY, which arrived at No. 1 on
both charts back on the chart Oct 12, 2011, selling 196,739 units and sold a million in its first year. He then
followed it with a holiday effort, "CHRISTMAS WITH SCOTTY MCCREERY,"
which hit No. 2 on the country chart in 2012 and No.4 on the Billboard 200
which opened with 40,258 sales.
Seven of the first 10 American Idol winners saw their
first-week sales plummet by more than 50% from their first post-Idol album to
their second. The second studio albums typically arrive a couple of years
later, after the Idol confetti has long since been swept up. The biggest
exception was Carrie Underwood, whose first-week sales soared by 67% from her
star-making first album to her second. Idol contestant Kellie Pickler has also
logged 2 No.1 Country albums.
Scotty displaced The Season 3 NBC The
Voice winner Cassadee Pope's FRAME BY FRAME who dropped 9-18 on the BB200 and 1-5 Country with second week sales of 15,935 (down 63%)
Critical reception for Scotty McCreery’s
“See You Tonight”:
16 Tracks / Time: 57:36 CD - MP3 -
UK iTunes - Amazon.com
Roughstock: (Rating 4.5
STARS) If his sophomore album proves
anything, it's that he's certainly ready to be a big star as the songs on See
You Tonight are youthful and current, something that was the biggest problem
folks at radio likely had with Clear As Day. A good example of the youthful,
current sound is "Feelin' It," a hook-filled arena-ready sing-a-long
summer song ....McCreery's strong Baritone voice works well with these kinds of
songs as well as they do on strong ballads like "Feel
Good Summer Song"... the baker's dozen tracks that fill See
You Tonight show a remarkable amount of growth and maturity for the young star.
And See You Tonight showcases that Scotty McCreery is more than just a
moderately talented guy who won a TV show....if radio doesn't want to play the
songs on this album, then they're just holding some sort of grudge because of
where Scotty got his start, not because the music is good enough. That's
because it clearly is.
Allmusic (Rating:
3.5 STARS) Much of Scotty McCreery's appeal on American Idol relied on his
old-fashioned charm, how he seemed like a nice, everyday guy who just happened
to be a deep-voiced crooner of classic country.... but if his 2013 sequel See
You Tonight is any
GAC ...there’s plenty of
evidence on See You Tonight that Scotty is developing into one of the genre’s
finest singers. Performances are consistently dynamic as he shows off some
serious vocal agility... Alison Krauss joins on the Appalachian-tinged
“Carolina Moon” to offer sparkling harmonies as Scotty sings lovingly of his
home state while Southern stars are dancing around the North Carolina moon.
While See You Tonight features a more progressive sound than Scotty’s first
release, it also displays an older and wiser perspective.
Willie Nelson entered at No. 9 on the BB200 (#2 Country) with the collaborations set "TO ALL THE GIRLS," selling 42,622 copies.
"TO ALL THE GIRLS" is not only his highest-charting
album since 1982, but also just his second
top 10 set ever. The 80-year-old Nelson was last in the BB200 top 10 with
1982's "Always on My Mind," which spent four weeks at No. 2. (It was
stuck behind Asia's self-titled album.) It’s also Nelson's highest-charting set
on the Country Album chart since 1989, when "A Horse Called Music"
also peaked at No. 2.
Nelson's new all-star album (which
features him singing with everyone from Carrie Underwood to Dolly Parton) was
supported by a promotional campaign with QVC. The shopping network hosted a
live concert with Nelson on Sept. 12, and industry sources suggest the program
helped drive around half of the album's first-week sales. The QVC version of
the album also sported six exclusive bonus live tracks. The title of the album
is a nod to Nelson's 1984 hit "To All The Girls I've Loved Before," a
genre-bridging (if gimmicky) collabo with Julio Iglesias which made the top
five on the Hot 100 (See Artwork Image).
Critical reception for Willie Nelson’s
“To All The Girls”:
18 Tracks
/ Time: 01:06:12 CD - MP3 - UK iTunes - Amazon.com
Allmusic (Rating:
3.5 STARS) As a duets album comprised
entirely of female partners, To All the Girls is, like Heroes, driven by
superstar guest power but the intimate, relaxed feel is reminiscent of Let's
Face the Music and Dance. Such a quiet, comfortable setting is welcoming to a
wide variety of partners, ranging from living legends Loretta Lynn, Dolly
Parton, Mavis Staples, and Emmylou Harris to more recent superstars Miranda
Lambert and Carrie Underwood.... Although there is not a bad cut here -- this
is all assured, easy, impeccably tasteful work from Willie and his partners -- the
70-minute length of To All the Girls does make the album feel a little samey,
but that can be a good thing, as it makes for nice, romantic mood music or a
drowsy Sunday afternoon at home.
The Telegraph (Rating 4 STARS): ..Nelson has the rare ability to make his
voice work in so many different styles – hence the unashamedly sentimental
Parton song sits easily
Roughstock (Rating: 4 STARS) Everything about To All The Girls…is a
delight. It's the kind of classic duets albums that rarely get made anymore but
it's fitting that a classic star like Willie Nelson would be the man to pull in
such a wide-ranging collection of female talent from all points of music to
collaborate with him. 18 tracks of fantastic duets, what more could fans want?
Rising star Chase Rice made a debut at No.16 on the BB200 (#4 Country) with his EP READY SET
ROLL selling 16,903
copies.
Rice, who gained recognition as a
co-writer of Florida Georgia Line’s summer crossover hit “Cruise,” is also a co-writer on each of the EP’s songs. The album’s
lead single “Ready Set Roll” peaked at No. 1 on the iTunes Country Songs chart
in both the U.S. and Canada, racking up total sales of more than 48,000 in its
first week.
Taste Of Country Chase Rice‘s new EP comes dripping with testosterone. The
first six songs (of seven if you purchase a physical copy) are loud, rowdy
party anthems that feature the star as the next to merge hip-hop and country
music. Colt Ford makes a guest appearance on one particularly rowdy cut called
‘Party Up.’ the title track sets the tone before the meat of the
production-heavy arrangement kicks in. A synthesized voice says: “Ready, set,
let’s roll” before Rice opens with “Damn, pretty girl you went and done it
again / You gone and turned the sexy all the way up to 10.” The most notable
line — and perhaps the lyric that will help those new to his music decide if
they’re in or out — comes during the chorus.
“Ready set let’s roll / Ready set let’s ride / Get your little
fine a– on the steps / Shimmy up inside,” Rice sings.
Later, during ‘Country in Ya,’ Rice asks for an invite to “Let me
put a little country in ya.” The suggestive nature of the early songs makes
‘Jack Daniels and Jesus’ all the more surprising. .....Producers Rhett Akins,
Chris DeStefano, Scott Cook and Chad Carlson push the production further than
anything on country radio today, but the result is a good fit for this singer.
The hip-hop influences are obvious, as are the ’80s rock influences. Fans of
Def Leppard may recognize a few sounds throughout this EP.
Will Hoge the Grammy-nominated recording artist released
his new album NEVER GIVE IN on
October 15. It made its debut at No.126
on the BB200 and snagged a No.23
place on Country Chart selling around 3,000 copies.
The title also serves as
the life motto for Hoge, a Nashville native who catapulted into the national
spotlight with the release of his top-selling single “Strong” (Used in new
Chevy Silverado commercial for the 2014 Silverado). NEVER GIVE IN, produced by
Hoge, showcases his soulful voice and storytelling talents on all 11 tracks.
Will penned every song featured on the record including “Strong,” the newly added bonus track >>
Watch Video. It recently was a Hot Shot Debut at No.56
on the Billboard Country Airplay chart and has sold in excess of 100,000 copies.
“Having
started my own label I’m incredibly excited to have NEVER GIVE IN be the first
album I release,” shared Will “The initial success of
‘Strong’ has already opened so many doors and given me some amazing
opportunities”. Will embarked on his first major
headlining tour – NEVER GIVE IN TOUR 2013. The 27-city nationwide tour kicked
off on October 11 at The State Fair of Texas in Dallas.
No Depression From the opening chords of album opener, “A Different Man,”
you know that Will Hoge’s latest release, Never Give In, is going to take you
on a heartfelt, full blast trip. Featuring 11 original songs, and not a dud in
the bunch, this is Hoge’s strongest release to date...Hoge is not only ‘strong’
but stellar on what will be the Album of late 2013 and all of 2014.
Roughstock (Rating: 4.5 STARS)
A decade ago Will Hoge's music was
considered by "Nashville" to be "Too rock for Country" and
"New York" thought it was "Too country for
Billboard Top 200 / Country Album Placings
(Issue dated
Chart week of November 2, 2013)
(Country
Album positions #1 - #25)
(TW) This
Week, (LW) Last Week, Co (Country Album Chart placing / Movement)
New on the chart at No.1 saw “Night Train To Georgia” from Jason Aldean make a bow with Joey + Rory’s new DVD “Inspired:
Songs Of Faith & Family” enter at #2! The Award-winning, husband-and-wife duo share
songs of faith that are dear to their hearts on this all-new, gospel LIVE DVD
collection. Known for their hit TV series, 'The
Joey+Rory Show' on RFD-TV, the
singer/songwriter couple has combined tried-and-true fan favorites with brand
new tunes. Hosted in the studio by Bill Gaither and filmed before an intimate
audience at the rustic, historic West Barn just south of Nashville, Inspired,
Songs of Faith and Family captures the honest country sounds
Joey+Rory Inspired [DVD] [2013] [Region 1] [NTSC] * Requires an all region coded DVD Player for
the UK Amazon.com
Carrie Underwood moved 3-6 with “The Blown Away Tour: Live”
Top 25 Hot Country Songs (week of November 2, 2013)
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:
Luke Bryan’s “That’s My Kind
of Night” enjoyed a 10th week atop
Hot Country Songs.
It's the first hit by a male
solo artist to stay on top that long since Buck Owens' "Love's Gonna Live
Here" had 16 weeks on top in 1963. Owens was on Capitol. Bryan is on
Capitol Nashville. "That's My Kind Of Night" tops the 1 million mark
in digital sales this week
Top 25 Hot Country Songs:
Luke Bryan with “That’s My Kind Of Night”
stays Top The Chart! #1
Thomas Rhett with “It Goes Like This” stays at
#2
Blake Shelton with “Mine Would Be You” is up
one, #4 - #3 p
Chris Young with “Aw Naw” is up four, #8 - #4 p
Jason Aldean with “Night Train” is down two, #3
- #5 q
Tim McGraw with “Southern Girl” is up three,
#9 - #6 p
Florida Georgia Line with former #1 “Cruise”
moves, #6 - #7 q
Keith
Urban and Miranda Lambert with “We Were Us” is up, #11 - #8
p
Billy Currington with “Hey Girl” falls four, #5 -
#9 q
Tyler Farr with “Redneck Crazy” falls, #7 -
#10 q
Joe
Nichols with “Sunny And 75” is up one, #12 - #11 p
Lee Brice with “Parking Lot Party” is up
two, #14 - #12 p
Cassadee Pope with “Wasting All These Tears” falls,
#10 - #13 q
Parmalee
with “Carolina” is up one, #15 - #14 p
Eli Young Band with “Drunk Last Night” is up
two, #17 - #15 p
Florida Georgia Line with “Round Here” is down three,
#13 - #16 q
Taylor Swift with “Red” is down one slot, #16
- #17 q
David
Nail with “Whatever She’s Got” is up two, #20 - #18 p
Jake Owen with “Days Of Gold” is up five
slots, #24 - #19 p
Luke Bryan with “Crash My Party” is down
two, #18 - #20 q
Florida Georgia Line with “Stay” jumps up, #28 - #21 p
Darius Rucker with former No.1 “Wagon Wheel” is down, #19 -
#22 q
Randy Houser with “Runnin’ Outta Moonlight” is
down two, #21 - #23 q
Blake Shelton with “Boys ‘Round Here” is down two, #22 - #24 q
Hunter
Hayes with “I Want Crazy” is down two slots, #23 - #25 q
Hot Country Songs
** No.1 (10 weeks) ** “That’s My Kind Of Night” Luke Bryan
** Airplay Gainer ** No.6 “Southern
Girl” Tim McGraw
** Digital Gainer ** No.32 “See You
Tonight” Scotty McCreery
** Hot Shot Debut
** No.38 “A Life That’s Good” Lennon
& Maisy
** Streaming Gainer ** No.42 “Weed Instead Of Roses” Ashley
Monroe
Debut No.48
“Forget To Forget You” Scotty McCreery
Debut
No.50 “The Outsiders” Eric Church
Billboard Country Airplay Chart Week of November 2, 2013
Thomas Rhett logged a second week at No.1
with “It Goes Like This” (Valory),
in his 26th chart week, thus becoming the second newcomer this year to
reign for more than one week with their first chart-topper. Among first-timers at the summit in 2013r,
Rhett’s feat follows a two-week run by Brett Eldredge’s “Don’t Ya” in August
and Randy Houser scored his first No.1 in February with “How Country Feels” and
returned for two weeks in August with “Runnin’ Outta Moonlight.”
Rhett’s single logged 49.343 million audience impressions(+1.637)
receiving 7,244 radio plays (+132)
thus capturing the biggest weekly audience sum since the chart’s ranking method
changed from total plays to total audience impressions in January 2005.
Top local audience contributors for
Rhett’s track during the tracking week: KKBQ
Houston (1.5 million impressions), WUSN
Chicago (1.5 million), KEEY
Minneapolis (1 million), KMNB
Minneapolis (1.2 million), WYCD
Detroit (887,000) and WKLB Boston
(842,000).
Joe Nichols scored his first top 10 in more than three years
(his ninth overall) on the Billboard Country Airplay tally, as “Sunny and 75” (Red Bow) rose 12-10 in
its 25th chart week.
He logged 28.5 million audience
impressions, up 6%, to register the first Country Airplay top 10 for the Red
Bow imprint (launched a year ago by Broken Bow Music Group in partnership with
Sony’s RED Distribution). He’d most recently competed in the upper tier with
“Gimme That Girl,” which spent two weeks at No.1 in May 2010, after which he
stopped at No.17 in March 2011 with “The Shape I’m In” and peaked at No. 25
seven months later with “Take It Off.” Nichols’ Country Airplay chart history
includes two other leaders: “Brokenheartsville” (2003) and “Tequila Makes Her
Clothes Fall Off” (2005).
Lady Antebellum took home the week’s Most Added honours with “Compass”
(Capitol Nashville), which registered 26
new airplay commitments (ADDS) at stations that BDS monitors for the Country
Airplay chart as it moved up 48-35.
The song is due to be included on a deluxe edition of the trio’s GOLDEN album, due
to drop Nov.12. The album’s lead single, “Downtown,” spent two weeks atop
Country Airplay in April/May, followed by a No.11 peak with “Goodbye Town” in
September.
At No.26 “Stay” from Florida Georgia Line won Most Increased Audience honours logging 10.081 million audience impressions, a gain of 3.765 million and received 1,728 radio plays (+624).
At No.26 “Stay” from Florida Georgia Line won Most Increased Audience honours logging 10.081 million audience impressions, a gain of 3.765 million and received 1,728 radio plays (+624).
Kacey Musgraves' "Follow Your Arrow" won the trophy
for Hot Shot Debut with a No.56 bow. In
February, Billboard reported that "Follow Your Arrow" (written by
Musgraves, Brandy Clark and Shaun
McAnally) was a song that one anonymous country programmer "wish[es] I
could play on my station." With such lyrics as, "Kiss lots of boys or
kiss lots of girls, if that's what you're into / When the straight and narrow
gets a little too straight, roll up a joint, I would," a country
consultant described the song as "pushing the envelope" at a format
not historically known for potentially eyebrow-raising content. Perhaps
Musgraves' rising star status and six CMA nominations is giving her leeway with
KKBQ Houston its best supporter with 27 plays.
For the first time in 55 weeks, Craig Campbell’s “Outta My Head” did not make the chart. Others
to chart for at least 54 weeks: “Love Like Crazy” (Lee Brice; 56 weeks), “Bouquet
Of Roses” (Eddy Arnold; 54 weeks) and “Outta My Head” (Craig Campbell; 54 weeks)
Country Airplay
*** No. 1 (2 weeks) *** "It Goes
Like This” Thomas Rhett
** Airpower ** No.17 “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely” The Band Perry
** Most Increased Audience ** No.26 “Stay”
Florida Georgia Line
** Most Added ** No.35 “Compass”
(Capitol Nashville) Lady Antebellum
** Hot Shot Debut ** No.56 “Follow Your
Arrow” (Mercury) Kacey Musgraves
Debut No.59 “Doin’ It Right” (Curb) Rodney
Atkins
Billboard Country Digital Singles Chart Week of November 2, 2013
Luke Bryan’s “That’s My Kind Of Night” held onto the No.1 for a tenth week. Sales were 64,000 (down 18%) which were
enough to pass the Platinum 1 million mark (1,001,000 total).
Florida Georgia Line with “Stay” (4th single from Here’s To The
Good Time) jumped up 11 slots (19-8) to enter the Top 10. Meanwhile their huge
smash "Cruise" at No.9,
topped the 6 million mark in digital
sales this week. It's the second country song to reach that milestone. They
join and trail Lady Antebellum's monster hit "Need You Now"
(6,231,000). Neither of these songs quite reached #1 on the Hot 100. "Need
You Now" stalled at #2 and "Cruise" reached #4.
The Nashville ABC TV series sister duo,
Lennon & Maisy, with “A Life That’s Good
“(from Season 2) sold 23,000 in its debut week to land a No.12 slot.
Chase Rice’s “Ready Set Roll” dropped down from No.2 to No.13 (sales down 45% in
2nd week)
Following the release of Scotty McCreery’s album his single “See You
Tonight” made a 37-18 hop.
Jason Aldean and newly wed Kelly Clarkson made a re-entry at No.28 with their hit duet “Don’t You Wanna Stay” following a massive sales spike, probably due to TV
exposure on the current series for Team Blake Shelton on The Voice 5 Battle
Round (Justin Chain and Shelbie Z).
Top 30 Digital Singles
in Country Music (published October 23, 2013)
(LW) Last Week (TW) This Week
Country Aircheck/ Mediabase chart
Luke Bryan moved 3-1 to head the
Country Aircheck/ Mediabase chart for the tracking week Oct 13 – Oct 19. “That's My Kind Of Nightl” logged 7,522
radio plays (+665) with an audience of 56.47
million impressions.
