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On the heels of his history-making No. 1 with the viral hit “Rich Men North of Richmond,” Oliver Anthony Music dropped a video for his new single, “I Want To Go Home.” The acoustic ballad — which was originally uploaded to TikTok in March — got a new video on Tuesday (Aug. 22). It is another meditation on what ails the nation, which in Anthony’s telling includes mental illness, fears of war, urban spread, the loss of family farms and the lack of prayer in our lives.
“If it won’t for my old dogs and the good Lord/ They’d have me strung up in the psych ward/ ‘Cause every day livin’ in this new world/ Is one too many days to me,” Anthony sings in the first verse in his signature about-to-break voice in lines that appear to allude to the singer’s talk of pre-fame struggle with mental illness and alcohol use.

The clouds grow darker in the second verse, where he sings, “Son, we’re on the brink of the next world war/ And I don’t think nobody’s prayin’ no more/ And I ain’t sayin I know it for sure/ I’m just down on my knees,” before breaking into the chorus, which closes a circle by alluding to his breakthrough hit while providing a more personal perspective.

“Beggin’, Lord, take me home/ I wanna go home/ I don’t know which road to goIt’s been so long/ I just know I didn’t used to wake up feelin’ this way/ Cussin’ myself every damn day/ There’s always some kind of bill to pay/ People just doin’ what the rich men say/ I wanna go home,” he croons in the plainspoken visual, in which he strums an acoustic guitar in the woods surrounded by his pickup truck and his trusty dog.

The final verse laments the loss of long-held family farms sold to out-of-town speculators who clear-cut trees to make room for more asphalt jungles. As the final note rings out in the video, the screen fills with a Bible quote from Mark 8:36 about the folly of choosing material riches over salvation: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the world, and lose his own soul?”

Previously unknown former factory worker from Virginia Anthony (born Christopher Anthony Lunsford) made a historic jump to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart this week, leaping past such pop megastars as Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo and Dua Lipa in addition to more established country stars Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs. In doing so, the singer became the first unsigned artist to make that jump directly to the top, as well as the first to run straight to No. 1 without any prior chart history in any form thanks to the song that has been embraced and boosted by right-wing pundits and Fox News.

“I Want To Go Home” is among a dozen originals and covers Anthony has uploaded over the past three years and though the singer’s just-folks style and focus on heartland issues have instantly boosted his working man profile, Billboard estimated this week that he’s earned over $350,000 in royalties so far thanks to his “Rich Men” breakthrough.

“In our opinion, God has chosen to speak through Oliver and to speak to all Americans through his music, all around the world,” the singer’s co-manager Draven Riffe told Billboard over the weekend in explaining his client’s shock success. “We’ve gotten comments from Zimbabwe, every country you could think of.” 

Though Anthony has kept a low profile during his rocket rise, mostly eschewing promotional social media teases and posts while preferring to let “Rich Men” do the talking, he did grant an interview to right-wing channel Fox News over the weekend at the site of his free show in Moyock, N.C.

“We are the melting pot of the world,” he said in the chat, adding, “and that’s what makes us strong, our diversity. And we need to learn to harness that and appreciate it and not use it as a political tool to keep everyone separate from it.” The inclusive comment struck a bum note for some conservatives, however, who accused the singer of turning his back on them.

“Such a let down. Did he sell out already to the rich men north of Richmond?,” wrote one. “Damn, though we had a real one. He switched up fast,” said another.

Watch the “I Want To Go Home” video below.

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Oliver Anthony Music is the king of country right now, and it would appear that he’s using his fresh platform to bring people together. But some of his early supporters are hitting back at his calls for unity and diversity.

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The U.S. artist’s breakout viral hit “Rich Men North of Richmond” debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, in doing so making him the first artist ever to launch atop the list with no prior chart history in any form.

Since topping the tally, the Farmville, Va.-based singer-songwriter and former factory worker, born Christopher Anthony Lunsford (whose stage name honors his grandfather, Oliver Anthony) has kept quiet on his social accounts.

Though he did give an interview with Fox News which, like his popular song, has gone viral.

“We are the melting pot of the world,” he says in the interview, which took place at his concert in Moyock, N.C. on Saturday (Aug. 19). “And that’s what makes us strong, our diversity. And we need to learn to harness that and appreciate it and not use it as a political tool to keep everyone separate from it.”

Those statesmanlike comments, however, have fallen flat with conservatives. The “exclusive” interview with the rightwing Fox Network has triggered a social media pile-on.

Oliver Anthony: “We are the melting pot of the world and that’s what makes us strong, our diversity”Such a let down. Did he sell out already to the rich men north of Richmond? pic.twitter.com/UkT6Ex4EAD— iamyesyouareno (@iamyesyouareno) August 22, 2023

“Such a let down. Did he sell out already to the rich men north of Richmond?,” reads one tweet. Another claims, “Damn, thought we had a real one. He switched up so fast.”

Writes another social media user on the speed of the backlash, “S—. That was fast”.

The guy with the viral right wing song about hating taxes and fat people is already pissing off right wing twitter with generic statements about how not being openly racist is good pic.twitter.com/i077GZgLk0— Wild Geerters (@steinkobbe) August 22, 2023

After first catching drew buzz online earlier this month, the independently released song drew praise from the right and opposition from the left, with its lyrics referencing “your dollar taxed to no end ’cause of rich men north of Richmond,” as well as “the obese milkin’ welfare.”

Stated Anthony in a video posted Aug. 7, “I sit pretty dead center down the aisle on politics and always have.” He added on Facebook Aug. 17, “I am sad to see the world in the state it’s in, with everyone fighting with each other.”

On the left side of politics, legendary British singer and songwriter Billy Bragg penned an op-ed for The Guardian, the U.K.’s left-leaning daily, in which he posits that “Anthony really does punch down on the poor.” The Bard of Barking continues, “The lives of ordinary working people are being torn apart by the rich, he laments, but we can fix it if we cut welfare – and taxes too.” 

As the divisive song went all the way to the top, and lines were being drawn, Anthony shared a comment with Billboard, “The hopelessness and frustration of our times resonate in the response to this song. The song itself is not anything special, but the people who have supported it are incredible and deserve to be heard.”

On Tuesday evening (Aug. 22), Patty Loveless celebrated her new Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum exhibit Patty Loveless: No Trouble With the Truth. The exhibit runs from Wednesday through October 2024 and coincides with the recent announcement that Loveless is among the latest additions to the Country Music Hall of Fame, alongside Tanya Tucker and songwriter Bob McDill.

Speaking to Billboard from her home in Georgia prior to the event, Loveless said of her Hall of Fame invitation, “I have to be honest, I didn’t see that coming. I was on a phone call and I thought they were trying to set up a date to pick up items here at my home, and during that call they told me I was going to be inducted. I didn’t even know how to react. I got a choke in my voice.”

That voice, all Kentucky holler grit and the kind of Southern drawl that easily wraps around the full spectrum of emotions, has made her one of country music’s most skilled vocalists, yet one that is always in service to the song.

She earned her first No. 1 Hot Country Songs chart hit in 1989 with “Timber I’m Falling in Love,” and followed with four more No. 1s on that chart (and 44 total entries overall), including “Blame It on Your Heart” and “You Can Feel Bad.” Along the way, she’s earned two Grammys and five CMA Awards, including female vocalist of the year in 1996. In 2001, she returned to her musical roots with the release of Mountain Soul, which proved to be a critically favored project; its successor, 2009’s Mountain Soul II, won a Grammy for best bluegrass album and spent six weeks atop the Bluegrass Albums chart.

The Pikeville, Kentucky, native, born Patricia Lee Ramey, began performing and writing songs by age 11, and soon began performing with her brother Roger as The Singing Swinging Rameys. Another familial duo, the Wilburn Brothers, soon lent their support, and by age 15, Loveless was performing with them on the weekends and joined them on tour after she graduated high school. Her brother Roger convinced her to record in Nashville, funding a session for his sister in 1985; that session would lead to Loveless signing with MCA Nashville that same year. Roger also served as Loveless’ manager for several years early in her career. She issued her self-titled debut project in 1987.

For Loveless, receiving the news of her upcoming induction ceremony as a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame was also bittersweet, given her musical origins.

“My first thought was of my brother Roger, because we lost him in June 2022, so it was just overwhelming to me,” Loveless said. “And I was going through a lot of emotions because [Loveless’ husband, legendary producer Emory Gordy Jr.] had lost his youngest daughter in June 2022. So I had been on this emotional ride and it meant a lot to have that kind of wonderful news.”

Loveless added that she is not working on new music at the moment, though she could at some point to reprise work she previously began in 2017, working with Miranda Lambert.

“Miranda and I began working together, writing songs for my album and working with [singer-songwriter-session player] Jedd Hughes. But I had so much going on and then COVID happened. After the CMAs this last year, she was here in Atlanta [at ATLive] with Chris and Morgane Stapleton and Dwight Yoakam but I couldn’t make it out to the show. But she texted me and said, ‘Hey, I’m gonna have some time if you still wanna do that record.’ That means a lot to me, that they still believe and their hearts and doors are open for that. And who knows, when I feel that things have slowed down a bit for me, maybe I’ll pick back up with them where I left off.”

As for the career-spanning exhibit, Loveless hopes fans take away from the exhibit the sense of teamwork that has built her Hall of Fame-worthy career.

“It takes so many people to support and encourage you,” Loveless said. ‘So many people have supported me — my brother Roger, the Wilburn Brothers, Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton, they all gave me support.”

Below, Loveless tells Billboard about five items that highlight her new exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

1968 Epiphone FT-30 Caballero Acoustic Guitar

Image Credit: Bob Delevante for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Despite never having appeared on a single Billboard chart before, Oliver Anthony Music flies in at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week with his mega-viral hit “Rich Men North of Richmond” — sending shock waves through the entire music industry in the process.

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Just a couple years ago, the idea of a song like “Richmond” — a solo banjo country ballad from a relatively unknown artist, more notable for its state-of-the-world lyrics and impassioned delivery than any major hooks — zooming in atop the Hot 100 would have been nearly unimaginable. But in an a time on the charts where country is more impactful than it’s been in decades, and where political divisiveness has the ability to act as a nitrous oxide-like accelerant to a song’s commercial fortunes, the song’s 2023 success is hardly inexplicable.

What’s the biggest reason behind the success of “Richmond”? And will Oliver Anthony Music be able to use it as a springboard to lasting stardom? Billboard staffers discuss below.

1. Two weeks ago, none of us were likely that familiar with Oliver Anthony — but basically overnight, he’s become the biggest breakout artist of 2023. We’ve already seen some very unusual musical success stories this year, but is this one the most surprising of them all to you?  

Kyle Denis: I think this one surprises me the most because his trajectory is moving at breakneck speed. With other 2023 breakout stars like Ice Spice, Coco Jones, Noah Kahan, etc., it was easy to track their rise in popularity across radio, streaming, and social media month by month. With Oliver Anthony, that timeline has shrunk into literal days, and he’s garnered more Hot 100 success than most of the year’s breakout stars in a fraction of the time. Nonetheless, given the sound and themes of “Rich Men,” my shock is less palpable. Both sonically and lyrically, “Rich Men North of Richmond” pulls on trends — the angst of America’s working class and guitar-centric country and rock-tinged songs — that have anchored a significant number of the year’s biggest cultural and commercial hits thus far.

Jason Lipshutz: Yup. The combination of the song, artist and chart debut places Oliver Anthony’s rapid ascent above the other startling mainstream wins of 2023. We’ve had little-known artists across genres become stars in a matter a months – Ice Spice, Jelly Roll and Peso Pluma all come to mind – and a different aggrieved country single top the Hot 100 a few weeks before Anthony’s did. “Rich Men North of Richmond” and Anthony truly came out of nowhere, though, and the No. 1 debut on the Hot 100 is nothing short of shocking. 

Melinda Newman: Yes. What is surprising is the speed and the ubiquity of the song and how quickly it became part of a national conversation. This is someone who went from 0 to 100 mph in a week and it shows that a song that hits people in the feels (or, cynically, can be glommed on to by politicians and pundits for their purposes) travels far and fast.

Jessica Nicholson: Given that “Rich Men” didn’t simply debut somewhere on the Hot 100, but at the pinnacle of the chart — and add to this that Oliver Anthony Music is an independent artist with no previous history on the Billboard charts, and this song’s acoustic style and somewhat politically-driven sentiments are far from the typical summer pop hits — I would consider this one of the biggest surprises of the year. 

Andrew Unterberger: I might actually consider the Hot 100-topping success of Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” a little more surprising than this — if only because it came first, and felt just as out of nowhere, given that the song had already been around for a month when it caught fire post-video controversy. Aldean was an already-established star, sure, but his commercial success had long since plateaued; him shooting to the top of the chart felt only slightly less improbable than it does with Anthony.

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2. Obviously a lot of factors go into a runaway hit like “Rich Men” — but if you had to pick one as the biggest thing, which would it be? 

Kyle Denis: The lyrics. “Rich Men North of Richmond” smartly presents itself as anthem for the frustrations of America’s working class — a group of people that rarely get to reap the full range of benefits from the seeds they sow into the country’s often barren soil. The trick the song pulls off, however, is a subliminal endorsement of some of the most damaging and problematic sociopolitical messaging of the past few decades. In a single line — “Well, God, if you’re 5-foot-3 and you’re 300 pounds / Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds,” Anthony is able to fold a healthy dose of fatphobia via “welfare queen” imagery into his ode to America’s working class. Even the song’s title plays on the North-South divide that has permeated American politics for decades upon decades. 

“Rich Men North of Richmond” accomplishes what Jason Aldean’s “Try That In A Small Town” failed to do; the song is specific enough that people can see their own anxieties and emotions in it, but it’s also smart enough to bury its dog whistles so they don’t immediately become the song’s focal point, or turn off listeners from further exploring the track and the rest of Anthony’s catalog. For better and for worse, “Rich Men” funnels the very real worries and feelings of a large segment of America’s population into a song that responds to their interpretation of the country’s state of affairs. It also helps that, sonically, the song fits into that guitar-heavy Zach Bryan-esque lane of raw country-rock songs. 

Jason Lipshutz: The curiosity factor. We can talk about the rustic hook, Anthony’s burly voice and the resonant (and troublesome) politics of the song all we want — but once “Rich Men” blew up on iTunes on Friday, Aug. 11, became a cause of conservative influencers and spent multiple days garnering headlines and social media chatter, scores of people who wouldn’t listen to acoustic country had no choice but to see what all the fuss was about. “Rich Men” was a story before it was a smash, and to me, the discourse is the biggest reason that it’s sitting at No. 1.

Melinda Newman: The biggest factor is whether you agree with the song’s message or not, it speaks to a lot of people who feel disenfranchised and are tired of working so hard seemingly for very little reward. The lyrics are ambiguous enough that listeners can interpret them in ways that suit them. I’ve seen people interpret the song as anti-semitic because of the title, and others who interpreted the title to refer to politicians in D.C. Though Anthony has said he’s “dead center down the aisle on politics” and told Fox in one of his few interviews that he considers himself neither a Republican or a Democrat, the message of speaking out against high taxes and “the obese milkin’ welfare” resonates with right-wing talking points, and the elevation of the song by the right has been the leading factor in propelling it straight to No. 1.

Jessica Nicholson: The song’s lyrics about politicians and welfare have earned both praise and intense criticism over the past couple of weeks, but it has connected with a primarily conservative-leaning audience who are buying into the message, regardless of the song’s overall musical quality. 

Andrew Unterberger: The endorsements. The song had already begun earning attention on its own, but getting the co-signs it received from Fox News, Joe Rogan, Matt Walsh, John Rich et al. was what made it go supernova overnight, and started the discourse back-and-forth that has sustained rabid interest in it for a week and a half now.

3. Country has seen a lot of viral triumphs in the past year, including the rootsier, TikTok-boosted country of Zach Bryan and Tyler Childers and the explosive social controversy of Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town.” There’s echoes of both those strains of virality in “Rich Men,” but which would you say the success of this song has more in common with?  

Kyle Denis: It appears that the immediate success of “Rich Men” has been around what the song is saying and who it is speaking to, as opposed to how it sounds. With that in mind I would say that, at this time, the success of “Rich Men” is closer to that of “Small Town,” but there is absolutely time for it to reach a realm of success that also mirrors the Bryan/Childers lane of hits.

Jason Lipshutz: “Try That in a Small Town,” for sure. Although the political slants of the songs are wildly different, both exhibit a stance of representing for the underrepresented – Aldean for small-town Americans who take pride their policemen and Second Amendment rights, Anthony for hard workers who feel like their suffering is going unnoticed. Both songs posit themselves as fighting for ignored communities, which can then support their songs on iTunes and streaming services. Part of the respective successes of “Try That in a Small Town” and “Rich Men North of Richmond” is that, while both contain problematic statements and perspectives, a lot of listeners can feel like something is at stake by supporting them.

Melinda Newman: It depends upon how you’re listening to it the set of assumptions you bring to it. The right has quickly embraced the song as anti-big government and anti-welfare, but as I stated above, there are also people who simply see it as an everyman anthem. It goes a step further than Zach Bryan to me, and doesn’t go nearly as far as “Try That in a Small Town.” In his statements on Facebook and to Fox, Anthony has embraced immigrants and ending divisiveness — so in some ways, he’s speaking a much more even, measured tone than what people are reading into his song.

Jessica Nicholson: Though sonically, the song’s acoustic vibe resides closer to rootsier artists, the song’s path to success hews closer to the path “Small Town” took, with the video first gaining traction on YouTube, while the song began rising via iTunes and then on streaming. Both “Small Town” and “Rich Men” also gained popularity strongly among a conservative-leaning audience. 

Andrew Unterberger: The Bryan/Childers similarities are probably what primed the audience for “Rich Men,” but the Aldean similarities are what resulted in it being the year’s biggest runaway debut. Just ask Bryan and Childers, who have both enjoyed impressive chart successes in the past year, but nothing nearly as explosive (or as widely discussed) as “Rich Men.”

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4. The stunning debut for “Rich Men” has already inspired a label race to sign Anthony, with the artist opting to take his time exploring his options. Do you think whoever signs him will be getting a true future star, or more of a viral sensation who could struggle to replicate his “Rich Men” success”?  

Kyle Denis: I think it’s safe to say that they’ll be getting a true future star. It bodes well that the uptick in Anthony’s consumption numbers is not solely focused on “Rich Men.” Given that listeners seem to have a genuine interest in the rest of his discography, Anthony should be able to spin some level of stability out of all his momentum. 

Jason Lipshutz: I’d guess he lands somewhere in the middle when the dust settles: it’s hard to imagine a follow-up as impactful to the mainstream as “Rich Men” in the near future, but that song will help develop a sturdy fan base as a foundation. At the very least, he’ll have strong touring interest, either as a headliner or as a support act with a surefire set-closer, and Anthony’s voice will likely produce steady work in the country world for the next few years.

Melinda Newman: That’s the big question, isn’t it? But unlike someone who goes viral on TikTok and the labels then chase and try to replicate that success, Anthony has been making music for two years, and there are clearly plenty of other songs of his that are already hitting the streaming charts, so labels can get a better picture of what Anthony has to offer. “Rich Men” is lightning in a bottle and he’s likely to never replicate the speed of this success, but he already has developed an audience who wants to hear what he has to say — whether it’s in this song or “Ain’t Gotta Dollar” or several others — so he’s coming out of the block with a lot more knowns than unknowns.

Jessica Nicholson: He will likely struggle to replicate the chart-topping success of “Rich Men,” but there is an audience that relates to the kinds of sentiments he sings about in his songs — which do run broader than the political themes of “Rich Men.” His brief catalog of songs released either on streaming or on his social media accounts include love songs (“’90 Some Chevy”), songs about struggles with drugs and alcohol (“Ive Got to Get Sober”) and sentimental odes to his homestate (“Virginia”), so it is likely that he will build his own following, though how large of a following that ultimately becomes remains to be seen.

Andrew Unterberger: Yeah, he’ll be around for a while. “Rich Men” may prove a one-time phenomenon, but with the interest in Oliver Anthony Music not only spreading from sales to streaming (and even a little bit to radio), but also spreading from “Rich Men” to the rest of his catalog, it’s clear this guy is resonating with audiences beyond whatever message many of its supporters hope to send by endorsing it. Whatever Anthony does next, you can bet a lot of people will be watching and listening.

5. Speaking of those labels: In addition to pursuing Anthony, they’re sure to already be in the hunt for the next artist who could potentially follow in his footsteps. What kind of artist would you recommend they look for — or is this kind of moment impossible to predict for anyone?  

Kyle Denis: Look for artists that are genuinely reflecting the times in their work but make it a point to prioritize and platform artists across genres and walks of life in this pursuit. We’re headed down a very sinister rabbit hole if the major takeaway from all of this is to sign people whose music intentionally plays on themes of white angst, anti-Blackness and vigilantism for the sake of a chart hit. 

Jason Lipshutz: I’m sure every major label is on the hunt to find an artist who can capture the zeitgeist like Anthony has just done, but even as the music industry evolves to account for out-of-nowhere success stories like “Rich Men,” there’s still no formula for engineering something like it. The closest lesson that the industry can learn, first from “Try That in a Small Town” and now Anthony, is that conservative-leaning anthems can still do big business. It will be interesting to see how many more we get, and how well they perform, in the near future.  

Melinda Newman: We know there’s nothing that labels love than finding the “next fill in the blank here,” so I’m sure they are combing the radiowv youtube page (which originally posted “Rich Men,” and whose co-founder Draven Riffe now co-manages Anthony) to see who is the next Anthony. What remains unclear is how much radio is going to embrace Anthony. Country stations are now starting to play him, but, as we’ve seen with artists like Zach Bryan, mainstream county radio isn’t necessary in 2023 to build an amazing following.

Jessica Nicholson: We just saw “Try That in a Small Town,” which has a typical radio-friendly, country-rock sheen to it, top the Hot 100 after much controversy and support from right-leaning music listeners and right-wing media outlets. This feels like yet another song that a segment of right-leaning music listeners have gravitated toward, following in the path of songs like Aaron Lewis’ “Am I The Only One?” (which hit the top 15 on the Hot 100) and two “Let’s Go Brandon” songs that hit the Hot 100 in 2021 (both of those from artists who, like Oliver Anthony Music, had little-to-no history on the chart). At the same time, his angsty, semi-shouting vocal also seems to convey some of the emotional pain and frustration a segment of working-class people seems to be feeling. 

Andrew Unterberger: I dunno. Maybe they should just ask Laura Ingraham for recommendations.

Oliver Anthony Music’s viral hit “Rich Men North of Richmond” rockets in atop Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart dated Aug. 26.
As previously reported, the track debuts at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100.

Since its official Aug. 11 release, following previews on TikTok, the song has been a lightning rod for media coverage from both left- and right-leaning media outlets and pundits.

The song drew 17.5 million streams and sold 147,000 downloads in the tracking week ending Aug. 17, according to Luminate. Although it’s not being promoted to radio, it also drew 553,000 radio airplay audience impressions, including 516,000 from country stations. (It’s trending toward a debut on the Sept. 2-dated Country Airplay chart, with more than 1 million impressions Aug. 18-21, per preliminary data.)

“Richmond,” which was solo-written by the Farmville, Va.-based singer-songwriter and former factory worker born Christopher Anthony Lunsford (his stage name honors his grandfather Oliver Anthony), first drew buzz online, including on TikTok, where he boasts 1.5 million followers. On Aug. 11, the song was released wide to digital retailers and DSPs and posted to the radiowv YouTube account, which spotlights unsigned Americana and country acts in the Virginia/West Virginia region.

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Since Hot Country Songs became the genre’s main Billboard songs chart in October 1958, just 14 songs have debuted at No. 1 — with Anthony the first artist to do so with no prior chart history.

No. 1 Debuts on Hot Country Songs:

“Rich Men North of Richmond,” Oliver Anthony Music, Aug. 26, 2023

“You Proof,” Morgan Wallen, May 28, 2022

“Thought You Should Know,” Morgan Wallen, May 21, 2022

“Don’t Think Jesus,” Morgan Wallen, April 30, 2022

“All Too Well (Taylor’s Version),” Taylor Swift, Nov. 27, 2021

“Am I the Only One ,” Aaron Lewis, July 17, 2021

“Love Story (Taylor’s Version),” Taylor Swift, Feb. 27, 2021

“Wasted on You,” Morgan Wallen, Jan. 23, 2021

“Forever After All,” Luke Combs, Nov. 7, 2020

“7 Summers,” Morgan Wallen, Aug. 29, 2020

“Meant to Be,” Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line, Dec. 16, 2017

“Forever Country,” Artists of Then, Now & Forever, Oct. 8, 2016

“My Baby’s Got a Smile on Her Face,” Craig Wayne Boyd, Jan. 3, 2015

“More Than a Memory,” Garth Brooks, Sept. 15, 2007

Brooks became the first artist to bound in at No. 1 on Hot Country Songs with “More Than a Memory” in 2007, when the chart was based solely on airplay. Since October 2012, the list has shared the Hot 100’s streaming-, airplay- and sales-based methodology.

The closest any act came to Anthony’s feat of launching at No. 1 with no prior history was Craig Wayne Boyd, thanks to his run as a contestant on NBC’s The Voice. (Plus, while Artists of Then, Now & Forever were introduced with “Forever Country,” the collective comprised over 30 established stars.)

Of the 14 debuts above, Morgan Wallen boasts a record five. Taylor Swift is the only other artist with at least two.

Meanwhile, “Richmond” becomes the first Hot Country Songs leader by an artist with an initial entry on the chart since Niko Moon, whose “Good Time” reigned for a week in March 2021.

“Richmond” is also the first solo-penned No. 1 since Taylor Swift’s “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” in February 2021.

“Richmond” enters Country Digital Song Sales at No. 1 and Country Streaming Songs at No. 2. Anthony sends 13 tracks onto the 25-position Country Digital Song Sales list, tying for the most in a single week; country icon Kenny Rogers first achieved the feat on the April 4, 2020, chart, after he passed away that March 20.

Anthony concurrently debuts two other tracks on Hot Country Songs: “Aint Gotta Dollar” at No. 21, and “Ive Got to Get Sober,” at No. 35. The former, released in September 2022, opens with 3.5 million streams and 17,000 sold Aug. 11-17, while the latter, released this July, enters with 2.3 million streams and 12,000 sold.

Chris Young has parted ways with Nashville-based management company The AMG (short for Artist Management Group), a rep for the singer has confirmed to Billboard. Along with Brad Paisley, Young was one of Rob Beckham‘s flagship clients when he launched The AMG in 2019 with music manager Bill Simmons. The AMG’s official website still lists […]

It’s an understated song with loads of longing and alchemical alliteration.
“Tucson Too Late” takes Jordan Davis out of the general pockets he has explored in previous singles. Contrasting with experienced ballads “Buy Dirt” and “Next Thing You Know” on one side, rock-edged productions “What My World Spins Around” and “Singles You Up” on the other, “Tucson” rides a midtempo pace with traditional country roots.

“This is the type of song that I grew up on,” Jordan says. “This feels like I could have picked this song up and put it in the playlist that my dad was listening to whenever I was falling in love with country music, whether it’s ‘Watermelon Crawl’ or ‘Holes in the Floor of Heaven,’ ‘Check Yes or No.’ And maybe it is the nostalgic kind of sound that makes the song a little extra special.”

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It doesn’t hurt that “Tucson” is the product of a friends-and-family foursome: Davis, Jacob Davis, Josh Jenkins and Matt Jenkins, the group that penned “Buy Dirt.” It definitely helps that the melody makes effective use of musical tension, hitting the kinds of notes that make listeners lean forward in their seats, edging toward resolution. That happens, in fact, three times in the last line of the chorus.

“There’s an ache to that s–t,” says Josh.

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Josh had the original title, “Tulane Too Late,” which — by referencing a New Orleans university — tugged on the Davis brothers’ Louisiana roots. He brought it up during a 2022 writing session that Jordan had to miss. In its first incarnation, the title linked Tulane and two-lane highways, though the school’s real-world location is in the center of a start-and-stop urban grid. The three writers toyed with other possible locales that suggested wide-open terrain and landed on Tucson.

“That title feels classic,” Matt says. “When you say ‘Tucson,’ it just fits the story of getting somewhere too late, the girl’s already gone. Nothing feels more lonely and sad than a lonely cactus out in the desert, a tumbleweed rolling across the road.”

The three writers played a bit with the idea but didn’t commit to any specific direction. Jacob called Jordan later and relayed the “Tucson Too Late” title, firing up his brother’s songwriting instincts.

That came in handy when the other three joined Jordan on tour a few weeks later, on July 16, 2022, to write on the bus outside the Magic Springs Water & Theme Park in Hot Springs, Ark. They had no new ideas that day, so Jordan asked about “Tucson.” The city name triggered thoughts of classic country tunes “Marina Del Rey” and “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” and Jordan specifically suggested they capture the tone of “Miami, My Amy,” a Keith Whitley single that also benefits from blatant wordplay.Josh slid into a slightly unusual progression, strumming a two minor chord to kick off the chorus on a then-new guitar.

“It’s a really crappy nylon that I bought for like 150 bucks at Guitar Center,” he recalls. “It doesn’t stay in tune, but it was the first time I took it out on a bus run, and I think there was some spirit to this gut-string that paired with the vibe and the chords and the hook. This sounds hippie-dippie, but it was like it was inviting us to explore some of those chords.”

After inserting a lonesome, descending guitar line into the stanza, Josh came back to the two minor, and they logged the chorus’ last two lines of lyrics, emphasizing the three unresolved notes in the melody on the way to the hook. They reverse-engineered the chorus’ words from there, the guy “racing through the desert” to stop his woman from leaving on a jet plane, realizing the whole way that he would not make it.

Why doesn’t he just call her? “I wanted to answer that in the video,” says Jordan. “We have him run over his cellphone.”

Backing up to the song’s beginning, Josh fashioned a five-note lead-in — similar to the guitar in Rodney Crowell’s desperate “Ashes by Now” — then gave the verse a different version of the chorus’ descending motif, this one akin to Danny O’Keefe’s desolate “Good Time Charlie’s Got the Blues.” In the song’s opening two lines, the protagonist pondered whether the relationship had simply been a mirage.

“I can’t remember who said it — that wasn’t me,” Josh notes. “But it was such a cool way to play on the desert, Tucson — the lonely aesthetic — in a fresh way.”

They moved to the three minor — another out-of-the-norm chord — for the pre-chorus, and it sounded so good that they repeated that pre-chorus in the second verse, shortening the verse to reach it earlier. They returned to the three minor one more time in the bridge, dropping a reference to Merle Haggard’s “Silver Wings” during that stanza.

“The 16-year-old me that would be listening to George Strait sing ‘Marina Del Rey’ or ‘Galveston,’ or one of these songs that would have some of those chords, would be proud,” says Matt.

The four writers made a guitar/vocal work tape over the sound of the air-conditioning and the bus door — “I think somebody was making coffee during the second verse,” Jordan says — then passed that rudimentary recording to producer Paul DiGiovanni (Dustin Lynch, Travis Denning). It was, in turn, the reference tape during a Nov. 7 tracking session at Nashville’s Sound Stage for the studio band: guitarists Derek Wells and Ilya Toshinskiy, drummer Nir Z, keyboardist Alex Wright and bassist Jimmie Lee Sloas.

DiGiovanni gave them plenty of leeway to capture a less-is-more, classic country vibe. Nir Z played on the rim almost all the way until the second chorus before he squarely hit the snare drum. (DiGiovanni would later give the first-verse drum a slightly trashy sound with a “rim crunch” effect.) Wells threaded a baritone guitar part that recalls “Wichita Lineman”-era Glen Campbell in the track and heightened the tension with judicious swells over the key three minor chord in both pre-choruses.

“He’s doing this little fake steel thing,” notes DiGiovanni. “It’s just like a volume pedal on a clean electric guitar with some reverb.”

To differentiate the bridge’s three minor from the pre-choruses, they dropped the quasi-steel; instead, harmony singer Trey Keller piled up 13 background vocal tracks in that passage, staggering them across several entry points. “I didn’t really have a super plan for that,” DiGiovanni concedes. “That was just part of what we had, and we rolled with it.”

“Tucson” and “Damn Good Time,” the leadoff track for Bluebird Days, were both recorded the same day after the rest of the album was completed. Jordan envisioned “Tucson” as the second single, though “Next Thing You Know” supplanted it, based on heavy streaming. MCA Nashville finally released “Tucson” to country radio on Aug. 7 via PlayMPE.

“I was pushing myself as an artist and as a writer to do something that maybe a fan would listen to and be like, ‘Hmm, I wouldn’t see him put a song out like that,’ ” says Jordan. “I love the song, I love the cut of it. Let’s see how it shakes out.”

Tape Room Music has entered a strategic partnership with Red Light Ventures and Firebird Music, which purchased more than 350 songs from various Tape Room Publishing catalogs as part of the transaction. The catalog sale includes “Body Like a Back Road” (recorded by Sam Hunt), “Do I Make You Wanna” (Billy Currington), “Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset” […]

Collaborations continue to abound in this week’s batch of new country releases, with Country Music Hall of Fame member Dolly Parton teaming with ex-Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, while Luke Combs joins with Charlie Worsham and Old Dominion pairs with Megan Moroney on a new release. Meanwhile, Rhiannon Giddens offers a sterling new release, while bluegrassers Andrew Crawford and Brandi Colt offer a dark tale of one woman’s journey of adventures and misfortunes.

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See latest videos, charts and news

Dolly Parton feat. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, “Let It Be”

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Here, Dolly Parton teams up with McCartney and Starr on this song from her upcoming album Rockstar, which pairs Parton with numerous rock and pop artists to record classic rock tracks. The project is out in November. Parton’s glorious soprano is powerful here as she takes on the Beatles’ themes of hope from their 1970 Billboard Hot 100-topper, her voice weaving the serene melody with a dedicated believability without sounding trite. The trio’s harmonies are magnetic, aided by the thick arrangements of McCartney’s stately piano playing, searing guitar from Peter Frampton and Mick Fleetwood on drums.

Old Dominion with Megan Moroney, “Can’t Break Up Now”

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Old Dominion teams with “I’m Not Pretty” singer-songwriter Moroney on this sultry realization that though two lovers are hitting a rough patch in their relationship, they’ve invested too much into the relationship — and are too embedded into each other’s lives — to shatter what they’ve built. He knows the exact kind of coffee she likes, they share the same friends and even his dog now likes her better. Sonically, the track is classic Old Dominion with its well-constructed lyrics and semi-pop sheen. Lead singer Matthew Ramsey’s voice is well-paired with Moroney’s honey-hued vocals. The song is from Old Dominion’s upcoming Memory Lane album.

Rhiannon Giddens, “Too Little, Too Late, Too Bad”

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Written by Giddens and Dirk Powell, “Too Little, Too Late, Too Bad” offers an empowered dismissal to a lover who has signaled their disloyalty through “too many lies/ too many alibis.” Plucky percussion, moody bass, horns and soulful harmonies layer behind Gidden’s unflappable vocals, drawing on classic soul and R&B. This song is included on Giddens’ Aug. 18-released, genre-traversing album You’re the One, in which Giddens wraps her mighty voice around a range of styles, including country, R&B, blues and jazz.

Charlie Worsham with Luke Combs, “How I Learned How to Pray”

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Singer-songwriter-session musician Worsham teams with reigning CMA entertainer of the year Combs for this song, which centers around learning to call on a higher power not through rote Sunday school learning or church sermons, but during the nadir of his life (wrecking his car and losing his freedom), though also the serendipitous moments (meeting a potential lover). Combs’ hearty, raspy vocal is nicely paired with Worsham’s relaxed, euphonious singing. Worsham wrote the song with Jeremy Spillman and Ryan Tyndell, and the song will be included on his upcoming album Compadres, out Oct. 13.

Andrew Crawford and Brandi Colt, “Wabash River”

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Back in 2021, Crawford issued his debut bluegrass album, but over the past year, this husband-and-wife duo have been steadily releasing a slate of bluegrass songs together. On their latest, they delve into a story of a young girl who grew up in high society, only to fall in love with a young man from the poorer side of town. Razor-sharp fiddle, spright mandolin and Crawford’s on-the-spot harmonies bolster Colt’s crystalline lead vocals, which grow moody as the story unfolds, with the song’s two lovers ultimately leaving behind nothing more than a note and muddy footprints along the banks of the Wabash River.

It was less than four months ago that Kid Rock got so worked up about Bud Light teaming with transgender TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney for its Bud Light Easy Carry Contest during the NCAA’s March Madness that the “Don’t Tell Me How To Live” singer tried to destroy 12-packs of Bud Light with a semi-automatic rifle as he yelled, “F–k Bud Light and f–k Anheuser-Busch.”
What a difference a few months make.

In July, CNN reported that despite his apparent animus for the world’s largest beer company, Rock, 52 — who didn’t specifically mention Mulvaney (or the word “trans”) in his video, or call for a boycott of products from Bud Light parent company AB Inbev — was still selling Bud Light at his Nashville restaurant; Newsweek additionally reported at the time that Rock’s restaurant/bar was selling Bud Light during the June 9-12 Country Music Association Festival and that a Twitter user told the magazine that a waitress at the bar said “they actually stopped selling it for a week right after [Rock’s video], then started selling it again.”

And over the weekend the rapper-turned-country rocker was pictured enjoying a tall cool Bud Light at Colt Ford show in Nashville according to TMZ, which caused a torrent of comments on Twitter (now X) about the apparent hypocrisy from the “Devil Without a Cause” star. “Damn, never thought I’d have to give Kid Rock the Bud Light treatment but here we are,” wrote one commenter. “Just shot up all my Kid Rock vinyl and CDs. I loved Kid Rock, but I hope Kid Woke goes broke.”

Another, Fred Guttenberg — father of murdered Parkland High School student Jaime Guttenberg and gun control advocate — had equally harsh words for Rock, writing, “It’s just hard to keep a good beer down and I LOVE BUD LIGHT!!! Apparently, so does @KidRock. To all of you hypocritical lunatics who actually started this bulls–t attack on my favorite beer, cheers to you.”

Billboard has not been able to confirm the veracity of the pictures of Rock drinking the Bud Light at press time and a spokesperson for the singer had not returned a request for comment.

At the time of CNN’s report, it was unclear if the band on Bud Light at Rock’s Music City establishment had been lifted, or if one had ever been put in place, but at the time of the Mulvaney controversy Rock appeared happy to jump on the bandwagon of ban-calling against Bud Light.

While country singer John Rich pledged at the time to pull Bud Light from his Nashville bar Redneck Riviera and Travis Tritt said he would remove the formerly best-selling brew in the nation from his tour rider in the midst of the transphobic backlash against the Mulvaney promotional stunt, Rock never specifically said he’d stop selling it at his Broadway district spot.

In the original Mulvaney clip from April, she revealed that the company helped her celebrate her “365th day of womanhood” with “possibly the best gift ever” — a commemorative can of Bud Light with Mulvaney’s face on the side that was not commercially available, but instead meant as a personalized one-off souvenir.

Check out some of the comments about Rock’s Bud Light moment.

I’ve seen multiple different sources. It’s confirmed. Without principles we are nothing. I choose to move on from Kid Woke but everyone else can make their own decision.— Anthony Carrey (@SocksMoney187) August 19, 2023

Damn, never thought I’d have to give Kid Rock the Bud Light treatment but here we are.Just shot up all my Kid Rock vinyl and CDs. I loved Kid Rock, but I hope Kid Woke goes broke.— Anthony Carrey (@SocksMoney187) August 18, 2023

It’s just hard to keep a good beer down and I LOVE BUD LIGHT!!! Apparently, so does @KidRock. To all of you hypocritical lunatics who actually started this bullshit attack on my favorite beer, cheers to you 🍻 https://t.co/DH0FUOpYLo— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) August 19, 2023

First, he doesn’t just vow to boycott Bud Light, he shoots a case of it on camera with an AR-15. Then, not only does he go back to immediately drinking Bud Light again but he does it in public and gets caught. Can’t make this stuff up. https://t.co/vAbBJOKdyF— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) August 18, 2023