Country Update
Transcription
Country Update
Country Update BILLBOARD.COM/NEWSLETTERS INSIDE Alabama On The Boom Box, Baby — And The Chart >page 4 Remembering Fan Clubhouse CEO Sharon Eaves >page 8 Rogers Retires, Strait Returns >page 9 Taylor, Kacey, FGL Bring Extra Muscle >page 9 Makin’ Tracks: Rascal Flatts’ ‘I Like The Sound Of That’ >page 13 Stark Report: Thomas Rhett Talks Pressure, Sunshine >page 14 BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE SEPTEMBER 28, 2015 | PAGE 1 OF 19 [email protected] Johnny Cash’s ‘Sunday Morning’ Coming Up Again In Modern Country A dozen years after Johnny Cash’s death, he has become something of a mythical figure. Heidi Newfield’s “Johnny and June,” Jason Aldean’s “Johnny Cash,” George Strait’s album cut “House of Cash” and Rainey Qualley’s current single “Me and Johnny Cash” all owe an obvious debt to the Man in Black. So in an era when upbeat party songs have reigned in the genre, it wouldn’t be out of the norm to expect songwriters who want to reference a Cash song would turn to his rabble-rousing “Folsom Prison Blues,” the devotional pledge “I Walk the Line” or the cheery-sounding “Ring of Fire.” Instead, three songs released in 2015 have engaged the dour “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” in which a hungover single male looks at the world around him and wallows in loneliness. CASH “It’s a song of desolation,” says Johnny Cash Museum founder Bill Miller. “It’s a song of somebody being down and out and in search of things, and it does seem out of step with what’s going on in today’s contemporary country music lyrics.” The title made its first appearance this year in the Keith Urban/Eric Church duet “Raise ’Em Up” — currently nominated for Country Music Association (CMA) musical event of the year — in the setup to a funeral: “Black umbrellas in the pourin’ rain/Sunday morning coming down, Amazing Grace.” Urban recycled the reference in his current “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” (No. 2, Country Airplay), mentioning “Sunday Morning” and its author, Kris Kristofferson, amid such iconic cultural landmarks as John Wayne, Superman and Don McLean’s “American Pie.” Then there’s Michael Ray’s “Real Men Love Jesus” (No. 48, Country Airplay), which contrasts “Saturday nights out on the town” with “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” pointing to the complex mix of hard exterior and vulnerable sensitivity that’s a hallmark of a developed 21st-century male. “There’s been a thing happening with that song, ‘Sunday Morning Coming Down,’ ” concedes Ray, “but it’s because it’s the truth. That’s what country music is — it’s honesty. It’s truth.” Released during an era when the 45-rpm single was king, “Sunday Morning” has a double 45th anniversary in October. It topped the Billboard country singles chart dated Oct. 10, 1970, then earned Kristofferson song of the year honors from the CMA four days later. It’s the only time in history that a song reached those two peaks in such a short span of time. But in some ways, its accomplishments have been overshadowed by the mystique of its presentation. For starters, it has been connected to a rift between Kristofferson and management at the Columbia Recording Studios, where he worked as a janitor. Songwriters had been banned from attending artists’ sessions, which prevented him from pitching songs to Cash when the Man in BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE Black visited the studio. So Kristofferson — according to the legend — flew a helicopter to Cash’s home to deliver the “Sunday Morning” demo in person. “That’s true,” Cash told Musician magazine in the 1980s. “He fell out of that helicopter with a beer in one hand and a tape in the other, and said, ‘By God, I’m gonna get a song to you one way or another.’ ” However, record producer-author John Carter Cash says Kristofferson disputes that story. “Kris did land a helicopter in my dad’s yard, gave my dad a song, and Kris was rather drunk when he did it,” says John Carter. “And Kris will tell the story right now that it was not ‘Sunday Morning Coming Down,’ and that the song he gave my dad was not very good. It’s become this great myth.” But another piece of the “Sunday Morning” folklore is indisputable. The single came from an ABC taping of The Johnny Cash Show at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, and network censors told Cash that one line in the song — “Lord, I wish that I was stoned” — needed to be changed. They suggested he replace the word “stoned” with “home.” Instead, Cash sang “stoned,” delivering it with added emphasis while gazing into the Ryman balcony where Kristofferson was seated. Cash was, in effect, taking a stand for artistic integrity, putting himself on the line in a way that impressed Kristofferson immensely. “He’s got that combination of [Abraham] Lincoln and total wild man, a very spiritual guy who’s about to explode any moment,” said Kristofferson in 2005. “So the tension, I think, is what made him so powerful onstage.” The tension in “Sunday Morning” is part of why the song has become an ideal reference point for modern country songs. Cash and Kristofferson are both iconic Country Music Hall of Fame members, and the performance itself embraces both the bitter and the sweet. An orchestra — complete with strings, a horn section and a tinkly bell tree — provides a sense of structure, while Cash’s deep, powerful voice lends an ominous weight to the isolation that the song’s character is experiencing. “It’s such a personal insight into one’s life and one’s emptiness,” notes John Carter. “And of course, my dad became known for looking at himself and being able to expose himself and not lose his dignity. This is a forerunner for a song like ‘Hurt’ where my dad could say, ‘This is who I am, and I’m not ashamed of it,’ and then suddenly people relate to it. Dad had that nearly supernatural ability to do that, and there’s not many artists who can.” Meanwhile, the “Sunday Morning” references will likely stop. All three of the songs that call attention to it — “Raise ’Em Up,” “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” and “Real Men Love Jesus” — were written before any of them appeared on the radio, so none of the writers knew that anyone else was mentioning “Sunday Morning.” But now that the phrase is out there, it’s no longer unique. “There’s a record rep we had that called me one Sunday morning drunk from a parking lot, and he was listening to ‘Sunday Morning Coming Down’ over and over again in his car,” says “Real Men” songwriter Brad Warren. “I was like, ‘Man, that song means a lot to some people.’ But I think we’ve reached our limit on how often you can say ‘Sunday Morning Coming Down.’ ” SEPTEMBER 28, 2015 | PAGE 2 OF 19 George Strait surprised America’s Morning Show by appearing in person for a Sept. 25 guest slot instead of doing a phone interview. From left are AMS co-hosts Ashley Figueroa and Chuck Wicks, Strait and AMS co-host Blair Garner. Jerrod Niemann huddled with WDXB Birmingham personnel when he played a show in the city. From left are iHeartMedia/Alabama senior vp of programming Tom Hanrahan, iHeartMedia/Alabama marketing director Lacey Walker, WDXB personality Madison, Niemann and iHeart/Birmingham market manager Ray Quinn. Rick Monroe visited the KTTS Springfield, Mo., morning show during a stop on the Jagermeister Country series of concerts. From left are KTTS morning co-host Summer Stevens, Monroe and KTTS morning co-host Rick Moore. BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE SEPTEMBER 28, 2015 | PAGE 4 OF 19 ON THE CHARTS JIM ASKER [email protected] Alabama’s Southern Drawl Charts Swift Progress; Strait Makes A Country Airplay ‘Run’ Alabama’s Southern Drawl (TGA/BMG), the band’s first album of original songs since 2001’s When It All Goes South, opens at No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart (dated Oct. 10) with 21,000 copies sold in the week ending Sept. 24, according to Nielsen Music. No. 1 belongs to Luke Bryan, whose Kill the Lights (Capitol Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville) rises 2-1 (up 1 percent to 27,000) for a sixth total week on top. Drawl marks Alabama’s best rank and sales sum on Top Country Albums since Songs of Inspiration became the act’s 11th No. 1 on Nov. 11, 2006 with 44,000 first-week copies sold. Alabama’s core members, cousins Randy Owen, Teddy Gentry and Jeff Cook, steer the new album, the group’s 44th on Top Country Albums. The band first charted with 1980’s My Home’s in Alabama, which reached No. 3. Alabama has notched 33 No. 1s on Hot Country Songs, the most among groups; Drawl’s lead ALABAMA single, “Wasn’t Through Lovin’ You Yet,” has not yet reached the chart. Drawl was sold through traditional outlets, as well as Cracker Barrel stores, whose version includes two exclusive songs (“Backwoods Boogie” and “I’ve Got Some Lovin’ “), and QVC. “I’m thankful,” Owen tells Billboard. “It’s amazing happiness on a huge scale. I appreciate everyone’s hard work from management, label, agency and public relations. This means a lot to us, [that] after 40 years people still enjoy Alabama.” ALSO ARRIVING Debuting at No. 3 on Top Country Albums is the self-titled album by Turnpike Troubadours (Bossier City/Thirty Tigers) (19,000). Their lone prior entry, 2012’s Goodbye Normal Street, peaked at No. 14 (8,000). While no single is marked for commercial country radio, Thirty Tigers president David Macias is focusing on the music. “We have been with these guys a long time [since 2010]. We’ve been building their fan base since the beginning, and for this album we wanted to make sure they knew about it. We did aggressive pre-release campaigns in several places, including iTunes.” Also on Top Country Albums, a cappella group Home Free’s Country Evolution (Columbia) bows at No. 4 (10,000). It’s the third and strongest showing on the survey for the group that won the 2013 season of NBC’s The Sing-Off. Crazy Life and Full of Cheer, both released in 2014, reached Nos. 8 and No. 12, respectively. ANOTHER WEEK FOR ‘DAY’ Kenny Chesney’s “Save It for a Rainy Day” (Blue Chair/Columbia Nashville) reigns for a second week, up 6 percent to 50.9 million audience impressions. It’s the first song to hold the top position for at least two weeks since Blake Shelton’s “Sangria” (Warner Music Nashville) (July 11 and July 18). In between, 10 songs spent a week each at No. 1. ‘BEER’ RUN At his Sept. 22 press conference, George Strait announced his 2016 Strait to Vegas concert dates. He also unveiled a brand new single and album, that proved to be almost complete surprise to most in the industry beforehand. Cold Beer Conversation (MCA Nashville) was released Sept. 25, along with the title cut, which soars onto Country Airplay at No. 35 (4.5 million). The bow is Strait’s highest since “Here for a Good Time” rolled in at No. 29 on June 25, 2011. With Strait’s career having brought countless milestones, the launch of the new album and single marks another coup, says MCA vp promotion Katie Dean. “Prior to the press conference, very few people knew the launch plan for the project. It was a true integrated team effort.” SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW Finally, a new feature joins the Billboard Country Update, the Coda, which will close each edition with a noteworthy highlight from more than 70 years of Billboard country chart history. Go to page 19 for the first Coda (based on the Billboard magazine feature), spotlighting the 1990 debut of Garth Brooks’ landmark No Fences album. NOW, ONE WEEKLY EDITION, EVERY MONDAY Country The country music industry’s must-have source for news, charts, analysis and features. UPDATE Sign up for FREE delivery every Monday www.billboard.com/newsletters • Airplay, album sales, track sales and streaming charts, as well as the all-encompassing Hot Country Songs chart. • Expert commentary and insights by Tom Roland, Phyllis Stark and Jim Asker. BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE SEPTEMBER 28, 2015 | PAGE 5 OF 19 Country Airplay AIRPLAY MONITORED BY THIS WEEK LAST WEEK WKS ON CHART TITLE Imprint/LabelArtist THIS WEEK +/– THIS WEEK +/– RANK 1 l 2 l 3 l 4 l 5 l 6 l 7 l 8 l 1 15 SAVE IT FOR A RAINY DAY B lue Chair/Columbia Nashville HH No. 1 (2 weeks) HH Kenny Chesney 50.877 +2.807 8321 441 2 1 2 16 JOHN COUGAR, JOHN DEERE, JOHN 3:16 H it Red/Capitol Nashville 4 23 LOSE MY MIND A tlantic/WMN 6 8 STRIP IT DOWN C apitol Nashville Keith Urban 50.813 +3.489 8579 585 Brett Eldredge 45.922 +1.242 7902 124 3 Luke Bryan 41.206 +4.370 6900 871 4 7 16 ANYTHING GOES R epublic Nashville Florida Georgia Line 34.914 +2.431 6012 378 5 35 BREAK UP WITH HIM R CA Nashville Old Dominion 33.901 +3.956 5515 554 10 9 6 Carrie Underwood 33.571 +3.004 5501 330 11 SMOKE BREAK 1 9/Arista Nashville 8 47 GONNA WANNA TONIGHT D ack Janiels/Columbia Nashville 3 22 BUY ME A BOAT W arner Bros./WAR l 11 l 1 l2 13 l 14 l 15 l 1 l6 17 l 12 25 Chase Rice 32.662 +0.766 5733 129 7 Chris Janson 32.478 -14.364 5853 -2388 6 LET ME SEE YA GIRL W arner Bros./WMN Cole Swindell 31.849 +2.805 5548 430 8 Maddie & Tae 31.347 +0.954 5530 176 9 Dan + Shay 29.386 +2.747 5029 473 12 Blake Shelton 28.449 +2.176 4549 264 13 14 10 36 FLY D ot 13 32 NOTHIN’ LIKE YOU W arner Bros./WAR 14 10 GONNA W arner Bros./WMN 15 18 20 9 GONNA KNOW WE WERE HERE B roken Bow 18 8 TOP OF THE WORLD M cGraw/Big Machine 19 14 18 17 18 REAL LIFE R CA Nashville l 20 l 21 l 2 l2 23 l 2 l4 25 l 26 l 27 l 2 l8 29 l 30 l 21 26 STAY A LITTLE LONGER E MI Nashville 23 34 ALREADY CALLIN’ YOU MINE S toney Creek 22 37 RUN AWAY WITH YOU B $R/New Revolution 24 13 DIBS B lack River 25 31 19 PLAYS 11 9 10 AUDIENCE (IN MILLIONS) Chris Young 24.495 +2.990 4124 457 Jason Aldean 21.423 +3.735 3760 601 17 Tim McGraw 20.851 +1.002 3776 189 16 BURNING HOUSE A rista NashvilleCam 20.169 +1.009 3834 166 15 19 I’M COMIN’ OVER R CA Nashville HH Airpower HH Jake Owen 16.977 -2.908 3204 -403 Brothers Osborne 15.705 +0.580 3061 241 21 Parmalee 15.246 +1.144 3182 196 20 Big & Rich 15.212 +0.789 3349 127 18 Kelsea Ballerini 12.848 +1.143 2686 235 22 I LOVE THIS LIFE R eviverLoCash 11.704 +0.971 2253 238 24 23 26 31 I GOT THE BOY E lektra Nashville/WAR 27 19 21 A tlantic/WMN 32 4 COUNTRY NATION A rista Nashville 28 7 31 17 WE WENT S toney Creek 30 24 LITTLE BIT OF YOU R ed Bow 29 13 (THIS AIN’T NO) DRUNK DIAL R epublic Nashville LIVE FOREVER R epublic Nashville HH Airpower HH HH Breaker HH Jana Kramer 11.223 +0.942 2454 163 Hunter Hayes 9.877 +1.020 2060 71 25 Brad Paisley 7.462 +2.532 1373 401 29 The Band Perry 6.464 +0.398 1493 154 28 Randy Houser 6.217 +1.094 1662 230 26 Chase Bryant 6.051 +0.320 1587 122 27 A Thousand Horses 5.854 +0.076 1253 63 31 BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE THIS WEEK LAST WEEK WKS ON CHART 31 l 32 l 3 l3 34 l 35 l 3 l6 37 l 38 l 44 4 34 14 Country Airplay TITLE Imprint/LabelArtist +/– RANK Sam Hunt 5.733 +3.168 971 509 36 Dierks Bentley 5.046 +0.402 1182 56 33 Darius Rucker 4.922 +0.082 1197 7 32 Lee Brice 4.557 +0.473 1366 -10 30 COLD BEER CONVERSATION M CA NashvilleHH Hot Shot Debut/Breaker/Most Increased Audience HHGeorge Strait 4.450 +4.450 585 585 41 34 BREAK UP IN A SMALL TOWN M CA Nashville HH Breaker/Most Added HH RISER C apitol Nashville 18 SOUTHERN STYLE C apitol Nashville 37 16 THAT DON’T SOUND LIKE YOU C urb 36 10 BLUE BANDANA S ea Gayle/Arista Nashville Jerrod Niemann 4.256 +0.003 1110 55 40 2 I LIKE THE SOUND OF THAT B ig Machine Rascal Flatts 4.017 +0.768 955 244 37 39 17 DRINKIN’ TOWN WITH A FOOTBALL PROBLEM M ercury Billy Currington 3.616 +0.305 845 56 39 38 10 YUP M ercury l 41 l 4 l2 43 l 14 WHITE LIGHTNING B ig Machine 41 16 50 3 44 43 10 AIN’T NO TRUCKS IN TEXAS N ash Icon/Valory 45 l 4 l6 47 l 48 l 46 12 48 5 49 3 BOY & A GIRL THING C urb 51 3 49 45 10 l 51 l 52 l 53 l 54 l 55 l 5 l6 57 l 5 l8 59 l 47 9 60 PLAYS THIS WEEK 42 50 AUDIENCE (IN MILLIONS) +/– 39 40 AIRPLAY MONITORED BY THIS WEEK 33 NEW SEPTEMBER 28, 2015 | PAGE 6 OF 19 Easton Corbin 3.156 -0.246 641 -14 40 The Cadillac Three 2.981 +0.224 930 1 38 Thomas Rhett 2.969 +2.247 440 355 51 DIE A HAPPY MAN V alory NEW Craig Campbell 2.951 +0.163 976 26 35 Zac Brown Band 2.892 +1.125 552 271 45 Ronnie Dunn 2.493 -0.158 509 -20 47 BACKROAD SONG W heelhouse Granger Smith 2.476 +0.241 266 48 - PAIN KILLER C apitol Nashville Little Big Town 2.287 +0.481 563 74 44 Mo Pitney 2.155 +0.350 402 13 52 46 TOMORROW TONIGHT R ed Bow BEAUTIFUL DRUG J ohn Varvatos/Republic/BMLG/Southern Ground Michael Ray 2.107 +0.342 527 144 Andy Grammer Duet With Eli Young Band 2.031 -0.389 231 -61 - David Nail 1.949 +0.063 573 17 43 58 REAL MEN LOVE JESUS A tlantic/WEA HONEY, I’M GOOD. S -Curve/Valory NIGHT’S ON FIRE M CA Nashville 52 6 UNTIL THEY DON’T LOVE YOU S tarstruck/Nash Icon/ValoryReba 1.851 +0.168 314 25 55 4 STONE COLD SOBER V alory Brantley Gilbert 1.730 +0.469 362 -3 55 54 6 HOLE IN A BOTTLE M ercury Canaan Smith 1.496 +0.193 472 43 49 Eric Church 1.490 +0.392 178 57 - Tyler Farr 1.475 +0.439 496 79 48 Cassadee Pope 1.406 +0.193 351 27 56 Scotty McCreery 1.338 +0.213 350 23 57 Clare Dunn 1.305 -0.019 467 10 50 59 2 ROLLER COASTER RIDE E MI Nashville 60 5 BETTER IN BOOTS C olumbia Nashville 56 4 I AM INVINCIBLE R epublic Nashville 58 2 SOUTHERN BELLE 1 9/Interscope/Mercury 53 11 MOVE ON M CA Nashville 57 8 BAD FOR YOU B ig Machine NEW I MET A GIRL W arner Bros./WMN Waterloo Revival 1.221 +0.024 574 31 42 William Michael Morgan 0.999 -0.022 296 -9 59 GOING FOR ADDS 10/5 AMBER HAYES Hero’s Heart AOK/GMV Nashville ERIC PASLAY High Class EMI Nashville SWINDLE: WMN 10 COLE SWINDELL Let Me See Ya Girl The fourth single from Cole Swindell’s debut album enters the Country Airplay top 10 (12-10) with a 10 percent increase to 31.8 million audience impressions. On Hot Country Songs, it steps 15-14 (up 6 percent). 10/12 CURTIS BRALY FEAT. KIMBERLY CALDWELL Sooner Or Later Studio Gold Nashville 10/19 GEORGE STRAIT Cold Beer Conversation MCA Nashville CHRIS JANSON Power Of Positive Drinkin’ Warner Bros./WAR GRANGER SMITH Backroad Song Wheelhouse DYLAN SCOTT Crazy Over Me Curb PRESLEY & TAYLOR While You Were Gone SMG Nashville LINDSAY ELL By The Way Stoney Creek TYLER DIAL Damn Good Time Room To Run/WingHorse BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE SEPTEMBER 28, 2015 | PAGE 7 OF 19 Country Airplay MOST ADDED® AIRPLAY MONITORED BY NEW AND ACTIVE TITLE Imprint/LabelArtist ADDS 41 41 24 19 17 17 14 10 9 8 BREAK UP IN A SMALL TOWN M CA Nashville Sam Hunt COLD BEER CONVERSATION M CA Nashville George Strait COUNTRY NATION A rista Nashville Brad Paisley DIE A HAPPY MAN V alory Thomas Rhett STAY A LITTLE LONGER E MI Nashville Brothers Osborne BEAUTIFUL DRUG V arvatos/Southern Ground/BMLG/Republic Zac Brown Band I’M COMIN’ OVER R CA Nashville Chris Young GONNA KNOW WE WERE HERE B roken Bow Jason Aldean REAL MEN LOVE JESUS A tlantic/WEA Michael Ray I LIKE THE SOUND OF THAT B ig Machine Rascal Flatts 0.983 26 6 Dustin Lynch 0.558 7 6 Love And Theft 0.548 18 0 C raig Morgan 0.537 9 4 J oe Nichols 0.411 10 5 Canaan Smith 0.363 2 0 MIND READER B roken Bow WHISKEY ON MY BREATH T hirty Tigers WHEN I’M GONE B lack River FREAKS LIKE ME R ed Bow STUCK M ercury Nashville ADDS Jon Pardi HEAD OVER BOOTS C apitol Nashville RECURRENTS MOST INCREASED AUDIENCE GAIN TITLE Imprint/LabelArtist (IN MIILIONS) COLD BEER CONVERSATION M CA Nashville George Strait STRIP IT DOWN C apitol Nashville Luke Bryan BREAK UP WITH HIM R CA Nashville Old Dominion GONNA KNOW WE WERE HERE B roken Bow Jason Aldean JOHN COUGAR, JOHN DEERE, JOHN 3:16 H it Red/Capitol Nashville Keith Urban BREAK UP IN A SMALL TOWN M CA Nashville S am Hunt SMOKE BREAK 1 9/Arista Nashville Carrie Underwood I’M COMIN’ OVER R CA Nashville Chris Young SAVE IT FOR A RAINY DAY B lue Chair/Columbia Nashville K enny Chesney LET ME SEE YA GIRL W arner Bros./WMN Cole Swindell TOTAL TOTAL TITLE Imprint/LabelArtist AUDIENCE STATIONS +4.450 +4.370 +3.956 +3.735 +3.489 +3.168 +3.005 +2.990 +2.807 +2.805 THIS WEEK TITLE Imprint/LabelArtist TOTAL AUD. (IN MILLIONS) 1 CRASH AND BURN V alory Thomas Rhett 28.356 2 HOUSE PARTY M CA NashvilleSam Hunt 25.203 3 HELL OF A NIGHT B roken BowDustin Lynch 19.862 4 LONG STRETCH OF LOVE C apitol NashvilleLady Antebellum 19.858 5 KISS YOU IN THE MORNING A tlantic/WEA Michael Ray 17.316 6 YOUNG & CRAZY W arner Bros./WARFrankie Ballard 16.097 7 TONIGHT LOOKS GOOD ON YOU B roken BowJason Aldean 14.885 8 HOMEGROWN J ohn Varvatos/Republic/BMLG/Southern GroundZac Brown Band 14.627 9 SANGRIA W arner Bros./WMNBlake Shelton 14.609 10 LOVE YOU LIKE THAT Mercury Canaan Smith 14.370 BILLBOARD COUNTRY BOXSCORE MOST INCREASED PLAYS TITLE Imprint/LabelArtist GAIN STRIP IT DOWN C apitol Nashville Luke Bryan GONNA KNOW WE WERE HERE B roken Bow Jason Aldean JOHN COUGAR, JOHN DEERE, JOHN 3:16 H it Red/Capitol Nashville Keith Urban COLD BEER CONVERSATION M CA Nashville George Strait BREAK UP WITH HIM R CA Nashville Old Dominion BREAK UP IN A SMALL TOWN M CA Nashville Sam Hunt NOTHIN’ LIKE YOU W arner Bros./WAR Dan + Shay I’M COMIN’ OVER R CA Nashville Chris Young SAVE IT FOR A RAINY DAY B lue Chair/Columbia Nashville Kenny Chesney LET ME SEE YA GIRL W arner Bros./WMN Cole Swindell +871 +601 +585 +585 +554 +509 +473 +457 +441 +430 Gross Artist Attendance $796,651 $65.50, $25.50 $790,511 $151, $50.50 $778,225 $59.75, $25 $756,562 $79, $35 $749,465 $151, $50.50 JASON ALDEAN Klipsch Music Center, Noblesville, Ind./Aug. 21 SHANIA TWAIN Staples Center, Los Angeles/Aug. 20 FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE XFINITY Theatre, Hartford/Sept. 11 KENNY CHESNEY Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland/July 9 SHANIA TWAIN Honda Center, Anaheim/Aug. 19 24,417 sellout 8,198 9,930 24,031 sellout 12,151 13,300 7,307 9,236 Ticket Price(s) Venue/Date(s) Capacity Promoter(s) LIVE NATION AEG LIVE LIVE NATION THE MESSINA GROUP/AEG LIVE AEG LIVE Reported worldwide boxscore figures for Country artists. Boxscore figures should be submitted to Bob Allen by phone (615-891-1976), fax (615-891-2054) or email ([email protected]). TEXAS REGIONAL RADIO REPORT WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 27, 2015 THIS WEEK LAST WKS ON WEEK CHART TITLE (Label)ARTIST 1 l 2 l 3 l 4 l 5 l 6 l 13 10 LADY BUG (Independent) 7 5 22 OLD WITH YOU ( Independent) 8 l 9 l 10 l 11 17 TEASIN’ ME (Hammer Down) 14 10 LOSER ( Almost Country) 15 11 PHONE CALLS (BGM) TW SPINS SPINS +/– THIS WEEK LAST WKS ON WEEK CHART TITLE (Label)ARTIST 2 15 REAL COOL HAND (No Big Deal) HH 1 week at 1 HH Reckless Kelly 1746 183 11 1 25 LIVIN’ THE GOOD LIFE (RROC) 3 13 DOWN HERE (Independent) Turnpike Troubadours 1619 103 12 l 16 14 YOU DREAM I’LL DRIVE (Independent) 8 18 LIFE COMES AT YOU FAST ( Independent) Bart Crow Band 1476 137 13 12 17 WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND ( Independent) 6 19 SMILE THAT SMILE ( Independent) Curtis Grimes 1466 29 14 l 17 14 GIRLS I DATE ( Independent) 9 10 DAMN THIS OL’ HONKY TONK DREAM (KF) Kevin Fowler & Deryl Dodd 1425 98 15 7 20 WHILE I WAS AWAY (Independent) 199 16 4 22 EASY ( Independent) Cory Morrow 1352 -108 17 l 18 l 18 20 DON’T OWN THE RIGHT (Boo Clap/Thirty Tigers) 19 15 UNDONE ( Independent) Randy Rogers & Wade Bowen 1376 Miles Williams 1337 26 Casey Donahew Band 1278 115 19 10 27 SHELTER FROM THE RAIN (Independent) TJ Broscoff 1244 127 20 l 20 14 I DON’T (Winding Road) TW SPINS SPINS +/– Matt Kimbrow 1220 -586 Josh Grider 1187 90 Kyle Park 1174 -36 Mike Ryan 1156 87 Pat Green 1137 -254 Cody Canada & The Departed 1131 -330 Uncle Lucius 1066 19 Statesboro Revue 1060 55 Whiskey Myers 1038 -284 Saints Eleven 1016 Texas Regional Radio Report Top 100 is compiled from weekly online playlist reports from 86 radio stations located in Texas and surrounding states, including reports from specialty shows, internet and satellite radio outlets. Songs are ranked by total plays. For tracking, complete chart methodology and more information, visit www.texasregionalradio.com, or contact Dave Smith at 817-283-7984. Copyright 2015, Texas Regional Radio Report 18 BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE SEPTEMBER 28, 2015 | PAGE 8 OF 19 NASHVILLE & NATIONAL TOM ROLAND A tireless supporter of St. Jude, Eaves spearheaded numerous creative fund raising initiatives involving the artists she worked with and their fans. Those campaigns raised tens of thousands of dollars for the hospital. Lonestar reportedly dedicated its song “Just the Rain” to Eaves during the band’s Sept. 25 concert in Concord, N.C. Most of her other star clients took to social media to express their sorrow. Eaves is survived by husband Tom Harding and teenage son Cameron Harding. A celebration of her life is being planned. —Phyllis Stark MOVERS & SHAKERS Blake Shelton made a Sept. 23 stop at iHeartMedia’s The Bobby Bones Show during several packed days of promotion in Nashville for the Oct. 23 release Reloaded: 20 #1 Hits. He’s pictured with Bones (right). SHARON EAVES REMEMBERED Fan Clubhouse CEO Sharon Eaves, who spent 25 years handling fan-services functions for the likes of Brad Paisley, Gary Allan and Scotty McCreery, died Sept. 25 from a sudden illness. Eaves’ company, founded in 1990, provides professional fan club management, merchandise fulfillment, social media expertise, e-marketing campaigns and database management services for numerous artists. Separately, Eaves also handled artist management duties for some of her clients, including Richie McDonald and Bryan White. A 15-year member of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital’s music industry advisory council, Eaves collapsed during that group’s meeting at a Nashville hotel Friday morning and could not be revived. She was believed to have been 58. Wheelhouse artist Granger Smith visited WIL St. Louis as he conducted a radio promotion tour behind his label debut, “Backroad Song.” From left are Wheelhouse vp promotion Teddi Bonadies, WIL personality Jim Day, Smith, WIL assistant PD/music director Danny Montana, WIL talent Judi Diamond, Wheelhouse Midwest/Southwest regional Jennifer Shaffer and WIL personality Bo Matthews. The CW has extended its agreement with iHeartMedia to air the annual iHeartRadio Music Festival as a TV special. Highlights from 2015’s multigenre lineup, which included country acts Kenny Chesney and Blake Shelton, air on the CW Sept. 29-30 … Cox Media hired Laurissa Phillips as chief creative officer/ GM for its new website RareCountry.com. Phillips spent the last two years as editorial consultant/producer for ABC’s In the Spotlight: All Access Nashville … Katie Toupal is joining KZPK St. Cloud, Minn., in mornings, leaving a vacancy on the morning squad at KBLL Helena, Mt. Interested applicants can send packages to Cherry Creek/Helena operations manager Dale Desmond here … Tim “JR” Hayes joined KORA Bryan-College Station, Texas, as music director/afternoon-drive host, replacing Colt Gresham, who left broadcasting for a teaching position. Hayes was most recently afternoon talent/assistant production director for KLLL Lubbock, Texas. Reach him here … Alpha Media/ Fredericksburg, Va., promoted Ralph Salierno to market manager from director of sales. The cluster’s outlets include country WFLS … KSTZ HD-2 Des Moines, Iowa, launched Sept. 24 as a classic-country station, KCCI-TV Des Moines reported … Forever Media is purchasing two stations in York, Pa., including country WGTY, from Times and News Publishing Company, according to The Hanover (Pa.) Evening Sun. No personnel changes are expected … CBS Radio/Minneapolis-St. Paul market manager Mick Anselmo will retire at the end of the year, InsideRadio.com reported. The three-station cluster includes country KMNB … Marc Radio/Gainesville, Fla., tapped Dave Cobb as GM, according to RadioInfo.com. Among the seven stations in his jurisdiction are classic country WDVH. Cobb was most recently vp strategic planning for media company Local Voice … Also from RadioInfo.com: iHeartMedia/ Louisville (Ky.) market president Bill Gentry left his position. The eight-station cluster includes country WAMZ. ’ROUND THE ROW Republic Nashville promoted Phoenix-based Lois Lewis to senior director of regional promotion from director. Reach her here … Thirty Tigers added Traci Gholson as regional director of promotion, based in Richmond, Va. She was formerly East Coast manager of promotion for Quarterback. Reach her here … Nashville-based Brian Mansfield joins Shore Fire Media as content director on Oct. 13, developing social-media strategies and material for the company’s roster, which LEWIS MANSFIELD includes multiple genres and non-music clients. He was senior music writer for USA Today … Kay Waggoner has joined Absolute Publicity as senior publicist … Four songwriters inked publishing deals, including Neil Thrasher (“How Country Feels,” “Night Train”), who re-signed with peermusic; Aaron Scherz (“Girl in a Country Song”), who inked with Live Write Play; singer/songwriter Alysa Vanderheym, who joined Major Bob; and Adam Hambrick, signed to ole and to Jeremy Stover’s Red Creative Group … The Mountain Fever label signed singer-songwriter Irene Kelley … Lone Star PR has added Cameran Nelson and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo to its roster … Leadership Music will recognize Reba McEntire, former Country Music Association executive director Jo Walker-Meador and Opry Entertainment Group president Steve Buchanan during the annual Dale Franklin Awards on Nov. 16 in Nashville … The historic RCA Studio A complex will hold an open house from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Oct. 3. BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE SEPTEMBER 28, 2015 | PAGE 9 OF 19 NASHVILLE & NATIONAL TOM ROLAND ON THIS DATE IN COUNTRY MUSIC Odd how retirement works in the country music business. Kenny Rogers announced Sept. 25 that he will retire from the road following his 2016 world tour. The decision was revealed publicly at a most ironic time. George Strait, who retired from touring a year ago, released a new album, Cold Beer Conversation, on Sept. 25 with only three days’ notice — the same time he announced plans to play a minimum of four shows in Las Vegas in 2016. Meanwhile, Garth Brooks — who returned to the road in 2014 after retiring from touring for more than a decade to raise his daughters — is currently a Country Music Association nominee for entertainer of the year. Sept. 28 2010 — BNA releases the Kenny Chesney album Hemingway’s Whiskey. Surprises abounded on the concert stage during the last week. Kacey Musgraves’ Sept. 23 show at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium included a walk-on by unannounced guest Sheryl Crow during “If It Makes You Happy.” Taylor Swift’s two-night stand at the ROGERS Bridgestone Arena included drop-ins by Kelsea Ballerini (“Love Me Like You Mean It”), Steven Tyler (“I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”), Alison Krauss (“When You Say Nothing at All”), Leona Lewis (“Bleeding Love”) and Mick Jagger (“Satisfaction”). And Florida Georgia Line’s performance in St. Louis on Sept. 26 closed with a guest shot by Nelly on “Cruise.” Finally, Blake Shelton had a handful of Warner Music Nashville labelmates in the wings during his free Sept. 23 appearance on Music Row, including Hunter Hayes, Brett Eldredge and Dan + Shay’s Dan Smyers. Oct. 1 2011 — “Live from New York”: Lady Antebellum sings “We Owned the Night” and “Just a Kiss” on NBC’s Saturday Night Live. 2005 — Dierks Bentley is inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, performing “Come a Little Closer” after being introduced by Marty Stuart. Mac Davis will be recognized as a BMI Icon during the performing rights organization’s annual country awards on Nov. 3 in Nashville. In addition to his own successes as an artist, he wrote such notable titles as Elvis Presley’s “In the Ghetto,” The First Edition’s “Something’s Burning” and Bobby Goldsboro’s “Watching Scotty Grow.” Davis joins such BMI Icon company as Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, Kris Kristofferson and Tom T. Hall. Pandora puts the focus on women in country with a free concert for customers on Oct. 14 at the Altman Building in New York. The event features Martina McBride, Cassadee Pope and RaeLynn, and brings attention to the T.J. Martell Foundation and breast cancer research. • Sept. 29 2014 — Arista releases Carrie Underwood’s “Something in the Water” to radio. Sept. 30 1990 — Oak Ridge Boys sing the national anthem before the last game ever played at the UNDERWOOD Chicago White Sox’s original Comiskey Park. The Sox edge the Seattle Mariners, 2-1. 1985 — Steve Earle records “Guitar Town” at Nashville’s Sound Stage. • JEREMY COWART • • • • Oct. 2 2012 — Taylor Swift spends the day shooting the “Begin Again” video in Paris. • Oct. 3 1995 — Dwight Yoakam halts his rehearsal for the Country Music Association Awards at the Grand Ole Opry House to watch the verdict in the O.J. Simpson trial be handed down on TV. Simpson is found not guilty, and Yoakam goes back to work. 1945 — Ten-year-old Elvis Presley sings in public for the first time at a talent contest, taking second place with “Old Shep.” He wins $5. • • Oct. 4 2000 — Dixie Chicks win four honors at the 34th annual Country Music Association Awards at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House, including entertainer of the tear; vocal group; album, for Fly; and music video, for “Goodbye Earl.” 1975 — Willie Nelson picks up his first No. 1 single as an artist on the Billboard country chart with “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.” • • Source: RolandNote.com, the Ultimate Country Music Database GOOD WORKS They’re raising money for a good cause, and it’s a safe bet they won’t doctor the results. The Frontmen of Country — three lead singers who front hit-making bands — will team with blues artist Keb’ Mo’ on Nov. 10 for Healing Hands Helping Heroes, an event that aids registered nurses and veterans. The Frontmen include Lonestar vocalist Richie McDonald, Little Texas co-founder Tim Rushlow and Restless Heart lead Larry Stewart, and they’ll run through a number of their familiar titles at the Rosewall in Nashville. Eight-seat tables are $3,800, and four-seaters are $1,900. Proceeds go to the Middle Tennessee chapter of PeriOperative Registered Nurses and Reboot Combat Recovery. Go here for details. RICK DIAMOND/GETTY IMAGES ROGERS: PIPER FERGUSON MUSIC NOTES TWEET OF THE WEEK Ever contemplate how a 1960s TV series would play in the 21st century? Southern comedian Larry the Cable Guy (@GitRDoneLarry) has: “If Art Linkletter were still alive I wonder if he’d have a show called ‘kids tweet, Instagram, email, blog and FaceTime the darnedest things’” To follow BCU, go to Twitter.com/bbcountryupdate. CMT Instant Jam: Hunter Hayes debuted Sept. 26. From left at the taping in Lexington, Ky., are Switched On Entertainment executive producer John Hamlin, CMT senior vp music strategy and talent Leslie Fram, Hayes and CMT vp music and event production Margaret Comeaux. BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE SEPTEMBER 28, 2015 | PAGE 10 OF 19 Hot Country Songs THIS WEEK 1 l 2 l 3 1 TWO WEEKS WKS ON TITLE AGO CHART PRODUCER (SONGWRITER) 5 10 STRIP IT DOWN J.STEVENS,J.STEVENS (L.BRYAN,J.M.NITE,R.COPPERMAN) 2 4 4 4 l 5 l 6 1 5 6 7 7 3 7 2 6 8 l 9 l 10 11 l 12 l 13 l 14 l 15 l 16 l 17 l 18 19 l 20 l 21 22 l 23 24 l 25 l ALAINA: JOSEPH LLANES; ALDEAN: JIM WRIGHT LAST WEEK 3 12 10 13 12 8 8 11 13 11 14 17 40 23 14 23 25 6 29 16 22 20 HOUSE PARTY LOSE MY MIND R. COPPERMAN,B.ELDREDGE (B.ELDREDGE,H.MORGAN,R.COPPERMAN,B.BURTON,T.D.CALLAWAY,G.F.REVERBERI,G.P.REVERBERI) SAVE IT FOR A RAINY DAY BUY ME A BOAT C.JANSON,C.DUBOIS,B.ANDERSON (C.JANSON,C.DUBOIS) CRASH AND BURN D.HUFF,J.FRASURE (J.FRASURE,C.STAPLETON) J.JOYCE (C.UNDERWOOD,C. DESTEFANO,H.LINDSEY) S.MCANALLY (M.RAMSEY,T. ROSEN,B.TURSI,G.SPRUNG,W.SELLERS) BURNING HOUSE J.BHASKER,T.JOHNSON (C.OCHS,T.JOHNSON,J.BHASKER) ANYTHING GOES J.MOI (F.MCTEIGUE,C.G.TOMPKINS,C.WISEMAN) I’M COMIN’ OVER C.CROWDER,C.YOUNG (C.YOUNG,C.CROWDER,J.HOGE) LET ME SEE YA GIRL 24 16 26 C. DESTEFANO (D.SMYERS,S.MOONEY,A.GORLEY,C. DESTEFANO) 17 17 38 C. DESTEFANO (S.MCANALLY,J.M.NITE,J.ROBBINS) 18 21 9 19 21 22 20 24 23 27 30 20 22 25 18 24 23 31 30 1 18 25 8 23 32 14 9 24 M.CARTER (C.SWINDELL,M.CARTER,J.STEVENS) NOTHIN’ LIKE YOU GONNA WANNA TONIGHT GONNA DIE A HAPPY MAN D.HUFF,J.FRASURE (THOMAS RHETT,S.DOUGLAS,J.SPARGUR) 2 M CA NASHVILLE Brett Eldredge A TLANTIC/WMN Kenny Chesney 1 5 Chris Janson W ARNER BROS./WAR 0 2 Thomas Rhett V ALORY 0 2 Carrie Underwood 19/ARISTA NASHVILLE Old Dominion R CA NASHVILLE Cam A RISTA NASHVILLE Florida Georgia Line R EPUBLIC NASHVILLE Chris Young R CA NASHVILLE Cole Swindell W ARNER BROS./WMN Dan + Shay W ARNER BROS./WAR Chase Rice 5 9 8 0 HH Hot Shot Debut HH S.MCANALLY,R. COPPERMAN (R.COPPERMAN,A.GORLEY,S.MCANALLY,J.OSBORNE) STAY A LITTLE LONGER J.JOYCE (J. OSBORNE,T.J. OSBORNE,S.MCANALLY) TOP OF THE WORLD B.GALLIMORE,T.MCGRAW (J.ROBBINS,J.M.NITE,J.OSBORNE) LOVING YOU EASY 13 14 15 Blake Shelton 16 Thomas Rhett V ALORY Jake Owen R CA NASHVILLE Brothers Osborne E MI NASHVILLE Tim McGraw M CGRAW/BIG MACHINE Zac Brown Band 17 17 19 20 4 J OHN VARVATOS/REPUBLIC/BMLG/SOUTHERN GROUND Z.BROWN (Z.BROWN,N.MOON,A.ANDERSON) I GOT THE BOY Jana Kramer 22 Lady Antebellum C APITOL NASHVILLE Jason Aldean B ROKEN BOW Sam Hunt M CA NASHVILLE 23 E LEKTRA NASHVILLE/WAR S.HENDRICKS (T.NICHOLS,C.HARRINGTON,J.L.SPEARS) LONG STRETCH OF LOVE N.CHAPMAN,LADY ANTEBELLUM (D.HAYWOOD,C.KELLEY,H.SCOTT,J.KEAR) GONNA KNOW WE WERE HERE M.KNOX (B.BEAVERS,BRETT JAMES) BREAK UP IN A SMALL TOWN Z.CROWELL,S.MCANALLY (S.HUNT,Z.CROWELL,S.MCANALLY) 11 8 W ARNER BROS./WMN REAL LIFE 1 4 D ACK JANIELS/COLUMBIA NASHVILLE S.HENDRICKS (L.LAIRD,C.WISEMAN) 24 JASON ALDEAN Gonna Know We Were Here HH Digital Gainer HH BREAK UP WITH HIM 15 1 B LUE CHAIR/COLUMBIA NASHVILLE B.CANNON,K.CHESNEY (A.DORFF,M.RAMSEY,B.TURSI) PEAK POSITION Keith Urban C APITOL NASHVILLE Sam Hunt Z.CROWELL,S.MCANALLY (S.HUNT,Z.CROWELL,J.FLOWERS) SMOKE BREAK CERTIFIED Luke Bryan H IT RED/CAPITOL NASHVILLE D.HUFF,K.URBAN (S.MCANALLY,R.COPPERMAN,J.OSBORNE) 16 NEW Artist IMPRINT / PROMOTION LABEL HH No. 1 (2 weeks)/Airplay Gainer HH JOHN COUGAR, JOHN DEERE, JOHN 3:16 15 SALES, AIRPLAY & STREAMING DATA COMPILED BY 12 0 25 39 In its 10th week on Hot Country Songs, the fourth single from Old Boots, New Dirt kicks 27-24, up by 22 percent in overall activity. It’s bolstered by a 21 percent increase on Country Airplay (20-15) to 21.4 million in audience. LAUREN ALAINA Next Boyfriend The first single from her Oct. 2 self-titled EP debuts at No. 39 on Hot Country Songs and No. 22 on Country Digital Songs (10,000 downloads sold). She last graced Hot Country Songs with “Barefoot and Buckwild” (No. 34) in 2013. BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE SEPTEMBER 28, 2015 | PAGE 11 OF 19 SALES, AIRPLAY & STREAMING DATA COMPILED BY THIS WEEK LAST WEEK 26 l 25 27 28 l 29 l 30 l 31 l 32 l 33 l 34 l 35 l 36 l 37 38 l 39 l 40 l 41 42 l 43 l 44 l 45 l 46 l 47 l 48 l 49 l 50 l 26 TWO WEEKS WKS ON TITLE AGO CHART PRODUCER (SONGWRITER) DIBS 26 7 27 28 7 28 29 19 31 32 19 33 37 6 34 38 17 35 40 13 42 44 4 37 32 43 35 42 33 47 NEW 40 41 44 49 47 46 45 48 39 — NEW 48 Brad Paisley A RISTA NASHVILLE Dierks Bentley C APITOL NASHVILLE Chase Bryant R ED BOW Miranda Lambert Featuring Little Big Town R CA NASHVILLE Darius Rucker C APITOL NASHVILLE Lauren Alaina 19/INTERSCOPE/MERCURY A Thousand Horses R EPUBLIC NASHVILLE Jerrod Niemann S EA GAYLE/ARISTA NASHVILLE The Cadillac Three B IG MACHINE Thomas Rhett V ALORY Billy Currington M ERCURY Rascal Flatts B IG MACHINE Easton Corbin M ERCURY George Strait M CA NASHVILLE Zac Brown Band J OHN VARVATOS/REPUBLIC/BMLG/SOUTHERN GROUND Joe Nichols R ED BOW Sam Hunt M CA NASHVILLE 34 — RE-ENTRY NV (M.THOMAS,S.THOMAS,B.KNOX,P.O’DONNELL,W.KIRBY) RUN AWAY WITH YOU J.RICH,B.KENNY (J.D.RICH,MICHAEL RAY) 21 D.HUFF,H.HAYES (D.DAVIDSON,K.LOVELACE,A.GORLEY,H.HAYES) I LOVE THIS LIFE L.RIMES,P.BRUST,C.LUCAS (D.MYRICK,C.JANSON,C.LUCAS,P.BRUST) LIVE FOREVER REDONE,D.HUFF (N.KHAYAT,C.J.HARRIS, JR.,K.PERRY,R.PERRY,N.PERRY,J.ANDREWS,K.O.KJELLHOLM) WE WENT D.GEORGE (J.WILSON,M.ROGERS,J.KING) THAT DON’T SOUND LIKE YOU J.STONE,L.BRICE (L.BRICE,R.AKINS,A.GORLEY) RISER 13 R. COPPERMAN (S.MOAKLER,T.MEADOWS) LITTLE BIT OF YOU 5 D.GEORGE,C.BRYANT (C.BRYANT,D.GEORGE,A.GORLEY) SMOKIN’ AND DRINKIN’ 14 F.LIDDELL,C.AINLAY,G.WORF (N.HEMBY,L.LAIRD,S.MCANALLY) SOUTHERN STYLE 6 F.ROGERS (D.RUCKER,R.RUTHERFORD,T.JAMES) NEXT BOYFRIEND 1 BUSBEE (L.ALAINA,E.WEISBAND,M.MCVANEY) 5 (THIS AIN’T NO) DRUNK DIAL 5 BLUE BANDANA D.COBB (M.HOBBY,C.CROWDER,N.MASON,C.DODDS) J.L.SLOAS,J.L.NIEMANN (B.GOLDSMITH,C.J. SOLAR,A.S.WILLS) WHITE LIGHTNING 11 D.HUFF,J.NIEBANK (J.JOHNSTON) T-SHIRT 3 D.HUFF,J.FRASURE (A.GORLEY,L.LAIRD,S.MCANALLY) DRINKIN’ TOWN WITH A FOOTBALL PROBLEM 3 D.HUFF (A.HENNINGSEN,B.HENNINGSEN,C.HENNINGSEN,E.MCDAVID ELKINS,V.A.OLIVAREZ) I LIKE THE SOUND OF THAT 1 J.DEMARCUS,RASCAL FLATTS (M.TRAINOR,J.FRASURE,S.MOONEY) YUP 2 C.CHAMBERLAIN (S.MINOR,P.O’DONNELL,W.KIRBY) LET IT GO 5 C.AINLAY,G.STRAIT (G.STRAIT,B.STRAIT,K.GATTIS) BEAUTIFUL DRUG 2 NEW 1 RE-ENTRY 17 HH Streaming Gainer HH COUNTRY NATION L.WOOTEN,B.PAISLEY (B.PAISLEY,C.DUBOIS,K.LOVELACE) Z.BROWN (Z.BROWN,N.MOON) FREAKS LIKE ME M.J.CONES (L.HUTTON,M.CRISWELL,J.THOMPSON) SPEAKERS Z.CROWELL,S.MCANALLY (S.HUNT,B.HOOD,K.SACKLEY) PEAK POSITION 25 ALREADY CALLIN’ YOU MINE 25 CERTIFIED Kelsea Ballerini B LACK RIVER Parmalee S TONEY CREEK Big & Rich B $R/NEW REVOLUTION Hunter Hayes A TLANTIC/WMN LoCash R EVIVER The Band Perry R EPUBLIC NASHVILLE Randy Houser S TONEY CREEK Lee Brice C URB F.G.WHITEHEAD,J.MASSEY (K.BALLERINI,J.KERR,R.GRIFFIN,J.DUKE) 29 36 Artist IMPRINT / PROMOTION LABEL 26 28 28 30 31 32 33 35 36 32 38 39 40 41 42 39 44 45 46 29 45 49 40 The week’s most popular country songs, ranked by radio airplay audience impressions as measured by Nielsen Music, sales data as compiled by Nielsen Music and streaming activity data from online music sources tracked by Nielsen Music. Descending titles below No. 25 are moved to recurrent after 20 weeks. COUNTRY MARKET WATCH A Weekly National Music Sales Report YEAR-TO-DATE Year-Over-Year Album Sales ’14 ’15 ’15 ’13 21.3 million 19.6 million DIGITAL TRACKS SALES ’14 Weekly Unit’14 Sales 103.5 million 000.0 million 86.6 million For week ending September 24, 2015. Figures are rounded. Compiled from a national sample of retail store and rack sales reports collected and provided by Nielsen Music. Overall Unit Sales ALBUMS DIGITAL ALBUMS* DIGITAL TRACKS This Week 420,000 139,000 1,670,000 Last Week 419,000 145,000 1,717,000 0.2% -4.1% -2.7% 555,000 170,000 2,233,000 -24.3% -18.2% -25.2% Change This Week Last Year Change Albums Digital Tracks 2014 2015 CHANGE 21,270,000 19,612,000 -7.8% 103,528,000 86,575,000 -16.4% Sales by Album Format Physical Digital 2014 2015 14,128,000 12,476,000 9.0% 7,142,000 7,136,000 -0.1% *Digital album sales are also counted within album sales. For inquiries about any Nielsen Music data, please contact Josh Bennett at 615-807-1338 or [email protected] CHANGE BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE SEPTEMBER 28, 2015 | PAGE 12 OF 19 SALES, AIRPLAY & STREAMING DATA COMPILED BY 6 3 2 HUNT 48 SAM MCA NASHVILLE 021502/UMGN Montevallo 7 5 5 CHURCH 85 ERIC EMI NASHVILLE 019402*/UMGN 8 4 4 BROWN BAND 22 ZAC JOHN VARVATOS/SOUTHERN GROUND/BMLG 022962/REPUBLIC 9 6 8 GEORGIA LINE 50 FLORIDA REPUBLIC NASHVILLE /BMLG 10 8 9 BIG TOWN 49 LITTLE CAPITOL NASHVILLE 021360*/UMGN 11 7 3 ALABAMA NEW 1 TURNPIKE TROUBADOURS NEW 1 HOME FREE 2 BRETT ELDREDGE 4 CAPITOL NASHVILLE 022813/UMGN BOSSIER CITY 3*/THIRTY TIGERS Turnpike Troubadours Country Evolution COLUMBIA 514112 MADDIE & TAE DOT/REPUBLIC 023172/BMLG 9 10 JACKSON 10 ALAN ACR/EMI NASHVILLE 022814/UMGN 14 11 11 GILBERT 71 BRANTLEY VALORY BG0200A/BMLG 10 STRIP IT DOWN L UKE BRYAN ( Capitol Nashville/UMGN) DIE A HAPPY MAN T HOMAS RHETT ( Valory/BMLG) NEW 5 SMOKE BREAK ARRIE UNDERWOOD ( 19/Arista Nashville/SMN) C 7 MCA NASHVILLE 019941/UMGN STAPLETON 18 14 13 21 CHRIS MERCURY 019405*/UMGN RICE 19 19 20 58 CHASE COLUMBIA NASHVILLE 22573/DACK JANIELS BROWN BAND 20 17 19 46 ZAC ROAR/SOUTHERN GROUND/ATLANTIC 546369/AG 21 18 18 22 l ISBELL 10 JASON SOUTHEASTERN 9986*/THIRTY TIGERS UNDERWOOD 23 25 42 CARRIE 19/ARISTA NASHVILLE 500876/SMN 23 16 6 6 ELVIS PRESLEY USPS/RCA 512373/SONY COMMERCIAL MUSIC GROUP SWINDELL 24 22 22 84 COLE WARNER BROS. 541372/WMN 25 l FREAKS LIKE ME J OE NICHOLS ( Red Bow/BBMG) 30 33 26 SANGRIA BLAKE SHELTON ( Warner Bros./WMN) 4 The Outsiders 1 7 6 25 CRASH AND BURN T HOMAS RHETT ( Valory/BMLG) JEKYLL + HYDE 0 8 5 26 HOUSE PARTY AM HUNT ( MCA Nashville/UMGN) S 32 40 l 33 l Anything Goes 0 9 l 9 20 BREAK UP WITH HIM LD DOMINION ( RCA Nashville/SMN) O 34 19 28 TONIGHT LOOKS GOOD ON YOU J ASON ALDEAN ( Broken Bow/BBMG) 16 JOHN COUGAR, JOHN DEERE, JOHN 3:16 EITH URBAN ( Hit Red/Capitol Nashville/UMGN) K Pain Killer 10 8 33 LIKE A WRECKING BALL E RIC CHURCH ( EMI Nashville/UMGN) Start Here 11 11 l Old Boots, New Dirt 1 12 10 19 KICK THE DUST UP L UKE BRYAN ( Capitol Nashville/UMGN) 0 13 14 l 14 15 l Angels And Alcohol Just As I Am 20 I’M COMIN’ OVER HRIS YOUNG ( RCA Nashville/SMN) C Pageant Material Traveller 18 16 l 19 21 l 20 31 l Ignite The Night Greatest Hits So Far... Something More Than Free Greatest Hits: Decade #1 Elvis Presley Forever Cole Swindell Angels Among Us: Hymns & Gospel Favorites 43 48 36 ALABAMA CRACKER BARREL/TGA/GAITHER 49013/CAPITOL CMG The week’s most popular country albums, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen Music. Albums are defined as current if they are less than 18 months old or older than 18 months but still residing in the Billboard 200’s top 100. Charts update weekly on Thurdays at www.Billboard.Biz/charts. Copyright 2015, Prometheus Global Media, LLC and Nielsen Music, Inc. All rights reserved. RE-ENTRY 35 38 l 36 48 l 37 44 l LET IT GO EORGE STRAIT ( MCA Nashville/UMGN) G 9 WE WENT ANDY HOUSER ( Stoney Creek/BBMG) R 6 LIVE FOREVER T HE BAND PERRY (Republic Nashville/BMLG) 3 T-SHIRT THOMAS RHETT ( Valory/BMLG) 11 SAVE IT FOR A RAINY DAY K ENNY CHESNEY ( Blue Chair/Columbia Nashville/SMN) 39 NEW l 40 42 5 l 41 NEW l 48 TAKE YOUR TIME AM HUNT ( MCA Nashville/UMGN) S WAKE UP WHEN IT’S OVER C LARE BOWEN & SAM PALLADIO (ABC Studios/Lions Gate/Big Machine/BMLG) I LOVE THIS LIFE L OCASH (Reviver) ANGEL EYES ARRETT BABER ( Republic) B 42 22 19 HELL OF A NIGHT USTIN LYNCH ( Broken Bow/BBMG) D 15 STAY A LITTLE LONGER ROTHERS OSBORNE ( EMI Nashville/UMGN) B 43 36 3 CRAZY OVER ME YLAN SCOTT ( Curb) D 36 BREAK UP IN A SMALL TOWN AM HUNT ( MCA Nashville/UMGN) S 44 l 5 GONNA BLAKE SHELTON ( Warner Bros./WMN) 21 18 19 FLY MADDIE & TAE (Dot/Republic/BMLG) 0 5 TOP OF THE WORLD T IM MCGRAW ( McGraw/Big Machine/BMLG) 38 23 23 LOVING YOU EASY Z AC BROWN BAND (John Varvatos/Southern Ground/BMLG/Republic) 17 13 40 GIRL CRUSH L ITTLE BIG TOWN (Capitol Nashville/UMGN) Wild Ones 31 32 10 SMOKIN’ AND DRINKIN’ IRANDA LAMBERT FEAT. LITTLE BIG TOWN ( RCA Nashville/SMN) M 22 LOSE MY MIND RETT ELDREDGE ( Atlantic/WMN) B 16 17 l KIP MOORE NEW 6 MUSGRAVES 16 13 17 14 KACEY MERCURY 022816*/UMGN 5 29 l 0 15 12 19 ANYTHING GOES F LORIDA GEORGIA LINE (Republic Nashville/BMLG) 7 27 27 9 DIBS KELSEA BALLERINI ( Black River) 3 23 BUY ME A BOAT HRIS JANSON ( Warner Bros./WMN) C ARTISTS NOW That’s What I Call Country, Volume 8 15 15 14 16 VARIOUS SONY MUSIC/UNIVERSAL 023341/UME 17 12 ARTIST (IMPRINT/LABEL) I GOT THE BOY 32 J ANA KRAMER ( Elektra Nashville/WMN) 28 29 18 REAL LIFE J AKE OWEN ( RCA Nashville/SMN) 14 BURNING HOUSE AM (Arista Nashville/SMN) C 2 26 28 l TITLE 5 Illinois ATLANTIC 549782/WMN ALDEAN 12 10 12 51 JASON BROKEN BOW 7105/BBMG 13 Southern Drawl TGA 53816215/BMG 1 ARTIST (IMPRINT/LABEL) WKS ON CHART — 1 1 l 2 l 3 l 4 l TITLE LAST WEEK 1 NEW Kill The Lights WKS ON CHART WEEKS ON CHT 5 LUKE BRYAN LAST WEEK 2 WEEKS AGO 7 THIS WEEK LAST WEEK 1 Title IMPRINT & NUMBER / DISTRIBUTING LABEL CERT. THIS WEEK l 2 l 3 l 4 l 2 1 ARTIST THIS WEEK COUNTRY DIGITAL SONGS TOP COUNTRY ALBUMS 22 NEW l 23 25 15 l THAT DON’T SOUND LIKE YOU L EE BRICE ( Curb) 45 41 29 ONE HELL OF AN AMEN RANTLEY GILBERT ( Valory/BMLG) B 46 l RE-ENTRY GONNA KNOW WE WERE HERE J ASON ALDEAN ( Broken Bow/BBMG) NEXT BOYFRIEND L AUREN ALAINA ( 19/Mercury/Interscope/UMGN) 47 45 94 PLAY IT AGAIN L UKE BRYAN ( Capitol Nashville/UMGN) GONNA WANNA TONIGHT HASE RICE ( Dack Janiels) C 48 50 115 WAGON WHEEL ARIUS RUCKER ( Capitol Nashville/UMGN) D 24 20 10 NOTHIN’ LIKE YOU AN + SHAY (Warner Bros./WMN) D 25 26 l RE-ENTRY 19 LET ME SEE YA GIRL OLE SWINDELL ( Warner Bros./WMN) C 49 l RE-ENTRY WHITE LIGHTNING T HE CADILLAC THREE (Big Machine/BMLG) 50 46 37 HOMEGROWN ZAC BROWN BAND (John Varvatos/Southern Ground/BMLG/Republic) Top-selling paid download country songs compiled from sales reports collected and provided by Nielsen Music. Charts update weekly on Thurdays at www.Billboard.Biz/charts. Copyright 2015, Prometheus Global Media, LLC and Nielsen Music, Inc. All rights reserved. After a round of touring with Miranda Lambert, Dunn notches her first Top Country Albums entry (with all five songs on the set co-written by the singer-writerguitarist). It bows at No. 31 with 1,000 sold. 1 18 2 l 3 l 4 7 10 15 4 2 39 5 7 15 6 8 20 7 6 10 8 5 18 9 9 13 10 l 14 7 WKS ON CHART TITLE HOUSE PARTY AM HUNT S STRIP IT DOWN LUKE BRYAN I’M COMIN’ OVER CHRIS YOUNG TAKE YOUR TIME SAM HUNT JOHN COUGAR, JOHN DEERE, JOHN 3:16 KEITH URBAN CRASH AND BURN THOMAS RHETT LOSE MY MIND BRETT ELDREDGE KICK THE DUST UP LUKE BRYAN BUY ME A BOAT CHRIS JANSON SANGRIA 11 13 20 B LAKE SHELTON FLY 12 3 9 MADDIE & TAE LIKE A WRECKING BALL 13 12 25 ERIC CHURCH GIRL CRUSH 14 15 31 L ITTLE BIG TOWN BREAK UP WITH HIM 15 16 6 O LD DOMINION PLAY IT AGAIN 16 18 79 L UKE BRYAN ANYTHING GOES 17 17 6 F LORIDA GEORGIA LINE BOTTOMS UP 18 20 92 B RANTLEY GILBERT THIS IS HOW WE ROLL 19 21 83 F LORIDA GEORGIA LINE FEAT. LUKE BRYAN ARTIST BURNING HOUSE AM C l l l l l l 20 l LAST WEEK WKS ON CHART 1 STREAMING DATA COMPILED BY THIS WEEK DUNN: CARLOS RUIZ 31 LAST WEEK THIS WEEK COUNTRY STREAMING SONGS CLARE DUNN Clare Dunn (EP) SALES, AIRPLAY & STREAMING DATA COMPILED BY 22 4 TITLE ARTIST SAVE IT FOR A RAINY DAY ENNY CHESNEY K Country Streaming Songs -The week’s top Country streamed radio songs, on-demand songs and videos on leading online music services. Charts update weekly on Thurdays at www.Billboard.Biz/charts. Copyright 2015, Prometheus Global Media, LLC and Nielsen Music, Inc. All rights reserved. BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE SEPTEMBER 28, 2015 | PAGE 13 OF 19 MAKIN’ TR ACKS TOM ROLAND [email protected] Rascal Flatts Turns To Dan + Shay, Meghan Trainor For New ‘Sound’ The trio has racked up a cool 6.8 million “Likes” on Facebook. But the “like” Rascal Flatts is most excited about these days is its new single, “I Like the Sound of That.” With its big, sing-along chorus; smart harmonies; and an identifiable hook, there’s plenty to like about its chances of a long chart life. It doesn’t hurt, either, that there’s a marketable personality behind it. Two of the title’s three songwriters are successful artists in their own right: Nashville-based pop singer Meghan Trainor and Dan + Shay lead vocalist Shay Mooney. Both are major Rascal Flatts fans — particularly Mooney, whose tenor resonance and phrasing have drawn frequent comparisons to Flatts frontman Gary LeVox since “19 You + Me” introduced Dan + Shay nationally in 2013. “To get a song with [them], and then to actually have one of those songs as a single is definitely a personal goal,” says Mooney. “I can knock that one off the bucket list.” Mooney’s similarities to LeVox were advantageous. Mooney, Trainor and co-writer Jesse Frasure (“Crash and Burn,” “Sun Daze”) actually landed two songs on Flatts’ Rewind album — “I Like the Sound of That” and “DJ Tonight” — in part because Mooney’s performances eliminated any questions about the material’s compatibility. “When Shay had his vocal on the demo, the picture was painted perfectly as to what it would sound like with Gary on it,” says Flatts producer-bassist Jay DeMarcus. RASCAL FLATTS It’s safe to say the band liked the sound of those demos. The seeds for “Like” were actually sown a year or two before when Frasure and Trainor became musical pen pals. Still living in Nantucket, Mass., at the time, Trainor had garnered attention from Big Yellow Dog owner/GM Carla Wallace, who lined up some long-distance co-writers, including Frasure, whose pop sensibilities were a good match for the “All About That Bass” singer. “She wrote to a few of my pop tracks and then sent me the vocals to mix them and they were awesome — full-blown [background vocals], great tracks, great hooks,” says Frasure. “We wrote via email for quite a while. Then she started coming to town for prolonged periods of time, and we started doing some collaboration.” Trainor and Frasure co-wrote with Mooney for the first time on June 18, 2013, banging out “DJ Tonight” a year before “All About That Bass” was released and three months before Dan + Shay launched publicly. The writing trio reconvened Jan. 22, 2014 — a month before Trainor signed with Epic — and Mooney played a big part in laying the groundwork for that day’s efforts. He and Frasure arrived at Major Bob Music on Nashville’s 17th Avenue before Trainor made it in, and Mooney concocted an upbeat guitar groove. Frasure, in turn, started building a track on his laptop that they could use to sustain the tempo and energy in the room, and when Trainor arrived with her ukulele, they all flipped through lists of potential titles on their phones for one with the right mood. Mooney had logged “I Like the Sound of That” months earlier. “I wrote it down because it’s something I say all the time,” remembers Mooney. “I always would say, ‘Hey, man, I like the sound of that.’ ” It didn’t take long before they found the right angle to make it work, focusing on the household sounds in the morning that one associates with a significant other, beginning with the splatter of a shower. “It’s just the kind of noises that go down when you’re not alone in the house, those routines that you get used to but would kind of miss if they were gone,” notes Frasure. “I think it was the shower scene that really opened up the whole thing.” The second verse moved on to the sonics of the evening, hinting strongly at a love-making session. In contrast, the chorus focused on the noises — or silence — of separation. By 6 p.m. that day, the writers had finished both the song and the demo. “You have Shay and Meghan singing their asses off, and you aren’t touching the Auto-Tuner, ever,” says Frasure. “You just have them sing a couple passes, so we built that thing up and it was done, out the door.” Neither Trainor nor Mooney had the song in mind for their own careers as artists, so Razor & Tie vp music publishing/creative Brad Kennard (a Big Yellow Dog exec at the time) got the song to Big Machine Label Group senior vp A&R Allison Jones, who in turn passed it to DeMarcus. LeVox and Flatts guitarist Joe Don Rooney bought into it, too, though the original lyrics in the second verse — which suggested the couple’s love sounds were so loud that they annoyed the neighbors — were over the line for the band. The writers softened that allusion and replaced an alcohol reference with lighted candles, and Flatts indeed liked the sound of that. DeMarcus convened a session at the Grip Studio in his home, and the night before, he spent some preparation time with a bouzouki, a Greek stringed instrument that’s similar in tone to a mandolin. He developed a hook for the intro and taught it the next morning to Ilya Toshinsky, and the band created a slow-building arc that hit its full groove in the second chorus. Getting there took some effort. “The first few times we tracked, it [felt] a little stoppy and starty,” says DeMarcus. Drummer Dorian Crozier tried a disco beat, but that was too much. Eventually, the key was lightly thumping quarter notes from DeMarcus on bass, offset by Crozier playing 16th notes on the high hat. Once the foundation was set, additional pieces were added — including steel and a couple extra guitar parts — and the focus turned to vocals. LeVox contributed his typically wavy phrasing and made another lyrical change, altering a line about “Motown bumpin’ ” to “Timberlake bumpin’.” DeMarcus and Rooney’s background parts filled out the sound nicely. “We always like to refer to it as ‘Flatterizing’ a track,” says DeMarcus. “Gary’s voice is so distinctive, but once you get our unique blend on there and the counter melodies I think that we’re known a little bit for, it starts to come to life.” “I Like The Sound of That” was considered for the second single from Rewind, but it was held for the fourth slot and finally released to radio via Play MPE on Aug. 31. It debuted at No. 40 on the Country Airplay chart dated Oct. 3 and moves to No. 37 in week two. “It’s the familiar old sound of Rascal Flatts mixed with fresh new production,” surmises DeMarcus. “I think it’s a perfect blend between what you love about Rascal Flatts and where Rascal Flatts is headed in the future.” It has, however, created one small issue for Mooney. He still says “I like the sound of that” in his daily speech, and the pattern has begun to sound self-referential. “Now when I say that,” he notes, “my girlfriend is like, ‘Are you quoting your own song? That’s weird.’ I’ve got to stop.” BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE SEPTEMBER 28, 2015 | PAGE 14 OF 19 THE STARK REPORT PHYLLIS STARK [email protected] Thomas Rhett Heads Down His Own Lane With Tangled Up After scoring the first two of the three major hits from his debut album, Thomas Rhett worried that he might become pigeonholed as someone who was making music “in the same vein as a lot of what a lot of my buddies were doing too.” He decided he wanted to break away from that. “I wanted to be in my own lane and be my own artist, [so] when people hear a song of mine they know exactly who it is,” he says. With the support of his label, the Valory Music Co., Rhett made a left-field choice for the album’s fifth and final single, “Make Me Wanna.” And when that song also became a hit, it gave him the courage he needed to make a sophomore album that’s now being lauded for confidently venturing outside the typical parameters of country music. That album, Tangled Up — released Sept. 25 — had already yielded the fourth No. 1 of Rhett’s career, “Crash and Burn.” He calls the project “super different and super diverse ... It’s definitely going to make us stand out among the crowds.” The Country Music Association new artist of the year nominee chats below about the album, its unusual duet partners, life on the road with Florida Georgia Line and why wife Lauren needs her own fan club. constructive. That’s something that Dad had to learn a lot. You definitely get the answer no more times in this business than you do yes. It’s what you do with those no’s that makes your success either great or not. I’ve learned a ton of patience from Dad. You watch somebody go from being pretty much up here to down here to then back to being one of the best songwriters in Nashville, you have to learn to be super patient and know when your time has come. For him, that was songwriting. I just feel so blessed to be at the point where I’ve had success as an artist and I’m still getting booked to play shows and people are still asking me to be on their tours. We’re on this steady climb, and I really enjoy the steady climb. How was the process of recording the second album compared with the first now that you have these hits under your belt? There was more freedom. The first one, I think, I was searching a lot. I don’t think I fully knew exactly who I was yet. I was just starting to play a bunch of shows, and I was doing these different tours and seeing how [different people make] records, and how they do their production onstage. I learned a lot over the course of the first record RHETT [so] that I knew more on the second. My producer game was way more dialed-in on the second record. The first record was produced by, like, seven different people ... This one, Dann Huff and Jesse Frasure came in and did a fantastic job. It was such a free process. Literally every song I wanted on the record was OK’ed [by Valory]. What made this record so fun to make is that the label was having just as much fun watching us make it as we were actually making it. You’re still on Florida Georgia Line’s Anything Goes Tour. Does it live up to the title? It definitely does. Their show is the most crazy thing I’ve ever seen in my life, minus going to a dubstep concert. It’s the biggest party in the world. From the moment the lights go down and they come onstage, it’s just epic. So for us to be out there playing in front of their fans — and thank goodness for them letting us play in front of a soldout crowd every night — I feel like we’ve made huge leaps and strides as far as studying a headliner and knowing what it means and takes to be a headliner. You’re coming off an album that had three No. 1 hits. Do you feel pressure to match that success, or beat it? There’s a little bit of pressure. I hope we can get four off this one, or five. But I think as long as we’re putting out good songs that the people are loving and they’re requesting at radio and downloading, we’re going to be all right. As established as you are now as a songwriter — with hits for Jason Aldean, Florida Georgia Line, Lee Brice and yourself — you surprisingly only wrote about half the songs on this album. What does that say about the pool of available songs in Nashville? We have the best. One of the biggest things that changes when you do have hits is that the big, top-dog songwriters are pitching you some of their best stuff … Could I have written the entire record with my name on every song? Yes, but I’m such a big believer in the best song wins, whether I wrote it or [not]. If I didn’t write it, I have to feel a connection with that song, almost like where I feel like I was a part of that writing process. You grew up in a musical household watching your dad, Rhett Akins, make a living as an artist, then have a long career lull, and then come back as a major hit songwriter. What are some of the key things you learned in that environment? You have to learn how to take no a lot of different ways. A lot of criticism is It seemed like “your time” came really fast. Some people have fast success, and some people it takes them some time. I cannot believe we’ve sold as many downloads as we have, [or that] we can go to the middle of nowhere Nebraska and sell 2,000 or 3,000 tickets. That blows my mind that the awareness of our brand is that big at this point in our career. Hopefully we can keep building those fans one by one. How did the album’s duet with Jordin Sparks come to be? We wrote this song called “Playing With Fire,” me and my dad and Ashley Gorley. We knew we wanted a big female powerhouse on the song, but we didn’t know who. Our label president, Scott Borchetta, he had just met Jordin and her whole management team out in L.A. and said she was super nice. So we reached out to her team. They said yes and flew to Nashville, and she was the nicest person in the world and got in there and knocked the song out in, like, 30 minutes. I didn’t know this, but she had always wanted to make a country record, so I think singing on my record was kind of a bucket-list thing for her. How about the collaboration with Lunch Money Lewis? Lunch sings this huge song in the hip-hop and pop world called “Bills.” I wrote this song called “I Feel Good” with two guys in L.A. that work with him pretty regularly. I literally wrote this song two weeks before the record had to be turned in. Lunch was playing a show in Miami and put down the bridge [to the song] on his bus and sent it back to us, and we decided we wanted it to be on the record. It’s pretty cool to have someone like that — a rapper/hip-hop guy that isn’t a huge name but somebody I believe will be a huge name one day. You’ve talked about how your wife, Lauren, needs her own fan club, and now she’s starring in your music video for new single “Die a Happy Man.” Why is she so popular with your fans? She’s just a ray of sunshine. Lauren has never met a stranger. There will be a bunch of girls that come through a meet-and-greet, and they’ll say, “I love your music, but I really just wanted a picture with your wife,” which is pretty hilarious. She’s a very happy person, and her energy is amazing around people she’s never met. I think that’s why people gravitate toward her so much. BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE THIS WEEK LAST WEEK WKS ON CHART l 2 l 3 l 2 15 5 SEPTEMBER 28, 2015 | PAGE 15 OF 19 Country Indicator TITLE Imprint/LabelArtist AUDIENCE (IN MILLIONS) PLAYS THIS WEEK +/– HH No. 1 (1 week) HH Kenny Chesney 4691 +142 5.765 8 STRIP IT DOWN C apitol Nashville Luke Bryan 4299 +377 5.339 3 23 LOSE MY MIND A tlantic/WMN Brett Eldredge 4287 +45 5.393 4 1 16 JOHN COUGAR, JOHN DEERE, JOHN 3:16 H it Red/Capitol Nashville Keith Urban 4275 -303 5.489 l 6 l 7 l 8 l 6 16 ANYTHING GOES R epublic Nashville Florida Georgia Line 3841 +294 4.605 7 24 LET ME SEE YA GIRL W arner Bros./WMN Cole Swindell 3479 +250 3.796 11 6 SMOKE BREAK 1 9/Arista Nashville Carrie Underwood 3341 +290 3.888 1 5 SAVE IT FOR A RAINY DAY B lue Chair/Columbia Nashville THIS WEEK 8 41 GONNA WANNA TONIGHT D ack Janiels/Columbia Nashville Chase Rice 3301 +131 4.453 9 9 38 FLY D ot Maddie & Tae 3092 -3 3.727 10 4 21 BUY ME A BOAT W arner Bros./WAR Chris Janson 3086 -877 4.148 11 l 12 l 13 l 14 l 15 l 16 l 17 l 18 l 19 l 20 l 21 l 22 l 23 l 2 l4 25 l 26 l 27 l 2 l8 29 l 13 9 GONNA W arner Bros./WMN Blake Shelton 2964 +119 3.462 14 20 BREAK UP WITH HIM R CA Nashville Old Dominion 2808 +293 3.179 16 27 NOTHIN’ LIKE YOU W arner Bros./WAR Dan + Shay 2669 +192 3.437 18 19 I’M COMIN’ OVER R CA Nashville Chris Young 2621 +208 2.971 19 8 TOP OF THE WORLD M cGraw/Big Machine Tim McGraw 2574 +216 3.216 17 13 BURNING HOUSE A rista Nashville Cam 2555 +139 2.960 HH Most Increased Plays HH Jason Aldean 30 21 8 2299 +396 2.897 20 27 STAY A LITTLE LONGER E MI Nashville Brothers Osborne 2134 +155 2.182 22 11 DIBS B lack River Kelsea Ballerini 1896 +131 1.784 23 7 LIVE FOREVER R epublic Nashville The Band Perry 1675 +124 1.474 24 33 ALREADY CALLIN’ YOU MINE S toney Creek Parmalee 1485 +67 1.708 25 14 RISER C apitol Nashville Dierks Bentley 1474 +65 1.414 27 29 I GOT THE BOY E lektra Nashville/WAR Jana Kramer 1294 +96 1.364 31 4 COUNTRY NATION A rista Nashville Brad Paisley 1222 +259 1.316 28 14 (THIS AIN’T NO) DRUNK DIAL R epublic Nashville A Thousand Horses 1122 +78 1.037 29 18 WE WENT Stoney Creek Randy Houser 1068 +28 1.020 SOUTHERN STYLE C apitol Nashville Darius Rucker 1046 +14 1.027 1045 +50 1.086 1.045 0.639 RE-ENTRY GONNA KNOW WE WERE HERE B roken Bow 30 18 21 A tlantic/WMN Hunter Hayes 35 28 I LOVE THIS LIFE R eviver LoCash 975 +238 32 16 DRINKIN’ TOWN WITH A FOOTBALL PROBLEM M ercury Nashville Billy Currington 916 -1 BILLBOARD COUNTRY INDICATOR PANEL — 106 STATIONS Abilene, Texas KEAN Abilene, Texas KEAN Alexandria, La. KRRV Amarillo, Texas KGNC Asheville, N.C. WKSF Atlantic City, N.J. WPUR Beaumont, Texas KYKR Beckley, W. Va. WJLS Biloxi, Miss. WZKX Bloomington, Ill. WIBL Bluefield, W. Va. WHKX Burlington, Vt. WOKO Cape Girardeau, Mo. KEZS Charleston, W. Va WKWS WQBE College Station, Texas KAGG Columbia, Mo. KCLR Columbus, Ga. WKCN WSTH Cookeville, Tenn. WGSQ Dothan, Ala. WTVY Duluth, Minn. KKCB Eau Claire, Wis. WAXX Elizabeth City, N.C. WRSF Erie, Pa. WTWF Eugene, Ore. KKNU Evansville, Ind. WKDQ Fargo, N.D. KBVB WSTH Fayetteville, N.C. WKML Flagstaff, Ariz. KAFF Flint, Mich. WFBE Florence, Ala. WXFL Florence, S.C. WEGX Ft. Collins, Colo. KUAD Ft. Smith, Ark. KTCS Frederick, Md. WFRE Fredericksburg, Va. WFLS Green Bay, Wis. WNCY Hagerstown, Md. WAYZ Hot Springs, Ark. KQUS Huntington, Ky. WDGG Huntington, W. Va. WTCR Idaho Falls, Idaho KTHK Jackson, Miss. WMSI WUSJ Janesville, Wis. WJVL Jonesboro, Ark. KDXY Joplin, Mo. KIXQ Kalamazoo, Mich. WNWN Kalispell, Mont. KDBR Kingmah, Ariz. KFLG Lafayette, Ind. WKOA Laredo, Texas KRRG Lansing, Mich. WITL Laurel, Miss. Lebanon, N.H. Lincoln, Neb Longview, Texas Lubbock, Texas Lufkin, Texas Mason City, Iowa Medford, Ore. Meridian, Miss. Montgomery, Ala. Morgantown, W. Va. Muskegon, Mich. New London, Conn. Odessa, Texas Palm Springs, Calif. Pensacola, Fla. Peoria, Ill. Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Rapid City, S.D. Rockford, Ill. Rocky Mount, N.C. Saginaw, Mich. St. Cloud, Minn. Salina, Kan. Salisbury, Md. San Angelo, Texas WBBN WXXK KFGE KYKX KLLL KYKS KIAI KRWQ WOKK WLWI WKKW WMUS WCTY KHKX KPLM WXBM WXCL WRWD KOUT WXXQ WDWG WCEN KZPK KYEZ WKTT KGKL San Luis Obispo, Calif. KKJG Santa Barbara, Calif. KRAZ Santa Maria, Calif. KSNI Sheboygan, Wis. WBFM Savannah, Ga. WJCL WUBB Shreveport, La. KXKS Sioux Cty, Iowa KSUX South Bend, Ind. WBYT Springfield, Ill. WFMB Springfield, Mo. KTTS Terre Haute, Ind. WTHI Topeka, Kan. WIBW Traverse City, Mich. WTCM Tupelo, Miss. WWZD Utica, N.Y. WFRG Victor Valley, CA.KATJ Waco, Texas WACO Wausau, Wis. WDEZ Wheeling, W. Va. WOVK Williamsport, Pa. WILQ Yakima, Wash. KXDD Youngstown, Ohio WQXK WWGY Westwood One HOT COUNTRY MAINSTREAM COUNTRY Music Choice TODAY’S COUNTRY Sirius XM THE HIGHWAY BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE SEPTEMBER 28, 2015 | PAGE 16 OF 19 Country Indicator AUDIENCE (IN MILLIONS) THIS WEEK LAST WEEK WKS ON CHART THIS WEEK +/– THIS WEEK l TITLE Imprint/LabelArtist 31 33 9 BLUE BANDANA S ea Gayle/Arista Nashville Jerrod Niemann 905 +70 0.842 32 26 16 SMOKIN’ AND DRINKIN’ R CA Nashville Miranda Lambert Feat. Little Big Town 868 -423 0.782 l 34 l 35 l 36 l 37 l 38 l 3 l9 40 l 41 l 34 19 THAT DON’T SOUND LIKE YOU C urb Lee Brice 853 +70 0.695 36 5 PAIN KILLER C apitol Little Big Town 723 +27 0.491 37 9 YUP M ercury Easton Corbin 675 +70 0.393 46 2 BREAK UP IN A SMALL TOWN M CA Nashville Sam Hunt 635 +303 0.556 38 17 YOU PART 2 B ig Spark Olivia Lane 582 +38 0.256 39 13 SHINE A LITTLE LOVE B lue Light Brian Collins 547 +37 0.214 40 13 LITTLE BIT OF YOU R ed Bow Chase Bryant 546 +63 0.481 47 2 I LIKE THE SOUND OF THAT B ig Machine Rascal Flatts 499 +181 0.522 42 10 NIGHT’S ON FIRE M CA Nashville David Nail 479 +15 0.354 42 41 12 JIM AND JACK AND HANK A CR/EMI Nashville Alan Jackson 419 -51 0.077 l 44 l 45 l 4 l6 47 l 43 13 MOVE ON M CA Nashville Clare Dunn 413 +12 0.205 48 3 STONE COLD SOBER V alory Brantley Gilbert 340 +38 0.291 45 15 GREAT MINDS DRINK ALIKE M RG Rick Monroe 339 +4 0.118 58 2 BEAUTIFUL DRUG V arvatos/Southern Ground/BMLG/Republic Zac Brown Band 336 +124 0.493 HH Hot Shot Debut/Most Added HH George Strait 333 +333 0.399 48 44 8 AIN’T NO TRUCKS IN TEXAS N ash Icon/Valory Ronnie Dunn 322 -17 0.245 49 l 50 l 51 l 52 l 49 11 TOMORROW TONIGHT R ed Bow Craig Campbell 309 +16 0.300 56 2 HEAD OVER BOOTS C apitol Nashville Jon Pardi 297 +72 0.249 53 3 SOUTHERN BELLE 1 9/Interscope/Mercury Scotty McCreery 281 +30 0.111 DIE A HAPPY MAN V alory Thomas Rhett 270 +230 0.288 53 50 8 SUMMER GIRLS S upergroup/Nine North/Turnpike/Edgehill Music Nashville Boone 270 -6 0.107 l 55 l 56 l 57 l 5 l8 59 l 52 5 BETTER IN BOOTS C olumbia Nashville Tyler Farr 266 +8 0.108 51 5 HOLE IN A BOTTLE M ercury Canaan Smith 262 +3 0.127 55 6 DIME STORE COWGIRL M ercury Nashville Kacey Musgraves 251 +21 0.097 54 4 CRAZY ENOUGH W illing Nashville Bobby Wills 248 +8 0.029 REAL MEN LOVE JESUS A tlantic/WEA Michael Ray 236 +73 0.170 59 6 I’M MAKING MINE G TR Erica Nicole 223 +12 0.048 60 60 4 ME AND JOHNNY CASH C ingle/Star Farm Nashville Rainey Qualley 198 -3 0.072 33 43 54 COLD BEER CONVERSATION M CA Nashville NEW NEW NEW PLAYS CHARTS LEGEND RANKINGS Country Airplay is ranked by total audience impressions for the week ending Sunday based on monitored airplay of 150 stations by Nielsen BDS. Audience totals on the chart are derived, in part, using certain Arbitron Inc. copyrighted Persons 12+ audience estimates (under license © 2015, Arbitron Inc.) Country Indicator is tabulated using reported playlists and Nielsen BDS-monitored airplay at 106 stations, ranked by total plays. station downtime for the format. Titles that decline in audience but increase in detections will also receive a bullet if the total audience erosion for the week does not exceed 3%. Bullets are awarded on Country Indicator to titles gaining plays or remaining flat from the previous week. BULLETS TIES On Country Airplay, if two songs are tied in total audience, the song with the larger increase in audience is placed first. On Country Indicator, if two songs are tied in total plays, the song with the larger increase in plays is placed first. remaining flat from the previous week. A song will also receive a bullet if its percentage loss in audience does not exceed the percentage of monitored RECURRENTS On Country Airplay, descending titles below No. 10 in either audience or detections are moved to recurrent after 20 weeks, provided that they are not still l Awarded on Country Airplay to titles gaining audience or gaining enough audience points to bullet or if they rank below No. 10 and post a third consecutive week of (non-bulleted) audience decline, regardless of total chart weeks. On Country Indicator, descending, non-bulleted titles below No. 10 are moved to recurrent after 20 weeks or if they post a third consecutive week of decline in plays after 10 weeks. HOT SHOT DEBUT Awarded to the highest-ranking new entry on Country Airplay and Country Indicator, respectively. MOST ADDED The total number of new adds officially reported to Billboard by each reporting station, or by an automatic-add threshold (seven plays for the first time in a chart tracking week, according to Nielsen BDS) for stations that do not report adds. MOST INCREASED AUDIENCE/ PLAYS Most Increased Audience on Country Airplay and Most Increased Plays on Country Indicator list the songs with the greatest week-to-week increases in total audience or plays, respectively. AIRPOWER Awarded on Country Airplay to titles ranking inside top 20 in plays and audience rankings for the first time, with increases in both plays and audience. BREAKER Awarded on Country Airplay to titles achieving airplay (at least one detection) at 60% of reporting stations for the first time. © 2015 Prometheus Global Media, LLC BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE TITLE P ublishing-Licensing Org. (Songwriter) C hart Position 21 EMI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Two Chord Georgia Music, BMI/EMI April Music, Inc., ASCAP/Didn’t Have To Be Music Publishing, ASCAP/ External Combustion Music, ASCAP/Songs Of Southside Independent Music Publishing, LLC, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Atlas Music Publishing, ASCAP/Ogden Avenue Publishing, BMI/Songs Of Universal, Inc., BMI ( D.Davidson, K.Lovelace, A.Gorley, H.Hayes) 25 A AIN’T NO TRUCKS IN TEXAS W arner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Fonde Moutian Music, BMI/Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/Casa Jaco Music, BMI/Songs Of Peer Ltd., ASCAP/Team Thrash, ASCAP (W.Mobley, T.Martin, N.Thrasher) 44 ALREADY CALLIN’ YOU MINE 27861 Music, BMI/Revelry Music, BMI/Gallo And Landers Music LLC, BMI/Sixteen Stars Music, BMI/ HoriPro Entertainment Group, Inc., BMI/Rooster Pecked Music, BMI/ Steel Wheels Music, BMI/Big Loud Bucks, BMI/Kirbtone Music, BMI ( M. Thomas, S.Thomas, B.Knox, P.O’Donnell, W.Kirby) 20 ANYTHING GOES R usty Muffler Songs, ASCAP/Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc., ASCAP/Big Loud Songs, ASCAP/Play Animal, ASCAP/Big Loud Shirt Industries, ASCAP/Round Hill Songs, ASCAP/Red Toe Rocker, ASCAP (F.McTeigue, C.G.Tompkins, C.Wiseman) 5 B BACKROAD SONG Climbing Windmills, BMI/House Of Sea Gayle Music, ASCAP ( G.Smith, F.Rogers) 45 BAD FOR YOU R aincreek Publishing, ASCAP/C.R. Cooper Publishing, ASCAP/EMI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Songs By Red Room, BMI/EMI April Music, Inc., ASCAP/Jon Mark Nite Music, ASCAP ( G.Birge, C.Cooper, R.Copperman, J.M.Nite) 59 BEAUTIFUL DRUG D ay For The Dead Publishing, SESAC/ Southern Ground, SESAC/Reach Music Tunes, SESAC ( Z.Brown, N.Moon) 43 BETTER IN BOOTS Legends Of Magic Mustang Music, SESAC/W.B.M. Music Corp., SESAC/This Is Magic Mustang Music, ASCAP/ WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Music Of Platinum Pen, SESAC/Hatchoo Music, SESAC/Thunder Cookie, SESAC (J.Wilson, D.Pittenger, N.Cooke) 55 BLUE BANDANA G o For The Goldsmith, ASCAP/House Of Sea Gayle Music, ASCAP/ClearBox Rights, ASCAP/Living Wills, BMI/Sony/ ATV Countryside, BMI (B.Goldsmith, C.J. Solar, A.S.Wills) 36 BOY & A GIRL THING M ike Curb Music, BMI/She’s My Darlin Music, ASCAP/House Of Sea Gayle Music, ASCAP (M.Pitney, D.Sampson) 47 BREAK UP IN A SMALL TOWN U niversal Music Corporation, ASCAP/Three Mules Music, ASCAP/External Combustion Music, ASCAP/Who Wants To Buy My Publishing, ASCAP/Songs Of Southside Independent Music Publishing, LLC, ASCAP/Smack Ink, ASCAP (S. Hunt, Z.Crowell, S.McAnally) 31 BREAK UP WITH HIM Sonic Geo Music, ASCAP/Calhoun Enterprises, ASCAP/Music Of RPM, ASCAP/HoriPro Entertainment Group, Inc., ASCAP/ReHits Music, Inc., ASCAP/Smacktown Music, ASCAP/ Wrensong Publishing Corp., ASCAP/Songs Of Big Deal, ASCAP/BMG Rights Management (US) LLC, ASCAP/Sharkules Music, ASCAP/Tiny Handstand, ASCAP ( M.Ramsey, T. Rosen, B.Tursi, G.Sprung, W.Sellers) 6 BURNING HOUSE M arvelous Oaks Records, ASCAP/One Year Yesterday Publishing, BMI/Jeff Bhasker Publishing Designee, BMI/Sony/ATV Songs LLC, BMI/Way Above Music, BMI ( C.Ochs, T.Johnson, J.Bhasker) 17 BUY ME A BOAT B uckkilla Music, BMI/Red Vinyl Music, Inc., BMI/ House Of Sea Gayle Music, ASCAP ( C.Janson, C.DuBois) 9 C COLD BEER CONVERSATION International Dog Music, BMI/Bucked Up Music, BMI/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Tar-Cam-Knox Music, ASCAP/Thankful For This Music, ASCAP/EMI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/ Great Day At This Music, BMI/Beatyville Music, BMI ( A.Anderson, B.Hayslip, J.Yeary) 35 SEPTEMBER 28, 2015 | PAGE 17 OF 19 Country Airplay Index COUNTRY NATION H ouse Of Sea Gayle Music, ASCAP/ Making The Turn Music, BMI/Do Write Music, LLC, BMI (B.Paisley, C.DuBois, K.Lovelace) 26 D DIBS Songs Of Black River, ASCAP/KNB Music, ASCAP/DHM Administration, ASCAP/Nyssa Music, ASCAP/Jason Duke Music, ASCAP ( K.Ballerini, J.Kerr, R.Griffin, J.Duke) 22 DIE A HAPPY MAN EMI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Cricket On The Line Music, BMI/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Eastman Pond Publishing, BMI/Music Of Big Deal, BMI/Nice Life, BMI/Frederic And Reid Music, BMI/BMG Platinum Songs, BMI ( Thomas Rhett, S.Douglas, J.Spargur) 41 DRINKIN’ TOWN WITH A FOOTBALL PROBLEM EMI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Line In The Sand, BMI/Taste Of Crow Music, BMI/Your Ears Will Never Go Hungry, BMI/ Archenland Music, BMI/Gypsy Girl Music, BMI ( A.Henningsen, B.Henningsen, C.Henningsen, E.McDavid Elkins, V.A.Olivarez) 38 F FLY Super Big Music, ASCAP/Not Your Average Girl Music, ASCAP/Silva Tone Music, ASCAP (M.Marlow, T.Dye, T.Vartanyan) 11 G GONNA Songs Of Universal, Inc., BMI/Creative Nation Music, BMI/ Twangin And Slangin Songs, BMI/Big Loud Shirt Industries, ASCAP ( L. Laird, C.Wiseman) 13 GONNA KNOW WE WERE HERE B MG Platinum Songs, BMI/BMG Rights Management, BMI/Music Of Big Deal, BMI/Stalefish Music, BMI/BMG Rights Management (US) LLC, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Songs Of Brett, ASCAP/External Combustion Music, ASCAP (B. Beavers, Brett James) 15 GONNA WANNA TONIGHT U niversal Music Corporation, ASCAP/Smack Ink, ASCAP/EMI April Music, Inc., ASCAP/Jon Mark Nite Music, ASCAP/Extraordinary Alien Publishing, ASCAP ( S.McAnally, J.M.Nite, J.Robbins) 8 H HOLE IN A BOTTLE B MG Gold Songs, ASCAP/Skinny Fat Nashville Music, BMI/BMG Platinum Songs, BMI/Music Of Big Deal, BMI/ Stalefish Music, BMI/Songs From The Couch, BMI (C.Smith, B.Beavers, D.Couch) 53 HONEY, I’M GOOD. Ladder Soul Music, BMI/S-Curve Songs Worldwide, BMI/Chrysalis Songs, BMI/Sony/ATV Tunes LLC, ASCAP/Nolan W. Sipe Music, ASACP/Margetts Road Music, ASCAP ( A.Grammer, N.W.Sipe) 49 I I AM INVINCIBLE B rett Boyett Music, BMI/Harmony - HLO Music, BMI/Nashty Music, BMI/EMI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI (B.Boyett, N.Overstreet) 56 I GOT THE BOY W arner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/ Nichols Boys Music, BMI/Made For This Music, BMI/All For This Music, BMI/ Sweet Jamie Music, Inc., BMI (T.Nichols, C.Harrington, J.L.Spears) 24 I LIKE THE SOUND OF THAT Year Of The Dog Music, ASCAP/Rio Bravo Music, Inc., BMI/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Shay Mooney Music, ASCAP ( M.Trainor, J.Frasure, S.Mooney) 37 I LOVE THIS LIFE Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/Red Vinyl Music, Inc., BMI/Round Hill Works, BMI (D.Myrick, C.Janson, C.Lucas, P.Brust) 23 I’M COMIN’ OVER EMI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Goodbye Pants Music, BMI/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Songs From The Rose Hotel, ASCAP/ EMI Foray Music, SESAC/Write 2 Be Free Music, SESAC (C.Young, C.Crowder, J.Hoge) 14 I MET A GIRL R eHits Music, Inc., ASCAP/Smacktown Music, ASCAP/ Universal Music Corporation, ASCAP/Three Mules Music, ASCAP/Smack Ink, ASCAP (T. Rosen, S.Hunt, S.McAnally) 60 J JOHN COUGAR, JOHN DEERE, JOHN 3:16 Smack Hits, GMR/Kobalt Music Group Ltd., GMR/EMI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/ Songs By Red Room, BMI/Songs Of Black River, ASCAP/One Little Indian Creek Music, ASCAP (S.McAnally, R.Copperman, J.Osborne) 2 L LET ME SEE YA GIRL Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/243 Music, ASCAP/Sony/ATV Cross Keys Publishing, ASCAP (C.Swindell, M.Carter, J.Stevens) 10 LITTLE BIT OF YOU O rbison Music, LLC, BMI/BMG Rights Management, BMI/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Funky Friar Music, ASCAP/ Sadie’s Favorite Songs, ASCAP/Combustion Engine Music, ASCAP (C. Bryant, D.George, A.Gorley) 29 LIVE FOREVER Sony/ATV Songs LLC, BMI/Songs Of RedOne, BMI/Songs By Team Red, SESAC/Lionheart Music Group, SESAC/Sony/ ATV Countryside, BMI/Pearlfeather Publishing, BMI/When I Go To The Moon Music, BMI/Famdamily Music, BMI/SONGS Music Publishing, LLC, ASCAP/Songs Of SMP, ASCAP ( N.Khayat, C.J.Harris, Jr., K.Perry, R.Perry, N.Perry, J.Andrews, K.O.Kjellholm) 27 LOSE MY MIND Sony/ATV Countryside, BMI/Paris Not France Music, BMI/Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/EMI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Songs By Red Room, BMI/Universal Music Italia, srl/Killer Tracks, BMI/Warner/ Chappell Music Publishing Ltd., PRS/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/BMG Chrysalis Music, ASCAP/BMG Rights Management (US) LLC, ASCAP (B.Eldredge, H.Morgan, R.Copperman, B.Burton, T.D.Callaway, G.F.Reverberi, G.P.Reverberi) 3 M MOVE ON B MG Gold Songs, ASCAP/Leer Jet 87 Publishing, ASCAP/BMG Rights Management (US) LLC, ASCAP/Rio Bravo Music, Inc., BMI/Telemitry Productions, BMI ( C.Dunn, J.Frasure) 58 N NIGHT’S ON FIRE Super Big Music, ASCAP/Jett Music, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Doc And Maggie Music, SOCAN/Thankful For This Music, ASCAP (J.Singleton, D.Ruttan) 50 NOTHIN’ LIKE YOU W B Music Corp., ASCAP/Beats And Banjos, ASCAP/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Shay Mooney Music, ASCAP/Highly Combustible Music, ASCAP/Sadie’s Favorite Songs, ASCAP/ EMI April Music, Inc., ASCAP/Sugar Glider Music, ASCAP ( D.Smyers, S.Mooney, A.Gorley, C. DeStefano) 12 P PAIN KILLER W arner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Little Big Town, BMI/Southside Independent Music Publishing, LLC, BMI/Internal Combustion Music, BMI/Kickin’ Grids Music, BMI/HillarodyRathbone Music, ASCAP/BMG Chrysalis Music, ASCAP (K.Fairchild, J.Westbrook, B.Daly, H.Lindsey) 46 S SAVE IT FOR A RAINY DAY Songs Of Universal, Inc., BMI/ Endorffin Music, BMI/Sonic Geo Music, ASCAP/Calhoun Enterprises, ASCAP/ Music Of RPM, ASCAP/HoriPro Entertainment Group, Inc., ASCAP/Songs Of Big Deal, ASCAP/BMG Rights Management (US) LLC, ASCAP ( A.Dorff, M.Ramsey, B.Tursi) 1 SMOKE BREAK Carrie-Okie Music, BMI/EMI April Music, Inc., ASCAP/HillarodyRathbone Music, ASCAP/BMG Gold Songs, ASCAP ( C. Underwood, C. DeStefano, H.Lindsey) 7 SOUTHERN BELLE B MG Platinum Songs, BMI/Gravity Gone Songs, BMI/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Little Beluga Music, BMI (J.Saenz, S.McConnell) 57 SOUTHERN STYLE U niversal Music Corporation, ASCAP/Cadaja Publishing, ASCAP/Memphianna, ASCAP/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/T-Bird’s Music, BMI ( D.Rucker, R.Rutherford, T.James) 33 STAY A LITTLE LONGER W B Music Corp., ASCAP/All The Kings Pens, ASCAP/Universal Music Corporation, ASCAP/Smack Ink, ASCAP (J. Osborne, T.J. Osborne, S.McAnally) 19 STONE COLD SOBER W arner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/ Indiana Angel Music, BMI/External Combustion Music, ASCAP/Songs Of Brett, ASCAP/Atlas Music Publishing, ASCAP/Yawyer Three Music, ASCAP (B.Gilbert, Brett James, D.Layus) 52 STRIP IT DOWN Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/Peanut Mill Songs, BMI/EMI April Music, Inc., ASCAP/Jon Mark Nite Music, ASCAP/EMI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Songs By Red Room, BMI ( L.Bryan, J.M.Nite, R.Copperman) 4 T THAT DON’T SOUND LIKE YOU M ike Curb Music, BMI/ EMI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Brooks County Boy Music, BMI/External Combustion Music, ASCAP/Out Of The Taperoom Music, ASCAP/Songs Of Southside Independent Music Publishing, LLC, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP (L.Brice, R.Akins, A.Gorley) 34 (THIS AIN’T NO) DRUNK DIAL W arner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Carolina June Publishing, BMI/Greatshakin Music, BMI/Songs Of Universal, Inc., BMI/Crowder Taylor Publishing, BMI/ Nettwerk One Music, BMI/Revelry Music, BMI/Nevada House Music, BMI/ Nettwerk One Music Limited Canada, SOCAN/Cale Dodds Publishing, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP ( M.Hobby, C.Crowder, N.Mason, C.Dodds) 30 TOMORROW TONIGHT Legends Of Magic Mustang Music, SESAC/W.B.M. Music Corp., SESAC/Skabetti Bowl Of Songs, SESAC/ Nineteen64 Music, BMI (C.Campbell, J.Wilson, V.McGehee) 42 TOP OF THE WORLD Extraordinary Alien Publishing, ASCAP/ Universal Music Corporation, ASCAP/EMI April Music, Inc., ASCAP/Jon Mark Nite Music, ASCAP/Songs Of Black River, ASCAP/One Little Indian Creek Music, ASCAP ( J.Robbins, J.M.Nite, J.Osborne) 16 U R REAL LIFE EMI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Songs By Red Room, BMI/ Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/Combustion Engine Music, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Sadie’s Favorite Songs, ASCAP/Smack Hits, GMR/Kobalt Music Group Ltd., GMR/Songs Of Black River, ASCAP/One Little Indian Creek Music, ASCAP (R.Copperman, A.Gorley, S.McAnally, J.Osborne) 18 REAL MEN LOVE JESUS EMI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/ Sagequinnjude Music, BMI/Famlove Songs, BMI (B.Warren, B.Warren, L.Miller, A.Sanders) 48 RISER Songs Of Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc., BMI/Nan Jam Music Publishing, BMI/She And I, LLC, BMI/It’s Killer Music, BMI (S. Moakler, T.Meadows) 32 ROLLER COASTER RIDE Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/ Longer And Louder Music, BMI/Bug Music, Inc., BMI/Mammaw’s Cornbread Music, BMI/Little Louder Songs, BMi/ole, BMI/Purple Cape Music, BMI ( E. Church, J.Hyde, R.Tyndell) 54 RUN AWAY WITH YOU J Money Music, ASCAP/Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc., ASCAP/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI (J.D.Rich, Michael Ray) 21 UNTIL THEY DON’T LOVE YOU U niversal Music Corporation, ASCAP/Smack Ink, ASCAP/Songs Of Universal, Inc., BMI/ Hoodie Songs, BMI/One Little Indian Creek Music, ASCAP/Songs Of Black River, ASCAP (S.McAnally, L.McKenna, J.Osborne) 51 W WE WENT Legends Of Magic Mustang Music, SESAC/W.B.M. Music Corp., SESAC/ole Canalco Publishing, ASCAP/Ole Ole, ASCAP/Songs Of Razor And Tie Music, ASCAP/Songs Of Black River, ASCAP (J.Wilson, M.Rogers, J.King) 28 WHITE LIGHTNING Sony/ATV Harmony, ASCAP/Texa Rae Music, ASCAP (J.Johnston) 40 Y YUP Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/Code Six Charles Music, BMI/Sixteen Stars Music, BMI/Rooster Pecked Music, BMI/HoriPro Entertainment Group, Inc., BMI/Round Hill Works, BMI/Kirbtone Music, BMI (S.Minor, P.O’Donnell, W.Kirby) 39 BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE SEPTEMBER 28, 2015 | PAGE 18 OF 19 Hot Country Songs Index TITLE P ublishing-Licensing Org. (Songwriter) C hart Position 21 E MI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Two Chord Georgia Music, BMI/EMI April Music, Inc., ASCAP/ Didn’t Have To Be Music Publishing, ASCAP/ External Combustion Music, ASCAP/Songs Of Southside Independent Music Publishing, LLC, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Atlas Music Publishing, ASCAP/Ogden Avenue Publishing, BMI/Songs Of Universal, Inc., BMI (D.Davidson, K.Lovelace, A.Gorley, H.Hayes) 2 9 A ALREADY CALLIN’ YOU MINE 2 7861 Music, BMI/Revelry Music, BMI/Gallo And Landers Music LLC, BMI/Sixteen Stars Music, BMI/HoriPro Entertainment Group, Inc., BMI/Rooster Pecked Music, BMI/Steel Wheels Music, BMI/Big Loud Bucks, BMI/Kirbtone Music, BMI ( M.Thomas, S.Thomas, B.Knox, P.O’Donnell, W.Kirby) 2 7 ANYTHING GOES R usty Muffler Songs, ASCAP/Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc., ASCAP/Big Loud Songs, ASCAP/Play Animal, ASCAP/Big Loud Shirt Industries, ASCAP/Round Hill Songs, ASCAP/Red Toe Rocker, ASCAP ( F. McTeigue, C.G.Tompkins, C.Wiseman) 1 1 B BEAUTIFUL DRUG D ay For The Dead Publishing, SESAC/Southern Ground, SESAC/Reach Music Tunes, SESAC (Z.Brown, N.Moon) 4 8 BLUE BANDANA G o For The Goldsmith, ASCAP/House Of Sea Gayle Music, ASCAP/ClearBox Rights, ASCAP/Living Wills, BMI/Sony/ATV Countryside, BMI ( B.Goldsmith, C.J. Solar, A.S.Wills) 4 1 BREAK UP IN A SMALL TOWN U niversal Music Corporation, ASCAP/Three Mules Music, ASCAP/External Combustion Music, ASCAP/ Who Wants To Buy My Publishing, ASCAP/Songs Of Southside Independent Music Publishing, LLC, ASCAP/Smack Ink, ASCAP ( S.Hunt, Z.Crowell, S.McAnally) 2 5 BREAK UP WITH HIM S onic Geo Music, ASCAP/Calhoun Enterprises, ASCAP/Music Of RPM, ASCAP/HoriPro Entertainment Group, Inc., ASCAP/ ReHits Music, Inc., ASCAP/Smacktown Music, ASCAP/Wrensong Publishing Corp., ASCAP/Songs Of Big Deal, ASCAP/BMG Rights Management (US) LLC, ASCAP/Sharkules Music, ASCAP/Tiny Handstand, ASCAP ( M.Ramsey, T. Rosen, B.Tursi, G.Sprung, W.Sellers) 9 BURNING HOUSE M arvelous Oaks Records, ASCAP/One Year Yesterday Publishing, BMI/Jeff Bhasker Publishing Designee, BMI/Sony/ATV Songs LLC, BMI/Way Above Music, BMI ( C.Ochs, T.Johnson, J.Bhasker) 1 0 BUY ME A BOAT B uckkilla Music, BMI/Red Vinyl Music, Inc., BMI/House Of Sea Gayle Music, ASCAP (C.Janson, C.DuBois) 6 C COUNTRY NATION H ouse Of Sea Gayle Music, ASCAP/Making The Turn Music, BMI/Do Write Music, LLC, BMI ( B.Paisley, C.DuBois, K.Lovelace) 3 4 CRASH AND BURN R io Bravo Music, Inc., BMI/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Ken Tucky Music, ASCAP (J.Frasure, C.Stapleton) 7 D DIBS S ongs Of Black River, ASCAP/KNB Music, ASCAP/DHM Administration, ASCAP/Nyssa Music, ASCAP/Jason Duke Music, ASCAP ( K.Ballerini, J.Kerr, R.Griffin, J.Duke) 2 6 DIE A HAPPY MAN E MI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Cricket On The Line Music, BMI/WarnerTamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Eastman Pond Publishing, BMI/Music Of Big Deal, BMI/Nice Life, BMI/ Frederic And Reid Music, BMI/BMG Platinum Songs, BMI (Thomas Rhett, S.Douglas, J.Spargur) 1 7 DRINKIN’ TOWN WITH A FOOTBALL PROBLEM E MI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Line In The Sand, BMI/Taste Of Crow Music, BMI/Your Ears Will Never Go Hungry, BMI/Archenland Music, BMI/Gypsy Girl Music, BMI ( A.Henningsen, B.Henningsen, C.Henningsen, E.McDavid Elkins, V.A.Olivarez) 4 4 F FREAKS LIKE ME N ew House Of Sea Gayle Music, ASCAP/Vestal Boy Music, ASCAP/Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/Dixey Bar Music, BMI/Big Machine Music, BMI ( L.Hutton, M.Criswell, J.Thompson) 4 9 G GONNA S ongs Of Universal, Inc., BMI/Creative Nation Music, BMI/Twangin And Slangin Songs, BMI/ Big Loud Shirt Industries, ASCAP (L.Laird, C.Wiseman) 1 6 GONNA KNOW WE WERE HERE B MG Platinum Songs, BMI/BMG Rights Management, BMI/ Music Of Big Deal, BMI/Stalefish Music, BMI/BMG Rights Management (US) LLC, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Songs Of Brett, ASCAP/External Combustion Music, ASCAP ( B.Beavers, Brett James) 2 4 GONNA WANNA TONIGHT U niversal Music Corporation, ASCAP/Smack Ink, ASCAP/EMI April Music, Inc., ASCAP/Jon Mark Nite Music, ASCAP/ Extraordinary Alien Publishing, ASCAP ( S.McAnally, J.M.Nite, J.Robbins) 1 5 H HOUSE PARTY U niversal Music Corporation, ASCAP/Sam Hunt Publishing, ASCAP/Three Mules Music, ASCAP/External Combustion Music, ASCAP/ Who Wants To Buy My Publishing, ASCAP/Songs Of Southside Independent Music Publishing, LLC, ASCAP/ WB Music Corp., ASCAP ( S.Hunt, Z.Crowell, J.Flowers) 3 I I GOT THE BOY W arner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Nichols Boys Music, BMI/Made For This Music, BMI/All For This Music, BMI/Sweet Jamie Music, Inc., BMI ( T.Nichols, C.Harrington, J.L.Spears) 2 2 I LIKE THE SOUND OF THAT Y ear Of The Dog Music, ASCAP/Rio Bravo Music, Inc., BMI/WarnerTamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Shay Mooney Music, ASCAP (M.Trainor, J.Frasure, S.Mooney) 4 5 I LOVE THIS LIFE S ony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/Red Vinyl Music, Inc., BMI/Round Hill Works, BMI (D.Myrick, C.Janson, C.Lucas, P.Brust) 3 0 I’M COMIN’ OVER E MI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Goodbye Pants Music, BMI/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Songs From The Rose Hotel, ASCAP/EMI Foray Music, SESAC/Write 2 Be Free Music, SESAC (C.Young, C.Crowder, J.Hoge) 1 2 J JOHN COUGAR, JOHN DEERE, JOHN 3:16 S mack Hits, GMR/Kobalt Music Group Ltd., GMR/EMI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Songs By Red Room, BMI/Songs Of Black River, ASCAP/One Little Indian Creek Music, ASCAP ( S.McAnally, R.Copperman, J.Osborne) 2 L LET IT GO D ay Money Music, ASCAP/HoriPro Entertainment Group, Inc., ASCAP/Living For The Night Music, BMI/HoriPro Entertainment Group, Inc., BMI/Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/Pioneer Town Songs, BMI ( G.Strait, B.Strait, K.Gattis) 4 7 LET ME SEE YA GIRL S ony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/243 Music, ASCAP/Sony/ATV Cross Keys Publishing, ASCAP (C.Swindell, M.Carter, J.Stevens) 1 3 LITTLE BIT OF YOU O rbison Music, LLC, BMI/BMG Rights Management, BMI/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Funky Friar Music, ASCAP/Sadie’s Favorite Songs, ASCAP/Combustion Engine Music, ASCAP (C. Bryant, D.George, A.Gorley) 3 6 LIVE FOREVER S ony/ATV Songs LLC, BMI/ Songs Of RedOne, BMI/Songs By Team Red, SESAC/ Lionheart Music Group, SESAC/Sony/ATV Countryside, BMI/Pearlfeather Publishing, BMI/When I Go To The Moon Music, BMI/Famdamily Music, BMI/SONGS Music Publishing, LLC, ASCAP/Songs Of SMP, ASCAP (N.Khayat, C.J.Harris, Jr., K.Perry, R.Perry, N.Perry, J.Andrews, K.O.Kjellholm) 3 1 LONG STRETCH OF LOVE B eards And Bullets Music, ASCAP/30A Getaway Songs, ASCAP/ Hobbs Hill Publishing, SESAC/Global Dog Music, ASCAP/Book Of Spells, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/W.B.M. Music Corp., SESAC ( D.Haywood, C.Kelley, H.Scott, J.Kear) 2 3 LOSE MY MIND S ony/ATV Countryside, BMI/Paris Not France Music, BMI/Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/EMI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Songs By Red Room, BMI/Universal Music Italia, srl/Killer Tracks, BMI/Warner/Chappell Music Publishing Ltd., PRS/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/BMG Chrysalis Music, ASCAP/BMG Rights Management (US) LLC, ASCAP ( B.Eldredge, H.Morgan, R.Copperman, B.Burton, T.D.Callaway, G.F.Reverberi, G.P.Reverberi) 4 LOVING YOU EASY D ay For The Dead Publishing, SESAC/Southern Ground, SESAC/Reach Music Tunes, SESAC/Cash Box Music, BMI ( Z.Brown, N.Moon, A.Anderson) 2 1 N NEXT BOYFRIEND W arner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Lylas Music, BMI/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Thankful For This Music, ASCAP/Matt McVaney Publishing Designee, ASCAP ( L.Alaina, E.Weisband, M.McVaney) 3 9 NOTHIN’ LIKE YOU W B Music Corp., ASCAP/ Beats And Banjos, ASCAP/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Shay Mooney Music, ASCAP/ Highly Combustible Music, ASCAP/Sadie’s Favorite Songs, ASCAP/EMI April Music, Inc., ASCAP/Sugar Glider Music, ASCAP (D.Smyers, S.Mooney, A.Gorley, C. DeStefano) 1 4 R REAL LIFE E MI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Songs By Red Room, BMI/Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/ Combustion Engine Music, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Sadie’s Favorite Songs, ASCAP/Smack Hits, GMR/Kobalt Music Group Ltd., GMR/Songs Of Black River, ASCAP/One Little Indian Creek Music, ASCAP (R. Copperman, A.Gorley, S.McAnally, J.Osborne) 1 8 RISER S ongs Of Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc., BMI/Nan Jam Music Publishing, BMI/She And I, LLC, BMI/It’s Killer Music, BMI (S.Moakler, T.Meadows) 3 5 RUN AWAY WITH YOU J Money Music, ASCAP/Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc., ASCAP/ Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI ( J.D.Rich, Michael Ray) 2 8 S SAVE IT FOR A RAINY DAY S ongs Of Universal, Inc., BMI/Endorffin Music, BMI/Sonic Geo Music, ASCAP/Calhoun Enterprises, ASCAP/ Music Of RPM, ASCAP/HoriPro Entertainment Group, Inc., ASCAP/Songs Of Big Deal, ASCAP/BMG Rights Management (US) LLC, ASCAP ( A.Dorff, M.Ramsey, B.Tursi) 5 SMOKE BREAK C arrie-Okie Music, BMI/EMI April Music, Inc., ASCAP/HillarodyRathbone Music, ASCAP/ BMG Gold Songs, ASCAP ( C.Underwood, C. DeStefano, H.Lindsey) 8 SMOKIN’ AND DRINKIN’ E MI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Wruckestrike, BMI/Songs Of Universal, Inc., BMI/Twangin And Slangin Songs, BMI/Universal Music Corporation, ASCAP/Smack Ink, ASCAP (N.Hemby, L.Laird, S.McAnally) 3 7 SOUTHERN STYLE U niversal Music Corporation, ASCAP/Cadaja Publishing, ASCAP/ Memphianna, ASCAP/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/T-Bird’s Music, BMI ( D.Rucker, R.Rutherford, T.James) 3 8 SPEAKERS U niversal Music Corporation, ASCAP/ Three Mules Music, ASCAP/BMG Gold Songs, ASCAP/ We Jam Writers Group, ASCAP/BMG Platinum Songs, BMI/Shelia Be Right Music, BMI/Jam Writers Group, BMI (S.Hunt, B.Hood, K.Sackley) 5 0 STAY A LITTLE LONGER W B Music Corp., ASCAP/All The Kings Pens, ASCAP/Universal Music Corporation, ASCAP/Smack Ink, ASCAP ( J. Osborne, T.J. Osborne, S.McAnally) 1 9 STRIP IT DOWN S ony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/Peanut Mill Songs, BMI/EMI April Music, Inc., ASCAP/Jon Mark Nite Music, ASCAP/EMI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Songs By Red Room, BMI (L.Bryan, J.M.Nite, R.Copperman) 1 T THAT DON’T SOUND LIKE YOU M ike Curb Music, BMI/EMI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/ Brooks County Boy Music, BMI/External Combustion Music, ASCAP/Out Of The Taperoom Music, ASCAP/ Songs Of Southside Independent Music Publishing, LLC, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP (L.Brice, R.Akins, A.Gorley) 3 3 (THIS AIN’T NO) DRUNK DIAL W arner- Tamerlane Publishing Corp., BMI/Carolina June Publishing, BMI/Greatshakin Music, BMI/Songs Of Universal, Inc., BMI/Crowder Taylor Publishing, BMI/ Nettwerk One Music, BMI/Revelry Music, BMI/Nevada House Music, BMI/Nettwerk One Music Limited Canada, SOCAN/Cale Dodds Publishing, ASCAP/ WB Music Corp., ASCAP ( M.Hobby, C.Crowder, N.Mason, C.Dodds) 4 0 TOP OF THE WORLD E xtraordinary Alien Publishing, ASCAP/Universal Music Corporation, ASCAP/EMI April Music, Inc., ASCAP/Jon Mark Nite Music, ASCAP/Songs Of Black River, ASCAP/One Little Indian Creek Music, ASCAP (J.Robbins, J.M.Nite, J.Osborne) 2 0 T-SHIRT E xternal Combustion Music, ASCAP/Songs Of Southside Independent Music Publishing, LLC, ASCAP/WB Music Corp., ASCAP/Atlas Music Publishing, ASCAP/Songs Of Universal, Inc., BMI/Creative Nation Music, BMI/Universal Music Corporation, ASCAP/ Smack Ink, ASCAP (A.Gorley, L.Laird, S.McAnally) 4 3 W WE WENT Legends Of Magic Mustang Music, SESAC/W.B.M. Music Corp., SESAC/ole Canalco Publishing, ASCAP/Ole Ole, ASCAP/Songs Of Razor And Tie Music, ASCAP/Songs Of Black River, ASCAP ( J. Wilson, M.Rogers, J.King) 3 2 WHITE LIGHTNING S ony/ATV Harmony, ASCAP/Texa Rae Music, ASCAP ( J.Johnston) 4 2 Y YUP S ony/ATV Tree Publishing, BMI/Code Six Charles Music, BMI/Sixteen Stars Music, BMI/Rooster Pecked Music, BMI/HoriPro Entertainment Group, Inc., BMI/ Round Hill Works, BMI/Kirbtone Music, BMI ( S.Minor, P.O’Donnell, W.Kirby) 4 6 BILLBOARD COUNTRY UPDATE CODA 25 Years Ago Garth Brooks Broke Barriers With No Fences The bow of Brooks’ first No. 1 album set him on course for record career sales SEPTEMBER 28, 2015 | PAGE 19 OF 19 Twent y-f ive yea rs a go, Ga r t h Brooks’ assault on music history k icked i nto h ig h gea r. On t he Sept. 29, 1990 Top Country Albu ms char t, t he t hen-28-yearold’s second set, No Fences, entered at No. 15. Two weeks later, it rocketed to No. 1, becoming his first leader, holding the top spot for 41 weeks and producing four classic Hot Country Songs No. 1s: “Friends in Low Places,” “Unanswered Prayers,” “Two of a Kind, Workin’ on a Full House” and “The Thunder Rolls.” Brooks has since upped his total to 14 Top Country Albums No. 1s, including his latest, 2014’s Man Against the Machine. His current U.S. album sales total 70.5 million, the top sum since Nielsen Music began tracking sales in 1991. The Beatles follow at 66.9 million. In July, the superstar, whose world tour with wife Trisha Yearwood rolls on, was named t he top-earning country act of the previous 12 months, according to Forbes, having taken in $90 million in total income in that span. —JIM ASKER Brooks, circa 1992, after No Fences had begun his run of No. 1s on Top Country Albums. MARIO RUIZ/THE LIFE IMAGES COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES R EW I N D I N G THE C O U N T RY C H A RT S
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