State Champ Radio Country
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Country music is well-known for its affiliation with trucks, often classic Chevy or Ford pickup trucks, or the slate of songs such as C.W. McCoy’s “Convoy,” Jerry Reed’s “Eastbound and Down,” and Alabama’s “Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler),” that were dedicated to long-haul truckers and big rigs. But currently, it’s a song about car — Luke […]
Country music is having a moment; whether it’s a short blip or an enduring bonanza remains to be seen.
In a Country Radio Broadcasters CRS360 webinar, “Moment Us: Leveraging Country Music’s Growth,” executives from three different industry sectors — radio, streaming and touring — grappled with the genre’s precedent-setting achievements, which raise serious questions about why country is popular and how to harness the current momentum.
Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town,” Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” and Luke Combs’ “Fast Car” gave country the top three titles on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 dated Aug. 5 for the first time in history. Oliver Anthony Music’s “Rich Men North of Richmond” joined Wallen and Combs to repeat the feat on the Aug. 26 chart.
There is no single reason for the trend — panelists cited the genre’s sonic expansion, its increasing acceptance among younger fans, better data that allows gatekeepers to respond quickly to consumers’ habits and streaming’s blurring of stylistic lines.
Fans and country platforms “seem to be embracing the fringes of the format a little bit more now, whether it’s sort of the Americana country that Zach Bryan represents or the rock-leaning country that a Jelly Roll represents,” CAA Nashville co-head Marc Dennis said. “Artists like that — that you wouldn’t necessarily have called mainstream country five, six years ago — those artists are bringing fans into the format.”
As country’s face is changing in the marketplace, some of the accepted norms are changing, too. Where country devotees were once reliable followers of all artists in the genre, individual acts increasingly have specific fan bases, and Dennis said he is no longer concerned about keeping 30 days’ distance between competing country concerts in the same market, though he does try to keep separation between on-sale dates for different shows. And with radio listeners tuning in stations for shorter spans, programmers are less concerned about the gap between repeat spins from the same act.
“If the average tune-in is 11 to 15 minutes, the idea that we’re going to artificially say, ‘Well, we’re only going to play X artist every hour and 15 minutes,’ that seems very shortsighted,” WIRK West Palm Beach, Fla., operations manager/PD Bruce Logan said.
Artists are bubbling up from more sources — including TikTok, YouTube and a variety of playlists — and they also have more corporate opportunities, with fashion and food brands courting their endorsements alongside the prototypical trucks, boots and beers.
But the popularity is accompanied by concerns. Aldean’s “Small Town” video and a Wallen incident from 2021 put a spotlight on racism. Far-right media and conspiracy theorists quickly championed Anthony, though he has claimed political neutrality. Executives have privately lamented the possibility that country’s short-term popularity may feed long-term negative perceptions about it at a time when the industry is trying to diversify.
“We’re going to see more of these hot-button moments in country music,” Spotify Nashville head of editorial Rachel Whitney said. “There’s a lot of questionable history in the genre, and it’s really important that we all kind of do our homework, in a way, and make sure that what we do going forward is creating a welcoming space.”
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The Contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week (for the upcoming charts dated Sept. 9), Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves’ new duet challenges Oliver Anthony Music’s reign at No. 1 – but they’re far from the only ones in the hunt.
Zach Bryan feat. Kacey Musgraves, “I Remember Everything” (Belting Bronco/Warner): It’s nothing but good news for Americana sensation Zach Bryan these days. His self-titled, self-produced new album debuted on Friday (Aug. 25) to dynamite streaming numbers and strong reviews — with a debut atop the Billboard 200 albums chart likely within its sights — and this week, he announced a 2024 arenas-and-stadiums tour featuring veteran luminaries Jason Isbell and Sheryl Crow among the opening acts. Next week, he might be on deck for another career first: A Billboard Hot 100 No. 1.
The album’s “I Remember Everything,” featuring the Grammy-beloved Kacey Musgraves, has led the daily charts on both Spotify and Apple Music since its Friday release, and has also climbed into the top five on the iTunes chart. As is typical of brand-new songs – particularly from format-ambiguous artists like Bryan – radio support thus far has been minimal, but with its streaming and sales numbers both so high and so steady, it might not need much airplay help to mount a serious charge for the No. 1 spot.
Even if it doesn’t get there, it should still easily notch a new career high peak for both Bryan (who hit No. 10 earlier this year with “Something in the Orange”) and Musgraves, whose previous best on the Hot 100 was the modest No. 60 success of “Follow Your Arrow” in 2014. (Miranda Lambert’s “Mama’s Broken Heart,” co-written by Musgraves and featuring her on backing vocals, hit No. 20 the year before.)
Oliver Anthony Music, “Rich Men North of Richmond” (Self-Released): Oliver Anthony dismissed any notion of one-week-wonderdom this week by sticking atop the Hot 100 for a second frame, while also topping the Streaming Songs chart for the first time. He’s still pulling strong numbers on streaming (albeit not as strong as “Remember”) and still hanging atop the iTunes sales chart – but with numbers less sky-high than the tens of thousands he sold daily in the single’s debut week.
The song’s performance is steady enough that a fall out of the top 20 (like Jason Aldean had with his similarly sales-boosted No. 1 “Try That in a Small Town” a few weeks earlier) is unlikely. But unless “Richmond” can catch a second wind in its virality to turn its sagging numbers around, its reign atop the chart is certainly vulnerable.
Luke Combs, “Fast Car” (River House/Columbia Nashville/Columbia): Will it ever be Luke Combs’ time? The carousel of male country singers atop the Hot 100 this summer has seen Morgan Wallen, Jason Aldean and Oliver Anthony Music all take their turns – but Combs has been stuck at No. 2 for much of that time, spending its seventh nonconsecutive frame in the runner-up spot this week. Now, he risks getting lapped a fourth time — as Bryan’s new single is on pace to comfortably lead his in streams, and may pass him in sales as well.
However, Combs is sure to have a major lead in one factor: airplay. His “Fast Car” continues to gain on Pop Airplay, moving 9-8 on the chart this week, while holding strong at No. 2 on the all-format Radio Songs chart; it’s also still top five on Country Airplay, after ruling for five frames. If his song continues to gain there while holding strong enough in streaming and sales, it might be able to fend off the advances of Bryan and Musgraves – or challenge them again the week after.
IN THE MIX
Doja Cat, “Paint the Town Red” (Kemosabe/RCA): Among all the bearded white guys with guitars, pop and rap luminary Doja Cat is elbowing her way into the mix with new hit “Paint the Town Red.” The song jumps from 15-5 on the latest Hot 100, with major gains in streams, airplay and sales – with the former two carrying into this tracking week. If its velocity keeps up, it should be in contention to become Doja’s second No. 1 before too long – possibly as soon as next week, though she still has a sizable gap to close first.
Taylor Swift, “Cruel Summer” (Republic): Seemingly all summer, Swifties have awaited their fearless leader making the final move — a music video, a new remix, something totally unexpected — to put “Cruel Summer” over the top on the Hot 100. It hasn’t arrived yet, though the song is still hanging strong at No. 4 on the chart, after reaching No. 3 and continuing to gain in airplay, still in range of the top spot should it get that one final big boost. But Swift’s window may be closing: The top of the Hot 100 is getting more crowded every week, and Labor Day is just around the corner.
Morgan Wallen, “Last Night” (Big Loud/Mercury/Republic): Remember this one? Wallen’s 16-week Hot 100 conqueror has spent two weeks outside of the top spot now, but it’s hanging on at No. 3 on the chart, and still ranks in the top 10 on Digital Song Sales, Streaming Songs and Radio Songs. Plus, it’s spent multiple weeks outside the top spot and then rebounded to the summit twice already in the course of its nearly six-month chart run. Don’t assume it’s dead until you actually see the carcass.
08/30/2023
After shooting straight to No. 1 on the Hot 100 out of nowhere, we break down the singer’s improbable blow-up.
08/30/2023
On Tuesday (Aug. 29), Eric Church became the 18th artist to perform as part of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s prestigious artist residency program, as he kicked off the first of two nights of intimate, career-spanning shows at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s 700+ seat CMA Theater. Launched in 2003, a prestigious residency has since celebrated the artistic magnitude of artists including Cowboy Jack Clement, Earl Scruggs, Kenny Rogers, Connie Smith, Tom T. Hall, Guy Clark, Kris Kristofferson and Miranda Lambert.
For Church, it also marked a full-circle moment, as acclaimed journalist Robert K. Oermann noted that just seventeen years ago, Church had launched his major-label recording career with an album release party for Sinners Like Me in that same building, at the 200+ seat Ford Theater. Back then, Oermann had asked the tiny audience of ardent Church fans if they were ready for “a kick in the pants.” That night at the CMA Theater, he guaranteed the audience of passionate fans — many of them Church Choir members — were sure to get “a kick in the heart.”
He returned to the hallowed Hall as a Country Music Association entertainer of the year winner, a 10-time Grammy nominee, and the subject of his own exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, aptly titled Eric Church: Country Heart, Restless Soul.
Seated front and center on a stool, and backed by his longtime band and backup singers, Church embarked upon a career-cataloging set that chronicled his evolution into one of country music’s biggest artists. The early portion of the evening centered on his fierce determination to rise above an onslaught of negative early career press, as a video screen outfitted to resemble an vintage television rattled off reviews that disparaged his early music and performances.
From the beginning of his career, Church has done things his own way and colored outside of the lines, daring to dig deeper, musically and creatively. He was kicked off an early tour for playing too loud and too long; in 2016, he surprised the industry and his fan club members by releasing his Mr. Misunderstood album directly to members of his Church Choir fanclub first, by mailing out vinyl and CD copies directly to them before anyone in the industry had heard it. He took on ticket scalpers in a bid to keep real fans in the concert seats at reasonable prices.
But early on, he also knew the power of building a devoted fanbase. He launched his CMA Theater set with songs including “How ‘Bout You,” “Sinners Like Me” and “Smoke a Little Smoke” — songs that displayed his dogged determination, but also positioned him as an advocate for those who are downtrodden, left of center or simply determined to leave their own unique legacy.
From there, the career-spanning set touched on his breakthrough projects, and songs that showed him to be a songcraft expert. From his CMA album of the year-winning project Chief, he performed “Springsteen” and “Like Jesus Does.” From The Outsiders, he offered “Give Me Back My Hometown” and “Talladega.” From another CMA album of the year-winning album, Mr. Misunderstood, came the title track and “Record Year,” and from Desperate Man came the wisdom-imbued “Some of It” and the tender-and-tough “Monsters.” Along the way, Church has been rewarded with 10 Billboard Country Airplay No. 1 hits. He’s also become one of the chief musical architects infusing a new wave of country music with this soul-fueled, heartland rock sensibilities, layered with keen observations and a knack for a killer hook.
The evening had moments of hand-raising, righteous rock and moments of somber tribute. As the crowd rose to its feet and cheers of “Chief!” swelled throughout the theater at the set’s conclusion, Church said, “I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did.” Surveying the past nearly two hours of career-spanning music, he noted, “It was tough at times, but you know what? That’s our life. That’s our career. Everything you saw tonight is who we are and that’s unbelievably how we got in this room. It has been the greatest honor of my life to do this.”
Below, we look at five standout moments from the Chief’s opening night as a Country Music Hall of Fame artist-in-residencce.
Chief Hits
Image Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
Several years ago, Dierks Bentley was taken aback when one of his team members told him his concerts made him the center point in a big party.
He has plenty of fun stuff to draw from in building set lists — “5-1-5-0,” “Somewhere on a Beach,” “Drunk on a Plane” and “What Was I Thinkin’,” for starters — but he’d always thought of himself as a serious musician with something to say. That conversation was one of those moments when the push and pull of his introspective private self and cheerleading public role crystallized, and it’s a dual purpose he continues to balance.
“We’re all looking for the raw emotions, the connection with the singer, the connection with fellow fans, and so that mode’s very real,” he says of his onstage identity. “But off the stage, that’s just not who I am. I’d rather be up on a mountain by myself, just alone. I really do appreciate being alone, or with my wife or my family, but just having real conversations and watching sunsets and sunrises and just looking for those moments that really make you feel like you’re connected to something deeper.”
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With his latest single, Bentley found “Something Real” in the mountains of Telluride, Colo., when he hosted a songwriting camp circa 2018 with four fellow writers: HARDY, Ashley Gorley (“Last Night,” “Girl in Mine”), Luke Dick (“Burning Man,” “Settling Down”) and Ross Copperman (“Dancin’ in the Country,” “Gold”). It was early winter, and Bentley engaged in some real-life pursuits during that four-day retreat, including hikes and a trip to a ski slope with Dick, who admits he was challenged.
“What good is being in Telluride if you’re inside the four walls?” Dick asks rhetorically. “I hadn’t been skiing in forever, and he put me in past my comfort zone, which is funny, because he’s pretty much a local up there now. He’s not going to ski with the novices, or even the intermediates. He’s off doing the crazy stuff.”
In the less-dangerous arena, Bentley woke up at his home one morning and worked up a few ideas over French roast coffee. He hopped over to the house where the other writers were staying, with a now-forgotten title built around the word “real.” Whatever that title was, it reconstructed as “Something Real,” and they used it to explore the dichotomies in Bentley’s existence — aiming to do it in a way that could be felt by the audience.
With five A-list writers participating, the process involved some chaos. Copperman and Dick tended to focus more on the music, Gorley and HARDY — who snapped out the chorus’ opening image, “I need a little backbone in my backbeat” — keyed in on the lyrics, though all of them jumped around a bit to different aspects of the song and to different stanzas.
The opening verse found arena-headliner Bentley longing for an easier, less-cluttered lifestyle, which is part of the attraction in Telluride.
“I love living somewhere small, you know, with no stoplights,” he says. “There’s so much accountability living in a small town because you see these people two, three times a day. You can’t be a jerk, you can’t not respond to a text message because you’re going to literally see them at the post office. You have to be responsive, you have to be kind; you have real conversations.”
In one of the most revealing sections, he cited one of the hurdles of commercial music, lamenting that he “can’t really pour my heart out on the FM radio,” adding that deeper songs “won’t fill up the coliseum on the edge of Tupelo,” a line that — once again — was shaped by Mississippi-born HARDY.
Bentley wasn’t complaining in that moment, but actively seeking to be challenged: “Give me something that’ll burn I can turn into something I can feel.” The challenge was to dig deep in life, but also to dig deep in a song and still make something commercial.
“[Songwriter] Tom Douglas said something about songs that make you remember and songs that make you forget,” Dick recalls. “Most of the songs that are hits are songs that make you forget. What is it making you forget? The idea that loneliness exists at all, and it’s rare that a song that is making you remember that loneliness exists and that it’s OK to be in it.”
Dick and Copperman built the demo, which featured HARDY’s voice. Bentley tried to record “Something Real” three different times — the last at Addiction Studios in Berry Hill, Tenn. — before he found what he was looking for, a performance with a distinct U2 vibe, thanks to searing electric guitar work from Jedd Hughes and more intricate notes enhanced by a delay pedal. The track stacks five guitarists total, including Dan Dugmore, better known as a steel guitarist.
“One of my favorite things to do with Dan when we’re in the studio is to ask him to play electric,” says producer-engineer F. Reid Shippen (Toby Keith, Ingrid Michaelson). “He’s fantastic at it. He plays rock electric like a super-enthusiastic 14-year-old who just doesn’t make mistakes.”
Shippen also took some of Danny Rader’s off-the-cuff banjo noodling and fit it into the mix to provide some country texture amid the U2 sonics.
Late in the game, Jon Randall (Parker McCollum, Miranda Lambert) became the track’s fourth producer, along with Bentley and Copperman. He was called in, he says, to “sprinkle the Americana, or the hippie-trippy stuff, or the ear candy.” Randall focused primarily on the bridge, where the song’s deepest message — “I’m just looking for some truth” — provides its apex.
“More than anything, I think I really just came up with some ideas to build that bridge, so the bridge would be really, really huge and hit hard,” Randall says. “There’s some guitars, percussion things, building to this moment.”
At that “truth” climax, the whole thing breaks down with Bentley and HARDY — who came back in to add harmonies — delivering the message with clarity. “I think that really took it over the top,” Shippen says.
Capitol Nashville released “Something Real” to country radio through PlayMPE on June 12 as the second single from Gravel & Gold, providing deceptively thoughtful perspective in an intensely commercial sonic framework. It’s not unprecedented in Bentley’s career: He has enhanced his reputation with such from-the-soul titles as “Home,” “I Hold On” and “Come a Little Closer.”
“I found when I put songs out that are really personal, there’s a deeper connection because we’re all the same,” Bentley says. “We’re all going through the same struggles, and I feel like the song will connect in that way. It’s going to be a little slower rise to get there. I’ve had other songs that might have been quicker out of the gate, but I feel like this one will have a really important impact on people that listen to it and move them in a deeper way.”
Oliver Anthony Music’s breakout viral hit “Rich Men North of Richmond” unexpectedly debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart.
Among other chart achievements for the singer-songwriter, he’s the first artist ever to launch atop the list with no prior chart history in any form. His success story began when a now-viral video of Anthony, posted by radiowv, began circulating around the Internet, showing the singer offering an acoustic performance of “Rich Men North of Richmond,” vocalizing the pain and angst of the working class at the hands of greedy rich men. The song takes on high taxes, abuse of welfare and selfish politicians.
If you need a guide to follow along with Oliver Anthony’s “Rich Men North of Richmond,” find the lyrics below:
I’ve been sellin’ my soul, workin’ all dayOvertime hours for bullsh– paySo I can sit out here and waste my life awayDrag back home and drown my troubles away
It’s a damn shame what the world’s gotten toFor people like me and people like youWish I could just wake up and it not be trueBut it is, oh, it is
Livin’ in the new worldWith an old soulThese rich men north of RichmondLord knows they all just wanna have total controlWanna know what you think, wanna know what you doAnd they don’t think you know, but I know that you do‘Cause your dollar ain’t sh– and it’s taxed to no end‘Cause of rich men north of Richmond
I wish politicians would look out for minersAnd not just minors on an island somewhereLord, we got folks in the street, ain’t got nothin’ to eatAnd the obese milkin’ welfare
God, if you’re 5 foot 3 and you’re 300 poundsTaxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge roundsYoung men are puttin’ themselves six feet in the ground‘Cause all this damn country does is keep on kickin’ them down
Lord, it’s a damn shame what the world’s gotten toFor people like me and people like youWish I could just wake up and it not be trueBut it is, oh, it is
Livin’ in the new worldWith an old soulThese rich men north of RichmondLord knows they all just wanna have total controlWanna know what you think, wanna know what you doAnd they don’t think you know, but I know that you do‘Cause your dollar ain’t sh– and it’s taxed to no end‘Cause of rich men north of Richmond
I’ve been sellin’ my soul, workin’ all dayOvertime hours for bullsh– pay
Lyrics licensed & provided by LyricFind
Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: Christopher Anthony Lunsford
In its second week on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart, Oliver Anthony Music’s “Rich Men North of Richmond” rises to No. 1 on the Sept. 2-dated survey. In the Aug. 18-24 tracking week, “Rich Men North of Richmond” earned 22.9 million official U.S. streams, a 31% boost, according to Luminate. It debuted on the Aug. 26-dated […]
Garth Brooks, who launched his own Sevens Radio Network through streaming platform TuneIn in June, announced the second station under his umbrella today: Tailgate Radio, which will blend music and sports.
Hosted by sports commentator and producer Maria Taylor, Tailgate Radio’s launch is timed to the start of the 2023 college football season. While the station will not air the games — TuneIn provides access to live play-by-play from more than 100 Division 1 colleges and universities on other channels — Tailgate Radio will provide pre- and post-game entertainment for sports fans.
“This is one of those ideas someone says, ‘Why didn’t we do this a long time ago?’” Brooks said in a statement. “This combines everyone’s passion for sports and music. It also allows you to enjoy your tailgate, barbeque or poolside party without doing the work. There’s so much music on this channel, Tailgate Radio will be everyone’s favorite.”
Tailgate Radio, which will air 24/7, is kicking off with specific programming including Tailgate Top 20 with Maria, a weekly countdown hosted by Taylor that will highlight the 20 biggest songs across all genres from a specific year as well as tying them in with the biggest sports stories from that year. Elsewhere, Block Party will be a Saturday night four-hour mixshow featuring contemporary music from artists ranging from Luke Combs to Beyonce to Eminem. And Tailgate Takeover will feature celebrities, artists and athletes as guest hosts, allowing them to talk about the music and playlists that help them set their favorite vibe; Brooks will host the first edition.
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Taylor and Brooks previously partnered on her middle school mentoring program for girls, PowHER, which linked with his foundation, Teammates for Kids. “Working closely with Garth and his foundation as we created the PowHER program has been nothing short of amazing,” Taylor said in a statement. “And now, we are embarking on Garth’s extraordinary vision to connect sports and music fans with Tailgate. It’s such an honor to be chosen by greatness to be a partner in the radio space.”
In June, Brooks bowed Sevens Radio with country music channel The Big 615. At the time, he noted that Sevens Radio would, appropriately enough, eventually offer a suite of seven stations. At the press conference for The Big 615, Brooks also stressed the appeal of TuneIn’s international aspect, saying the global reach was his “favorite thing” because it allowed the station to present undiluted country music: “If we go across the water, they ask you immediately to take the [pedal] steel and fiddles off your country music. Ain’t going to happen here.”
TuneIn claims more than 75 million monthly listeners across more than 100,000 stations. Its sports partners include the NFL International, MLB, NHL, NASCAR (Motor Racing Network & Performance Racing Network), Formula 1, IndyCar Radio, US Open, talkSPORT, ESPN Radio and college sports partners (Westwood One, Learfield, Playfly Sports, JMI Sports, Van Wagner and Clemson Athletic Properties).
Kate Middleton may be the Princess of Wales, but the Queen of Country runs on her own schedule. In an interview with BBC Radio 2‘s Claudia Winkleman, Dolly Parton revealed that she was recently invited to have tea with the royal, though she had to turn it down for album promotion reasons. “This time, Lordy, […]
